Blogs

I can’t say I’d ever eaten at Red’z Rib Shack in Maryville, Illinois. But I couldn’t help being a bit saddened when I learned that the ramshackle barbecue joint will soon be leveled to make way for a Walgreens.

As reported in the January 17 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Red’z sits on the now-busy corner of Illinois Routes 159 and 162 amid “new banks, carwashes, businesses and subdivisions.” Land owner Joseph Arnold of Collinsville recently sold the seven-acre spread that includes Red’z to Koman Properties, the developer of some 40 Walgreens in the St. Louis area.

Red’z owner Bryan Warren says he plans to relocate his rib shack. I wish him luck. Red’z is one of at least a half-dozen iconic, local businesses I’ve seen uprooted by Walgreens over the past ten years. All too often, the small business does not survive the move.

The lone exception to my list is the Broadway Diner. The 1960s- era eatery was forced to move from a prominent location in Columbia in 1998 to make way for a Walgreens. Now the diner operates just a few blocks from its original location.

Carriage Bowl and Red Bird Lanes -- two quintessential bowling alleys in south St. Louis -- didn’t fare as well. Red Bird Lanes was sold to Walgreens in 1996 after occupying the corner of Hampton and Gravois avenues since 1958. Among its original owners were Cardinals stars Stan Musial and Joe Garagiola. Later the bowling alley was famous for never closing its doors.

As fun as 24-hour bowling may be, it’s nothing compared to indulging in the pastime without clothes.

In 1999 Walgreens purchased Carriage Bowl on the corner of Kingshighway and Arsenal Street, across from Tower Grove Park. For a time management offered clients the option of bowling naked, according to a Post-Dispatch article commemorating Carriage’s closure. (Shoes were still required.)

Perhaps the most quintessential victimization of a St. Louis landmark at the hands of Walgreens came in 2004, when the pharmacy toppled the Parkmoor Restaurant, which had anchored the corner of Clayton Road and Big Bend Boulevard since 1930. The original restaurant was replaced in the 1970s by a swank, modern structure that sat idle once Walgreens took over the lease to the property in 1999.

I’m sure Walgreens generates far more tax income than the mom-and-pops it replaces, but I doubt anything the pharmacy sells tastes as fine as Red’z ribs or the Parkmoor’s milkshakes.

And I know none of its drugs make you feel as giddy as bowling au naturel.

Do you have your own stories about the places mentioned here, or know of other landmarks replaced by Walgreens? I’d like to hear them. Feel free to comment below.

-Chad Garrison

There are fourteen men from Missouri whom members of the AMVETS Post 55 in Bel-Ridge are trying to bring home. Each of the men died or was presumed dead at least 37 years ago. They were killed in action, or died in prison camps in Korea, were shot down over Vietnam or lost at sea in World War II. Their remains were not recovered, but now the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Oahu, Hawaii, is trying to bring their open cases to a close. Remains -- a tooth, a bone or maybe a personal item -- have been linked to the area where the soldier went missing, and now JPAC is trying to confirm the identity.

If you’ve never heard of JPAC, its work is interesting, if grim. The joint military agency houses the Central Identification Laboratory, which according to JPAC, is the largest forensic anthropology lab in the world. Teams of historical researchers and field investigators try to connect unaccounted-for soldiers to specific sites. Then field specialists go out and bring back whatever remains they can find. Sometimes governments, such as North Korea’s, hand over remains from old prison camps, leaving JPAC to sort them out. “It could be a big box of bones,” says Lt. Col. Mark Brown, director of public affairs.

That’s where people like Pat Kessler, president of the ladies auxiliary for Post 55, and volunteer service officer John Conklin come in. They’re trying to find descendants whose DNA could provide a positive ID. The DNA sample is provided via a simple cheek swab, but as mitochondrial DNA, it must come from the maternal side of the family. Kessler and Conklin are making the rounds to local news outlets, trying to publicize the names of the fourteen men from Missouri who are on JPAC’s “urgent” list. (The list appears after the jump, at the end of this post.)

