Gumbo: The Forum for Soulard

Everything is Okay after Soulard Murder

2012-01-31T20:34:00.004-06:00

Well, its back to business as usual here on Happy Island, after the murder of James M. Clavin was put in perspective and to bed, thanks to a Neighborhood Forum on Monday, January 30, sponsored and held at the Social House of Soulard, 1551 S. 7th St.

Inquiring readers may remember that Mr. Clavin ("beloved husband of Lisa Clavin (nee Bentrup), loving father of Henry and Nathan Clavin, dear son of Randy Clavin and Deborah Lietz, dear son-in-law of Robert and JoAnne Bentrup," etc., etc., as per the Kutis Funeral Home) was shot to death around 2:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 in the 1500 block of S. 8th Street, in back of the Social House, which has a closing time of 3 a.m..

There were some calls for reining in the Social House after the murder. It seems that Gary Patch, 40, had been killed in September by a speeding vehicle driven by suspect Emmanuel Sanchez, 27, the result of some parking lot argument, possibly involving Social Club patrons. In addition, the police blotter reveals that there have been dozens of police complaints, responses, etc., stemming from patrons, nearby residents and others at this late closing nightclub. Also, there was extensive reporting of similar troubles at another nightclub, previously known as Lure and now appropriately named Amnesia, apparently owned by the same people but located in downtown St. Louis.

Not to worry, though. In lieu of displaying any leadership or showing any official resolve from City leaders, Soulard was granted this forum, a fulfilling event which settled all the dust.

The forum, scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., opened with a very fine presentation by a fat faced lawyer representing the club. His basic message was: "shithappens." He went on the explain that the Social House benefits Soulard (and the City of St. Louis and its leadership) and that the objective of the owners was to make an evening at the Social House a pleasant experience. We certainly thank him for that, and we thank the owners for spending their money on a high-priced mouthpiece to present this message. Very impressive. The lawyer’s words were in no way condescending or self-serving. It should be noted that the owners, Aprille Trupiano and Josh Sample (according to the Post-Dispatch), showed their respect for neighborhood residents by not showing up at the forum.

The attorney explained that the Social House had nothing to do with the entire tragedy, taking a load off our minds. Some wag thought: with the record of Social House and Lure, why should we believe anything that comes out of your mouth, but that thought was quickly shelved. We were listening to people who display St. Louis integrity.

Next was a presentation from a friend of the deceased. This friend apparently had been out "partying" with Mr. Clavin that night. He actually got up on the Social House stage and detailed the evening from his perspective. He related that Mr. Clavin was on the street talking with a couple of ladies who had missed their ride home when some other gentlemen wearing masks or what-have-you came around a corner, had a brief conversation with Mr. Clavin, shot him and then scurried off into the night. Thus, the Social House was absolved of any involvement, was the message.

We cherish his words with all our heart, testimony from a close friend who was with Mr. Clavin at the end. If I lost a friend in these circumstances, I wouldn’t be returning to the scene to testify that, well, "except for that, we had a good time" and implying that "sure, I would come back to the Social House with some of my other friends." Thus, we offer our congratulations to this friend, and, as they say, "who needs enemies when you have friends like this?" I think that the Soulard Restoration Group and the City of St. Louis should name this individual an "honorary citizen of Soulard" and give him a bronzed, symbolic key to the neighborhood.

Then there was the testimony of a U.S. Army man, who had medical training. A Social House customer, he said that when he arrived at the side of Mr. Clavin, he recognized that there was nothing he could do. It was told to all that the U.S. Army man had served a couple of tours in Iraq. I think the intended message was that everything was done to help the dying and in a patriotic way, too. Missing was somebody waving the American flag on behalf of the Social House and a rousing rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" to support the Constitutional right of the Social House to run a raucous establishment, and the community be damned.

So we left, secure in the knowledge that the Social House was up and coming and that the City of St. Louis blessed this fine charade instead of doing anything substantive.

Post Script: It should be recorded that placid-faced Bob Kraiberg, City of St. Louis Liquor License Commissioner, was there, as was cherubic Brian Wahby, head of the City Democratic Committee, who worked the crowd and passed out cards advertising himself and his run for Treasurer of the City of St. Louis. Alderperson Phyllis Young was out of town, conveniently. End of adventure. Problem solved.
　
　

Our Fab Pub Crawl Scene

2011-07-15T08:28:00.002-05:00

Imagine our surprise when we received an e-mail titled "First Annual Gleaming Toothfairies Pub Crawl to benefit Give Kids a Smile taking place July 16 in Soulard."

From Pamela Powell, The Hauser Group, Inc., 515 Olive Street, Ste. 1204, St. Louis, MO 63101, the e-mail stated: "I just wanted to send this to you as an FYI. Thanks so much."

The accompanying press release stated in part: "This new event represents another unique way for us to spread the word about Give Kids a Smile and raise critical funds to help the organization continue its work to provide quality dental care to area children that need it most," said Joan Allen, executive Director of Give Kids a Smile. "We encourage area residents to take advantage of this opportunity to have lots of fun for a good cause."

This drinking event will begin at the Great Grizzly Bear and it will "send participants on a day-long tour of six Soulard-area bars." T-shirts, appetizers, prizes, etc., are all part of this enticing deal. Apparently, Give Kids a Smile is headquartered in St. Charles.

Our first reaction was: why don’t these ass holes hold this event in their own neighborhood ("Oh, I wouldn’t live in a neighborhood with so many bars. Bars attract the lowest common denominator of people.")? What did the residents of Soulard ever do to these organizations that they inflict us with another damn institutionally sponsored drunk?

It looks pretty hollow to us. We recall the story told to us by a friend. One of her female relatives owned and ran a bar in Illinois. She had a crew of regulars, who expressed undying love for her and her bar. In contemplation of selling the bar and retiring, she asked her regulars if they would visit her at her home. They all said yes, of course, so she installed a number of concrete benches and tables in her yard to provide seating for these friends. Well, she finally retired, and - guess what - her friends from the bar never, ever paid her a visit. She failed to recognize that it was not about socializing or friendship. It was about booze.

This "new event" is sort of like in those old Mickey Rooney movies, where Mickey stands up and says: "Let’s put on a show for the gang," followed by singing and dancing. In this case, GKAS and their pr outfit stand up and say: "Let’s put on a cheap drunk, and maybe we can make some bucks out of it." followed by another group of slobs further undermining the residential assets of Soulard, making noise, littering and carrying on. It is all about the booze.

Is this what GKAS is about? Offer them an excuse to drink, and they will come. Is The Hauser Group hankering after some kind of public relations award for creativity? Do these people think that a bunch of drunks care about their objectives?

Our city politicians obviously do not care about the residential assets of Soulard. They boost Mardi Gras and every other noisy, destructive, dangerous and drinking-oriented festival that wants to exploit the neighborhood, all in the name of making the City of St. Louis more cosmopolitan and prosperous (that’ll be the day). The bars in Soulard could care less about the neighborhood, focusing on attracting every boorish, disrespectful person for miles around. The Soulard Restoration Group, the neighborhood organization, cannot stand on its own two feet, although it pretends that it speaks for neighborhood residents and their best interests. Now we have charitable organizations hopping on the bandwagon.

Our question: are GKAS and The Hauser Group, Inc. as hollow as their fund raiser?
　
　

We Lost our Precious Oktoberfest

2011-03-14T13:35:00.002-05:00

Among the sacrifices Soulard residents made in 2010 was suffering the relocation of Soulard Oktoberfest to Lyons Park, down the landscape from the A-B campus. After years of having this "event" in the Soulard Market Park, complete with trash, noise, overcrowding, shopping disruptions, etc., it was moved elsewhere.

Our hard working alderperson, Phyllis Young, did this. Thank you, Phyllis. Now they can call it Lyons Park Oktoberfest or A-B Oktoberfest or whatever.

If they change the name, then maybe we will not have to listen to McKinstry carping about how much money he loses each year by putting on Oktoberfest and how he only does it to benefit Soulard, not his own pocketbook.

Meanwhile, hey, A-B, how do you like people urinating your product (and your competitors products) on your fence and trashing the perimeter of your campus on their way out? Inquiring readers want to know. How does it feel to play second fiddle to some erzatz "neighborhood" festival? Remember, if there is something you don’t like, just talk to McKinstry. He is always full of promises.

Pictured is what appears to be a partially eaten turkey leg and a dead man on the A-B perimeter fence, compliments of the Oktoberfest crowd, shot the morning after. It took years for Phyllis to get that mess out of Soulard. Good luck, A-B. You get what you deserve.

After Action Report: Soulard Mardi Gras 2011

2011-03-10T09:39:00.003-06:00

Well, we survived the March 5, 2011 Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade day. A miracle! Remember, the parade (dominated by truck floats) doesn’t celebrate some ethnic or religious tradition. Instead, it is the kicking off point for what mg organizers wait for, the harvesting of money from the drunks.

This is the festival that celebrates how much people are willing to spend to self-medicate, how much people will pour into Soulard businesses, which pretend to be part of a neighborhood supported event. Why would we support this debacle? All it does is trash the neighborhood and teach people to disrespect our residential assets.

Reports are that attendance was down this year, a key element contributing to our survival.
We would like to think that any decline is from people recognizing that Soulard mg is just a money grab. Look at the prices for booze. The prices certainly didn’t go down.

Unfortunately, the real reason for any decline was the weather, which did not cooperate. The temps never got over 39, and there was a wicked wind and an overcast sky.

But give us some good weather, and mg will come roaring back. After all, the City of St. Louis is completely behind this destructive, imitation celebration.

Witness the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball, held Friday, March 4 at City Hall. As a warmup for Grand Parade day, we were treated to pictures of our delusional mayor, prancing about in his blue batman cape as the head of the Krewe of Inept and Clueless Weasels. He can posture for Mardi Gras, but he can’t grow St. Louis out of its dwindling population. He can promote Mardi Gras to drunks, but he can’t sell St. Louis to the Democratic National Committee as a convention site. Etcetera and so forth. The easier path beckons to those challenged by a mental hernia.

Other than watching City Hall antics, another amusing facet of the Soulard mg are the follow-up postings on Craigslist - Lost and Found. "I lost my set of keys at Soulard Mardi Gras," says one. "I just want my Mardi Gras pictures. You can have my camera!! I just want my memories," whines another. Must have been blind drunk.

"I lost my phone at Mardi Gras...And to be honest...since you were asking people on my contact list what they were wearing at midnight...I don’t want your creepy ass to have my pictures...," cryptically remarks another bird brain. You can be sure whoever now possesses the phone will return it.

"Lost a set of keys at Mardi Gras...I’m a student and need to get back to Chicago today. Call Patrick," yada, yada. We sure hope all these revoltoes make it back to mg next year, after they are reunited with their missing stuff. They are so welcome.

Mardi Gras is All About the Benjamins

2011-02-24T19:49:00.004-06:00

The Soulard Mardi Gras - the largest Mardi Gras celebration on the planet - will offer the cheapest alcoholic drinks in the country during the March 5, 2011 Grand Parade Day event.

For example, during the 2010 Grand Parade Day celebration, one vendor sold 16 oz cups of beer for a mere $5.00, and 32 oz souvenir cups sold for $9.00, with a refill for a paltry $8.00. The souvenir cups are exotic, hand made plastic steins suitable for recycling or for placement on your bureau to hold loose change. These cheapies symbolize the sophistication of the biggest municipally sponsored drunk.

Also in 2010 a vendor offered hurricane souvenir 32 oz cups went for $12, with a refill priced at a reasonable $10, and you could get a 16 oz cup of hurricane for $6.00. Can you say greedy?

We don’t know what the charges are going to be in 2011, but we bet they aren’t going to be any lower. Of course, partygoers can bring their own alcoholic beverages to the Grand Parade Day, except that Mardi Gras Inc., event organizer, hires an army of people to maintain a picket line around the area to prevent this.

A number of bars only hang on because of their mg take, so one of the main functions of MGI is to reduce competition. Let’s be truthful: booze sales are the only thing that drives the Soulard mg, although it is sold as a "spontaneous" party with neighborhood folks "inviting" the rest of the world to participate, just one of the lies MGI nourishes to disguise the fact that it is only about money.

Truth be told, mg seems to be the only growth industry in St. Louis, a reflection on our political leadership, but an explanation as to why this dangerous debacle is encouraged. By coincidence, MGI seems to be having stomach troubles. The cut to outside neighborhood organizations, who have traditionally operated booths selling food and alcoholic beverages, has been reduced to 15 percent from the 25 percent of 2010. By squeezing rewards to outside neighborhoods, more money can be channeled to political and administrative pockets.

So our suggestion is: if you are going to blow your money during this ugly mess, then search out neighborhood booths, such as the Benton Park booth. And good luck. Remember, police protection is spread really thin, and large numbers of participants leave their manners at home, something which becomes obvious after they have a couple of drinks.
　

Rib America Returns to St. Louis

2011-02-22T12:27:00.004-06:00

"Summer staple Rib America returns to downtown St. Louis May 27 - 30 with Puddle of Mudd, Kansas, Montrose, Candlebox, .38 Special and several more acts," read the Feb, 15, 2011 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article by Kevin C. Johnson, pop music critic.

The traveling festival will be hosted at Soldiers Memorial Field, just north of St. Louis City Hall, and is presented by U. S. Cellular. The article stated: "Admission is free before 5 p.m. May 27 and before 1 p.m. the rest of the dates. Admission is $6.00 after 5 p.m. on May 27 and after 1 p.m. the other days. Children 12 and under get in free," according to the article.

The 2010 Memorial Day Rib America event was reviewed by Paul Kjorlie, pop music critic for Soulard. His review was titled "Let’s Run the 2011 Rib America out-of-town" and subtitled "Rib America is a consumer rip-off." Following is his review from last year:

Would you pay $90 for two plates of ribs ?

For 7 hours, on Sunday, while at my part-time job at a parking lot, near Rib America; I saw, first-hand how Rib America rips-off people. One older man parked on our lot (a $5 charge) and said he wanted to get some ribs for Memorial Day weekend. He came back, a short time later, with this account: He went to one of the vendors and ordered two plates of ribs. He was told the cost was $54. He was shocked but still handed the person the money - but was told he had to pay with tickets. He went to buy the tickets and was then told he had to buy $80 worth. Shouldn't they be happy with just gouging him for the $54, and not want to squeeze him for even more ? Note: He had already paid $5 for admission that afternoon. In the past, that charge started at 5 P.M.. That charge was instituted after many people came just to hear the has-been bands in the evening and didn't buy food. With these prices, they must have paid aging rocker Bret Michaels, who just had a "warning stroke," a lot - to tempt him to risk his health to perform against his doctors wishes.

Needless to say, this veteran (I assumed, since he was wearing one of those battleship hats.) left hungry. Even though it was against our company policy, I refunded his parking fee - since I had no intention of being a party to ripping off this veteran, anymore, on Memorial Day. That's not how we should honor our soldiers.

Ticket Policy is a Scam

One would think that they would be happy with charging $54 for two plates of ribs. However, like our Fair St. Louis had done recently, you get fewer tickets than what you pay for. I believe Fair St. Louis explained their con as "administrative costs". Also, all their prices at Rib America are apparently in odd numbers - so you are left with small amounts of worthless tickets that won't buy anything. One young college couple told me that they begged the Gus's Pretzels vendor to take only 3 tickets, rather than the 4, for a small bag of pretzel sticks.

Rib America reflects poorly on our city

The above veteran wasn't the only one to leave disappointed. A group of Hispanics arrived by van and asked what the event was. I told them and they said, "Great, we're starving !" They came back shortly and didn't say a thing as they probably left for a fast food joint. Our parking lot did well by turning over parking spaces several times. As the hungry and disappointed left, their parking spaces were quickly replaced by new suckers. I guess, by now, most St. Louisans know enough to avoid the event. One person, from Ohio, said to me a bit angrily, "So this is how St. Louis does it ?". I tried to tell him that Rib America is a national thing that travels all over our country scamming people, like the Snake Oil Salesmen of the old west - but he was in no mood to hear my defense of my city.

Attendees are in "lock down"

The college couple also explained that they were told that there were no stamping of hands if they wanted to leave the event. They said they wanted to check out downtown St. Louis but were prevented from doing so. However, they did say they enjoyed the has-been bands for only $5. Some downtown businesses might have benefitted from increased business if the attendees were allowed to leave and avoid repaying a re-admission charge.

