InterPlay, An Interactive Conference 9/19-20

The St Louis Bloggers’ Guild is putting on InterPLAY, an interactive conference this weekend in the loop. Also this weekend in the loop is PLAY:stl, a music festival.  Wristbands for the blogger conference get you into everything.  I’m on the last panel at 5pm on Saturday.

Here is some info as sent out by the St Louis Bloggers’ Guild:

We had so many wonderful ideas to choose from it was difficult narrowing things down to a range that we both afford to put on and manage. We opened it up to the community and asked ideas as well as talked to St. Louis area bloggers and social media participants. The feedback was phenomenal. We’re excited about the panels offered and our knowledgeable speakers and moderators.
Panels have been broken up into three tracks: Lifestyle, Geek Chic, and Bid’ness. Hey – we figured “bid’ness” was way better than plain ol’ “business.” We’re nerds, for crying out loud, come on.

Remember: the conference is part of the PLAY:stl festival; the interactive portion runs specifically on September 19-20th.
Locations:
Screenz – 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO 63130 314.862.0009
Blueberry Hill (Elvis Room) – 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO 63130 314.727.4444
COCA – 524 Trinity Ave., University City, MO 63130 314.725.6555

Panels Friday, 9.19.08
Bidness – The Small Business and Social Media – Friday 4pm @Screenz
How prominent is your business’s online profile? Is it necessary to build relationships with bloggers and others in social media? Learn just how important social media is to your business – along with how to save your advertising budget dollars, build a viral marketing campaign, increase word of mouth, and other “guerilla marketing” techniques. Featuring Marianne Richmond, David Gray, Matt Homann, and Madalyn Sklar; moderated by Melody Meiners.
Geek Chic – Promoting Your Website – Ways to Increase Your Traffic presentation – Friday 5pm @Screenz
Learn how to use basic legitimate Search Engine Optimization techniques to increase your search engine ranking for relevant search terms. Discover how to use directories and aggregators to broaden your audience without cutting into your traffic and explore reputable ways to attract attention from metablogs. Featuring Will Hanke, Ellen Gooch; moderated by Jaelithe Judy.

Lifestyle – Sprout’s Invasion of the Mommybloggers – Friday 5pm @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
Discuss the growing, powerful community of mothers who write about the joys and trials parenting on the internet and why they’re so attractive to corporate America. What defines a so-called “Mommyblogger” and how are mothers in a world increasingly lacking in in-person social connections benefiting from relationships with other parents online? Is there a way to parlay this social connection into “meatspace?” And how does privacy figure into it? Featuring Angela Reiner Downing, Kelly Wickham, and Lisa Bertrand; moderated by Dana Loesch.

Panels Saturday, 9.20.08
Geek Chic – CSS for Rest of Us – Saturday 11am @Screenz
Consult with web programming pros in this workshop and learn how to use cascading style sheets to create a unified, professional look for your site. Featuring John Judy, Craig Mayhem, moderated by Melody Meiners.

Lifestyle – Blogging and Social Media 101 – Saturday 11am @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
An introduction to the world of blogging and social media. What is social media? What is Web 2.0? Learn that and more from those who were there when it all began. Featuring Ben Vierck, Tanner Hobin, and Mike Flynn; moderated by Todd Jordan.

Bid’ness – Bloggers’ Rights: Protecting Your Intellectual Property – Saturday 12pm @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
A brief introduction to basic copyright and trademark law and the Creative Commons copyright system, plus discussion on ways to confront and combat sploggers (spam bloggers) who take your work without permission. Pick the brains of prominent regional intellectual property and internet attorneys. Featuring Erick Kayira, Danica Mathes of Kayira Law, LLP; and Kim Dorsey of Senniger Powers; moderated by Dana Loesch.

Geek Chic – Multi-media panel: Podcasting & Vlogging – Saturday 1pm @Screenz
Learn the basics of creating a successful internet radio or digital video show. Talk with successful podcasters and explore different hosting options, ways to market your new show, and techniques to attract and keep loyal listeners. Featuring Craig Mayhem, Mutha Mae; moderated by Bill Streeter of LoFi St. Louis.

