Good Riddence 2008, Hello 2009

2008 was not a good year, especially for me personally.  2008 did have some great moments though.

About two hours into2008 my father passed away.  He had taken ill in December 2007 and was in the hospital.  I was staying at my brother’s house in Oklahoma City when the call came from the hospital for us to get there – he had “coded.”  Coincidentally, this was the same hospital where this brother was born in December 1959.  My mom passed away 18 months before my Dad, in June 2006.   I’ve written posts saying goodbye to my mom & dad.

So now I start off 2008 at age 40 with no parents.

A week later friend of a friend needed a ride to Rhode Island to start a new teaching job.  She had just bought my friend’s used car but she was still learning to drive a stick and she wasn’t comfortable driving that distance in an automatic car much less a manual.  The drive up was great — we got to know each other on the road.  She is a black female in her 50s – a native of St Louis.  She is a Harvard PhD (undergrad too). She was a Hillery supporter, I was for Obama.  We left St Louis early in the morning of Monday the 14th.

When we arrived at our destination the following afternoon, I left her and her car at her new apartment in Bristol, R.I. (map), just south of Providence.  From that point I became a transit user.  I caught the bus a block from her new place that took me to downtown Providence (map).  After a night in Providence I took the train up to Boston.

Boston was a great experience.  It was cold out but the sidewalks & subway were teaming with people.

I flew back to St Louis arriving back at my place around 1:30am on the 18th – less than four days after leaving.  From the airport I was on the final MetroLink train.  But as we were heading back to the city the conductor announces the last stop would be Grand.  Realizing I did not want to be at the Grand stop after midnight, tired with luggage, I got off at the CWE stop and called a taxi to take me home.

The trip was certainly a good distraction from the loss of my father.

Back home I jumped right back into my life by attending a charrette in Old North St Louis on the 19th.  It was cold but I rode my scooter to get there – I didn’t own a car so my choices were few.

On Tuesday the 22nd I started the semester at Saint Louis University.

The following week started off normally enough — Gateway Mall press conference, Preservation Board meeting, Marine Villa neighborhood meeting watching residents elect new officers, and a hearing at City Hall on the morning of the 31st.  On the 24th I finally got an iPhone – the price had come down and AT&T now offered business accounts.

An Aunt of mine, wife of one of my Dad’s brothers, died in Texas on the 27th of January.

I had a real estate closing scheduled for the 31st at noon but there was a delay on the Buyer’s side — I had the Seller’s side of the deal.  That night it snowed.

The morning of Friday February 1st I snapped a few pictures of the snow from my balcony and from the roof.  I discussed having dinner with a friend.  I continued my email conversation with my friend Richard Kenney in Seattle about wanting to find a good spot at Bellefontaine Cemetery for when my time was up.  Then, around 5pm, it happened – a hemorrhagic stroke.  I’ll save the details for the anniversary of the stroke but basically I didn’t think I would survive — and I nearly did not.

I spent February 2nd – April 30th in three hospitals.  My recovery has been amazing.  I’m probably 65% at this point.  I’ll probably be at 95% in a year or so.

I started driving again in July and I bought my first tank of gas for my newly purchased car on July 14 — the day St Louis gas prices peaked.

In August I resumed work on my Masters degree at Saint Louis University.  I’m past the halfway point and I expect to graduate on December 11, 2009.

The economy took a nosedive in 2008. Foreclosures rose sharply as did the list of unemployed.

In November the country impressed me by electing Barack Obama to be President.  We’ll see how well he does.  Some are naturally upset by some of his choices for his cabinet.

Going into 2009 I’m optimistic about my own future and that of our city, state, country and world.  I’m in a better mindset than I was a year ago.

Thank you to all of you for your continued support in 2008.  Peace. – Steve

Board of Aldermen Has Lots of Dead Weight

I know from my reader survey that nearly 10% of you are 18-24 years old.  I also know from the Board of Aldermen Seniority List (PDF) that Phyllis Young and Fred Wessels have been Aldermen your entire lives.  All through your period in diapers, kindergarten, grade school, those awkward teen years, and college.  Both are up for re-election next Spring.  The filing deadline for candidates is 5pm Friday.