Our local St. Louis media aids this rip off

Every year, St. Louis media touts this event as something to do. Local TV stations show mouth-watering visions of ribs on their HDTV broadcasts. (By the way, I had no idea food could look so good on TV until I got my first HDTV a few months ago.) Our lame media doesn't even warn people that they should bring lots and lots of money. They only seem to mention the $5 admission charge which is just a beginning of bad things to happen to ones wallet. Restaurant reviewers usually always mention cost - but festival reviewers don't. Shame on them for wasting many peoples time and gasoline.

A doomed enterprise?

One would think that, after years of ripping people off, that Rib America will meet the same, well-deserved demise as our corrupt local bankrupt auto-warrantor U.S. Fidelis. Apparently, as P.T. Barnum once said, "There is a sucker born every minute." However, apparently this years event only had 8, or so, vendors. Is it the bad economy or vendor disenchantment over not winning one of the hundreds of cooking trophies on display? Will Rib America die of its own greed? We can only hope so.

St. Louis can do better

Hey, is St. Louis so desperate for something to do, on of all holidays, Memorial Day that we tolerate having our pockets picked by transients? Why not encourage people to patronize one of the events at local non-profits, like the Greekfest? Baklavas not your style? Then why don't we have local promoters organize a St. Louis Ribfest that promotes our local barbecue joints ? St. Louis isn't the barbecue waste land that it was when I moved here over 30 years ago. We now have some deserving local BBQ joints that need our encouragement. Come on, city leaders, let's show some leadership here. The long term benefits to our city by having year-round profitable BBQ establishments will outweigh any short term flirtations with traveling con men.

Questions for Mayor Slay

Some of my cynical friends have said that the City of St. Louis has its own "hands in the till, also." Is that true, Mayor Slay? Just how much revenue does this event bring into the city? I'm sure, as wise money handlers, that our city officials collect permits and fees from Rib America - in addition to sales taxes paid by the promoter. After all, they do have the use of closed city streets and the park areas north of City Hall. Just what does the city charge them, Mayor Slay? While we are on the subject, just what does the city take in from our other festivals - like Mardi Gras and others?

Final question, Mayor Slay: Is all of this ill-will created by Rib America and resulting bad impressions of St. Louis worth it? Is this an event we want on the day we honor our veterans? Is that why they sacrificed - so some of their country men can rip-off citizens?

Pilgrim's Progress in Historic Soulard

2011-02-18T09:50:00.002-06:00

We were so impressed when we read this item in the December 8, 2010 Soulard Restoration Group Board of Directors minutes:

"Sultry Donuts - William Billiter is requesting a letter of support from the SRG for a variance for occupancy permit. No liquor license being sought. Darcy Thomas - Studio Durham Architects was also present. Billiter wants to ‘bring Johnny’s feel to donut shop.’ They will offer fresh pastries, donuts brought in, coffee, juice, boxed lunches and soft drinks. The wateriness (sic) (waitresses?) will be scantily clad wearing lingerie, bikini’s (sic) and theme outfits. There were several questions about location, reason for the business and what kind of neighbour (sic) he will be. Billiter and Thomas were very willing to answer any and all questions about the possible business. Billiter has no plans at this time to serve alcohol. A motion was made by Billy Tomber to vote to provide Sultry Donuts with a letter of support on behalf of the SRG to change their variance from residential to commercial in order to obtain an occupancy permit. Motion was seconded by Jim Price. The motioned (sic) failed 5-2. Michael Pastore motioned that the SRG write a letter to P. Young and William Billiter stating that the SRG cannot support the opening of Sultry Donuts as presented. The motion was seconded by Dave Perry. Motioned (sic) passed unanimously with two abstained."

Other board members present included: Sean Cochran, Paul Sharp and Sherry Ruebusch. According to the minutes, Jay Morris and Roger Power arrived late, and Alice Stellhorn was not present.

What impressed us was the fact that a titty donut shop has been suggested as a contributing business in our historic district. What a wonderful way to further exploit and degrade what used to hold promise as a nice residential area.

But you cannot fight city hall - in all its ignorance - so we applaud Billy Tomber and Jim Price for their far sighted support of this project. As everybody knows, Jim blandly sells insurance and Billy edits The Soulard Renaissance, the neighborhood newspaper you see scattered all over the streets. We only wish that Billy would step up and take credit for his vision of the future of Soulard - as ground zero for a titty donut shop empire spanning the globe. If only he would print a story or a picture of himself in The Soulard Renaissance, so we could get to know him better, so we could gain further insight into his intellect, such as it is.

Police Incident Reports, Soulard, June 13 - 20, 2010

2010-06-20T10:42:00.001-05:00

Incident reports for Soulard from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police - as recorded on an official department website at http://safecity.slmpd.org/index.htm for the seven day period of Sunday, June 13 through Sunday, June 20 include:

1 robbery: 1400 block of S. 3rd, reported at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15.

2 theft: 700 block of Soulard, reported at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 13; 2700 block of S. 13th, reported at 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 13.

1 stolen autos: 2600 block of S. 13th, reported at 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 13.

82 service calls, including accidents (2 at Russell and Gravois), accident with injuries at S. 12th and Geyer, 1 auto theft (S. 9th and Geyer, reported at 3:58 a.m. on Saturday, June 19), 2 calls for police - disturbance, destruction of property (Soulard and S. 10th), 6 disturbances, 3 fights (S. 9th and Victor, 1100 block of Lami, S. 12th and Victor), fireworks (Lami and Menard, reported at 10:56 p.m. on Wednesday, June 16), 2 larceny, 2 person down, 4 shots fired, 4 unnecessary noise, etc.

Police Incident Reports, Soulard, June 6 - 13, 2010

2010-06-13T10:55:00.001-05:00

Incident reports for Soulard from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police - as recorded on an official department website at http://safecity.slmpd.org/index.htm for the seven day period of Sunday, June 6 through Sunday, June 13 include:

1 robbery: 1900 block of S. 12th, reported at 2:01 a.m. on Wednesday, June 9.

4 theft: 1000 block of Lami, reported at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 6; 1500 block of S. 8th, reported at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9; 1000 block of Shenandoah, reported at 5 a.m. on Thursday, June 10; 2300 block of S. 10th, reported at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9.

1 stolen autos: 2500 block of S. 18th, reported at 11:07 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9.

90 service calls, including accidents (12th and Lami, reported at 1:23 a.m. on Sunday, June 6, also reported as "Accident Information" at 12th and Lami at 3:35 a.m. on Sunday, June 6), 8 disturbances, 3 domestic disturbances, holdup (1000 block of Russell, reported at 2:13 a.m. on Wednesday, June 9), 3 larceny, 1 stolen license, etc.

Soulard's Revenge: Our Wonderful Mardi Gras Scandal

2010-02-21T10:53:00.002-06:00

This year the Saturday, February 13 Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day was the best ever. Nothing but pleasant memories. Of course, it was not the lame parade, consisting of truck floats dragging cargoes of port-a-potties and wannabe celebrities. And it was not the apres parade boozing. The drink prices were through the roof, and only the socially challenged would stand in trash up to their ankles, drinking in the streets of Soulard when the temperature is 35. Get a life.
No, it was the wonderful scandal which erupted within days of the parade.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch February 16, 2010 headline was: "With phone call, police commissioner springs nephew from jail." The lead paragraph read: "A St. Louis Police Board member, Vincent J. Bommarito, said today that a nephew who was arrested under suspicion of drunken driving in Soulard on Saturday was released to him at his request."

So Mr. B, as one poster called him, saved his nephew from spending Grand Parade night in the drunk tank. As a bonus, the nephew’s name was stricken from the police blotter, and he was given a ride by an official to elsewhere. Can you say "abuse of power?"

After publication of this breathtaking news, there erupted a self-righteous, defensive verbal battle between Mr. B, the Honorable Mayor Slay, and the Chief of Police, all indignantly spouting and bombastically beating their chests, just like some alderman caught farting in the cloak room. And all this gassy verbiage and finger pointing was captured, transcribed into sentences and lovingly printed in following editions of the Post-Dispatch.

I mean, you couldn’t buy entertainment like this.

Besides being amusing, the series of newspaper articles nudged aside the much embroidered curtain concealing the illegitimacy of the Soulard Mardi Gras and the incompetence of local government, whose most successful activity is to create a nesting ground for favoritism, cronyism, back scratching and what have you. Thanks to our very own Soulard Mardi Gras, the motto of our local politicians emerges: if you can’t govern effectively, at least be entertaining. In this they have been successful, playing the fools.

The Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day Drunk, the high point of a faux festival which is struggling to brand itself as the St. Louis Mardi Gras, always brings out the worst from St. Louis (and from miles around), providing an arena for underage drinking, drunk driving, minors in possession of alcohol, false ID’s, procuring alcohol for a minor, and, of course, what we are most proud of: lewd conduct, public urination, assault, property destruction, etc.

This is in addition to the above referenced abuse of power. This is not the first, nor will it be the last, revealing incident spotlighting those who benefit from Mardi Gras and from their official positions in St. Louis.

Someday, maybe somebody with a grain of insight will point out to such people that the Soulard Mardi Gras taints whatever it touches, just as its cancerous growth has disfigured Soulard. Until the St. Louis version of Mardi Gras becomes legitimate, Antoine Soulard will continue to wreak revenge for what it is doing to his namesake historic district.

Mayor's Mardi Gras Ball: Lost and Found

2010-02-15T21:14:00.000-06:00

The following has been posted by Heather Dunn on Facebook and Craigslist and elsewhere:

“Did anyone go to the Mayor's Ball or know anyone who did???

“I was as the Mayor's Ball and someone picked up my digital camera (hopefully by accident). I just got back from vacation at the beginning of the week and all of my vacation pic's are still on there: my first trip to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, China Town, Haight & Ashbury, etc. These pictures are SOO important to me, and all I want are the pictures back. I will offer a $200 reward for the return of the memory card alone, with no questions asked. I would even be extremely happy if someone uploaded the pictures to Face Book or sent them to me in any way! If anyone has heard of a camera being found, or could re-post this message, your help would be greatly appreciated!

“I'm truly desperate and I'm hoping someone will return the pictures.”

Well, Madame Chouteau certainly hopes Heather gets her pictures (and camera) back. Interestingly enough, there is an archaic French phrase that applies to this situation. It goes: “Lazy les beantowns rolaids?” Translated, it means: “You got robbed at the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball and you’re surprised?” At least, I think that is the translation. Maybe some cultured person has another translation. We solicit your ideas.

Collector of Revenue: Real Estate Taxes in Soulard Under Control

2010-02-05T12:40:00.002-06:00

We have run several articles regarding real estate taxes being in arrears for Soulard businesses, including Clementines (2001-2003 Menard: two years in arrears, amounting to $10,309.91) and Great Grizzly Bear (1027 Geyer: three years in arrears, amounting to $22,066.20). We sent an e-mail - printed in the blog - to Collector of Revenue Gregory F. X. Daly on Jan. 27, 2010 asking about these two properties. We are impressed that The Honorable Gregory F. X. Daly is too important to respond, but delegated the matter to a talented underling. Following is the response:

"In regards to the businesses and property owners listed.

"I would like to clarify this information for you.
Both of these businesses are in compliance. The property is owned by a
separate entity and is not tied to the business. Any delinquent real
estate goes through our regular delinquent process.

"Should you have any further questions please contact:

"Thomas Vollmer, Deputy Collector of Revenue, City of St Louis, 314-613-7357
　
"Sincerely, Pat Ortmann"

Pursuing Real Estate Tax Questions: Seeking Edification

2010-01-27T22:12:00.003-06:00

The following e-mail has been sent to showerst@stlouiscity.com, the address listed on the web site of the Collector of Revenue:

To the Honorable Gregory F. X. Daly, Collector of Revenue, City of St. Louis:

Today your web site on the St. Louis Community Information Network indicates that owners of property under two bar/restaurants in Soulard are in arrears in paying real estate taxes. The bills include special business district tax, lateral sewer fee, commercial surtax, total original tax, penalty and recording fee, where applicable.

This issue has been addressed in several articles on a blog titled Gumbo, which may be found at http://gumbotheforumforsoulard.blogspot.com/.

The property owners include: Clementine Inc., owner of property described as 2001-2003 Menard, site of Clementine’s Bar, which is in arrears in the amount of $10,212.29 for 2009 and 2008. I note that the payment of their 2007 taxes was posted on 1/5/2010.

The other is Great Grizzly Blues LLC, owner of property described as 1027 Geyer, site of The Great Grizzly Bear. The property owner is in arrears in the amount of $21,865.38, the accumulated tax bill for 2007, 2008 and 2009. (A City of St. Louis Real Estate Tax System "Open Special Tax Bills Report" dated 10/02/09 notes that the same property owners were in arrears on their 2005 taxes, and before the year turned over, they were also on arrears in the 2007 taxes. Your web site only covers three years. Thus, I am unable to confirm whether these taxes have been paid.)

I note that the "St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 8.02.010 Statement of Clearance - Required" ( http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/cco/code/data/t0802.htm ) states:

"The License Collection shall not issue any merchants, manufacturers, franchise, business or occupational license or renewal thereof, to any person, partnership or corporation, or anyone who contracts for personal service to be performed by individuals within the City, which under the law the License Collector is empowered to issue, unless and until the applicant for such license produces a written statement of clearance issued jointly by the Collector of Revenue and the License Collector certifies that the current or past personal property, real estate tax, payroll tax, business license taxes and/or earnings taxes are due and payable to the City and a statement from the Director of Revenue of the State of Missouri certifying that the applicant is in possession of a retail sales license, if such a license is required."

It seems to me that Chapter 8.02.010 suggests that businesses need to be good citizens, i.e., that they pay their real estate taxes in order to do business. There is a failure to display good citizenship by these two businesses. It seems that this failure is being aided and abetted by the Office of the Collector of Revenue.

I make this statement because the License Collector, The Honorable Michael McMillan, states that the businesses at the above addresses are in full compliance as far as payment of taxes, etc., in order for them to receive business licenses from his office. "Neither company you named, Great Grizzly and Clementine’s Inc., requires compliance action," Mr. McMillan states.

You may think that this matter is really none of my business. In fact, I feel the issue is entirely my business, since I am among a number of people in the Soulard neighborhood who feel that bars and their customers contribute to undermining the quality of life here. Trash, noise, crime, accidents and other problems are created and aggravated by these two businesses. Their failure to pay their real estate taxes mirrors their contempt for the neighborhood and for the general community.

Further, the inability of City of St. Louis officials and elected leaders to collect taxes reflects badly on their abilities, undermining confidence in government and implying corruption and favoritism. Large numbers of lots in the City of St. Louis are fallow, yielding no tax revenue because they are owned by the City. That this is widespread signals a failure of elected officials to nurture an environment conducive to prosperity. Slapping the face of tax payers is that tax abatement favors have been given to numbers of developers, further gnawing at the tax base and consuming confidence in governmental priorities.

At the same time, elected officials talk of budgetary problems and cuts in services. The conclusion is obvious: if a city cannot manage its tax base, then it is out of business. The question arises: why are businesses which negatively impact the community and which reflect badly on leadership allowed to game the system so effectively?

On these topics I seek edification and correction. Thus, I turn to you. I look forward to hearing your response to these issues, as will the readers of the blog.

Neighbors Assume Greater Responsibility for Trash

2010-01-25T12:18:00.003-06:00

"After Christmas I noticed that the alley trash dumpsters were overflowing and people were leaving trash next to them," commented Mary Ann Keitel, a Soulard resident since 1975. "The neighborhood was looking like a third world country," she adds.

"The only way to abate this problem that I could see was to get on the recycling bandwagon," she says, and "I had to get my neighbors to do the same thing."

Because of City of St. Louis budgetary problems, twice weekly trash collections are being reduced to once a week, Mary Ann learned after a short conversation with the Department of Streets, Refuse Division vehicle driver.

"So I started intensely recycling," she explains. Fortunately, as part of an extensive and thoughtful effort, the Refuse Division provides a row of dumpsters at the foot of Ann in Soulard for collection of recyclables. "And I started talking to my neighbors, asking them if they would help me," Mary Ann notes. She lives in the 2300 block of S. 11th Street.

Fran Cook, a Soulard resident for the last 7 years, immediately agreed that this was a good idea.

"I could see that the dumpsters contained a lot of stuff which could be recycled, and if we separated these items and took them to the provided dumpsters, then maybe we could reduce the problem of trash spilling into the alley," Fran believes. She is married and has two children.

She spent 21 years in the neighborhood while growing up. After she got married, she moved out to the county for a while before returning seven years ago.

"We are in this together," Fran observes, pointing out that "I am also talking to others in my building and to neighbors, just as Mary Ann is doing."

Going beyond her block, Mary Ann also solicited the assistance of Shirley Cartt-Cyr, 75, a homeowner on Sidney. "I am going to recycle with Mary Ann’s help," Shirley says. She adds that

"I sure wish the politicians were pitching in and working as hard as Mary Ann on this, since they seem to be the ones who spent all the money."