"When Barack Obama asked the crowd yesterday in Kansas City whether there were any Cardinals fans in the audience, it first seemed like he had pulled one of those classic rock concert screw-ups by mixing up what town he was in," blogs Eric Barton of Kansas City's Pitch, RFT's other-end-of-the-interstate sister paper. "But with his quick recovery, it was clear that the presidential hopeful was just giving the Royals shit."

Yeah!

-Unreal

Man, you gotta love the New York Times. When we're taking time out from thinking about how we're dying from eating sushi and not having our lives saved by Lipitor, Unreal can now ponder whether Barack Obama's non-acknowledgment of fellow presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at last night's State of the Union Address was a "turn" or a "snub".

And how nice that Missouri's own Claire McCaskill was there -- though, strangely, not pictured -- to set the record straight.

Is this a great country or what?

-Unreal

As an alumnus of the University of Washington and rabid Huskies football fan, I was a little shocked and saddened when I went online yesterday to read the Seattle Times. The paper is running an investigative series this week that probes UW’s tolerance for the behavior of players on the 2000-’01 football team. (That’d be the last great Huskies squad, which defeated Purdue in the Rose Bowl and finished the season ranked third in the nation.)

The series digs up dirt on some already loathed athletic department officials, including Rick Neuheisal, recently hired as head coach at UCLA, and former athletic director Barbara Hedges, who many fans and alumni believe ran the program into the ground. Essentially the Times points out several instances where the athletic department covered up and let slide some strikingly awful deeds committed by its football players.

The story also has a noteworthy, if tangential, local tie. St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan was an offensive coordinator at Washington from 1996 to 1998. The first installment of the series probes the various crimes and misdemeanors of Jerramy Stevens, the team’s star tight end, who went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. The headline: "Convicted of assault and accused of rape, star player received raft of second chances."

Via records requests, Times reporters unearthed this letter Linehan wrote to the Thurston County prosecutor in support of Stevens. The precipitating incident: A friend of Stevens’ hit another student in the face with a baseball bat, and Stevens proceeded to “jump up and stomp on his face” while his victim was unconscious. Stevens was a senior in high school at the time, already signed to play for UW.

Here’s the money quote from Linehan, who would leave UW for the head coaching job at Louisville before Stevens played a down under his tutelage:

“We believe this to be an isolated incident. Under our discipline and supervision I believe Jerramy will show this to be true.”

Jerramy did no such thing. In fact, over the next nine years he’d go on to be convicted of drinking and driving three times, not to mention two hit-and-run accidents, including one in which he drove his SUV through the wall of a nursing home, knocking a dresser onto a bed where 92 year-old woman was sleeping.

Much of the Times story focuses on the allegation that in August of 2000 Stevens drugged and anally raped a UW freshman in a frat-house alley. An eyewitness and the woman’s friends told prosecutors that she appeared to have been drugged, and the DNA in a semen sample taken during a sexual-assault exam the day after the incident matched Stevens’. But prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file charges, noting that the exam took place too late to test the woman for drugs. The woman sued Stevens and the university in civil court; the matter was settled and terms were not disclosed.

I called the Rams’ media department for a comment from Linehan. I’ll post an update when I hear back.

[Update 1/29/08 11:45 a.m.]: Rick Smith, director of the Rams media department called from Phoenix, where he'll attend the Super Bowl.

“It’s ancient history," says Smith. "That happened eight years ago. There’s no comment to make. It’s something that took place, and in the context of then and now we’re not going to revisit it. Scott’s not going to comment. Really, it’s almost eight years ago and its he’s not going to revisit it and neither are we.”

-Keegan Hamilton

Tags: College football, Jerramy Stevens, Scott Linehan, St. Louis Rams, Washington Huskies

Unreal is all about taking the stigma out of uncomfortable issues with humor. So when we read the Associated Press story about Pepsi's upcoming Super Bowl ad that'll play out in total silence for 60 seconds, we were all, like:

Naturally, the ad's already up on YouTube:

Kudos to PepsiCo, which has a history of reaching out to markets [reg. req.] outside the very middle of the mainstream.

