Yesterday morning the civic-journalism digestive tract that, metaphorically speaking, is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board defecated on Riverfront Times' front stoop.
Formalities dispensed with, the authors of the unsigned editorial aimed at RFT:
With all the horses lined up in the gates, we're just waiting for the starter's pistol.
Following Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama's pick Saturday of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as a running mate, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain decided to take the political pissing contest to the next level today by naming his running mate the night after Obama's speech. And the pick is...Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? Not everybody is surprised, one blogger called it back in February.
Not totally satisfied with your weekend itinerary? Never fear, Go! is here! This regular feature delivers the top nine can’t-miss activities to complete your fun-seeking agenda. Looking for live music? Here's your weekend concert calendar.
1. There's always someone slower than you: The Gateway Cup starts at 7:30 a.m. and goes until after 9:30 p.m.Friday until Sunday. Five races a day on the one-mile figure 8 course begin and end at Schafly Tap Room (2100 Locust Street @ 21st) based on ability ranging from newcomers to professionals, along with a race for the kids.
Evidently erstwhile KFNS (590 AM "The Fan") sports talker Kevin Slaten isn't quite finished speaking to Riverfront Times.
Click below to hear what the always-eloquent K-Slate had to say.
And no, the irony is not lost on Unreal: Slaten gets fired for allegedly broadcasting some schmuck without his knowledge, and here goes Unreal doing a similar thing to Slaten. One difference: The Federal Communications Commission distinguishes between broadcasting over the airwaves and chucking up into the ol' Internetosphere.
While we're on the subject, Unreal has it on good authority that Hinman tried to obtain a recording of Slaten's March 27 on-air conversation with Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan -- the one that's at the center of the Slaten-KFNS case, but her request was denied by the judge.
With this year's first St. Louis MasterMinds awards now in the books -- and the Artopia celebration set for Thursday night (it's open to the public) -- we can look back at a wealth of material created by four very talented individuals who chose to call St. Louis home.
Matthew Krentz: In his film, Streetballers, Krentz uses St. Louisans as actors and the city as his setting. Read a review of Streetballers by Chad Garrison.
Watch the trailer for the film here:
Open Streetballers Trailer in a pop-up window.
Oh, the cougar love. You people just can’t get enough! (Frankly, neither can we. The cougs, too, tell us they’re tickled by the adventure.) So here we are at Round 3 of the Ask A Cougar! Try-outs.
You know the drill: Vote for your fave coug-scribe, and please be polite by not stuffing the ballot box. Soon Unreal will take a look at all the results, and do some tabulating of our own. Before long we’ll have a resident coug in the RFT house.
For a reprise, see round one here, and round two here. Meantime, if you have a question for a coug, please place it in the comments section of this blog, or e-mail it to unreal@riverfronttimes.com.
Finally, don't forget to check the newspaper next week for Pastor Chris' reply to this very same question.
THE QUESTION:
How are the Cheetah Girls related to cougars?
-Inquiring Minds Wanna Know
THE COUGAR ANSWERS:
While most think of Lake of the Ozarks as a summertime vacation spot, recreational mecca or a place for a sexy party, officials with the city of Lake Ozark admitted in a plea agreement with that they were using the lake for more than just fun in the sun.
According to the Associated Press, Mayor Johnni Franzeskas signed a plea deal late Monday in federal court that states the city is responsible for dumping 15,000 gallons of raw sewage into the lake, back in September 2007.
In late July, the city's former public works director, Richard L. Sturgeon, pleaded guilty to a similar offense -- failing to notify the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Good morning St. Louis!
A muggy weekend is in the books, but the heat and humidity didn't stop the city from buzzing from Friday night through Sunday. There was a lot to do, so don't feel bad if you missed some of it.
South Grand Nightlife
Slide Show
On Friday, photographer Kristan Lieb ventured into the sweaty, sometimes dingy bars of South Grand Boulevard. She brought back this slide show.
Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park
Slide Show
Also over the weekend, the International Institute of St. Louis sponsored the Festival of Nations, complete with food, music and art from around the world. Lyle Whitworth was there and has these photos.
The Lot @ Schlafly Tap Room
Slide Show
On Saturday night, the annual free concert, The Lot, went down. Photographer Steve Truesdell was there and brought back photos of local indie stars So Many Dynamos, bouncing hip hop group the Earthworms and classic rock throwbacks Victoria, who played one final show. Photos here.
Metro will overrun its current annual security budget of $10 million in order to make stations and trains safer, agency officials announced this morning.
New Metro President Robert Baer told the board today: "The safety and security of our passengers is our highest priority."
Metro has stepped up its security around the train stations this summer since the incidents in July.
A number of solutions to crime on and around MetroLink trains have been proposed by people like you, commenting on our story or on other forums like talk radio or Internet message boards. Below are a few of the more popular suggestions -- vote on which you think would best curb crime or submit your own.
Not totally satisfied with your weekend itinerary? Never fear, Go! is here! This regular feature delivers the top nine can’t-miss activities to complete your fun-seeking agenda. Looking for live music? Here's your weekend concert calendar.
Sunday, August 24
1. Come be pseudo celeb at a rooftop soiree at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Forest Park, compliments of The Young Friends of the Independence Center (4245 Forest Park Ave.), an organization supporting adults with mental illnesses. Coco Soul and Javier Mandoza will be entertaining and dinner is provided by Jimmy's on the Park (url). Tickets are $40 in advance (call 314-880-5403) or $45 at the door.
Chad Garrison, writer of this week's cover story on the recent spate of violence involving the Metro Link will appear on the Mark Reardon show on KMOX at 3 p.m. today to talk about his story. You can stream the radio show online.
Garrison spoke on the same topic this morning on KTRS' the McGraw show.
Read Garrison's story, Blood on the Tracks.
Y'all are so hot on this quest for the perfect cougar columnist, that Unreal decided to throw another question the way of the wannabe coug-scribes.
But this time 'round, use your best manners when voting for your favorite, will ya? There looks to be all kinds of ballot-stuffing going on. And to put it nicely, Unreal don't like dat. Read the first question here.
Meantime, if you have a question for a coug, please place it in the comments section of this blog, or email it to unreal@riverfronttimes.com. Don't forget to check the newspaper next week for Pastor Chris' reply to this very same question.
THE QUESTION:
Are older women seeking younger men because the majority of men over fifty have a problem with attaining an erection on their own? And it is work, not pleasure, to reach the final goal -- therefore the easy route of young studs becomes the most desirable of the two?
- Denise Volmert
The COUGAR ANSWERS:
Freelance videographer Andrew Smith headed downtown about midnight on Saturday, August 16, 2008 to film the participants in this year's Moonlight Ramble.
Open in Pop-Up Window: Moonlight Ramble, 2008, St. Louis
Good morning, St. Louis.
Here's what you may have missed over the weekend.
Jewel, Brad Paisley at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Slide Show
On Friday night, Jewel and Brad Paisley performed at Verizon, along with Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks. Photographer Todd Owyoung was there and has these photos.
Last Night: "This One's for You" at the Soulard Art Market
What You Missed: An artistic tribute to the King of Beers, featuring the advertising memorabilia of Jack L. Smith, an illustrator/graphic designer at Anheuser-Busch from 1988-1990.
Where: Soulard Art Market, 2028 S. 12th Street, in what used to be a neighborhood clinic.
Better Than: Trying to figure out how Don Draper from "Mad Men" would have used Michael Phelps to sell Budweiser.