Bid’ness – The Emerging Ethics of Social Media – Saturday 1pm @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
A roundtable discussion on the ethical questions surrounding the world of social media. Topics addressed may include: privacy of bloggers and those whom bloggers write about; truthfulness v. artistic license; email and comment etiquette; and more. Featuring Todd Jordan, Jaelithe Judy, moderated by Matt Homann.

Bid’ness – If You Build It, Will They Come? Branding Yourself Online – Saturday 2pm @Screenz
Learn how to create and maintain a unique, instantly recognizable brand identity for all of your online endeavors from successful bloggers who have done it themselves. Featuring Bill Streeter, Kristie Love, Dana Loesch, moderated by Marianne Richmond.

Lifestyle – Cyberbullying – Saturday 2pm @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
An apropos topic in our state of Missouri – which became the first to outlaw “cyberbullying” with a controversial new law. This panel will host an open discussion on online safety and privacy issues that all internet users face. Explore ways to protect yourself and your family while still participating in online communities. Featuring Elizabeth Helfant, Matt Homann, Kim Dorsey, Dana Loesch; moderated by Lisa Bertrand.

Geek Chic – Beyond Point and Shoot: Taking Better Photos – Saturday 3pm @Screenz
Learn techniques to take a better photo as well as ways to bring out the best in your photography from some of the most popular photo-bloggers in the area. Featuring Raquita, David Gray, moderated by Jonathan Pollack.

Bid’ness – Beyond Banner Ads: Monetizing Your Website – Saturday 9/20 @ 3pm
Meet with bloggers who have successfully transitioned from amateur blogging to the professional blogging world. Learn basic, reputable ways you can begin to earn some monetary compensation for all the work you put into blogging, and discover pitfalls to avoid when seeking ways to turn your hobby into a source of income. Featuring Alanna Kellogg, Lisa Bertrand, Dana Loesch; moderated by Kristie Steinlage.

Bid’ness – Thinking Outside the Jewel Box: Using Social Media to Promote Your Music – Saturday 4pm @Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room
A special panel celebrating the new relationship between PLAYBACK:stl and the St. Louis Bloggers’ Guild! Explore ways musicians can tap into the power of social networking and blogging to promote their work, connect with fellow musicians, producers, and promoters, and engage directly with fans. Featuring Chris Loesch of Shock City Music Works, Kurt Kerns of New Tune of the Week, Ken Williams of iChannel, moderated by Bill Streeter.

Lifestyle – Webroots: Political/ Activist Blogging – Saturday 5pm @Screenz
As blogs are becoming the new penny presses, so are they now also the hottest grassroots tool for campaigns and for other political issues. Discuss impact “Webroots” blogs have on a community, the successes and failures of this medium, and the reason that compels these mavericks to do what they do. Featuring John Combest, Arch City Chronicle’s Dave Drebes, Steve Patterson of Urban Review STL, and Momocrats’ Jaelithe Judy; moderated by Dana Loesch (also of KFTK 97.1 FM Talk’s “The Dana Show”).

How Affordable is Affordable?

A few weeks ago I did a post called Food, Clothing & Shelter on the issue of a decent home for all. One comment from reader & frequent guest blogger Jim Zavist read:

What’s particularly interesting locally is the perception that there’s actually a lack of affordable housing around here. Go to realtor.com, put in St. Louis and a $20,000 maximum cost and you get 298 possibilities. Do the same thing with Denver (a similar-sized metro area) and you get 1 condo for $18,450! Increase the threshold to $50,000 and you increase the total pool in Denver to 93. In either city, are some money pits? Of course! And are some in crime-ridden neighborhoods? Yes. But if the choice is between under a bridge or a roof over one’s head, the choice should be pretty obvious. And the math is pretty easy – for a $25,000 property, 10% down is $2500 and the monthly payments should be less than $200, less than many car payments! So, yeah, you can’t fix stupid/undo bad choices, but if you can find and keep a job, even a minimum wage one, you can find a place to live – the whole trick is in the job part.