She adds: "Be that as it may, we all sort of need to pull together in tough times, to help each other, just like Mary Ann is doing." Meanwhile, Mary Ann has recruited others on her block, and she hopes other Soulard and City of St. Louis residents will step up their recycle efforts and encourage their neighbors to do the same.

Seventh Ward resident Maida Coleman, a community activist, observes that "what Mary Ann is doing is an excellent idea. She is coming up with solutions to make this new trash collection schedule work for everyone."

Maida says that "as city residents, we have to support the city in order to keep our services up to standard. We are all going to have to do a little bit more," she warns.

More Soulard Auto Break-ins

2010-01-18T17:59:00.002-06:00

Following is a bulletin from Terry Hoffman’s neighborhood blaster. The original e-mail was sent on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 by Angel Bostick, owner (along with her husband, Matt) of The Library - described on their website as "one of Soulard’s newest live music venues, The Library offers something for just about everyone." Following is the message as received:

"Just wanted to let everyone know that we had 10 cars broken into last night (Friday Jan 15) and one car was stolen. All of the cars were parked along a wall of a vacant building behind us. At 11:15 my staff had checked on the back and all was fine, then by 12 a customer discovered their car was broken into. The thieves mainly broke car windows, driver and passenger, in one car they actually broke the window after they got inside. Items stolen were a jacket, wallet, a GPS, even leaving more valuable items behind. These "thugs" mission seemed to be just to destroy. However they did steal one car. (A key for that car was left in the console which made it easy pickings.) I just wanted to report this to the group so everyone could keep a closer eye out on vehicles in the area to prevent this happening again. This was reported to the police. The Lieutenants advice was to hire a couple of off-duty officers to guard the parking areas. Hopefully they will catch these thieves quickly. We will be sending out security more often, but they struck within a 30 - 45 min window."

The Library is located at 706 Lafayette in the old Carnagie Library Building, across the street from the Soulard Farmer’s Market.

It is interesting to note that the Safe City Incident Mapping Site seems to cover this entire situation as "one theft" in the 700 block of Lafayette, reported at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15. There is no mention of a car theft at this address. This is how it was covered in our earlier, weekly posting of crime in the neighborhood.

Remembrances of Mardi Gras Past

2010-01-14T11:41:00.003-06:00

On April 20, 1999 the Soulard Mardi Gras Community Forum was held. It was an apres Mardi Gras event to uncover problems and complaints resulting from the Grand Parade Day. Some time after the forum there was made available a "summary of issues identified."

This summary is interesting reading, primarily because most of the issues raised and problems uncovered remain unresolved to this day. For example, at the top of the list is the category Unacceptable Behaviors of Crowd. Bullet point items were:
Public urination/defecation/vomiting
Public drunkenness
Underage drinking
Bringing in alcohol (coolers)
Vandalism/property destruction
Violence/personal injury
Nudity
Sex acts
Lack of enforcement by police of existing laws

On this list, the one item which has been corrected is "bringing in alcohol (coolers)." This behavior is totally unacceptable to those who sell booze during the event. There are now paid guards at neighborhood entrances to make sure no miscellaneous booze is smuggled into Soulard during the Grand Parade Day drunk.

After a period of discussion, forum attendees were divided into 19 groups and asked to list their views of the event. Not wishing to bore readers, Madame Chouteau numbered 19 pieces of paper and choose one piece from a hat. Number 18 came up. Following are the items generated by Group 18:
Underage drinking
Coolers (outside liquor coming in)
Car access - in crowd areas
Neighborhood parking - lack of
Public urination
Vandalism/property destruction
Police response
Public nudity
Media coverage - negative
Event too large
Accountability
Misinformation
Inconvenient to residents
Tuesday event was disaster

That the unsavory nature of the Grand Parade Day has not changed is underlined by a story titled "Mardi Gras revelry brings protest," printed in the Wednesday, March 26, 2008 issue of the South Side Journal. Written by Jim Merkel, the article begins:

"Lloyd Harvey has participated in sit-ins at segregated Woolworths stores during the Civil Rights era, fought for the homeless and victims of HIV/AIDS and formed a tenants association to fight a landlord.

"The 75-year-old artist is topping it off with a campaign to fight hours of jarring music and what he believes is rampant public urination once a year within close view and hearing of a South Side senior citizen apartment building.

"Harvey lives on the fourth floor of the Allen Market Lane Senior Living Apartments on the northwest corner of 12th Street and Russell Boulevard in the Soulard neighborhood.

"That’s five blocks west of the annual parade route and toward the edge of where thousands of revelers party for hours after the parade.

"Harvey has watched the antics of revelers during three Mardi Gras parade days. He’s looked out his window facing Russell and seen a street full of people celebrating and heard loud, jarring music all day, he said.

"This year, he said, he heard a DJ constantly shouting to people, ‘Let’s get drunk.’"

Article author Jim Merkel quotes a spectrum of St. Louis personalities who have fingers in the Mardi Gras pot. They all declare their shock and surprise about the complaints of Harvey, and they all express their apologies. Implied is their helplessness to correct problems, although they all testify that they sure are working on it.

A quote from Alderman Phyllis Young is symptomatic. As printed:

"Young agreed there’s a serious public urination problem which she’s seen around her own property. People will stand next to porta potties and urinate, she said. ‘It’s like they lose any sense of public decency that they had.’"

The Honorable Phyllis Young pretty much puts her finger on the problem: a lack of public decency, encouraged by the beneficiaries, the bars, and winked at by the political leadership of St. Louis, who apparently feels that the negatives of the event are outweighed by the positives: the money which trickles into the city coffers as the result of taxes collected.

In fact, this "festival" taints everything that comes into contact with it, including the annual Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball, a goofy celebration of how good things are going for St. Louis, when, in fact, problems for the City are looming in every direction. The "what me worry" attitude of this peculiar act of blindness, held at City Hall the evening before the Grand Parade Day debacle, is spotlighted in a blog posting dated Jan. 7, 2010 and titled "Francis Slay Touts Mardi Gras Ball, While 17,000 St. Louisans Cannot Find Work" by Thomas Duda at http://notmymayor.com.

Over the last decade, if thought and integrity had been devoted to growing St. Louis, rather than greed and stupidity to growing the Soulard Mardi Gras Drunk, St. Louis might not be in as bad a shape as it now is.

Demolition Concerns in the Village

2010-01-12T09:41:00.004-06:00

Regular readers are referred to an excellent article written by Michael Allen and posted on his blog titled Ecology of Absence. The blog focuses on preservation of the architectural and cultural heritage of St. Louis and on the demolition problem.

The article of interest ( http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2009/10/rehab-girls-seek-soulard-demolition.html ) was posted on Oct. 18, 2009 and notes that "Rehab Girls LLC" sought permission from the St. Louis Preservation Board, an arm of the Cultural Resource Office, to demolish 1927-9 S. 10th Street, an old neighborhood structure. The address of Rehab Girls LLC, according to State of Missouri records, is the same address as that of Rothschild Development Ltd, an owner of a large number of rental properties in Soulard, under the name of Rothschild Properties Soulard LLC. Ecology of Absence implied that Rehab Girls LLC was in fact closely linked to Rothschild Development Ltd.

As an aside, it should be noted that Rothschild Properties Soulard LLC does not have a particularly great reputation in Soulard, a reflection of the casual attitude displayed.

One property owner remarked that clean out of newly vacated apartments by Rothschild personnel often completely fills dumpsters, and other tenants, not seeming to know any better, then deposit their trash next to the dumpsters, resulting in a mess. "One time they deposited a recliner in a dumpster," this witness observed. This same person commented that their tenants are frequently noisy, drinking and partying until the police are called, and after, too.

Another property owner actually complained to Rothschild's office about some consistently noisy, disruptive tenants. The response from office personnel was: "It sounds to me that you need to display more neighborliness," which is secret code for "screw you, we really don’t care what our tenants do."

Another manifestation of their casualness is their attitude towards paying their real estate taxes. Rothschild Properties Soulard LLC did not pay 2008 real estate taxes on a number of its properties until sometime after the Dec. 31, 2008 deadline, according to posting dates on the web site of Gregory F. X. Daly, Collector of Revenue. If anybody wants to research this, begin at the Assessor’s Office site at http://stlcin.missouri.org/assessor/lookup.cfm.

Examples of late pays include:
1853 S. 9th (real estate tax payment for 2008 year posted on Collector of Revenue tax site on 10/08/2009),
1851 S. 10th (tax payment posted 10/08/2009),
900 Geyer (tax payment posted 10/08/2009),
1006 Geyer (tax payment posted 12/03/09),
1004 Geyer (tax payment posted 10/08/2009),
1005 Allen (tax payment posted 10/08/1009), etc. In all, as of 10/02/09 there were 22 Rothschild properties in Soulard in arrears. It is believed that all 2008 taxes have been paid by now.

Interestingly, note that real estate taxes on three properties owned by Kraiberg Properties LLC - registered agent: Robert W. Kraiberg, 1832 S. 8th Street - were also paid after the deadline. The tax bills were sent to the same address as that listed for Rothschild Properties Soulard LLC, which implies that Rothschild manages the properties. Examples:
1818 S. 8th (tax payment for 2008 posted on Collector of Revenue tax site on 12/10/2009),
1822 S. 8th (tax payment for 2008 year posted on 12/15/2009),
1824 S. 8th (tax payment for 2008 posted on 12/15/2009).

The Ecology of Absence blog posted the results of the request for the demolition permit in a story titled "Cultural Resources Office Stands Up for House in Soulard" ( http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2009/10/cultural-resources-office-stand-up-for.html ). Madame Chouteau certainly hopes that Rothschild, under the cover of Rehab Girls LLC, can do something with the building.

McMillan: Unpaid Real Estate Taxes Not My Problem

2010-01-11T14:13:00.003-06:00

Following is the response from The Honorable Michael McMillan, License Collector for the City of St. Louis, regarding our story about Soulard as a Tax Haven. The response was dated January 5, 2010. It was received Jan. 9.

"We are in receipt of your email in reference to the article titled: "Soulard: The Tax Haven Revisited." Neither company you named, Great Grizzly and Clementine’s Inc, requires compliance action. Clementine’s is currently in compliance. Great Grizzly’s taxes are just due now.

"Allow me to clarify the role of the License Collector in matters such as these. We serve as a check and balance for other departments in City Hall. We verify that the requirements of those departments are met prior to issuing a business license. Once we receive a clearance from those departments we issue a business license. We recognize the difficulties that businesses are facing during these tough economic times and we allow them every opportunity to become compliant.

"We follow a process that includes the following steps:

"1. Any business coming to our office for a license must have a clearance from the Collector of Revenue on Earnings Tax, Payroll Expense Tax, and Personal Property Tax. Additional items requiring clearance are Occupancy Permit Status, Workers Compensation, Missouri Department of Revenue Clearance and Addendum Form. Any one or all of these items could result in a license not being issued. Real Estate Taxes are addressed solely by the Collector of Revenue.

"2. Our Office does not have the authority to close a business according to St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 8.02.110; 8.02.120; and 8.06.160. Upon recommendation of the Collector of Revenue, when a business is not in compliance, we first contact the non-compliant business owner and offer them an opportunity to come into City Hall for a resolution hearing. If a resolution is not obtained, pursuant to state and local law, the License Collector has a duty to report such violations to the Circuit Attorney, Police and/or the Grand Jury for further action. Any further action is at their discretion. We do, however, continue to make attempts to collect outstanding taxes until the business either reconciles its account or closing occurs.

"Since taking office, my staff and I have worked to make the licensing process easier with on-line services, annual licensing fairs, industry briefings, increased fraud monitoring and consumer education. Our community outreach activities include creating networking opportunities with resource providers such as financial institutions and manpower assistance agencies to help businesses sustain and grow. Overall, we have initiated over 25-upgrades during my term for improved business services.
　
"Additionally, we initiated collaborations between multiple city departments to share information in order to ensure continuity and foster more expedient problem-solving actions. We have found that this cross communication decreases customer confusion, offers them accurate information, workable resolutions and results in more businesses being able to remain open. This benefits the city and the many organizations and city services supported by business taxes.

"For more information about our Office, please visit our website: http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/license/. We trust our response will help you to help others clarify these issues. If you have any additional questions, please call me at (314) 622-4643.
　
Sincerely,
Michael McMillan
License Collector
City of St. Louis"

We must admit that we are somewhat disappointed by this response. According to the web site of the License Collector, under "additional links, frequently asked questions," we find that the law states as follows:

8.06.020 License - Payment of Taxes
"No license or permit provided for, or required by this chapter or any ordinance of the City shall hereafter be issued by any department, division or office thereof to any person, until all taxes, personal taxes, earning taxes, license taxes, permits, certificates and merchants tax due, if any, of such person for the preceding year shall first have been paid."

From what the License Collector says, "until all taxes" means all taxes - except real estate taxes - have to be paid. "Real Estate Taxes are addressed solely by the Collector of Revenue," Michael McMillan says.

In the meantime, as of 1:30 p.m., Monday, January 11, 2010, according to the web site of the Collector of Revenue, Great Grizzly Blues LLC, owner of 1027 Geyer (a.k.a. 1863-1865 Menard) owes real estate taxes:
for 2009 ($6,987.60)
for 2008 ($7,058.01)
for 2007 ($7,819.77), for a total amount due of $21,865.38. In addition, we believe that taxes for 2006 and 2005 are also owed. Unfortunately, the Collector of Revenue web site only goes back three years.

Also, Clementine Inc., listed as owner of 2001-2003 Menard, owes real estate taxes on this property:
for 2009 ($5,080.48)
for 2008 ($5,131.81)
for 2007 ($5,685.73), for a total amount of $15,898.02.

Both businesses are open for business. Doesn’t seem right. It implies something about our local government, particularly in these tough times of service cutbacks. And, obviously, the buck does not stop at the Office of License Collector.

Summary of Crime Reports, Soulard

2010-01-05T13:17:00.001-06:00

Madame Chouteau wanted to produce a one year summary of crime/incident reports for Soulard from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department - as recorded on the official department website at http://safecity.slmpd.org/index.htm. Unfortunately, the site only displays reports for the last four months. Thus, following are the statistics from 9/1/2009 through 12/31/2009 for the Soulard neighborhood.

1 sexual assault: 1100 block of Lynch, reported at Saturday, Dec. 26.

5 robbery

4 serious assault

21 burglary

104 theft

40 stolen autos: it is interesting to note that there is a cluster of auto thefts reported near the intersection of Sidney and S. 13th Streets, which is the location of the bridge over I-55 connecting Soulard and Benton Park. It seems that traffic enters Soulard at this point with the intent to steal an auto. Also, there is a cluster along S. 8th and S. 9th streets and extending several blocks on both sides of Russell.

1 arson

2 domestic assault

1 minor assault

3 weapons

2 drugs

12 peace disturbances

1833 service calls, including 23 assaults, a large number of auto accidents, assist motorist, etc. on I-55, 142 disturbances, a carjacking (800 block of Geyer, reported Nov. 6), etc.

More detailed reports on crime in Soulard and Benton park can be obtained by visiting the site of The Messenger, Informing Soulard and Benton Park, an online newspaper. The address is: http://sbpmessenger.com./ We welcome this effort and we appreciate the work of Teresa Moss, the editor.

We wish to add that the only murder that we know of in the neighborhood was reported on June 14, 2009 at 1 a.m. at 2117 S. 12th. This information is from the Post-Dispatch Murder Map, 2009, and we have no additional information about the matter. Anybody having any information about this or any other crime in the neighborhood is invited to send their contact information to us so that we may obtain additional details for possible posting on this blog.

City Licenses: Seeking Enlightenment

2009-12-17T09:16:00.002-06:00

The following was recently e-mailed to Mr. Michael McMillan:

Please forward this e-mail to Mr. Michael McMillan, License Collector, City of St. Louis

Dear Mr. McMillan:

On Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 an article titled “Soulard: The Tax Haven Revisited” was posted on a blog labeled Gumbo, the Forum for Soulard at http://gumbotheforumforsoulard.blogspot.com/. The article contained information about bar/restaurants in the Soulard neighborhood whose property taxes are in arrears or were paid after the deadline. (Please note that this letter is also posted on the blog.)

My understanding is that businesses cannot open their doors and do business unless they have been granted a business license. I understand a business license cannot be issued if the business owes any taxes. Are these understandings correct, or have I misread the laws and ordinances of the City of St. Louis?

