When building a new surface parking lot in the City of St. Louis you are required to have separation between the parking area and the adjacent public sidewalk. A fence, landscaping or even a simple concrete curb would have prevented the drive of the above car from pulling so far forward that I couldn’t pass on the sidewalk.
– Steve Patterson
Like so many other areas, the intersection of Page & North Kingshighway suffers from disinvestment. Yet, at one point in the last few decades, the 1904 building on the corner received new investment in the form of street facades featuring blank walls and mirrored glass.  The building next door, also from 1904, has a blank facade where windows and doors should be.
I’m not saying this corner would be lively if the corner building hadn’t gained blank walls during the unfortunate new skin with blank walls. But, the blank walls make improving the vibrancy of the sidewalk today impossible. A new pro-urban formed-based zoning code would prevent future blank walls to the sidewalk.
– Steve Patterson
The following is a press release:
Brian Owens Closes O’Fallon Park Summer Jazz Concert Series
R&B singer, Brian Owens, performs at 6:00PM in the last concert of this summer’s concert series in O’Fallon Park
(ST. LOUIS) – Tonight R&B singer, Brian Owens, will close out this summer’s O’Fallon Park Jazz Concert Series with a performance at 6:00PM. Brian Owens is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the most promising young R&B and soul singers on today’s music scene. At the age of 29, Owens has already shared the stage with many notable performers such as jazz legend Ramsey Lewis, smooth jazz artists Boney James and Spyro Gyra. Brian has made television appearances on ABC’s “Good Morning America†and BET’s “Jazz Discovery†program. He describes his musical style as a blend of Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, Donny Hathaway, with a bit of Al Green and Marvin Gaye just for fun.
Produced by the Sheldon Concert Hall in partnership with 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French, this is the 2nd year for the jazz series in O’Fallon Park. The series offers residents a unique opportunity to enjoy one of the city’s largest and most beautiful parks. Concertgoers have the opportunity to hear some of the region’s most talented jazz musicians this summer, while enjoying refreshments from the park’s new Boathouse café, which was opened specifically for the event.
In addition to the concert series, many new renovations are taking place in O’Fallon Park this summer, including five new basketball courts and a one-mile fitness trail. This summer also marked the long-awaited groundbreaking for the new O’Fallon Park Recreation Center coming in December 2011.
“There are a lot of exciting changes coming to O’Fallon Park,†says Alderman French. “These renovations are part of a larger effort to reclaim this historic park as a safe and beautiful space for families in our community.â€
Tonight is the last concert in what has been an 8-week summer Jazz Concert Series. Tonight’s concert will begin at 6:00PM and is free and open to the public. Concessions will be available at the O’Fallon Park Boathouse and attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chair.
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I receive many press releases each day. I will now start posting some of these as received, in addition to my regular daily posts.
– Steve Patterson
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14th Street Bridge Closed for Repairs Starting Monday, August 30
Repairs part of On-System Bridge Preventative Maintenance Program
14th Street Bridge over Mill Creek (between Papin and Spruce) will be closed for repairs on Monday August 30, 2010. It will be closed for approximately 30 days. The closure is part of a larger maintenance program that will be performed on several bridges from April until November.
Concrete Strategies, LLC, the contractor for the project, will be repairing columns underneath the bridge, the expansion joints at the ends of the bridge, prepping and painting beam ends and applying corrosion protection. It is the work underneath the bridge that requires the closure. Even though workers may not be visible to motorists, there will be work going on.
The signed detour route will be on Chouteau Avenue to 18th Street to Clark Street, and vice-versa. The Gateway Multimodal Facility serving Amtrak and Greyhound will still be accessible from 18th & Clark, and signs are posted there. The eastbound off-ramp from I-64 (US 40) will generally remain open. However, it will only be possible to turn left while the bridge is closed. Note that one full ramp closure will be required to repair the expansion joint at the north end of the bridge. Informational signs will be posted.
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A total of 183 people voted in the poll last week. The original post is here.
Q: Ald Kacie Starr Triplett thinks Little Caesars should donate, rather than discard, old pizzas. What do you think?
Other responses were:
I looked up the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996 (Wikipedia, full text). This law was passed specifically to indemnify those who would donate — except if willfully negligent. So Little Caesars could donate the pizzas that have been held in their warming oven for more than 30 minutes.
Operation Food Search can distribute prepared food:
“Restaurants, Caterers, and Mass-Feeders: Overproduced product, cancelled events, minor production imperfections.”
Other organizations, such as Food Outreach, seek frozen or canned goods for their pantry.
– Steve Patterson