That comment was followed by:

Jim Zavist: Excellent, EXCELLENT, point you raised. To talk about a lack of ‘affordable housing’ in St. Louis is a joke. A quick scan of CraigsList or Riverfront Times reveals many apartments in decent areas such as one-bedroom units in south city…while in Boston $400 can’t hardly rent a cardboard box in an alley. Actually I was told by a Boston realtor that anything less than $1,000 will be a studio in a rough area. St. Louis has some of the most affordable housing stock in America.

So what can that person making minimum wage afford? Missouri’s Minimum Wage is $6.65 an hour. Work 52 40-hour weeks and that gives you a gross income of $13,832 or $1,152.67 per month. Thirty percent of your gross income is considered the maximum amount to pay for housing – rent & utilities – and still have money for food and other living expenses. That is $345.80 for rent/mortgage & utilities. I’m doubting such places are going to have highly efficient heating & cooling systems or good thermal windows or insulation in the attic. I’d estimate at least $200/month for gas & electric, on average. So that leaves $145.80 for rent/mortgage. I’ve not seen too many places out there with that kind of rent. This also hasn’t made any provisions for renters/property insurance.

What about the person starting off as say an armed Park Ranger for the City Of St Louis with initial pay of $26,988 per year? Thirty percent of this monthly income is $647.70. If we assume the same $200/month in utilities that leaves $447.70 for rent/mortgage/insurance. This Park Ranger can probably find a place to live, good thing they already have a gun.

I’ve been in a number of sub-$50K places. Scary. Most would not be habitable by most standards, certainly not the city’s housing conservation standards. Most need further investment to get them to a very minimum level of acceptability. Getting a mortgage on such places was difficult even in the most liberal of lending times. Those days are over.

Getting a lender to do a mortgage for under $40K is unlikely.

I’ve sold one two-family building with one unit rented to a Section 8 family. While they were working they could not afford market rate rents. This place was safe and in an OK location by my standards — others would be afraid to be there. I think they paid less than $100/month with the Section 8 program making up the difference – roughly $400/month.

Affordability is a relative standard. When you can’t afford gas & insurance on an old clunker, mortgage payments relative to a car payment is meaningless. When you are looking down from a comfortable middle-class position it easy to consider those below as being stupid or the victim of bad decisions.

The fact is we have many hard working individuals & families doing jobs that simply don’t pay that well. What if all these people suddenly got better paying jobs? Who would clean your office at night? Who would serve you that latte at the drive-thru? Who would stock the shelves where you shop? We all rely heavily on the work done by many people who make low wages.  Income is not a measure of intellect.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the housing they might be able to afford is often located many miles from available work. Housing near work is probably not affordable. The bus may take them 60-90 minutes or more each way.

We do have an affordable housing issue. Few jobs exist around what affordable housing we do have. When municipalities zone out small apartments & houses it is done to keep the price so that it is not affordable to the lowest income among us.  Without concerted efforts we would not have the more affordable options that we do have.

Universal Design Summit III – Creating Livable Communities, Sept 21-23

Universal design is not about going all urban renewal on the universe. Instead it is about designs that can serve the maximum number of potential users. The idea is to create spaces, be they private homes or public spaces, that serve all universally. A major summit on Universal Design begins Sunday at St Louis University.

Universal Design Summit III – Creating Livable Communities, Sept 21-23 brings together architects & developers to talk about efforts to reduce barriers to universal access.  If you are in the design field you need to consider attending.

Links:

• Official Website with online registration
• Agenda (PDF)
• Wiki on Universal Design

I’ll be attending this event so I plan a summary post on the three days of tours & sessions.

A Great Morning at Lucas Park

This past Saturday morning I made my way two blocks East of my loft to Lucas Park, not sure what to expect. As I arrived so did others. It was just before 8am.

After the smoker was set up to start cooking lunch, volunteers began working. This was not about cleaning up daily trash from the homeless and others. This was about basic park cleaning — something that had been long ignored. We started with a mess:

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Lucas Park looks a thousand times better when we left vs. when we arrived. However much work remains.

