“Our purpose in discussing Ms. Gardner’s performance here is not simply to pile on. The lesson we must learn from the Gardner debacle is that leadership matters…”

It is often said that 90% of success is in showing up.  These words make it easy to understand why St. Louis City is in such a tailspin.

On January 7^th, two blockbuster reports were made concerning City leadership.  And, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that these reports go a long way towards explaining why St. Louis is facing such serious problems

We know that our local elected officials can be quite busy and may not have time to take a step back, assess themselves, and make resolutions for the year ahead. While we feel growing alarm at the City’s inability to solve its most basic problems, we decided that we want to be part of the solution!

Following are some New Year’s resolutions that we developed for our City leaders. We think adoption of these resolutions can make a big difference for all of us.

You’re welcome.

An open Letter To Tishaura Jones.

There are a few big financial issues swirling around City government these days. 

There are large sums of money available for massive reinvestment and, at the same time, some of the City’s revenue streams are jeopardized, which could have a significant impact on City services.  All in all, it seems like a good time to look in on the City’s financial situation and see where we are.

On November 5th, St. Louis City voters will have the opportunity to vote up or down on some changes to the City Charter.  The final proposed changes offered in November are minimal, but the project didn’t start out that way.  And it looks like it won’t end in November, if Board President Megan Green has her way.

The newly formed Neighborhoods Alliance sent this letter to City officials earlier in July.  To date, only three aldermen (Schweitzer, Browning and Cohn) have acknowledged receipt of the letter.  And no official has responded.

To learn more about the Alliance or to get involved, send email to stlneighborhoodsalliance@gmail.com or contact Daniel Pistor, Executive Committee Chair at dpistor@hotmail.com.

More than 27 neighborhood organizations throughout the City of St. Louis have formed the St. Louis Neighborhoods Alliance.

Initiated by citizens, this grassroots organization is intended to facilitate communications with each other and with city officials about issues and policies of common concern.

Since Ferguson a lot of important stuff has changed, learn more…

St. Louis enjoys a rebuilt, beautiful Boat House in Forest Park.  There, citizens and visitors alike enjoy high quality meals and rent boats to tour and enjoy the park’s serene beauty. 

For three nights, and counting, there have been hours-long rolling gun battles on the streets of downtown St. Louis. The holiday weekend saw 20 shootings in St. Louis, with one fatality.

The New York Post recently reported that Cori Bush has claimed to be a faith healer. This item was not well-covered in the press but certainly has been a topic of conversation around town. The source for this story was identified as none other than Ms. Bush’s own memoir, The Forerunner, published in 2022.

We were unprepared for the response to our column concerning St. Louis’s dilapidated infrastructure.

Many submitted photos. We decided to use this one…

“Our neighborhood is great but, like so many St. Louis neighborhoods, it faces challenges on a regular basis. None larger than when Peter and Paul Community Services (PPCS) announced their intention to put a 100 to 150 person, low-barrier men’s shelter on Minnesota Avenue, just steps away from our homes.”

Some members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen seem to be hell-bent on excluding neighborhood residents from participating in decisions that the City is making about their neighborhoods. This became very obvious as the Aldermen took up the Homeless Bill of Rights.

“Living in St. Louis City can be hard. But we love the city, we endure, we thrive and we persevere…”

Here is a photo that could be taken in any corner of the City or North County. Our infrastructure, whether it be roads, bridges, water-mains, sidewalks or curbs, is crumbling.