I have been approached by several business owners who have paid all their relevant taxes. They want to know why businesses which have not been good citizens - those which have not paid all their taxes - are being subsidized by those who have. They believe an unfair competitive advantage has been created. At what point is a business which has a defective business license - one which does not meet the requirements as defined by laws and ordinances of the City of St. Louis - going to be closed? Are the business licensing laws something to be taken casually here in St. Louis, by both elected officials and businesses?

There are some people in Soulard who feel that there are too many bars/restaurants in the neighborhood. They feel that the large number of these establishments contribute to quality of life problems. Examples of these quality of life issues include increased crime, trash, noise, traffic accidents, vandalism, and others. That some of these establishments remain open when it appears that they have defective licenses suggests favoritism and corruption in City of St. Louis government. They are expected to pay their taxes, their parking tickets, etc., etc., but bars/restaurants which degrade the living experience in the neighborhood seem to get a free pass. Could you please address this concept? Is there any concern by you that residents think favoritism and corruption is an ingredient in St. Louis city government?

I am most interested in hearing from you so that your responses can be published on the blog in order to set the record straight and to calm the fears and anger of some of my fellow citizens. Thank you in advance for your time.

ADDENDUM: The following was attached to the above message and re-sent to The Honorable Michael McMillan on January 4:

Dear Michael McMillan, License Collector, City of St. Louis

This is the second e-mail I have sent you. The first was sent on Dec. 17 to the e-mail address licensecollectorsoffice@stlouiscity.com, as directed by your page on the CIN/St. Louis web site. The e-mail seeks information about irregular business licenses in Soulard, as per a story published on the Soulard blog on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 and titled Soulard: The Tax Haven Revisited. I have not received any answer from you. You may not have been able to find the story due to an error in the blog address. My apologies for the mistake. Thus, I am re-sending the first e-mail to mcmillanm@stlouiscity.com, a different address. I look forward to hearing from you.

Soulard: The Tax Haven Revisited

2009-12-11T06:51:00.001-06:00

Recently we posted information (Monday, July 6, 2009 titled "When was Soulard declared a Tax Haven? Nobody told Madame Chouteau" and Friday, July 31, 2009 titled "Update on Soulard as a Tax Haven and Our Apologies") about four bar/restaurants in Soulard that were in arrears in their property taxes but were still open, despite the City of St. Louis law which states that property taxes - and other taxes - must be paid up in order for a business to have a valid business license.

Well, we are happy to report that things have changed, in a St. Louis sort of way.

The good news is that McGurks-Soulard LLC, owner of record of the ground under John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub, 1200 Russell Blvd., finally paid their 2008 tax bill of $22,984.72. This was posted on 9/24/2009 on the web site of the Collector of Revenue. Anybody concerned about this late pay should remind themselves that James P. Holloran is listed as agent for the company, and he is a "mover and shaker" here in St. Louis. He is blue blood royalty for what passes as St. Louis society, so he pays his taxes when he damn well feels like it, and the rest of you can just bow and scrape and tug your respective forelocks when he passes..

Next, we turn to Nadine’s Gin Joint. Here we have some real St. Louis type progress. The tax problems, which our research showed and we reported as stretching over three years and amounting to $29,389.34, including penalties, were resolved when the property was sold. It appears that somebody in NTM Partnership LLC, listed as the previous owner, paid taxes and bought out some other owners.

The new owners, who call themselves Missouri Housing Assoc. LLC (created on 10/7/09) and who boast a mailing address at 74 Hester Ct., St. Charles, MO 63304, are listed on the Secretary of State’s web site as Gregory Stephen Wood, Nicole Marie Wood, Benjamin Aaron Scott and Kelly Ann Scott. The property, which had been subdivided under the ownership of NTM Partnership LLC, has the abbreviated property description of Nadine’s Kingdom Subdivision. While welcoming the Woods and Scotts to property ownership in Soulard, we wonder if they are going to change the subdivision description to Woods and Scotts Kingdom.

Interestingly, the new owners have created two parcels out of the property, dividing the tax bill into two pieces. The two tax bills were promptly paid by the new owners, which is a blessing, since the City of St. Louis needs every tax dollar it can get. Previously, we had though that the property had been a beneficiary of a tax cut. We were mistaken. Our apologies for the error, and congratulations to the new owners for paying on time.

From here, the news is not so good. Clementine Inc. owes taxes on 2001-2003 Menard for 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the amount of $15,653.36, as of 12/9/09 from the site of Gregory F. X. Daly, Collector of Revenue. But their doors are still open for business.

And, of course, our eternal favorite, Great Grizzly Blues LLC, owner of the building that homes the Great Grizzly Bear, owes $30,273.72 as of 12/9/09. They are in arrears all the way back to 2006, and there is evidence they also owe for 2005. The address of Great Grizzly Bear is 1027 Geyer. Assessor’s Office records list the owner/owners as living at 2 Clara Ave., Webster Groves, MO 63119. Everybody in Soulard is proud to have one of our bar properties owned by somebody from the county, even if they don’t pay their taxes. Us taxpayers really do not mind subsidizing their operation.

Still, we do not understand what is happening. So we have decided to e-mail some questions to the License Collector, Michael McMillan at licensecollectorsoffice@stlouiscity.com.. His web site states: "The City of St. Louis has a responsibility to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. Therefore, the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor enact ordinances that govern operations of businesses that impact the citizens of St. Louis City. State statues and City ordinances give the duty and responsibility to the License Collector of the City of St. Louis to enforce the business license ordinances and statutes."

From their actions - their failure to pay property taxes - Clementines and Great Grizzly are in violation of license requirements. Why are they still open, when their business license applications are defective? Why do you force the rest in the tax-paying community to subsidize their operations? Why are failing businesses - ones which cannot pay their bills - exempted from denial of a business license, while the City of St. Louis expects the rest of us to pay up? Do you not think this undermines confidence in the integrity and competence of City of St. Louis government? We will post any answers we receive from The Honorable Mr. McMillan.

But don’t take our word for any of this. Do your own research, and start by visiting http://stlcin.missouri.org/assessor/lookup.cfm, the site of the City of St. Louis Assessor’s Office. Enter an address and when the property comes up, click on "Tax History Information," which takes you to the page of Gregory F. X. Daly, Collector of Revenue. That page shows tax history, dates of payments and other information. And maybe send an e-mail to Michael McMillan, or Phyllis Young, or Mayor Slay. It is time we stopped being victimized by elected officials. It is time for elected officials to start listening to their respective oaths of office.

Crime: Antoine Soulard's Revenge

2009-12-03T18:45:00.005-06:00

On Saturday morning, November 28 - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - the number of broken auto windows - evidenced by the piles of windows glass along the road and from the still parked, damaged cars - on Soulard and S. 10th Streets was discomforting. A simple shopping trip to Soulard Farmers’ Market yielded insight into the condition of neighborhood civility.

In front of 1823 S. 10th was a red truck with a broken driver’s side window, and there was a fresh pile of broken glass where an adjoining vehicle would have parked. Across the street in front of 1824 S. 10th was what looked like older broken glass (it was scattered) and an auto with a temporary black plastic bag driver’s side window. Around the corner and in front of 911 Soulard was another car with a broken window, plus two fresh piles of broken window glass in adjoining spaces. Across the street in front of 904 Soulard was an older spread of broken window glass.

It looked like somebody had taken out five windows during the previous night, supplementing evidence of older vandalism in the vicinity. The car in front of 911 Soulard had temporary Colorado plates. Not an auspicious beginning for a new purchase.

What is one to make of this?

In an e-mail blaster message from Terry Hoffman - and copied from Lisa Otke’s blaster message dated Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 - the weekend before Thanksgiving - the message was:

"Great news from Officer Hickel, Soulard Community Officer.

"Officers caught 4 black males, 17 years old breaking into vehicles on Wednesday night in Soulard. There had several handbags and valuable in the vehicle they were driving which had been stolen earlier in the day. They were responsible for several car break-ins around the area. This should reduce crime in the area!

"Thanks to Officer Hickel for sharing this good news!! Let’s hope we see a reduction of crime for awhile!!

"Have a good week and Happy Thanksgiving!"

The call to celebrate was premature. One could try for some humor and comment that Hi-Tech Security, the "rent-a-cop" company hired with our special business district add-on tax, is hot on restoring neighborhood manners, but it seems that there is nothing humorous - nor effective - about Hi-Tech Security. Two recent stories in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hinted that scandal touches the company, suggesting it suffers from a defective business plan.

Of course, over the last number of years, civility has not been a Soulard trademark. The Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day (and other boozy festivals) promotes Soulard as a place to waste, all in the name of celebrating drunkenness while boosting the bottom lines of area bars and restaurants.

Year around, the patrons of the bars and restaurants do a fine job of leaving a debris trail that helps convey the message that "nobody cares what happens in this neighborhood," the price we pay for the unsought designation from the City of St. Louis of "Entertainment District."

The Soulard Restoration Group, a self-centered collection of poseurs, believes that promoting the party somehow promotes the neighborhood. They effortlessly sidestep the truth that fighting trash, just like fighting crime, requires healthy neighborhood morale and effective leadership. What years ago had been an evolving residential neighborhood has been traded for a "party neighborhood."

So maybe we can see all these broken windows - and a lot of other anti-social events - as "Soulard’s Revenge," as payback from our namesake for directing his neighborhood down the road towards Pigpensville. Random vandalism, occasionally mixed with violence or the threat of violence, coupled with trash, noise, accidents, etc., all the stuff from the police blotter, are "Soulard’s Revenge" for turning a historic residential neighborhood into St. Louis’ Party Neighborhood, as The Riverfront Times labels us.

Police Incident Reports, Soulard, Oct. 11 - 18

2009-10-18T10:03:00.001-05:00

Baetje Farms Wins the Gold for Remarkable Cheese

2009-10-15T10:00:00.002-05:00

Baetje Farms LLC has received gold award recognition for their Coeur de la Creme Three Pepper Blend of goat cheese after judging in October by the United Kingdom’s Guild of Fine Food. Called the World Cheese Awards, the judging was held in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, only the second time the awards have been held outside Britain in their 21 year history.

In addition, Baetje Farms won bronze for their Coeur de la Creme Bavarian Lemon Creme, as well as for their Coeur de la Creme Garlic and Chives. These and other flavors of their pure farmstead artisan cheese are available at the Soulard Farmers’ Market, Fridays from 8 a.m. until 1, Saturdays from 7 a.m. until 1, brought to you by Steve and Veronica Baetje and their staff.

The World Cheese Awards judging attracted 2,440 entries from 34 countries. Judges came from 24 countries, including Mexico, South Africa, Japan and Australia and 140 cheeses from around the world were awarded with gold by the international jury. For additional information about the judging, visit www.finefoodworld.co.u./content/WorldCheeseAwards/62.html.

Steve and Veronica produce their goat cheese products fresh with milk from their own herd of registered Saanen dairy goats.

Fed on an all natural diet of whole grain ration, locally grown alfalfa hay and browse pasture, weather permitting, the goats also receive an unlimited supply of filtered spring water. The cheeses are made by hand, using old world cheesemaking techniques coupled with high standards of quality and precision.

Steve and Veronica Baetje have been working with goats for over 10 years and have been licensed to produce cheese for retail sale since Sept. 2007. Veronica has completed the Advanced Cheesemaking course from the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese through the University of Vermont in Burlington, where experts are brought in from around the globe to give hands-on experience and to further the craft of artisan cheese here in the United States. Baetje Farms boasts a state of the art plant, built with the guidance and direction of Neville McNaughten with Cheezsorce.

Madame Chouteau, who loves the Baetje products, congratulates Veronica and Steve for awards well-deserved, and reminds area cheese enthusiasts of how lucky we are to have their outstanding products available at the Soulard Farmers’ Market.

Police Incident Reports, Soulard, Oct. 4 - Oct. 11

2009-10-11T11:15:00.001-05:00

Our Special Oktoberfest Festival

2009-10-09T11:18:00.003-05:00

The Oktoberfest event has again landed on Soulard, another commercial exploitation of this historic district by private interests. Striving mightily to pretend that it is a neighborhood event, instead of a private, money-making activity, Oktoberfest further degrades the quality of residential life, distracting attention from growth and improvement, focusing on a party.

At the Soulard Special Business District forum, held on Sept. 30, a question was raised regarding security during Oktoberfest. It was interesting to listen to Alderwoman Phyllis Young during the ensuing discussion. She assured those attending that the responsible organization - Soulard Oktoberfest Benevolent Association - had assumed full responsibility for security.

She also said that the so-called festival will no longer be held in Soulard after this year. "They have promised this is the last year," she said, ignoring the fact that the organizers promised the same thing last year. She could have made the point that the organizers will say (and promise) anything to continue the event in Soulard.

Finally, she added that Oktoberfest was growing in popularity, and any who "did not like this event in their neighborhood should make their voices heard." She neglected to say to whom comments should be directed. Perhaps Santa Claus? The Easter Bunny?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch readers will recall that Alderwoman Young seems not to be a fan of Oktoberfest, possibly because she doesn’t want another over-the-top commercial event added to her legacy. She has good cause for embarrassment.

The Soulard Mardi Gras has grown to its present state of disorder as a public drunk during her reign as alderwoman. It gets a free pass from the City of St. Louis because our wise City Fathers are so desperate for revenue, no matter what the cost to a city neighborhood, no matter how disgraceful the event.

SMG has changed the tone of the entire neighborhood, transforming the culture from neighborhood growth and improvement to "let’s have a party." Thus, it gets a free pass from the Soulard Restoration Group, an organization now devoted to drinking. Their glib motto is: "If you don’t like Soulard Mardi Gras, then it’s time to move." And many otherwise contributing people have done this.

Anyway, after some skirmishing in the pages of the Post-Dispatch, Alderwoman Young wrote a letter - on Board of Aldermen stationary - on May 30, 2009 to Mr. Victor Wendl, President, Soulard Oktoberfest Benevolent Association, 7321 S. Lindbergh, Suite 208, St. Louis, MO 63125.

The letter pretty well catalogues the impact of Oktoberfest and reads as follows:

"I have reviewed the plan of action that you have submitted for curtailing the problems that have arisen in the past from the Oktoberfest. While I can see that you have made some effort I still have concerns. I’ll address the issues as you presented them.

"ISSUE 1: PUBLIC URINATION. Additional porta-potties in the area will be appreciated if they are used by your visitors. Will the ‘stationary officers’ patrol and issue tickets?

"ISSUE 2: PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE. That might help; however, again what will the patrols do to curb this behavior? Will they issue tickets for damage?

"ISSUE 3: DAMAGE TO VEGETATION IN SOULARD MARKET PARK. Fencing the flower beds would be appreciated.

"ISSUE 4: DAMAGE TO PARK GROUNDS. That’s an item to take up with the Parks Director.

"ISSUE 5: IMPACT ON MARKET PARKING. Have you discussed this with the Market’s Merchant’s Association? In my discussions with them it was felt that the elderly and handicapped as well as those people who shop for large families will not come to the Market due to the inconvenience or inability to deal with large quantities of food on a shuttle bus. This is not an acceptable approach for resolving the Market’s issue.

"ISSUE 6: IMPACT ON MARKET SALES AND TRAFFIC. There has been no growth shown in the number of younger shoppers at the Market after either Mardi Gras or Oktoberfest. While you moved your date to the second week of October the checks for those dependent on Social Security generally arrive on the 5th of the month. Therefore, the date you have chosen is also the one that is generally the busiest of the month for the Market.

"You need to work more closely with the merchants at Soulard Market to limit the damage to their revenues. In effect your event causes them to lose a week’s revenues. It would be similar to closing a Soulard bar for a week. Keep that in mind as you plan your event.

"I’m told that the 50 cent coupons that were issued last year to offset the decrease in sales were never funded by your organization. Therefore, I am skeptical that the vendors would get reimbursed if people from food pantries came in with Soulard Oktoberfest Dollars. To show good faith to the Market Merchants a check with an agreed upon amount should be provided to the Merchants Association for deposit in an account two weeks prior to Oktoberfest to insure that the program would be funded.

"ISSUE 7: JULIA STREET VENDOR PARKING PROBLEMS. Again this is an issue to take up with the Park Director.

"ISSUE 8: EXCESSIVE DRUNKENNESS. I applaud the mandating of TIPS training for nonprofit organizations selling alcohol at Oktoberfest. I request that ID’s be checked with every sale. You’ll make the older folks feel young and be certain that everyone is of age to drink. In addition the state and local Excise officers should be asked to be at the event ticketing underage drinkers.

"ISSUE 9: GROWTH OF THE FESTIVAL TO UNMANAGEABLE ATTENDANCE. I agree that an entrance fee will help the event. I’m told that there was a $10 fee previously so I don’t understand the $5 one now proposed. You should also provide flexibility to hire additional security if the crowd builds.