Overall the infrastructure of the park, with a few exceptions, is in very good condition. There has been talk for years about major fund raising to do a major renovation of the park. I had supported such an effort. Had, but no longer. The park still needs things that require money, it just doesn’t need a major overhaul. A restoration is more in order. The Park’s page on the city’s website helps explain some of the history of the park which was deeded to the city in 1857:

The entire 6.25 acres was named Missouri Park and provided popular downtown breathing space until the erection of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in 1883. Licensed to a private corporation for a period of 50 years, the ground was restored to use as a park in 1907 and designs for the Italian Renaissance inspired library building were drawn up by the famous architect Cass Gilbert. The library was completed in 1912.

Locust Street was reopened behind the Library from 13th to 14th Streets and the present sunken garden with its fountain was developed.

Sculptress Nancy Coonsman Hahn’s stone benches dot the landscape.

The park is beautifully laid out and is deserving of the renewed interest it is receiving. The old stone benches are a delight to view. These should not be removed/replaced. Some other benches are worn but they are equally as old, presumably. For them, a good coat of paint on the wood slats would do wonders.

I’m certainly a tree hugger but I think we need to evaluate the trees on the park’s perimeter. Photos from the 1920s & 1960s both show a park full of flowers but sans trees. A few of the trees are deciduous while most are like a cypress – not exactly my favorite. I’m not a fan of cutting down trees but again I’d like to get an opinion from a professional arborist on the specimens in the park.

The sidewalks, steps and such are all in very good condition and have a pleasant layout, no point changing that. An exception might be the West edge along 14th street — the sidewalk is very narrow there. If those trees come out we’d have room for a wider sidewalk with new trees planted next to the curb.

The fountain doesn’t need a major rebuild either. The spray is barely there — just clean/repair/replace the equipment. The basin is fine.

The grass areas have been built up over the years as thatch has increased. Most of the lawn areas could benefit from being reduced by 2″-6″ in height. Given the layout of the park this could be done a section at a time. As each section is done it could be fenced off so that new grass seed could take hold. Do one section per year for the new few?

Opening up the perimeter by cutting down some of the cypress trees would allow more light from adjacent streetlights to enter the center of the park. The fixtures in the center are newer and are likely adequate for the job.

Historic photos show flower beds arranged in the city’s fleur de lies pattern. Fancy shaped beds might be pushing it but I do think some planing areas are needed. Recent plantings in Kiener Plaza illustrate the impact some bold plantings can have on a public space. A start would be say four large squares — one per corner of the fountain. I’d like to see the beds started this Fall and planted out next Spring when other plantings are done downtown.

For a while now the East end of the park has been a playground area for a nearby day care center. But they’ve moved to the Motor Loft building at 22nd & Washington. The fenced area left behind is now serving as a unofficial downtown dog park. It is great to see dogs frolicking with other dogs while off leash. This needs to move to an official status.

Converting the old fenced playground to use as a dog park is not a major project either. A few old playground items remain. These need to be moved to the West end of the park, relocated elsewhere, or discarded. Grid wire needs to be attached to the interior of the existing metal fence to keep small dogs from getting out. Material cost would be under $200. A second gate needs to be added so that as someone new enters dogs are not able to escape. The issue of having the dog park open to any dog owner vs. having to be a member needs to be resolved. I like openness but I can understand dog owners wanting to ensure their dogs are playing with others that have proper shots and such.

Sprinkler lines are broken and keeping a portion of the park soggy. The fountain needs repair to work properly.

I learned that one of the loft residents volunteering was homeless twice when younger. Our volunteer group included both owners & renters. Renters are often not viewed as the type to get involved as they don’t have a financial stake where they live. However, downtown is a tight knit walkable neighborhood where most of the residents (owners, renters & homeless) care about the quality of the neighborhood.

