Poll: Would You Support A 3/16¢ Parks/Arch Sales Tax Increase

In November voters in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County may be asked to approve a 3/16¢ sales tax increase:

An obscure bill moving through the Legislature includes a provision that would allow residents to vote — possibly in November — on raising sales taxes in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County by three-sixteenths of a cent (0.1875) for the Arch project and other area parks. (STLtoday.com)

The CityArchRiver group and Civic Progress say the sales tax revenue is needed to pay off bonds to complete planned improvements to better connect the Arch to the city. Much of the money would fund parks in each taxing jurisdiction:

Susan Trautman with the Greenway District says only 30 percent of the tax would go to the Archgrounds. The rest would go towards improving local and regional parks and trails.

[snip]

The tax increase would only last 20 years and collect enough money to pay for a $120 million bond issue to help pay for the project. (KMOV)

Voters in Illinois may also be asked to support a small tax increase as well. This is the subject for the poll this week — the poll is located in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

Remembering Wendell O. Pruitt and William L. Igoe

Pruitt & Igoe will forever be known around the world as the names on the biggest failure in modernist public housing, Pruitt-Igoe. When the Pruitt-Igoe complex was designed it was to be racially segregated. The black portion was named after Wendell O. Pruitt and the white portion after William L. Igoe. Who were these men?

Pruitt

Wendell Oliver Pruitt (June 20, 1920–April 15, 1945) was a pioneering African-American military pilot and Tuskegee Airman originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was killed during a training exercise in 1945. After his death, his name, along with William L. Igoe’s was given to the notorious Pruitt–Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis.

Pruitt grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, as the youngest of ten children to Elijah and Melanie Pruitt and attended Sumner High School. He then furthered his education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, becoming a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Pruitt, already a licensed pilot, enlisted in the Army Air Corps Cadet Flying Program in Tuskegee, Alabama, eventually graduating and being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on December 11, 1942.

After graduating from flight school at Tuskegee, Pruitt was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group, then stationed in Michigan. The 332nd was transferred to the Mediterranean theater in late 1943 where Pruitt flew the P-47 Thunderbolt.

In June 1944, Pruitt and his occasional wingman, 1st Lt. Gwynne Walker Peirson, landed direct hits on an enemy destroyer that sank at Trieste harbor in northern Italy. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this action. Thereafter, the 332nd flew the P-51 Mustang as their primary fighter aircraft.

Pruitt teamed with Lee Archer to form the famed “Gruesome Twosome”, the most successful pair of Tuskegee pilots in terms of air victories. The “Gruesome Twosome” are featured in a History Channel show entitled Dogfights: Tuskegee Airmen. Pruitt flew seventy combat missions, was credited with 3 enemy kills, and reached the rank of captain. (Wikipedia)

Wow, a very impressive young man! Read more here and here. Pruitt is buried at St. Peters Cemetary in Normandy (source). His parents died in the 1960s and are also buried there.

Pruitt couldn’t have been any more different from Igoe.

Igoe

William Leo Igoe (October 19, 1879 – April 20, 1953) was a United States Representative from Missouri. He attended the public and parochial schools of St. Louis and graduated from the law school of Washington University in St. Louis in 1902. He was admitted to the bar in the same year and commenced the practice of law in St. Louis. He was member of the municipal assembly of St. Louis from 1909 until March 3, 1913, when he resigned to enter the United States Congress.

Igoe was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1913-March 3, 1921). He declined to become a candidate for renomination in 1920. He resumed the practice of law and was an unsuccessful Democratic nominee for mayor of St. Louis in 1925. He was chairman of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners 1933-1937. He died in St. Louis on April 20, 1953 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery. (Wikipedia)

Igoe lived a long life — 73 — and had an impressive career. Clearly he was a man of privilege, maybe his accomplishments were just average  given his background?

Two men who likely never crossed paths are forever linked.

– Steve Patterson

Four Decades Since First Demolition At Pruitt-Igoe

Forty years ago today the first of Pruitt-Igoe’s 33 high rise towers was leveled by implosion. Today most of the site remains vacant and overgrown.

I first walked the site over 20 years ago, it was easier to traverse in 1991. Amazing the site can sit vacant for a longer period than the buildings did.

Here are a couple of short videos you might find interesting:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYrMUcT1jP4

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVpN6Wl7Qm0

– Steve Patterson

Glad At Least A Few Blocks Of Grand Were Saved From Demolition

I was in the Grand Center part of Midtown Thursday night. Grand Center is centered on a too short 3-4 block stretch of North Grand that was not razed for urban renewal to the north of Delmar or grass south of Olive. Many buildings stood vacant for years, some remain vacant today. One recently occupied is the former headquarters of Carter Carburator at 711 North Grand.

The Grand Center Arts Academy is “a charter school for visual and performing arts.”  The school moved into the building last year. I’m grateful buildings like this weren’t razed by short sided people so it could contribute to the streetscape along Grand and provide comfort to me as I waited on Delmar for the bus home. Hopefully I’ll get  a tour of the inside soon.

 – Steve Patterson

Readers Support HB1380 Preventing Homeowner’s Associations From Banning Political Signs

More than half of the few who took the poll last week thought it was a good idea to prevent homeowner’s associations from restricting political signs.

Q: HB1380 would prevent homeowner’s associations from banning political signs in the state. Thoughts?

1. Good, these associations can be way too restrictive 37 [56.06%]
2. Bad, buy elsewhere if you don’t like the rules 18 [27.27%]
3. Neutral 8 [12.12%]
4. Other: 3 [4.55%]

The three “other” answers provided by readers were:

1. of all the things for politicos to take a stand against, campaign signs?
2. Political signs should not have a time restriction.
3. Doesn’t the state legislature have more important things to work on?

You can read the original post and comments here.

– Steve Patterson