And the ad's pretty dang cute.

But also dumb: Like, if the frickin' party's at Bob's house, why the heck are all the lights off when it's nearly kickoff time? And what's with everyone else on the block? Ambien orgies?

-Unreal

Not totally satisfied with your weekend itinerary? Never fear, Go! is here! This regular feature highlights everything from rock shows to art openings, from delicious dishes to hidden-gem hangouts.

Friday, 1/25

Got It Covered: Enshroud, the new art exhibit presented by the Webster University art department, pulls together works from the university’s private collection and offers commentary on the collection’s current state. The show spans two venues and each space plays a separate role, but the exhibit in its entirety was inspired by Walter Benjamin’s 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Familiar with the work? Even if you’re not, head to the Cecille R. Hunt Gallery on Webster’s campus (8342 Big Bend Boulevard; 314-968-7171) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays to see one part of Enshroud; then on Saturday, stop by Snowflake/Citystock (3156 Cherokee Street; 314-772-3628) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the second half. The free exhibits run through Friday, February 1.

Line ’Em Up: Forget the Blues; check out the Professional Inline Hockey Association-Gateway Division tonight for some real action on the ice. Alison Sieloff tells you all about it right here.

Hey Mister DJ: DJs can be held responsible for the “Electric Slide” tradition at weddings, but a high-caliber DJ can also make a standard night at the club much more than just that. Have a much-better-than-average night out when Mandarin Lounge (44 Maryland Plaza; 314-367-4447) hosts the Trabajo Mixtape US Tour Launch Party from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. tonight. The evening features DJ Graham Funke and DJ StoneRokk, the latter of whom is making his St. Louis debut (he’s known for spinning at LA’s Les Deux and Privilege). Arrive before the crowd for a chance to get your hands on sponsor giveaways. For table reservations or to RSVP, pop an e-mail over to info@synergystl.com.

Saturday, 1/26

Zero to Hero: You’ve played “Mississippi Queen” to the point of carpal-tunnel syndrome, and you’ve had power-chord offs with the best on Xbox LIVE. What’s the next step to Guitar Hero III stardom? Well, it should naturally be the Guitar Hero III Tournament at Westport Plaza (I-270 and Page Avenue, Maryland Heights). Unfortunately for you, the tournament is full. Therefore, you cannot enter the competition to win cash, Nintendo Wiis or gift certificates. What you can do is watch in awe from 5 to 7 p.m. at the plaza’s indoor pavilion, cheer on other guitar gods, and maybe pick up a new move or two!

Cash Out: It will take more than a minor recession to keep bona fide shopaholics away from the racks, though a ginormous sale is probably necessary to attract recreational buyers. At least, that’s our hypothesis for the first annual Cash & Carry Boutique Warehouse Sale, which includes wares from all of your favorite upscale boutiques: Play, Vie, Wish, Jillybean Children’s Boutique, Daisy Clover, Essential Elements, Femme, the Haute Shop and Inspire (just to name a few). Lots of super-cute stuff and lots of discounted prices can be found at Wild Oats Plaza (8823 Ladue Road, Ladue). From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., bring cash (no credit cards or checks accepted) and a shopping buddy.

Play That Folky Music: Bereft of booty-shakin’ and soulja boys, folk music goes a little more beyond the surface. Learn how the genre’s musicians do so at the grand-opening party for the Folk School of St. Louis’ new location at 3155 Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood. Twice the size of the last venue, the custom-built space is open to the public from noon to 3 p.m. for an open house/jam session. For more information call 314-781-2244.

Sunday, 1/27

Share and Share a Bike: Bikers might hold up traffic at times, especially when the rider believes his or her bike is equal in speed to gas-guzzlers. But if you can’t beat ’em, why not join ’em? Wave a white flag at the Bicycle Swap Meet & Classic Bike Show, and ride a tandem bicycle off into the sunset with your new pedaling pals. For an in-depth rundown, Nicole Beckert can fill you in here.

Wine and Dine: A Sunday afternoon is the best time for gluttony. Why? Well, why not? Here’s just the place to get your fill: the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience at the Chase Park Plaza. Learn more about this delectable event here.