Others are not far behind.  In my view the majority of them need to step aside at this or the 2011 election cycle (depending upon if they are from odd or even numbered ward).  They are dead weight holding the city back, keeping an entire generation from participating.  It really is very selfish of them.

In 2009/10 I’ll be working on a ballot initiative to get term limits for city offices.  I know many of you say “just vote them out.”  That is fine assuming they have a challenger.  I’ve also heard people say without institutional memory the lobbyists take over.  I hate to tell you this, but these aldermen have been buddies with the same lobbyists for decades now.  Decades!  If these selfish folks won’t step aside on their own we need a mechanism to do it for them.

The other high priority is reducing the number of Aldermen from the current 28.  Some say half – 14.  I’m thinking even less, like 9 or 10.

Males Dominate Readership

The reader survey is still open but I thought I’d share the results so far on one question: gender.  As the pie chart to the right shows, nearly 75% of the respondents to the survey are male.

I’m kinda shocked by this.  I was guessing maybe 60/40 but not 72/28.  I know lots of women that are into urban issues.  Is the material covered here just more appealing to men?

After the survey closes at the end of 2008 I’ll begin to prepare charts to show the answers on all questions, except the ones I’m tossing out such as sexual orientation, race & religion.

Happy New Year to my readers – male & female.

A Year Ago Today Copia Was Destroyed By An Arsonist

I was up early the morning of the 29th but not as early as residents of buildings near Copia in the 11xx block of Washington Ave. Click here to read my post from a year ago.

The butler did it!  Close, it was the ex-busboy.

From the St Louis Post-Dispatch on September 13, 2008:

A disgruntled former busboy admitted Friday that he started the three-alarm fire at a downtown St. Louis wine bar and restaurant late last year that caused more than $2.6 million in damage.

Gilbert Summers, 26, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to a single arson charge in federal court in St. Louis and now faces a minimum of five years in prison.

He was fired from Copia Urban Winery in mid- to late 2007, after being spotted trying to cash another employee’s check, court documents show. He then applied unsuccessfully for unemployment compensation.

Summers tried to get his revenge on Dec. 29. He waited until 3 a.m., when he thought everyone was gone, then set three fires in patio, banquet and storage areas at Copia, 1122 Washington Avenue, and the Vanguard Lofts building next door, officials said.

“I did not intend to hurt nobody,” Summers told U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey on Friday.

A year later the restaurant is still closed.  However, the back of the building has been gutted in preparation for the rebuilding.

The fire was tragic, arson always is.  Thankfully nobody got hurt.  But I have to say this block of Washington Ave has been more pleasant without this one restaurant consuming all the on-street parking with their valets.  When they re-open hopefully they can work with Flamingo Bowl owner Joe Edwards on a shared valet service on Friday & Saturday nights.  Although if Joe Edwards has seen this 2006 video with me and Copia’s owner, Eyad Tammas, he may not feel much like cooperating.

I welcome the return of Copia in 2009.  I just want to make sure they play nice with their neighboring businesses.

Take the UrbanReviewSTL Reader Survey

In the interest of gathering more data on those who read my blog I’ve put together a short annonymous survey. The survey is brief and will only take you a few minutes to complete.  This is the same program I’m using to create my 2009 Candidate Questionaire so this is also a trial run before the candidate survey is opened next year.  This survey will remain open until 5pm on 2/28/2009 midnight on 12/31/08.  Take the UrbanReviewSTL Reader Survey.  Thank you!

Addendum 12/26/08 @ 9:30am.

The responses are coming in, thank you!  Your responses will be very helpful when talking to advertisers.  Reader Survey 2.0 will be out in October 2009  — I’m already getting good ideas for improvements to both the questions and standard answers.  Use the comments below to provide post survey feedback.

Addendum 12/28/08 @ 5:45pm.

I shortened the time in which the survey will remain open.