"ISSUE 10: USE OF ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS OR DISBURSE ACTIVITIES. (1) I have no information about why Strassenfest failed downtown; however, the split that brought Oktoberfest to Soulard was likely a part of it along with the fact that it occurred in the hottest part of our St. Louis summers. (2) If Oktoberfest is a German Cultural festival why not hold it at the German Cultural Center on S. Jefferson and build on the decision to locate that facility in that location. There is also a large parking lot adjacent to the St. Louis Gast Haus on Chouteau which could promote the event and the restaurant. (3) Alderman Ortmann has also agreed that your event could locate in Lyons Park in the shadow of the brewery.

"ISSUE 11: BOISTEROUS PEOPLE WHO BOTHERED RESIDENTS. While you can post on the website and throughout the neighborhood, unless there is some penalty imposed by the officers you hire there is no enforcement for this problem. What specific measures are you taking to insure the residents that your participants will be responsible and respectful?

"ISSUE 12: SHORTEN THE FESTIVAL HOURS AND/OR DAYS.

"ISSUE 13: CLOSING OF LAFAYETTE STREET NO EARLIER THAN NOON ON FRIDAY. These are the Director of Streets requirements. You may close 8th St on Thursday morning to construct the stage as was done last year, however, Lafayette Street will be available on Friday at noon. You may use the parking lanes and sidewalks for prep and staging provided that you leave the driving lanes open. You’ll need permits for all of this.

"I appreciate the thoughts and efforts of the group to meet the concerns expressed; however, I believe that more work is needed to protect both the adjacent neighbors and the Soulard Market Merchants. I will await you ideas.

"Sincerely, Phyllis Young, Alderwoman, 7th Ward"

Copies were sent to Alderman Ken Ortmann, Gary Bess, Todd Waeltermann, Jim Price, Johnny Daus, Joannie Thomas and Ann Chance.

Wow, that is some letter. These issues raise the obvious question: why let private interests - and private wallets - wag the dog and on the public dime, too?

An analysis of the issues reveals that Oktoberfest is nothing more than a microcosm of the Soulard Mardi Gras, and both events offer insights into the leadership skills - the degree of incompetence and venality - of those who run the neighborhood and the City of St. Louis. So if you don’t like what you see, well, then, it is time to move, as the neighborhood party people would say.

Police Incident Reports, Soulard, Sept. 27 - Oct. 4

2009-10-04T09:28:00.002-05:00

Incident reports for Soulard from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department - as recorded on an official department website at http://safecity.slmpd.org/index.htm - for the seven day
period of Sunday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 4 include:

1 serious assault: 1300 block of Gravois, reported at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

3 theft: 1500 block of S. 7th, reported at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3; Menard and Allen, reported at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27; 2500 block of S. 11th, reported at 11:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28.

1 stolen autos: 1500 block of S. 7th, reported at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.

1 minor assault: 1000 block of Ann, reported at 2:05 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27.

3 peace disturbances: 1700 block of S. 9th, reported at 12:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27; 1000 block of Lami, reported at 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2; 2400 block of S. 12th, reported at 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27.

120 service calls, including accident (11), accident with injuries (3), auto theft (2), disturbance (15), etc.

As an aside, there was an interesting incident which occurred during a scheduled meeting of the Soulard Special Business District, which held a public forum on Sept. 30 at the Soulard Preservation Hall. Cynthia Harrison, Chairman of the commissioners of the SPBD, revealed that sometime during the past 30 days there had been a murder/suicide - apparently the result of a domestic altercation - in the 700 block of Russell. A swat team had made an appearance during the course of this event.

No other details were provided.

It is odd that this event was not identified on the web site where all of above material was obtained and has been obtained for the past numbers of weeks. This absence was brought up during the meeting, and the response to the question made absolutely no sense.

One interpretation of the answer was that the event, which apparently involved two life partners, was too personal to be put on the web site and to be exposed to public comment. We cannot see the sense in this interpretation. All crime is personal. Just ask the man who lives a half block from us how personal it was to feel a pistol barrel placed on the back of his head in the middle of the night, all part of a robbery reported earlier on this blog.

If crime and incidents are not listed because they are too personal, where does this begin and end? Would any crimes be listed?

We asked Terry Hoffman, Treasurer of the SSBD, to please provide additional details of the murder/suicide so that we might research it on the web site. We look forward to hearing from him, and we hope that the absence of information to date is no more sinister than a clerical error. If it is more than a clerical error, then what else is being left out?

A False Sense of Security?

2009-09-30T08:39:00.000-05:00

One of our neighbors, a long-time Soulard resident, property owner and observer of the neighborhood scene, tries to inform people of problems with their vehicles. Some of us do this. If we see a car with an almost flat tire, we let the driver know before the tire is ruined. If somebody leaves their auto lights on, we try to alert the owner before the battery is drained. It seems to be common courtesy.

At approximately 6:30 a.m., while driving east on Victor on her way to work, our neighbor passed one of the Hi-Tech “security force” cars parked on the south side of Victor pointing east. The cross streets, which dead end here at the Boy’s Club, were Menard and South 10th streets. The motor was running and the lights of the vehicle were on, which was appropriate since this was sometime between March 10 and 20, as near as she can place the event. After passing, she observed in her rear view mirror that one of the headlights of the security vehicle was out. This is a safety issue.

Out of habit and to inform the driver of the headlight problem, she did a turn-around and pulled up on the north side of the street, now facing west, and honked her horn. The driver was in the car with the window up. She then realized that he was asleep.

After honking a couple of more times and getting no reaction, she dialed the number on the side of the car and reported to the “dispatcher” that their security patrol was sidelined because the officer was sleeping in his vehicle with the engine running. She informed the dispatcher that she was not particularly impressed by the devotion to duty being displayed. Hi-Tech was hired under the auspices of the Soulard Special Business District to bolster Soulard security, and the bills are paid from a special add-on to property taxes.

In fact, there are several people who report seeing police officers sleeping in the Hi-Tech security cars. Madame Chouteau does not perceive that this is an end of the earth sort of situation. However, it does call into question the effectiveness - and integrity - of the security program.

Our neighbor sums up the situation: “Why are we paying extra taxes for a service that seems questionable?” Madame Chouteau would certainly like to hear some discussion of this issue, some evaluation of the benefits of the program, other than creating what may be a false sense of security.

In a recent e-mail, Cindy Harrison, Chairman, Soulard Special Business District, the organization that handles the expenditure of the special tax funds - announced that “we will be reviewing some of the accomplishments of the patrol at the district forum. If you would like more information, I suggest you attend.” The forum is scheduled to be held Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Soulard Preservation Hall.

Pierogi Selection Available at Soulard Farmers' Market

2009-09-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

Frozen pierogi - a Polish version of ravioli - now can be purchased at Krystyna’s European Food stand at the Market. Cabbage, meat, potato and cheese, cheese, plum and blueberry pierogi are available at the stand.

The pierogi is in addition to smoked Polish sausage, Kielbasa Weselna, Slaska brand sausage, Jalowcowa Juniper Berry Smoked sausage, duck pate, Szynka Polish style ham, dill pickles and other products.

SRG to take over Soulard/CIN site

2009-09-09T07:29:00.003-05:00

The Communications Committee of the Soulard Restoration Group has announced plans to take over the front page of the Soulard/City Information Network (CIN) web site, substituting a different front page to direct visitors to the SRG site. The Soulard/CIN site has been tended by Clark Rowley for almost a decade.

Billy Tomber, head of the committee, board member and editor of The Soulard Renaissance, commented on Friday, Sept. 4 that "when people want information about Soulard, then our site should come up." He added that "our organization speaks for the vast majority of Soulard residents. I can say that with great assurance," and he explains that taking over the Soulard/CIN front page has recently been added to the objectives of the Communications Committee.

"Control of the Soulard/CIN site is desired by the membership of the Soulard Restoration Group," he stated. "The present Soulard/CIN site is not representative of the neighborhood," he believes. "It has served the neighborhood, but not any longer," he says.

Under Billy’s plan, the front page of the SRG website at http://www.soulard.org will be substituted for the existing front page on the CIN site at http://stlouis.missouri.org/soulard. Under this plan, all visitors to the city sponsored site will be directed to the pages of the SRG site. Without a directory, access to the remaining pages of the Soulard/CIN site will be difficult or they will be deleted.

The switch was made in the middle of August after Billy e-mailed the CIN staff requesting the change. Clark was never told about the plan, nor was he consulted by Billy or anybody in the SRG. When the page change cropped up, Clark changed it back, thinking it was some practical joke. When Billy learned of the switch, he contacted the CIN staff and was told he should talk with Clark.

When asked why he had not contacted the person who created the site, Billy said that he did not know that Clark was the webmaster of the Soulard/CIN site. "When the Communications Committee met in July, we decided that this was one of our objectives" - to take over the Soulard/CIN site. He noted that the Soulard Restoration Group speaks for the neighborhood and is "the largest group in Soulard."

He boasted that the SRG site receives contributions from everyone - "our site is open to everyone," and he added that if "anyone does not like something about the SRG, then they can join the organization and work to change it. We are a democratic organization."

Minding our Pets, Displaying Courtesy

2009-09-02T09:35:00.002-05:00

The following comments are from a Soulard neighborhood e-mail blaster

Hello all,

I am still somewhat new to the neighborhood and getting acquainted with how things work around here. So far living in Soulard is fantastic, but I am having some issues with folks not cleaning up after their animals in front of my home on 11th st. This has happened several times over the past couple of months. I have never seen the culprit(s) so I can't ask them to stop or to pick up the mess. Is anybody having or had the same and how have you dealt with it? If you know someone who knowingly leaves there animal droppings on other people's property please pass this along as it very discourteous and they should begin to clean up after there animal.

Thanks,

Domenic Marcello

And a response:

I second that emotion. I always clean up after my animals when I walk them, whether it is on sidewalks, in tree lawns, public parks or the dog park (if there has been a time I haven't, it's because I ran out of bags during the walk, but I always try go back after and pick it up as soon as possible....)

It is both irresponsible and just plain rude to leave your animal's waste, no matter the size, etc., on public property or some other person's private property.

Even if it is in the tree lawn, the homeowner whose property is adjacent to that tree lawn is responsible for maintaining it, e.g. cutting the grass, and it is very frustrating to have to pick up some other person's pet waste prior to mowing the tree lawn. Sometimes I really consider putting the asphalt back that was there before I bought the house so I won't have to deal with it...

Dana Brackeen

Police Incident Reports, Soulard Neighborhood, Aug. 23 - 30

2009-08-30T09:23:00.003-05:00

Incident reports for Soulard from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for the seven day period of Sunday, August 23 through Sunday, August 30 include:

1 robbery: 900 block of Russell, reported at 10:28 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.

3 theft: 2100 block of S. 12th, reported at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28; 2300 block of S. 13th, reported at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 28; 700 block of Russell, reported at 6:50 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

1 DWI: S. 10th and Geyer, reported at 8:27 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28.

There were reported 123 service calls, including accident (7), accident w/injuries (4), arrest attempt (2), assault (2), assist motorist (7), attempt holdup (2200 bock of S. 9th), attempt larceny, auto theft (4), burglar in the building, call for police - calling for help - disturbance (5), disturbance (4), fight (2), holdup, parking violation (12), shooting (900 block of Russell), shots fired (900 block of Russell, Russell and Menard), suspicious person (14), etc.

In recent blog postings there was made note of an unfortunate accident involving the dog of a customer of Elicia’s Pizza. The dog was struck and killed by the delivery driver. The owner of the dog was interviewed for the story, and then Elicia’s Pizza e-mailed their side of the accident. Several elements of the accident, as explained by the two sides, are contradictory.

However, it was noted that the customer, a resident of Soulard, called the police and asked the police to make a report of the incident. Madame Chouteau checked the Safe City Incident Mapping site, which is the source of all of the above information. Following is what was recorded regarding the accident: Call type: Injured animal; Reported as: Animal bite; Date time: 2009/08/21 20:15:00; Address: 1300 block of Sidney St.; District: 3.

Madame Chouteau has no sources of information about crime in the Soulard neighborhood other than what is revealed on the Safe City Incident Mapping site, unless those with knowledge of crime incidents step forward. The reason this information is being posted is because it is important that residents and visitors to Soulard understand that there is crime in the area and that they need to be alert to this fact and to act appropriately.

For example, the crime map on the Safe City Incident Mapping site indicates that during the last seven day period, there was considerable police activity along Russell in response to reported incidents. Residents and visitors may wish to verify this information for themselves by visiting the Safe City site.

Good luck, and try to avoid becoming a statistic. Remember, a large element of avoidance depends on you and how you conduct yourself.

Addendum: Elicia's Pizza Driver Kills Neighborhood Dog

2009-08-28T07:51:00.003-05:00

The following e-mail regarding the Elicia’s Pizza delivery driver accident was opened on Friday, August 28 and was immediately posted in its entirety. For additional information, please see the preceding blog posting.

"Hi, I am David, the owner of the Elicia’s Pizza located at 3209 Gravois, and this letter is in reply to the incident that happened in Soulard last weekend. On behalf of myself, my driver and the entire crew of Elicia's Pizza, we extend our sincerest condolences to the owner of the dog, along with his family and friends.

"The entire staff of Elicia's Pizza would never intentionally hurt any animal. Several of my employees are animal lovers and have rescued and adopted animals, including myself and my general manager.

"My location works with many of the non-for-profit organizations, schools and churches on a daily basis to help make our community a better place to live.

"The delivery driver who is accused of hitting the dog does not believe he ran a dog over. He is a family man who has 6 children and pets of his own. He has stated that he would never intentionally hurt an animal.

"It was not confirmed that a dog was hit in Soulard until late Tuesday afternoon and that dog belonged to one of our customers. The following day a sympathy card was sent to the owner.

"Throughout the last twenty–four hours I have made several calls, and replied to several emails regarding this situation. There is so much hearsay going around as far as what happened. If you read each and every post and email, the story changes. Examples:v "The manager asked the owner of the dog, "What do you want me to do? Fire him?" That was never said. My manager couldn’t even get two words in through the phone call when she spoke to owner. Some emails saying the gate was open some saying the gate was closed. The day that it happened changes. This happened Friday August 21st, some post / emails say Saturday and the lady who I spoke to last night thought it was on Sunday.

"I have spoken to the employees involved who spoke with the owner along with the delivery driver, and here are their stories.

"Friday night, August 21st, as he has done for the last fifteen years, he left on a delivery going to Soulard. As he arrived on the block, he made a right and parked on the side of the house, grabbed the bag of food and exited his van. He had to walk around the corner of the block, and down the sidewalk to get the front gate of the house. He opened the gate, and proceeded to walk up the sidewalk, then up the steps on to the front porch. As he approached the front door, the screen door was closed, but the main door was opened. As he started to knock, two dogs came to the front door and started barking. After about a minute the owner came to the door. The owner tried to get the dogs back so he could come out on the front porch, but after a few minutes the owner just opened the door, letting the dogs out. The driver was surprised that the customer let the dogs out since he could see that the front gate was opened.

"The dogs started jumping on the delivery driver trying to get the food that he was carrying. The driver asked can you get the dogs off of me. The owner paid for his food while the dogs were running up and down the sidewalk and into the street.

"As the delivery driver started walking back towards his van, he heard the owner calling for the dogs to come. Since the dogs were outside of the gate the driver left the gate open so the dogs could get back into the yard.

"The driver rounded the corner and got back into his van and left. Please keep in mind that the van was parked on the side of the house. The driver returned to the store for his next delivery.

"The shift manager received a call from the customer, according to our phone log one hour and forty three minutes after the order was placed, saying that his dog got hit by one of the delivery drivers. The shift manager told the customer, I am sorry, but I will need to have my general manager call you in a few minutes.

"Shortly after that, the general manager spoke to the owner of the dog to find out what happened. She listened patiently as the customer told her what had happened. She asked what kind of dog it was and before she could get any more information, he suddenly got upset with her and said, "You just don’t care do you?" and hung up on her before she could say anything else.

"Unsure what to do she called the police. When my manager spoke to the police officer, the police lady said that they do not write reports on situations where an animal was hit, but did say we can send an officer out to that location if we would like to file a complaint of a dog running around unleashed. If that was the case we would issue a ticket to the owner of the dog (please call the police department to verify this) My manager told the officer that we did not want to file a report.

"I want to give everyone all of information that I have been told. This is from an email I received tonight. I do no know if this is true, but I want to be honest, and let everyone know what I have been told. I am passing this information along to everyone. This was from a neighbor who said that she and her children did see the dog get hit. She did say that it was my delivery driver who hit the dog, and again I am sorry that this did happen, no matter who hit your dog. She also did say in her email that they did believe that this was an unfortunate accident.