Most of the park’s users are homeless. Some thanked our group for the effort put forward in the park — it is now more attractive for everyone. Some helped. We had a couple of the mentally unstable belligerent types that were being loud and acting all crazy, making everyone feel uncomfortable – they were a very small minority. One in our crew had a chat with one such man. I don’t know what she said to him but after their conversation he quieted down and did a great job helping us

I spent quite a bit of time talking with one homeless man now about six months into his second time being homeless. It always surprises me when I meet someone on the street that is so well spoken, is well read and such. This man, I’ll use his initials — FWC, goes to the Horizon Club on 23rd Street just South of Olive. The Horizon Club opened a year ago and is a 24/7 “safe haven” for the homeless (see article on opening). Members get to use the facility for up to six hours per day. Here the homeless can shower, do laundry, check email and store some possessions so they don’t have to carry everything on them.

FWC has a cell phone – one of those pre-paid types. This allows him to give out the number to prospective employers, he has a job interview on Tuesday. I emailed him to give him some encouragement and to thank him for our conversation. I got a nice reply back early Sunday morning.

Looking at him you’d have no idea he is homeless. His hair & beard are nicely trimmed and his clothes were clean and well fitting. The beard might be a giveaway — it is probably easier to keep a beard looking good than it is to stay clean shaven. Still just seeing him walking down the sidewalk he would not stand out as homeless.

At one point we were talking and a homeless couple he knew came up. They were eating some fried chicken being handed out out of a van by a church group. He had just asked me if I knew why the city was cracking down on that practice. I said the concern was about how the food was prepared & stored and also about the resulting trash. This couple, not hearing our conversation about trash, commented that with all the work going on to clean the park that some of the other homeless would still leave their trash on the ground despite an abundance of trash cans. It was great to be talking to three homeless individuals that were as equally put off by behavior of some of the other homeless. The homeless, like those of us with homes, are not all the same. A small minority often gives the larger group a bad rap.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch sent a reporter and photographer to cover the clean-up project, each was in the park for a good two hours. I’m looking forward to the story. I didn’t talk to the reporter. I probably could talked to her but I have my own venue here so I figured I’d just let her talk to whomever she wanted to.

My help was minimal on Saturday morning. What can I do from a wheelchair? Even if I hod gotten my cane out I still wouldn’t have been that useful as the cane would occupy my one good hand. So I took photos and went around to various groups giving them praise for the work they were doing. At one point I picked up a push broom while seated in my chair. I was able to sweep a bit of gravel using the broom one-handed but I quickly tired from that – a big push broom is heavy when held by one hand. But the positive energy in the park was exciting. We had probably 40 volunteers over the course of about 3 hours.

Later this week our small core group is meeting to plan out the next step. This will likely involve finishing the edging, power washing the sidewalks, painting the wooden benches, and other such details. Saturday morning proved to me that a small group of individuals with borrowed tools from Operation Brightside can make a big difference. While I want to work on long term planning for capital improvements in the park I also want to see how far we can get in the short term. As local residents begin using the park we’ll get a better idea of what improvements/changes are relevant to those who use the park. My goal is to take Lucas Park from a homeless-only park to a park enjoyed by all.

Looking Ahead To March 3, 2009

The November Presidential election is just around the corner but locally speculation is running high for the St Louis Democratic Primary on March 3, 2009. The general is in April but in our one party town the real election is the primary for the Democratic Party. While the local Democrats may all come together to elect President Obama they’ll be split apart by the beginning of March 2009.

The main buzz is about potential challengers to Mayor Francis Slay, who will be seeking a third 4-year term. Former Alderman and current License Collector Mike McMillan is mentioned often. Outgoing State Senator Maida Coleman is also thought to be considering a run. State Rep Tom Villa is term limited like Sen. Coleman. Villa — a former President of the Board of Alderman, is thought to be pondering a run as well. Each of these three would be formidable opposition for Slay — more so than frequent candidate Bill Haas.

Slay’s hefty campaign bank account is thought to discourage serious competition. Very likely that is the case. Which is unfortunate as competition is healthy. So getting someone fresh to run is very unlikely as the cost to get their name out there in front of the voters is more than a grass-roots campaign can overcome. With no limits to fund raising a wealthy candidate might be able to get the job done.

