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Reporters' BLOG |
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May 2009
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You know how you can talk bad about your family but nobody else better? That's kind of what I'm thinking about the Brewster McCracken's political ad. In a nutshell, he says St. Louis was a big deal in 1904 but it isn't now and if Austin doesn't be careful and proactive, the same thing could happen in Austin. Well, isn't that special. The first tendency is to say Brewster who??? But a couple of people I talked to today had another response. They hope this is a wakeup call for St. Louis politicians to stop bickering and work together in a regional approach. One said, there's no "leader" for the entire district. And that's true. 3 CommentsLeave a comment |
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I'm from Austin. Growing up in the Central Texas city, I thought it was the most boring place on earth. Now, as an adult, I've learned to appreciate it greatly. What brought about this change of heart? Living in St Louis. I hate to say it, but I think McCracken is right. There are lots of great things about St Louis- the free museums, Shakespeare festival, Forest Park, a proud baseball sports culture, S. Grand (and other unique neighborhoods), Botanical Gardens, good universities, etc. But, this city needs a wake up call. St Louis has neglected it's residents for far too long. It's going to take a convergence of business, higher education, non-profit, law enforcement, city government, etc, to bring this city to the level of prominence it deserves. Hopefully, the McCracken slight is a catalyst for change.
I've thought St. Louis was in decline for years. Practically every major corporate headquarters has left town. Of course most have left because of mergers or acquisition and the out-of-town new owners kept their headquarters in its existing location. When Boeing left Seattle they moved to Chicago, not St. Louis. InBev/AB is considering moving their headquarters to New York, not St. Louis. American Airlines dropped St. Louis as a hub city. And at least one movie that was filmed in St. Louis was going to identify the city as Chicago because St. Louis would have no name recognition overseas. Is the new George Clooney movie going to identify the city as St. Louis?
The truth does really hurt. Look at just a few of some of the eyesores still lurking in St. Louis: St. Louis Center; Grand Blvd. north to
interstate 70; very few amenities; areas in decays for over 40 years, politicians that only care about themselves, because the residents don't hold them accountable. Have we forgotten the $30 millions that was taken from north St. Louis and given to south St. Louis. Why can't comprimises and project be made to clean up 'whole city'. We don't need any more deals that end up going sour. Some of us may be
in denial, but, the majority of us have moved away. Why come back to broken promises only to be left holding the bag. The schools can't be fixed when there is continous bickering over nothing. Education has to encompass the old family, such as, before school, after school and possibly into the weekend to make it work. Let's quit talking and start rolling with action. Need I say more!!!!!!!!!