"Elicia’s Pizza again, would like to offer our condolences to the owner of the dog. To help heal the pain of our community, Elicia’s Pizza will be contacting the Stray and Rescue organization in Lafayette Square to plan a fundraiser in the owners name to benefit future animals and their needs.

Sincerely,
Elicia’s Pizza"

Elicia's Pizza Driver Kills Neighborhood Dog

2009-08-27T16:15:00.003-05:00

"The whole thing is so out of control, with Alicia’s Pizza not even offering an apology after their delivery driver ran over our dog," remarks Soulard resident Mal Schwartz, describing the Friday evening - August 21 - accident on the corner of S. 13th Street and Sidney in the Soulard neighborhood.

He and life partner Ed Van Kast, tenants living in a first floor unit in the 1300 block of Sidney, had been regular customers of Alicia’s Pizza, located nearby on Gravois, ordering deliveries every couple of weeks. The peculiar events on Friday ended their relationship with the company.

"Ed ordered a pizza from the company on Friday evening, around 8 to 8:30 p.m. When the delivery driver arrived at our door, our two dogs, Shorty and Groucho, who were inside the house, started barking," Mal relates. Mal describes Shorty as a rescue dog, adopted by the couple through the Humane Society of Franklin County, following flooding in the area over a year ago. "Shorty was a shih tzu, about 10 inches high, weighing in at 21 pounds, according to the vet, and Shorty and Groucho bark when somebody comes to the door. That is natural," he explains. Groucho is a medium sized dog, also probably not weighing over 30 pounds. "These are house pets, not ferocious attack dogs," Mal emphasizes.

Ed kept the dogs inside and went out on the small porch to accept the pizza and to pay the delivery person. "The dogs were inside, and there was never any physical contact between the dogs and the delivery person," Mal observes.

But the whole thing just went downhill, he says. The delivery person was upset and angry, even though Mal gave him a tip. "Ed just wanted to end the whole thing, after accepting the pizza and paying the man, and he turned to go into the house. When he opened the storm door with one hand, juggling the pizza with the other, Shorty bolted. Ed had not noticed that the delivery man had left the gate wide open on the way to his vehicle, which was parked on S. 13th," Mal relates.

"The delivery person was shouting at Ed, and one of his comments was to never call Elicia’s again, among other things," Mal comments. "Anyway, he started up his car and ran through the stop sign, turning west on Sidney. He ran over Shorty, who was excited by the confrontation and was out on the street by this time. Death was instantaneous. The driver slowed, but he did not stop," Mal testifies.

Mal relates that neighbors heard the delivery man shouting. In fact, the neighbor three doors up Sidney had come to her front yard because the delivery driver had attracted her attention by speeding down the alley paralleling Sidney to turn onto S. 13th on his way to the delivery. "Her daughter was having a slumber party and she was out in the back yard and noted that the driver was driving erratically through the alley. From her front yard, she witnessed the whole thing," Mal comments. "He was yelling as he was driving away," he notes.

"Ed was stunned by this turn of events," according to Mal. "He called the police. They did not want to take a report. They said it was just an accident. In fact, they wanted to arrest Ed, since he threw the pizza into the middle of the street. They wanted to arrest him for littering," Mal recounts.

"Animal control was also on the scene. They wanted to remove the body, but Ed told them that he would take care of that," Mal says.

He also called the manager of Elicia’s Pizza. "The manager said that it was not their fault and that we didn’t have our dog under control. He said they had no responsibility, and that it was our problem, not theirs," Mal continues. "There was no apology, no sense of remorse. The manager was rude as hell. As far as I am concerned, Elicia’s Pizza has the worst sense of customer relations of anybody I have ever seen," he concludes.

News of the strange incident has been spread on a Soulard neighborhood e-mail blaster. The response has been overwhelmingly against Elicia’s Pizza. Somebody forwarded the blaster information to Channel 5. Interviews were conducted by Channel 5 KSDK personnel, but the story did not run because Elicia’s said they would take legal action, according to Mal.

A friend of Madame Chouteau called Elicia’s Pizza on Thursday afternoon, August 27 in order to get a comment. The statement received was: "The situation was an accident. The owners of this company are talking to the owners of the dog to try to work this situation out."

Ed and Mal buried Shorty’s remains on a family farm in Waterloo, Il.

Garden Spot Market Occupies Key Niche

2009-08-06T10:14:00.006-05:00

Soulard Market shoppers are fortunate to have another first class vendor. Garden Spot Market, a outlet of Rick's Garden Spot Meats, based in Salem, Illinois, has opened inside the main building, right across the aisle from the Soulard Spice Shop. Meats, old time canned goods and other products, plus hot lunches, are all available on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.

Marcus Shupp, one of several family members running the outlet, is extremely enthusiastic to be at the Soulard Market, and he is overjoyed at the reception the shop and its products have received.

He notes that "we have been in the meat processing business for about 14 years. We started out as a custom only processing plant, and we evolved over the years into what we are now - a USDA inspected meat processor."

The benefit to Soulard Market shoppers is that they can purchase meat products which are locally produced. Marcus observes that "the knowledgeable consumer wants to know where their food is coming from and exactly what the animals (for the meat part of our business) have been fed. All of our fresh meats come from small, local farmers. We know each one of them. We can tell you exactly what farm produced what, how the animal was raised and what they were fed."

He adds that "all of our meat is ‘naturally’ raised. No hormones have been used to ‘greenhouse grow’ or to grow them faster and bigger."

He also mentions that "all beef is dry aged for 10 to 14 days to bring out the best flavor. Store bought box meat does not compare to the quality of good, aged steer. Finally, all our pork, lamb and goat are fresh."

Marcus explains that "we are large enough that we can meet the needs of our customers, but we are small enough to care about each individual person and family we come in contact with in the course of providing service."

In addition to meats, honey, pickled dilly corn, maple syrup, salsa, a spectrum of sugar-free jams and many other canned goods are stocked on the store shelves. Marcus mentions that "all of our canned goods are prepared for us by the Amish community in Holmes County, Ohio. All canned goods are of the old fashioned nature, which means that very little or no preservatives are used in the canning process. Simply said, they are prepared just the way our grandparents and earlier generations would have done it, naturally!

"Our maple syrup is tapped and cooked at a small family operated business in central Illinois. The honey is from right here in southern Illinois and is minimally processed - just enough to prevent the product from crystalizing in the jar. The jams and jellies come from the Miller's, a husband/wife operated small business. Once again, they strive to make their products as natural as possible," Marcus states.

He goes on to explain that "our hot lunches are prepared in our inspected facility before being served in our store at Soulard. All meals are prepared fresh each day and in a home style manner. For example, the mashed potatoes that we serve are actual potatoes that we peel, cook and mash to provide in our meals. They are not instant."

Marcus comments that "we also have deli sandwiches available. They are made fresh with your choice of lunch meat and cheese and are sold from our deli case," he says.

"Our business is a family business, and participants include my parents - Rick & Jean, my brother and his wife - Jordan & Jeri, my two sisters - Lucia & Melissa, and my wife Charlou and I," Marcus concludes.

For additional information, visit their web site at http://www.ricksgardenspotmeats.com/ or e-mail Marcus at mlshupp@iglide.net. The store is definitely a must visit for Soulard shoppers. Pictured is Marcus displaying some of the meat products and stocking the canned goods shelves.

Update on Soulard as a Tax Haven and our Apologies

2009-07-31T09:02:00.004-05:00

Readers will remember that a recent blog posting noted that property owners of several main line bar/restaurants in Soulard were in arrears in their real estate taxes.

To recap, the owners of: (1) 1923-31 S. 12th, the location of Nadine’s Gin Joint, owe $29,560.65 for the years 06, 07 and 08; (2) 1027 Geyer, the location of The Great Grizzly Bear, owe $23,386.77 for 06, 07 and 08; (3) 2001-2003 Menard, the location of Clementine’s Bar - Oh My Darlin’ Café, owe $10,708.77 for 07 and 08, and (4) 1200-1214 Russell, the location of John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub, owe $24,191.66 for 08. This is per a check of the City of St. Louis web site at 8:45 a.m. on July 31, 2009.

That is a total of $87,847.85, penalties included.

Madame Chouteau checked the St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 8.02: Licenses and read that: The License Collector shall not issue any merchants, manufacturers, franchise, business or occupational license or renewal thereof, to any person, partnership or corporation, or anyone who contracts for personal service to be performed by individuals within the City, which under the law the License Collector is empowered to issue, unless and until the applicant for such license produces a written statement of clearance issued jointly by the Collector of Revenue and the License Collector certifying that no current or past personal property, real estate tax, payroll tax, business license taxes and/or earnings taxes are due and payable to the City and a statement from the Director of Revenue of the State of Missouri certifying that the applicant is in possession of a retail sales license, if such a license is required.

Madame Chouteau’s interpretation of this boilerplate is that a license to do business will be granted providing that real estate property taxes, among other items, have been paid and are not past due. This sounds reasonable.

The fact that property owners on which some bars and restaurants sit in Soulard are in arrears in their property tax payments, according to City of St. Louis records, is puzzling.

Then everything was made clear, thanks to an excellent column titled "Political Eye," found on page A11 in the July 9 - 15, 2009 issue of the St. Louis American under the headline "License to do business as usual" and the subhead "Scofflaws welcome."

The column explains that Missouri Auditor Susan Montee had released the week before audits of several City of St. Louis departments, including the Office of License Collector, headed by Michael McMillan. There were some miscellaneous problems revealed by the audit, including some problems with procurement policies, etc. The column went on:

"The real eye opener in this audit report, however, is that you really don’t have to have a business license in order to do business in the city of St. Louis.

"The report notes, ‘Of the 3,208 businesses reviewed, 700 operated without a valid business license for at least two years due to deficiencies noted during the clearance process. Of the 700 businesses noted above, 235 operated without a valid business license for at least three years.’

"That’s fully one-quarter of the businesses reviewed!

"McMillan’s response is typical in local politics. If it’s my fault (and I’m not saying it is), then everybody else is doing it.

"‘As indicated, this has been a long standing problem. It is a City and State problem, not just a License Collector’s Office problem,’ he writes.

"‘Businesses in this category have paid for their business licenses. The non-compliant status usually relates to compliance deficiencies with other city departments such as the Collector of Revenue, the Building Division and the Health Department or to the State of Missouri for sales tax.’

"McMillan goes on to admit that the City is so desperate for tax revenue it is willing to waive the license requirement rather than close down scofflaws.

"The report states, ‘According to the License Collectors office, this problem has continued to exist partly because the City has been hesitant to close non-compliant businesses when it is already difficult to keep existing businesses and bring new businesses into the city.’"

So there you have it. Madame Chouteau applauds the administrators of the City of St. Louis for not enforcing their own laws in order to avoid discomforting city businesses, which apparently are in short supply. And we especially thank the St. Louis American for explaining this and making it clear. And we hope that business property owners are not deducting from their income taxes the expense of their unpaid property taxes.

And, of course, Madame Chouteau apologizes for misunderstanding the situation.

Mugged in Broad Daylight on S. 12th Street

2009-07-27T07:53:00.002-05:00

"My mistake was that I gave two young black men the benefit of the doubt," explains Judy Johnson, long time Soulard resident, who was mugged early Saturday evening.

Judy relates that she was returning home from work. The time was approximately 7:10 p.m. She parked two doors up the street from her home in the 2300 block of S. 12th Street - between Shenandoah and Lami, the cross streets. After exiting her van and locking it, she was accosted by two young black men - "they seemed to be about 18 years old" - who asked for directions to a restaurant on "Tucker."

"They were very polite, calling me ma’am. They stayed six feet away from me, and I did not feel threatened at all," Judy relates. "I told them that this was not Tucker, but S. 12th Street. The one who did the talking said he was from Mississippi and that was why he didn’t know that Tucker had a name change when it branched at Gravois. He spoke softly and with a Southern accent. Both were clean cut and casually dressed," Judy notes.

"I was weary from the outset, but they apologized for taking up my time. Then they turned and headed south. I turned north to approach my house, and I heard the talker say: ‘I’m joking, bitch,’ and I was immediately hit between my shoulder blades by a fist or an open hand," Judy says.

"He really hit me hard, and I was pushed several feet, but I did not loose my footing, fortunately," she continues. "He grabbed my purse and yanked, but he did not get it. The second time he did. Then they ran south and turned right on Lami," Judy says.

Judy immediately got in her van and drove to the police substation on S. 11th and Barton, hoping to find a police presence. Unfortunately, there were no police cars there. She drove back home and parked in the same place. When she got out of her van, she saw that a neighbor, Bob Williams, was in front of his apartment. She told him she had just been mugged, and he said that there was a woman’s purse in the alleyway between his building and the next one. Judy said that it was probably hers, and it was.

She inventoried the contents and found that the only thing missing was her cash, which amounted to $4 or $5. She went inside her house and called police, who arrived quickly. She surmises that the muggers turned right on Lami, turned right into the alley and circled into the dogtrot at Bob’s house, went through the purse, dropped it and possibly went north on S. 12th, passing the scene of the event, and cleared out. The policeman - Ofc. Williams - hypothesized that they had an auto nearby and used that to exit the neighborhood. "The officer was very professional, very kind," Judy notes.

Oddly, Judy thinks that the perp hit her so hard that he dropped his cell phone. "It broke, and Bob picked up the pieces that were left and gave them to the policeman," she adds.

The person who did the talking and who attacked her was approximately 5' 10" to 6' tall, very solidly built and his skin tone was "extremely black," she comments. "Also, his teeth were very crooked, and one front tooth was growing over another one at an angle. It was almost as though he was wearing Halloween teeth," Judy says. "The other man was shorter and lighter," she observes.

"These guys gave me no hint that I was going to be nailed. They used the element of surprise. I should have stayed in my van when I saw them. Instead, I gave two young black men the benefit of the doubt, and that was my mistake," Judy concludes.

Armed Robbery, Lami between 12th and 13th

2009-07-06T20:37:00.002-05:00

A Soulard renter was robbed at gunpoint at 11 p.m. Wednesday evening, July 1 in the well lighted parking area of his building as he returned from a business related social event in Illinois.

"I turned off Lami into the alley and the parking lot, parked, put the club on my steering wheel, exited my car, and opened the back door to pick up some clothing," the victim related. "While leaning inside the car, the perp came up behind me and placed the revolver barrel against my head," he said.

The three and a half year Soulard resident is an A-B contractor. " I really enjoy Soulard, and I can walk to work," he notes. He has rented the same apartment since arriving in the neighborhood. His age is about 30, he works out and he weighs about 135 pounds.

"With the metal on my skin, he told me to turn around. I complied, and he told me to give him my money, my wallet and my cell phone. I dug out some money in a clip. It amounted to $20 or $30. I handed it to him, and he then demanded my wallet and my cell phone. I gave him my wallet, but I told him I did not have a cell phone. Actually, it was buried in the pocket of my cargo shorts," the victim remarked.

The perp, a black male dressed in a white tank top and black shorts, late 20's, 5'8" to 5'9", muscular and stocky, apparently accepted this and "pointed down the alley toward Shenandoah and told me to run that way, which I did," the victim observes. "When I hit the street, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911. When I checked the time of the call next day, it was at 11:07," he explains.

The police arrived in 10 to 15 minutes. A police dog searched the area but found nothing.

"At about 11:30 I called my bank to report the loss of my credit cards. By the time I was through talking to them, the perp had already used two credit cards at the BP station on South Broadway near the White Castle," the victim observes. The victim has informed the police that the perp may have been recorded on a camera at the gas station.

Lessons learned, mistakes made: "When I pulled into the alley and into my parking space, I did not properly evaluate my surroundings," notes the victim. "This man knew exactly what he wanted and he was in and out very quickly, as though he had done this before. My evaluation is that he was in a vehicle with others and that he followed me in, left his car, and came into the parking lot. After he sent me packing, he exited the alley, got back in his vehicle, and left the area. Only if he was in a car could he get to the BP station, which is a mile and a half away or so, that quickly, to use the credit cards."

The victim concludes with the most important advice: "Be more cautious, and try to be aware of what is going on around you. And try to remember to check your mirror to see if it appears anybody is following you."

When was Soulard declared a Tax Haven? Nobody told Madame Chouteau

2009-07-06T09:33:00.004-05:00

In addition to being an entertainment district, Soulard apparently has morphed into a tax haven. Some owners of properties which house local entertainment/business establishments seem to feel that paying their property taxes is a low priority.