But for McMillan, Coleman & Villa they already have good name recognition. Each has won a city-wide or large district election at least once. Each is also a seasoned politician. Villa & Coleman are out of their current positions anyway due to term limits. What do they have to lose by running? McMillan was elected License Collector in 2007 so he could run for Mayor in 2009 without risking his current position.

Which brings us to Comptroller Darlene Green. Her office is up for re-election at the same time. For her to run for Mayor would mean not running for Comptroller. Green can probably very easily win re-election to the position of Comptroller but a run for Mayor wouldn’t be so easy. Giving up a pretty sure thing on the chance for a higher office is a tough decision.

Another former President of the Board of Aldermen that might run is Jim Shrewsbury, who was defeated by Lewis Reed in 2007. Reed is another name to watch although I don’t see him moving up just yet. Like McMillan, Reed could run and still retain his office if he lost.

Should be an interesting election if one or more people do try to limit Slay to two terms in office.

And then we have the election of half of the Board of Aldermen. The odd-numbered wards are up in 2009. It’s hard to believe its been nearly four years since I ran for Alderman in the 25th ward, and lost 44.1% to 55.9%.

I haven’t seen anything on the 1st. Anyone out there to challenge Troupe?

In the 3rd Ward look for a rematch of the 2005 race between incumbent Freeman Bosley Sr and Jeffry Hardin. In 2005 Hardin barely lost.

April Ford-Griffin wasn’t the Alderman back when I lived in the 5th Ward. She is the one that told me you don’t use zoning to communicate a community vision — you use zoning as a means of politically extracting something out of a developer. See post w/video here.

The 7th: No secrets here, I’d love to see someone more pro-active in this seat.  Someone to lead the ward to articulate a collective vision for future development rather than sponsor quickly closing coffee drive-thrus lacking pedestrian access and even faster closing furniture stores.  Someone that will work to get rid of the taxi stand from the sidewalk in front of the convention center.

Ken Ortmann, in the 9th, is a nice guy and less conventional than most.  You also can’t email him.  We are well into the 21st century, email is a must for anyone expecting to serve the public well.

In the 11th Matt “Loughborough Commons” Villa will probably be re-elected again simply based on the fact nobody is likely to run against him. Election to a 4-year office due to lack of an opponent is just mind boggling to me. This part of St Louis has been represented by a Villa for decades. Family legacies are hard to break.

Fred Wessels, in the 13th, was my alderman from 1994-2001 when redistricting meant I was then in the 25th – by one block.   Like most I just don’t see any progressive or pro-active action here.  Very old school.

Will he or won’t he? In 2001 Mike Daus lost the election for Alderman in the 15th by like 20 votes to Jennifer Florida. Daus is now termed out of office as a State Rep and is thought to be considering a rematch with Florida – this time with 8 years experience as a State Rep under his belt. I hope he runs, it would make the 15th one of the most interesting of aldermanic races in 2009.

17th: Joe Roddy had a strong challenge in 2005 from Rodney Burchfield.  Will he be back for a second round or will someone else go for the 17th

The 19th is McMillan’s former ward. Marlene Davis was elected to the aldermanic seat in a special election when McMillan resigned to take office as the License Collector. This election will be the first full term election for Ald. Davis.

I’m just guessing we’ll see a race in the 21st.  This ward likes a good race.

Kathleen Hanrahan is the 23rd Alderman.  With Mayor Slay leaving the ward when he moves to his new house this may change the dynamics, although his father is still the committeeman.  I’m just not inspired by Hanrahan anymore than I am by most of the others.

In the 25th we know only that I won’t be running as I did in 2005 as I moved to the 6th ward in late 2007. Presumably Dorothy Kirner will seek another term in office?

Like the 23rd I think we’ll see a challenge in the 27th.  Just a hunch.

And yes, we have too many seats on the Board of Aldermen.  Eliminating party affiliation for municipal/county offices, reducing the number of aldermen and setting term limits would do wonders to keep new blood in the system.