A Year Ago Today Copia Was Destroyed By An Arsonist

I was up early the morning of the 29th but not as early as residents of buildings near Copia in the 11xx block of Washington Ave. Click here to read my post from a year ago.

The butler did it!  Close, it was the ex-busboy.

From the St Louis Post-Dispatch on September 13, 2008:

A disgruntled former busboy admitted Friday that he started the three-alarm fire at a downtown St. Louis wine bar and restaurant late last year that caused more than $2.6 million in damage.

Gilbert Summers, 26, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to a single arson charge in federal court in St. Louis and now faces a minimum of five years in prison.

He was fired from Copia Urban Winery in mid- to late 2007, after being spotted trying to cash another employee’s check, court documents show. He then applied unsuccessfully for unemployment compensation.

Summers tried to get his revenge on Dec. 29. He waited until 3 a.m., when he thought everyone was gone, then set three fires in patio, banquet and storage areas at Copia, 1122 Washington Avenue, and the Vanguard Lofts building next door, officials said.

“I did not intend to hurt nobody,” Summers told U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey on Friday.

A year later the restaurant is still closed.  However, the back of the building has been gutted in preparation for the rebuilding.

The fire was tragic, arson always is.  Thankfully nobody got hurt.  But I have to say this block of Washington Ave has been more pleasant without this one restaurant consuming all the on-street parking with their valets.  When they re-open hopefully they can work with Flamingo Bowl owner Joe Edwards on a shared valet service on Friday & Saturday nights.  Although if Joe Edwards has seen this 2006 video with me and Copia’s owner, Eyad Tammas, he may not feel much like cooperating.

I welcome the return of Copia in 2009.  I just want to make sure they play nice with their neighboring businesses.

Take the UrbanReviewSTL Reader Survey

In the interest of gathering more data on those who read my blog I’ve put together a short annonymous survey. The survey is brief and will only take you a few minutes to complete.  This is the same program I’m using to create my 2009 Candidate Questionaire so this is also a trial run before the candidate survey is opened next year.  This survey will remain open until 5pm on 2/28/2009 midnight on 12/31/08.  Take the UrbanReviewSTL Reader Survey.  Thank you!

Addendum 12/26/08 @ 9:30am.

The responses are coming in, thank you!  Your responses will be very helpful when talking to advertisers.  Reader Survey 2.0 will be out in October 2009  — I’m already getting good ideas for improvements to both the questions and standard answers.  Use the comments below to provide post survey feedback.

Addendum 12/28/08 @ 5:45pm.

I shortened the time in which the survey will remain open.

The Gift You Know Can’t Fail

Individuals have holiday traditions.  Families too.  If you are from Oklahoma, ever lived there or even visited during the holidays, then you are aware of another tradition — the B.C. Clark anniversary sale:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LJBB65r-9o[/youtube]

This is my 18th Christmas living in St Louis but I try to make sure I play this jingle every year around this time of year.  This jingle has been a tradition for this company since 1956.  They even have a special website, www.iheartthejingle.com, with old TV commercials and a MP3 for downloading.

In 2006 the family owned business celebrated the 50th anniversary of the jingle:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEFd2lCHCcE[/youtube]

I like that this family has operated this business for well over a hundred years — starting it 15 years before Oklahoma became a state!  I dislike  the commercialism of this season but somehow this jingle is above that.  Hearing it brings back my childhood memories of Christmas.

I like funny little traditions that people have for the holidays.  My friend Lois and I have spent nearly every Thanksgiving together for over a decade.  Our tradition?  Drink Cosmopolitans while cooking.

Happy Holidays everyone! – Steve

Still Time For Candidates To File

Those sitting on the fence contemplating a run for the St Louis Board of Aldermen still have time to file for the office — the deadline is Friday January 2, 2009.  Fourteen odd-numbered wards are up this coming Spring.  In a democracy it is important to have choices come election day.

Your current elected alderman may be a nice person.  He or she may also have the best of intentions — or at least they did when first elected.  Some were first elected before many of you were born.

The Board of Aldermen has, in general, become a stagnant institution.  Fresh ideas about positioning St Louis to meet 21st century problems do not originate there.

Remember that in 2010 we will have a new census which means we’ll have redistricting of the ward boundaries in 2011.  The Aldermen from odd numbered wards will have a hand in these boundaries that will be in place through 2021.  All elections are important but this one is especially important.

So while you may like your current representation, ask yourself if they are doing the pro-active steps to manage our city.  Do you think you can do a better job?    Do you have a flexible schedule that would allow you to serve as an Alderman?

Change is coming to Washington D.C. in under a month.  We need change at city hall.

The first step is viable candidates.  That is where you come in.  Many have thought about it but few take that important step of filing for office. For me, running for office in 2005 was one of the most rewarding life experiences I’ve had.  I didn’t win the election but I won in other ways.Running for office changed who I am and who I hope to become.  Challenging an entrenched incumbent helped raise issues and expectations for the ward and city.

Registering to vote and voting is simply not enough.  We must all be more involved. Work on a campaign.  Organize a debate.  Engage your neighbors in discussions about the future of the city.  And get yourself down to the St Louis Board of Election Commissioners before 5pm on January 2, 2009.

If you are a current Alderman and have been in office for more than 8 years please consider stepping aside so that we can get some fresh thinking in City Hall.  Your time served is appreciated but really, step out of the way.  Granted your not running is not a guarantee of fresh thinking but your sticking around it is certain we won’t have new ideas for old and new problems facing the city.

I’ve run for office before so this is not just talk.  To continue to stay involved I’m putting the finishing touches on an online questionnaire for all candidates in the St Louis Spring 2009 election – instructions will be mailed to all candidates after the close of filing with answers being posted online in February 2009.  I’m also continually updating my 2009 Election page to help inform voters of the candidates seeking office.

We just need more of you to become candidates.

A New Car For Under $10K?

With the average MSRP of a new car now topping $30,000, a new car for a third of that price in 2009 seems downright cheap.  I remember the 1986 $4,995 Hyundai Excel, cute & basic.

Fast forward 23 years and look at the 2009 Nissan Versa sedan which starts at $9,990.

Nissan announced this basic version a few months ago before the bottom fell out of the economy.  Dealer advertisements on other vehicles now talk about discounts greater than the price of the base Versa.

My problem with this new car is that it is the 4-door sedan and not the more useful hatchback model.  I’m unsure if new basic cars like this will keep folks driving cars (vs say transit) or just provide more affordable options for those that’ll be driving anyway.  I do think the more spartan our vehicles are the less likely we are to tolerate a long commute.

Owning and driving a car is not cheap.  Gas is currently cheap but you still have depreciation, insurance and maintenance.  I hope we see more small, basic, cheap, efficient cars.

But can American car makers compete in this market?  Can they survive if they don’t?