Those curious can visit the website described as that of the City of St. Louis Assessor’s Office, Property Database Search (http://stlcin.missouri.org/assessor/lookup.cfm). After entering an address, visitors have the option of going to "Tax Payment History - view summary," a database maintained by the office of Gregory F. X. Daly, Collector of Revenue. According to informatiion provided as of 7/6/09 at approximately 9 a.m., when we checked, property described as 1923-1931 S. 12th Street is in arrears on property taxes for three years. The bills are: 2006: $10,941.03; 2007: $9780.59; 2008: $8,839.03, or a total of $29,560.65. The property is owned by NTM Partnership LLC, located at that address, and the building is the home of Nadine’s Gin Joint, a bar and restaurant.

Similarly, the records indicate that 1027 Geyer owes $8,658.61 for 2006; $7,736.58 for 2007, and $6,991.58 for 2008, or a total of $23,386.77, as per the time we checked on 7/6/09. The records indicate that the owner of the structure is Great Grizzly Blues LLC, 2 Clara Ave., Webster Groves, MO. The building is the home of The Great Grizzly Bear, a bar and restaurant.

Another address is 2001-2003 Menard, the address of Clementine’s Bar - Oh My Darlin’ Café. The owner, as listed on the Assessor’s website, is Clementine, Inc at that address. They are in much better shape, with past due taxes listed for 2007 as $5,625.25 and for 2008 as $5,083.52. The total is $10,708.77.

Finally, we note that 1200 Russell Blvd owes $24,191.66 from the 2008 tax year, as per a check of the Assessor’s Office web site, also on 7/6/09 at approximately 9 a.m. Everybody knows that is the address of John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub. The owner is listed as McGurks-Soulard LLC, 2000 S. 8th Street. They make that much money in a half and hour selling booze on Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day or St. Patrick’s Day.

It should be noted that, according to the web site, the information on the web site is updated weekly.

Why is this happening? Do these property owners perceive that Soulard entertainment district businesses are too big - to important - to have to be bothered with keeping their property tax payments up to date? The coffers of the City of St. Louis are not overflowing with cash. St. Louis may declare a fiscal crisis so city government can furlough employees and eliminate jobs.

Did the 2009 Mardi Gras income not meet expectations? Was the neighborhood turned into a trash bin and a public urinal for nothing because some business owners were not satisfied? They didn’t make enough money from the debacle, so they sent the tax man a rain check?

Or is this just another manifestation of the attitude among Soulard entertainment property owners that they can write their own rules, just like they do for Soulard Mardi Gras and during the rest of the year, staging a peculiar string of phony festivals and corn ball events, all to boost liquor sales, all trampling on the quality of life of residents?

Why are property owners whose businesses make so many neighborhood people uncomfortable allowed to skate on their property tax bills, too?

Look, Ma, We Creamed the Porsche and We had a Good Time, Too

2009-07-05T07:11:00.007-05:00

By the early 1970's Soulard was a doomed, inner-city slum, a neighborhood to be demolished as soon as government funds became available. Then rehab took hold and a number of people worked for many years to save the interesting housing stock and to turn the area into a residentially oriented historic district.

Unfortunately, the neighborhood made an unexpected turn. A large number of bars and restaurants took root, latching onto and feeding off the Soulard Mardi Gras. The City of St. Louis supported this development, designating Soulard as an "entertainment district." Residential interests were sidelined.

One of the consequences of evolving into an entertainment district is the tremendous amount of vehicular traffic in Soulard. Sometimes vehicles are driven by careless young people. Some drivers have trouble driving because they have been drinking. For whatever reason, their attentions are elsewhere. The result is property damage.

Thus, we were awakened shortly after midnight on Saturday, June 27, by the crunch of metal on metal and the screech of brakes. Dashing out front, we found that a parked Porsche on S. 12th Street near the intersection with Lami had been smushed by another car.

Later, we were told the story that a woman from Arnold was driving alone, she reached for her cell phone and the rest is history. She passed the breath-a-lizer test, administered by John Law. The explanation for the numbers of people on the scene was that they were friends of hers who were in another auto which was following her, for an unstated reason.

Last year there was a similar accident on Lami, half way between S. 11th and S. 12th. A rather fancy parked car lost a whole bunch of metal and plastic when it was hit by somebody or other in the middle of the night. And, of course, on Mardi Gras Grand Parade day, there was an Infiniti parked on the alley on Lami between S. 11th and S. 12th with its back end half way into the street and the alley. The first cop car passing by called it in and had it towed away. Whoever parked it must have been really smashed, but the car wasn’t.

Cars go shooting down S. 12th at 50 miles and hour and blast through stop signs. Motorcycles do the same, while producing an ungodly amount of noise. On any afternoon or evening, speeding vehicles and loud motorcycles announce the corroding presence of those enjoying the Soulard entertainment district while disrespecting the residential element of the neighborhood.

The fallout from these bars and restaurants - the noise, the litter, the discourteous visitors, the property damage - could not continue without support from neighborhood residents. A party culture has evolved in Soulard. Instead of contemplating how to improve the neighborhood, those submerged in the party culture focus on how to improve their party. In other words, Soulard has lost its focus and the party has become the thing.

The hollowness of this culture can be perceived by their excuse. "Anyone who lives in Soulard isn’t going to be anti-bar. You wouldn’t move here if you were!" That is the comment from "Gary Siddens of the Soulard Restoration Group," as printed in the Sunday, August 29, 2004 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

For years his bombastic and glib sound bite has provided sustenance to the arrogance of Mardi Gras and bar and restaurant apologists, enablers and beneficiaries, supporting and excusing bad behavior and the problems these negative elements cause.

Thus, an additional sound bite would be: "Anyone who lives in Soulard isn’t going to be against having their parked car trashed in the middle of the night. You wouldn’t move here if you were."
Nobody can make a comeback to these comments. The bottom line seems to be that if you move to Soulard, for some strange reason you become part of an excuse for bad behavior You are automatically a supporter of the party culture. And if you have lived in Soulard for years and years, somehow you don’t count. Par-tay trumps quality of life every time. This is the message of the trashed Porsche.

(Top two pictures: a bruised Porsche. Bottom picture: Mardi Gras parking problems.)

Updates from Living Well in Soulard

2009-06-13T11:28:00.003-05:00

Those on the lookout for locally grown produce at the Soulard Farmers’ Market should check out the Wholesome Gardens Produce booth, located next to the booth of Baetje Farms, in the northeast wing. A spectrum of hydro lettuce and fresh herbs is offered. Fresh cut basil, arugula, and wildfire, butterhead and romaine lettuce are available now. Eggplant, squash and peppers will be offered in the season. All produce is grown by Gardell Strite on the farm, located in Bluford, Il.

For additional information, contact Gardell at the farm at 618-732-8552.

Also, while we are on the subject, Veronica Baetje has introduced a new cheese she is calling "Fleur de la Vallee." It is made using the same techniques as the French use to produce their famous reblochon cheese. She cannot use the reblochon name, which is copyrighted.

If you google the word "reblochon," you can research the history of that product. Of course, the French cheese is made with milk from cows, while Veronica is using goat milk. But the steps and procedures she uses copy of French techniques. It is a very interesting product, and Baetje Farms fans should take note.

Veronica learns about making different cheese products by attending a school in Vermont and from consulting with specialists in her field. She is an artist. She is constantly learning, improving, updating and experimenting, always seeking to achieve perfection and to express herself through her cheese. Madame Chouteau is so proud that Veronica and husband Steve - also an artist - have chosen Soulard Farmers’ Market as one of the outlets for their products. Watching the evolution of the booth is a wonder. Watching them aspire to be the best that they can be is inspirational.

As an aside, it is reported that Globe Drug has restocked Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, vintage 2008, as discussed in a posting on this blog on May 11. This French wine is perfect with Baetje Farms cheeses, as well as with many other foods. The review of the wine was posted, too.

Crime Alert: Report of Soulard Robbery

2009-05-15T20:26:00.001-05:00

A resident sent the following information by e-mail on Friday:

"Last night (05/14) another Soulard resident was robbed at gunpoint at 9th and Geyer at around 2:30 A.M. According to the police (who were congregated and talking very loudly about the incident over their intercom outside my window), three black males jumped out of a newer model silver Pontiac and pointed guns at a man walking home from a friend's house and demanded his money. Apparently they only got away with his keys and cellphone and he was not assaulted.

"However, it appears that this is a trend developing in this area and is worth keeping an eye on - its actually kind of similar to the one [...previously reported]. That's all I can provide because that is all I could hear from the cops talking, but if you wanted to post more about it I'm sure the police would be happy to fill you in. Since part of my name is in my email address, I ask that you please keep this information anonymous. Let me know if you have any questions."

We thank this person for providing the information, and we suggest that all residents and visitors take care, especially after hours. Hopefully, we can obtain additional information, which we will post.

Foodies Pay Attention: Living Well, Soulard Version

2009-05-11T14:13:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, after doing our shopping at the Soulard Farmers' Market, Madame Chouteau purchased several bottles of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, vintage 2008 at Globe Drug, 1900 South Broadway. We always enjoy French red wine. It is so smooth, compared with the red wines from California, which often seem to have a bite to them, no matter what the price. Of course, Globe offers a spectrum of wines from Australia, Spain, Italy, Chile, the United States and from other wine producing countries, all reasonably priced.

The beaujolais nouveau we added to our shopping cart was a close-out at Globe, priced at $2.98 per bottle, plus tax, of course. It perfectly complemented a meal which included other locally produced and purchased products including fresh asparagus from Scharf Farm, available at the Scharf booth at Soulard Farmers’ Market, along with a small package of Coeur de la Creme goat cheese from Baetje Farms, also at the Market. The portion that we purchased was flavored with lemon curd, another Baetje Farms innovation. It was perfectly delicious.

Any nominations for other outstanding food purchases in or near Soulard?

Additional information (added May 12): We thank Lyn deMoss for forwarding to us the review of the beaujolais nouveau from Globe Drug. The following review is reprinted from a blog titled drinkhacker.com, self-described as "The essential blog for the discriminating drinker."

Review: 2008 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

"On Thursday, November 20, the new 2008 vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau goes on sale, and every wine lover should make a point to try at least one bottle before ‘08 is history.

"I got an early peek at Georges Duboeuf’s Nouveau and found it one of the most charming Nouveaus in recent memory.

"The Gamay’s traditional, lightly bitter and strongly fruity character is here, with all sorts of green herbs on the palate. A kind of sage and dried oregano tone laces its way through the very dark crimson vino, and the finish is moderately quick and dry, with notes of cassis.

"As always, it’s nothing complex (sometimes that’s a good thing, after all), and at $12 a bottle, you can’t really go wrong. As always, Nouveau stands best as a wonderful way to welcome the first wines from the 2008 vintage… even though it will be years before most of them hit the market."

The reviewer gives the wine a B+ rating.

Lyn deMoss, who forwarded the wine review information to Madame Chouteau, is a resident and homeowner in the Lafayette Square neighborhood who enjoys good food and good wine. Interestingly enough, she is a seamstress specializing in home interior sewing, including custom pillows, cushions, draperies and slipcovers. Exotic jobs include engineering and fabricating sound control panels for home theater/home entertainment installations. A fashion design background, coupled with work with ballet and theater customers, has sharpened her skills in clothing fabrication, alteration and repair, and she has constructed Victorian costumes and handled wedding dress alterations, among other projects. She can be reached at 314-865-5388 or by e-mail at lyndemoss@sbcglobal.net.

Robbed at Gun Point (soulard)

2009-05-03T19:39:00.007-05:00

We ran across the following posting on Craigslist - St. Louis, dated May 3 - Sunday - in the Lost and Found category and titled "Robbed at Gun Point (soulard):

"So, me and my friends where, yes robbed at freaking gun point last night. My purse was stolen and I'm hoping they just took the cash and threw out the window. It's a white purse with a brown strap. If any one finds it, can I please have it back!" Location: Soulard.

Madame Chouteau sure hopes this person gets her purse back. Remember, these are hard times, and wandering around the Soulard neighborhood after dark can be risky, especially if you have been drinking. Of course, this is just common sense.

Update (added on Monday): Wishing to obtain more detail than that on the Craigslist posting, Madame Chouteau had a friend contact the Craigslist poster seeking additional information. The friend truthfully identified himself as a resident of the Soulard neighborhood. Following is the exact reply (the name of the victim has been left out):

"I actually work at Johnny's and after work I went to McGurks to visit with my friends from Dublin. After last call we were gathered at the front bar. My girlfriend was parked on 12th St across from where the cop sits. She wanted to walk by herself but I insisted that we all walk her. All being myself, my 2 girlfriends and a guy friend from Dublin. We walked her to her Jeep and were just talking about plans for Sunday. The time was approx 1:30-1:40ish, our 1st call to 911 was 1:50 a.m. or so. Just then a Silver late 90's Monte Carlo swerved toward us and then wiped around and another car facing the other way, stopped. 3 black men jumped out, I could only see out of the corner of my eye, since I was facing the Jeep. One of the guys about 5 foot 8, wearing jeans and a held a very shiny hand gun to my head. He said to give him all of our money. The other men were pointing guns towards my friends. They hit one of my girlfriends in the face.

"My guy friend from Dublin, told them that they didn't want to do this. They pushed him and hit him. My back was to them...I dropped to my knees and laid my purse down and placed my hands in the air. One of them grabbed it and they hopped into the cars and turned west on Russell. The police came after being put on hold twice, thank God no one got shot or we'd be dead. Needless to say that is the 3rd time I've been robbed in this city. My purse was stolen from work during Mardi Gras, last summer my car was broken into and now this. Each time before I was thankful I wasn't robbed by gun point or hurt.

"Next time I'm sure someone is going to kill me. Thankfully for me I'm only working 5 more days in Soulard and then I don't think I'll ever go back without a gun. It's getting worse in the city and the police just care. No one is safe. I have countless of stories from friends that this type of stuff has happened all in your backyard.

"My boyfriend was home during a home invasion and those assholes were never caught. I'll never get any of my stuff back and I can deal with that. Since this is my 3rd time around, you start getting numb. The police suggested that we arm our selves. I'll probably be caring a gun from now on down there. If this dosen't get under control you're going to have not only the thugs with guns but everyone else with them. I'm not a radical about firearms but if we had guns this would have defanity ended in a blood bath. Needless to say, I'll have a gun on me from now on and suggest to friends not to go down there without one. I hope this helps. Good Luck!"

Madame Chouteau thanks the victim for her willingness to share the unfortunate details, and we hope she soon recovers her composure.

Update 2 (added on Tuesday): Following is an official version of what happened in Soulard relating to the incident on Sunday, May 3, from information compiled by Lisa, Linda and Terry, who operate Soulard neighborhood blasters meant to keep neighborhood residents and others informed:

The following information provided from a St. Louis police officer:
Incident: Robbery 1st
Location: 2018 S. 12th Street
Suspect #1: B/M, early 20's, 5'06", short hair, light t-shirt, shorts, silver handgun
Suspect #2: B/M, early 20's, 6'01", short twisties, slim build, light t-shirt, black blue jeans, black handgun
Suspect #3: B/M, driver in Chevy Malibu
Suspect #4: B/M, passenger in Chevy Monte Carlo
Precinct/Beat: 311/321
Dates/Times: 05/03/09 0150hrs

Terry was also told (by a SLPD officer) that this robbery, and 5 others, occurred throughout the city this same evening, committed by the same suspects. They were driving a stolen car, boxed the victims in, assaulted and robbed them at gun point.

The following information was received by a resident who contacted the Craigslist poster: (Please note, the following are details from the victim's email and not a copy of the reply.) The victim met friends at McGurks after work at another Soulard business. After last call the victim and friends walked one of the friends to her car on 12th Street. (Victims: 3 females and 1 male) A silver late model 90's Monte Carlo swerved toward them and whipped around and another car facing the other way, stopped. 3 suspects (see description above) jumped out with guns and demanded all of their money. 2 of the victims were pushed and/or hit.

Our Most Sophisticated Mardi Gras Parade

2009-03-13T11:24:00.006-05:00

We must admit that we missed the 2009 Grand Parade of the Soulard Mardi Gras on Saturday, February 21. The temps were freezing and a wicked wind pushed the wind chill into the 20's.

Missing the 2009 version of the parade might be perceived as a tragedy, since it is promoted as the crown jewel of the Soulard Mardi Gras and as an extremely sophisticated parade, second only to the public displays associated with a royal coronation. To be honest, those officers and members of Mardi Gras, Inc., and the Soulard Restoration Group carry themselves as though they are royalty. We know that the rest of the world wishes they were one with this in-crowd, with The Swells of Soulard. But you aren’t, so eat your heart out.