-Jeanette Kozlowski

Too soon? Nah.

Spotted yesterday outside the Ben & Jerry's in the Delmar Loop (about a hundred steps from the RFT's offices).

-Unreal

Editor's note: Here's a short piece by Village Voice Media film writer Nathan Lee about the passing of actor Heath Ledger:

What I want to say about the death of Heath Ledger is...nothing. No speculation on why he committed suicide, if he committed suicide. No comment on the chronology, the circumstances, the known facts or lurid details of his passing. No outrage at the ghoulish gathering outside his SoHo apartment, no interest in who may or may not have owned it, not even my revulsion –- violent as it is –- that New York Magazine no sooner posted news of Ledger’s death on its Web site than offered a link to a broker’s listing for a loft in the same building, as if this were just another colorful chapter in the story of Manhattan real estate.

No one saw it coming, everyone says, as if it would be any of our business if we did.

Ledger’s most recent performance belongs to a movie about the artist besieged by critics, cultists, acolytes, and skeptics, inundated with intrusions, expectations, adoration, disillusionment. As the dissolute actor in I’m Not There (how doleful, how morbid that title now becomes), he contributes a bittersweet, reproachful shade to this kaleidoscopic reflection on the necessity, and consequences, of reinvention, an epic contemplation on the thrill, and toll, of a life spent heading for the exit.

What is there to say? His rigorous, wrenching turn in Brokeback Mountain, instantly accepted to the uppermost pantheon, now abides in the ethereal company of Mike Waters, narcoleptic angel of My Own Private Idaho. Like River Phoenix’s lovesick hustler, Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar is a milestone not only of acting but of representation. His forthcoming role as the Joker will be what it is (and we can best respect his memory by letting it play out as free as possible from studio temerity and maniacal punditry), but Ledger’s legacy will always rest on the sad shoulders of a performance that belongs equally to the history of acting and cultural consolation.

Unreal read this past weekend that Chicago Cubs owner Sam Zell may soon sell the naming rights for Wrigley Field is causing quite the stir in the Windy City. We’ve heard suggestions that the city’s other media titan, Oprah Winfrey, should buy the ballpark and rename it a close approximation of its current moniker: Winfrey Field.

But then, why should Wrigley Field’s new name be limited to corporate interests?

We suggest that the Cubs need only to look within themselves -- and specifically at their new outfielder from Japan -- for the perfect ID. Okay, so Kosuke Fukudome pronounces his name Foo-ka-doe-may. But in print his name conjures images of something straight out of a Mad Max film. And for visiting ballclubs, what could be more intimidating than playing in the Fuckudome?

Who knows? With a name like that, the Cubs might actually win the division.

-Unreal

Editor's note: After Devon Alexander beat DeMarcus Corley in New York over the weekend, former RFT staff writer Ben Westhoff checked in with Alexander's trainer, Kevin Cunningham, whom he'd profiled for this paper in 2005:

Trainer Kevin Cunningham is back home with his fighter, Devon Alexander, after their big win Saturday night against DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley at Madison Square Garden.

Cunningham says he and Alexander had a blast in New York, chowing on pizza, visiting Times Square and soaking up the “media frenzy” surrounding the fight. A celebrity-studded affair that drew a crowd of 12,000, the evening also saw Roy Jones Jr. defeat Felix Trinidad, as well as former IBF champion Roman Karmazin’s loss to Alex Bunema. (Karmazin, you may remember, was beaten by Cunningham’s other marquee fighter, Cory Spinks, at the Savvis Center here in July 2006.)

“I had him winning every round,” Cunningham says of Alexander, noting that his opponent, the former junior welterweight champ champion Corley, had lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Zab Judah in close matches. (Never mind that the fading Corley had lost just six weeks earlier.) “For Devon to totally dominate this guy, to beat this guy a lot badder than those guys did, that says something for this young twenty-year-old-kid.” He expects the win will land Alexander in the top five in the world in the junior welterweight division.

Cunningham declines to say how much Alexander earned for the fight but called it “the opportunity of a lifetime” for him and says his next fight will be in St. Louis on March 27, when Spinks fights Verno Phillips. (Alexander’s opponent has yet to be determined.)

As for Cunningham, he recently opened a sports bar in north county, called Knockouts Bar and Grill. According to the St. Louis American, it’s quite the joint: “The black-and-red bedecked sports bar (a boxing motif) weighs in with 18 plasma screens and a 106-inch projection screen. Other amenities include: a 40 ft.-plus bar, 3 pool tables, 3 electronic dart boards, a mirrored danced floor, outdoor promenade and patio, dinning area and a full kitchen and menu.”

(And don’t forget about the Knockout Girls, “attractive women who sport boxing-like shorts and tennis shoes” for whom “looking good every shift is only a round of their fight.”)

“It’s a really hot spot in town,” says Cunningham.

-Ben Westhoff

Only tangentially related to St. Louis, but this is a fascinating site:

Dude's also got a map of New Orleans along the same lines:

With a campaign slogan like “Dubie vs. Blunt ’08” and a moniker like Chief Wana Dubie, you’d think Joseph Bickell is trying to put the party in the 2008 Missouri governor’s race.

But when Bickell (who has been calling himself Chief Wana Dubie since 1990), officially announced his candidacy for governor late last week via his MySpace page (much to the delight of Fark.com), he did so with no party affiliation. Dubie recently learned that the Missouri Libertarian Party is likely to decline his filing fee. A filing fee is a small sum, $200 in the case of a governor, that a candidate must pay a political party in order be able to run on their ticket.

In a MySpace blog entry dated January 13, Dubie writes, “Chief needs a new party. Libertarian party distances itself from the Chief. I guess they think the Chief is too extreme,” and links to this column from the Springfield News-Leader, decrying Wana Dubie’s extreme views. In another post he declares himself “too free for the Libertarian party.”

In 2006 Dubie ran for the Missouri House of Representatives as a Libertarian in the 150th District. He lost, but snagged 4.5 percent of the vote. Dubie, who has a pot leaf tattooed on his forehead, was arrested for growing 135 marijuana plants just before the election.

Greg Tlapek, executive director of the Missouri Libertarian Party, says in a phone interview that the party has not officially declined his fee, which cannot be filed until February 25, but that many party members are opposed to Dubie and his kooky tie-dyed hippie image running for governor as a Libertarian in a year when support for the party is at an all-time high owing to the success of presidential candidate Ron Paul.

“The party did not take official action to keep him off the ballot, but there are some who did not want him to be candidate,” Tlapek reports. “As catchy as it may be to have ‘Dubie versus Blunt,’ we would have received a lot of media attention about it. That’s not how we want the Libertarian Party to be represented to people who don’t know the party’s platform. He took his own action, it was his own decision not to run as a Libertarian, but it does not displease a lot of people in the party.”

Tlapek says the party does not currently have a candidate for governor.

The Missouri Libertarian Party last refused a filing fee in 2006, when Glenn Miller, a white supremacist, attempted to run for Congress as a Libertarian. (Miller was turned down by the Republicans and Democrats as well.)

“I’m personally against the idea of refusing even the white supremacist’s fee,” Tlapek says. “It sets a bad precedent -- that party insiders get to decide who they vote on. That’s the whole purpose of a primary: to get the decisions out of a smoke-filled back room. Well, we’ve kind of thrown it back into room by letting political insiders decide who runs.”

Incidentally, earlier in the week the U.S. Supreme Court had voted unanimously to uphold precisely such a policy.

“Party conventions, with their attendant ‘smoke-filled rooms’ and domination by party leaders, have long been an accepted manner of selecting party candidates,” Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in a twleve-page opinion on the decision.

Not everyone involved in the Libertarian Party is opposed to Wana Dubie running.

“Returning his filing fee would not only be stump-stupid, it would also be at least close to an abuse of power,” writes Thomas Knapp, a member of the St. Louis County Libertarian Central Committee in an e-mail to Tlapek that’s posted on Wana Dubie’s MySpace blog. “If we want press, I suppose that publicly repudiating the MOLP candidate who turned in the best performance in a three-way race in 2006, and who arguably achieved not only the most, but the most positive, publicity for the MOLP in that year, is one way to get it.”

“That is internal party discussion. It should not be on his blog. That’s stuff that should have been just internal party information,” Tlapek says.

The Libertarian Party isn’t the only natural ally that doesn’t want any part of the Chief. Dan Viets, an attorney who coordinates the Missouri chapter of NORML, says his organization can’t endorse candidates owing to its nonprofit status, but if it could, Wana Dubie would be NORML’s last choice.

“I guess I could call myself Chief Wana Abortion and declare myself a candidate and try and to get Planned Parenthood to help me, but they’d stay a mile away from me,” says Viets. “[Wana Dubie] doesn’t do anything to further the debate on [the issue of medical marijuana]. I can’t see that he does a goddamn thing other than bring attention to himself.”

-Keegan Hamilton

Two weeks ago I reported that Landmarks Association of St. Louis was scrambling to secure funding for a new downtown space it has planned, Architecture St. Louis. The project’s main underwriter, Larry Cohn, had pledged $500,000. He even wrote a check for a portion of that sum, but the check bounced.

Cohn had donated or pledged similarly large sums around town, but since last summer he has virtually disappeared.

Landmarks still hopes to find enough money to fund the project, slated for a ground-floor space in the Lammert Building on Washington Avenue. (Not coincidentally, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects is another ground-floor tenant in the Lammert.) The goal is to provide a venue in which to mount exhibitions, lead tours of building projects and host public forums.

“There are people that care about the built environment, but they don’t have a place to go,” says William Wischmeyer, president of Landmarks’ board of directors.

He thinks Landmarks will reach its goal. “We’ve raised enough money that we’re within $150,000 of making this thing go,” Wischmeyer reports. “We can sign the lease, sign construction contracts, then we can move in.”

In the wake of the bounced check, longtime Landmarks supporter H. Meade Summers Jr. has donated $200,000. The plea for year-end donations Wischmeyer sent to the membership in November netted another $50,000.

“The entire board has been charged with the responsibility to get out there and be very vigorous with whatever contacts they have,” Wischmeyer says, adding that he hopes heavy hitters in the development and construction business will come forward. “There’s certainly people that have done well by historic preservation in the last few years,” he notes.

That said, creating Architecture St. Louis represents a big step for Landmarks, whose main function during its several decades of existence has been to research and make nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to amped-up fundraising, the new venture would doubtless entail more public interaction.

So who is going to lead the charge?

Executive director Carolyn Toft, the public face of local historic-preservation activism for decades, declined to comment about Landmarks’ dealings with Larry Cohn, despite the fact that she’s apparently the only person at the nonprofit who knows Cohn personally.

According to Wischmeyer, Toft aims to retire “within a reasonable period of time.” At any rate, he adds, he doesn’t want to see fundraising fall entirely to her or her successor.

“Our board has been made up of people that are passionate about preservation. As our board evolves, to support this new initiative we will be looking for new board members that have the kind of skills we need on a board to sustain ourselves.”

-Kathleen McLaughlin

A few years back, Ben Westhoff profiled local boxing trainer Kevin Cunningham, corner man to the pride of St. Louis', Cory Spinks. But the ultimate focus of the story, written in the wake of Spinks' deflating defeat at the hands of Zab Judah, was an up-and-coming welterweight named Devon Alexander.

Alexander, a seventeen-year-old senior at Vashon High School at the time, had fought on the on the February 5, 2005, Spinks-Judah undercard and won a unanimous decision against Mexican Donovan Castaneda, to raise his pro record to 3-0.

Flash forward to this past Friday night at Madison Square Garden, where Alexander had a prominent spot on the undercard to the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad graybeard special.

Against former junior welterweight champ DeMarcus Corley (31-8-1, 17 KOs), Alexander -- who's still under Cunningham's wing -- won a unanimous twelve-round decision, bringing his pro record to 14-0.

"It felt great to go 12 rounds with