In fact, Madame Chouteau missed the parade not because of the weather but because the parade is so pathetic.

Here are some pictures from the 2008 parade. You could park your rosin chair next to the pumps at any truck stop in Pevely or Fenton and see a better parade of trucks, and without the drunken crowds. Bring your own beads and have a ball. And the booze would be cheaper, so you could get a good buzz on and have money left over to buy a six-pack or two to drink on your drive home.

It should be mentioned that the photos were taken at the beginning of the parade and do not advantageously display the parade setting: a stretch of road whimsically and romantically titled South Broadway, a post-industrial urban boulevard, complete with potholes and eroding curbs, embroidered with a surly spectrum of gas stations, worn at the edges fast food outlets, liquor stores, vacant buildings and trash strewn lots. To hear The Swells of Soulard talk, Mardi Gras turns South Broadway into some kind of Rodeo Drive. The Grand Parade does lend a certain flavor to South Broadway. The old computer saw about garbage in, garbage out comes to mind.

Thus, it is puzzling to witness the hubbub made over the Grand Parade and Grand Parade Day.

For example, why would Loonyness Place, the newest gambling venue here in St. Louis and a source of great civic pride to people starved for signs of municipal health, associate itself with this debacle by sponsoring it? Why would a supposed sophisticated business want to stand cheek by jowl with Mardi Gras Inc. and its child, the Grand Parade, a lame come-on for a faux festival trying mightily to disguise the fact that selling over-priced booze (and as much as possible to anybody) is its reason for existence?

Is this a cool branding move? Madame Chouteau has found that one way to determine whether somebody has a semblance of good sense and effectively evaluates reality is to bring up the subject of the Grand Parade Day. Those with a life say they wouldn’t get anywhere near the event. They accurately appraise it as "just a bunch of drunks."

So here is Your Sponsorship, LP, the entertainment venue whose unique contribution to St. Louis is a tunnel from the underutilized domed football stadium (which soon will be really underutilized) to their new digs in Laclede’s Landing. A tunnel from nowhere to nothing. Why does it associate with MG Inc? Maybe it helps management feel superior. Scientists aren’t sure.

In a city insecure about its identity and direction and hosting a leadership trumpeting self-serving answers and solutions, the Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day is a symptom of the continuing malaise confronting Soulard and St. Louis. Is a Grand Drunk - enthusiastically boosted as an answer by those who know better - the preview of things to come?

More Recognition of Steve and Veronica Baetje

2009-03-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

Steve and Veronica Baetje, who make Soulard Farmers’ Market shoppers so happy with their outstanding goat milk products, were recently recognized by the Southeast Missouri University for their entrepreneurial skills. In late February it was announced that Baetje Farms LLC was one of the recipients of the 2009 SPARK Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence from the Southeast Innovation Center.

The Baetje’s are goat farmers and artisan cheese makers. The goats are hand raised on their farm, located in Bloomsdale, MO. Steve and Veronica rely on the assistance of friends and family members to tend the goats and to produce their award-winning cheeses. Their cheeses are sold at four farmers’ markets, including at Soulard, in several restaurants and wineries and at 17 grocery stores.

The business was one of six small businesses in the tri-state region that were recognized by the Southeast University Innovation Center for growth and economic impact in the region. Each of the SPARK Award winners were graduates from a nationally recognized and high successful small business training program, titled Operation Jump-Start, created and conducted by the Innovation Center. Objective of the program is to teach entrepreneurs essential business planning and preparation skills in a non-academic setting. For additional information about the Innovation Center, visit their site at http://www.semo.edu/innovation.

Madame Chouteau wishes to add that Steve and Veronica and those who help them at the Soulard booth are just wonderful people. Shoppers are encouraged to stop and chat with them at the market, and to sample and purchase their products.

New Market Vendor offers Heart-Healthy Beef

2009-02-26T13:36:00.003-06:00

Grass-fed, heart-healthy beef is brought to Soulard Farmers’ Market shoppers by Bob and Sue Eckenfels and partner Robert Hoye from Hoye Brothers Farm (HBF), located in Ste. Genevieve.

HBF occupies 114 acres of the rolling countryside which characterizes the typography of the Ste. Genevieve area. The pastures provide cool and warm season grasses, red and white clover and annual forage plots of rye and mullet, according to by Bob and Sue.

They explain that the pastures are divided into 14 individual paddocks and each is supplied with abundant well water. The cattle herds are rotated from paddock to paddock, allowing them to graze on high-quality, nutrient-rich grasses. The resulting beef is a tasty alternative to factory farmed, store-bought beef, Sue explains.

The HBF herds consist of Murray Grey and Angus cattle, known for the rich flavor of their beef. All are 100 per cent grass fed and are never given grain, antibiotics, hormones, anabolic steroids or growth stimulants, Sue notes.

She adds that beef from grass-fed animals is much lower in calories and fat than grain-fed animals, is high in healthful omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene and vitamin E, and is a rich source of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). The meat is flash frozen and shrink-wrapped.

At present, Bob and Sue can be found at the booth usually occupied by Steve and Veronica Baetje, who sell that outstanding goat cheese. Steve and Veronica will be back at their stand after the kidding season, of course, at which time Bob and Sue will move to a more permanent location at the Market.

For information about cuts of meat available and prices, contact Bob and Sue by phone at 573-883-0337, by e-mail at mailto:bseckenfels@yahoo.com. Best, visit them at the Soulard Market on Saturday. We welcome them as new vendors to the famous Soulard Farmers' Market.

A Bitter Day for the Soulard Mardi Gras

2009-02-24T17:38:00.003-06:00

The so-called Grand Parade Day symbolizes Soulard Mardi Gras. The day - which should be called the "Grand Drunk Day" - was held on Saturday, February 21. It is now over. Thank God.

The actual parade, which started at 11 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., left the rest of the day for the bars and miscellaneous stands to sell booze, until outside sales ended at 8 p.m. and inside sales ended with a last call at 10:30 and bar closing at 11 p.m. Fortunately, the weather was cold, with temperatures in the low thirties. The cold was aided and abetted by a cutting wind, helpfully reducing the amount of trash - the drinkers - in the neighborhood.

During the time between the end of the parade and the merciful termination of liquor sales, there was nothing to do but to drink and to parade the streets. People did just that: drinking, mindlessly screaming and yelling, littering, engaging in a spectrum of anti-social activities, disrespecting themselves and the neighborhood. The ungodly noise and the trash produced by these annoying people seemed to be endless. Their behavior held the neighborhood hostage.

The halting of liquor sales finally finished what the wind and the cold temperatures (not to mention self respect and manners) could not accomplish: sending the remaining rubbish home, bringing to a close for another year this bleak, dangerous, ugly little faux festival, nudging elsewhere the awful folks who think that because they are half drunk (or all drunk), then they must be having a good time. Closing the tills of those whose greed for a fistful of dollars allows them to overlook what they do to the Soulard neighborhood and to the City of St. Louis.

Second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the nation, they brag. In reality, it is nothing but a public debacle, a blot on the landscape, a spectacle offering more insights into the leadership and personality of this town than anybody should want to reveal.

Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade day is truly a bleak, bitter day, even during those years when that day is warm and the wind is stilled.

Baetje Farm Booth Displays Gingerbread Home

2008-12-19T17:13:00.004-06:00

At the Baetje Farm booth at the Soulard Farmers' Market, Steve Baetje displays a gingerbread house he made and patterned after a Soulard French Second Empire townhouse. Steve created the delicious looking model to publicize the December 20, 2008 drawing at their booth for a Christmas cheese plate which features their products. Baetje Farms owners Veronica and Steve Baetje produce pure, artisan farmstead goat milk cheese, "the most delicious cheese you ever put in your whole mouth," as Lafayette Square resident and seamstress Lyn deMoss comments. She runs Studio L, a drapery workroom, and she adds that "Steve and Veronica are just wonderful folks. They just welcome everybody to the Soulard Market at their booth."

Mid-August Farmers' Market Shopping

2008-08-13T08:10:00.006-05:00

Lafayette Square resident and gourmet cook Kelly Steiman garners food tips from Chef Justin Keimon of Franco's Bistro, located at 1535 S. 8th Street. Justin was featured on August 9th in the Chefs at the Market program, held on July and August Saturdays in the front courtyard at the market.

Kelly purchased a pound of home made sweet butter from Chris Bequette at the Harr Family Farm booth, located on the western most end of the northeast wing. The butter is available salted or sweet, and many market shoppers love this product, including Kelly. It is one of those "best kept secrets."

Franco's Bistro is located on the first floor of the old Welsh Baby Carriage Factory, directly north of the Soulard Farmers' Market building. In fact, their door is the first one right out the back door of the Soulard Farmers Market after crossing the street. It was voted "Best New Restaurant" when it first opened. It is a bright spot on the St. Louis restaurant scene. Their phone is (314) 426-2500, and you can visit them at their site at http://www.eatatfranco.com/. The Chefs at the Market program provides an opportunity for interaction with professional food folks.

Other good buys at the Market on Saturday, August 9 were fresh sweet corn, blueberries from Michigan, locally grown melons - picked ripe and brought to you fresh, peaches, grapes, flowers and you name it. Specialty items include goat cheese from the Baetje Farm booth and sweet corn from Scharf.

Continuation: Litter is Good, No?

2008-07-13T08:25:00.004-05:00

The boasting of the Soulard Restoration Group about its litter abatement program illustrates the bankruptcy of neighborhood leadership. Resolving the litter problem is something we all need to confront and be responsible for. We all need to work to improve Soulard, Madame Chouteau believes. Perversely, the SRG has assigned litter control to Marvin Powell and his crew, which Madame Chouteau assumes to consist of homeless people - hired for a few dollars.

Just as Alderwoman Phyllis Young has done nothing to rein in the curse of the designation of Soulard as an "Entertainment District," so the Soulard Restoration Group displays its impotence by palming off our litter on the homeless, making them responsible for the mess.

Their clueless approach to problem solving is detailed in the June, 2008 issue of the SRG publication Soulard Renaissance (subtitled "Living with History") in the lead article, titled "Krewe of Clean on the Scene."

The article, written by Ann Russell, comments that "yes, for the first time in a few years, Soulard is enjoying a sustained weekly litter clean-up program. Overseen by Marvin Powell of Peter & Paul Community Services (PPCS), the Soulard Clean Krewe has taken to the streets at least once a weekend (weather permitted) since March."

The article continues with SRG President Don Kirby explaining that "then after they go out, our task force members - me included - take a bike ride around the neighborhood and see what’s been done and what needs attention next round. It’s an effort that involves many great organizations who all have one goal in mind - a clean, safe Soulard."

The program is funded by a grant of $5000 from Peter and Paul Housing Corporation (PPHC), a non-profit organization separate from PPCS. This grant was matched by funds from the Soulard Business Association (SBA) and the Soulard Restoration Group, from what Madame Chouteau can understand from the article.

Rather than suggesting that the neighborhood residents, property owners, business owners and visitors to the neighborhood assume responsibility for their actions and for cleaning up the neighborhood, the Renaissance article provides an e-mail address (trashman@soulard.org) so that people report where the litter is thickest. Then the homeless can be dispatched to solve the problem. The homeless can wipe the neighborhood’s bottom, once a week.

In fact, Madame Chouteau eagerly awaited the July issue of the Soulard Renaissance, hopeful that a follow-up editorial would suggest that all who live in the neighborhood, who recreate here or who just pass through join the efforts of the homeless crew and support them by not littering and by picking up after themselves. But the pages are silent on the subject.

Nowhere in the lengthy June article was there mention of individual responsibility or the necessity of community involvement - other than reporting the location of litter. The tone of the article implies that the swells of the SRG consider the problem is solved - by a weekly sweep. If the Soulard Restoration Group abdicates its leadership role by supporting band-aid solutions, at least Alderwoman Phyllis Young could have issued a statement, something like:

"We all need to work together to try to solve the litter problem in Soulard (and throughout St. Louis, for that matter). Whether you are a property owning resident, a tenant, a non-resident landlord or a visitor to one of our many bars, places of business, or a restaurant, we ask your assistance. Please do not litter. Please help make Soulard more user-friendly and attractive by picking up litter that thoughtless people have created. If you are an owner of a business which sells alcoholic beverages, please do not let your patrons exit your premises with open beverage containers. These containers often end up littering the landscape. Please pick up the newspapers and flyers found in the streets and gutters. Please use City of St. Louis trash containers appropriately. Those who are dog owners need to pick up after their animals, too. If we all work together, we can have an impact. Please join Marvin Powell and his crew to help make Soulard a better place to live, to do business and to visit. After all, if they can do it, so can the rest of us. Thank you for your contribution to our neighborhood."

Baetje Farm Cheese Products Explained

2008-07-04T11:12:00.004-05:00

Careful St. Louis food consumers have hardly begun to realize how lucky they are to have such an excellent source of outstanding goat milk products at the Soulard Farmers’ Market as those provided by Steve and Veronica Baetje of Baetje Farm. Their products have attracted considerable attention. For example, Neville McNaughton of CheezSorce L.L.C. recently made several insightful comments about Baetje Farm. He noted that:

"Veronica is a little gem in the cheese business. She represents a whole new era of cheese production that will literally make us a better nation. She and Steve are making very fine cheese. They are a quick study. They have an excellent facility, they are hard working and they are destined to do well."

Neville, who is a consultant in the cheese business, adds:

"Baetje Farm throws the spotlight on some of the issues surrounding the concept of regionally produced foods. One important element is the requirement that regional food producers must be able to make a living from their efforts and from the products they produce. It is important that we are able to communicate this need to the consumers.

"Another realization is that some aspects of food production result in distortions in the entire industry. These distortions tend to favor the big guys, the result of advantages they hold over the supply chain as the result of their size and control. These advantages include passing off costs to producers and to consumers, something which undermines quality and consumer satisfaction. Freshness and flavor are lost. This is not the case with Baetje Farm products, for example. They live for these qualities.

"These issues aside, regionality is being given a boost because of the rising costs of fuel and energy. A window is being opened by devoted producers such as Veronica and Steve, who clearly offer insights into top quality and readily available options. Rising energy costs spur consumers to search for options, and Baetje Farm products reward this search."

Neville has considerable background in cheese production. Born and raised in New Zealand and now a resident of Davisville, Mo., Neville has over 34 years in the dairy and cheese industry. His job as a consultant to people like Steve and Veronica includes providing insights into project management, set-up, aging room design, plant layout, new product development, cheesemaking training and specialized promotional activities. His website is http://www.cheezsorce.com/.

Neville concludes that "it has been a privilege to be of assistance to Veronica and Steve. Their cheese is made from raw milk when it is appropriate and pasteurized when it is legally required. Her products are wholesome and represent the best of what can be done with milk. Large industrial producers rarely just use what is on the label. This applies to milk and milk products, and particularly to cheese, which usually has additives. Baetje Farm, which sells its products fresh and close to its source of raw materials, sidesteps this entire issue. The consumers benefit."

It should be added that Scharf Farm and a number of other Soulard Farmers’ Market vendors also provide market shoppers with regionally produced or grown products. As an aside, it is nice to note that KSDK Channel 5 did a very nice piece on Baetje Farm and on several other Soulard Market vendors. The short aired on Show Me St. Louis. The publicity helps broadcast one of the greatest assets of St. Louis - the Soulard Farmers’ Market. Many thanks to KSDK for the coverage and to Neville McNaughten for his explanation of the importance of Baetje Farm.

Locally Grown Produce at the Market

2008-05-23T20:57:00.003-05:00

Allen Hagemann grows a variety of crops at Hagemann Farms in the middle of scenic Lion's Den Valley in Imperial, MO. Locally grown produce, including spinach, tomatoes, green beans, corn, catalopes, watermelons and others are available at his stand at Soulard Farmers' Market, fresh from the fields, all in their season.

Cheese Tart Recipe from Baetje Farms

2008-05-22T07:16:00.003-05:00

Following is a recipe forwarded to Madame Chouteau by Veronica Beatje from Baetje Farms, source of the excellent goat cheese products found at the Soulard Farmers' Market:

Ingredients for crust:
1/4 cup Oat Flour from Kimker Hill Farm plus 1 3/4 cup 10 Grain Flour from Kimker Hill Farm-or 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 1/2 sticks chilled butter, cut in 1/2" pieces
4 T shortening
1/2 cup iced water, plus more as needed

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Place in a 2 qt. or larger food processor with the slicing blade on. Pulse once or twice to smooth out the dry ingredients. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 4-5 times, until the flour mixture starts to pull together into small pearls. Turn the blade on and add the water in one fell swoop, stopping the blade just after and pulsing another 5-10 times until the dough just starts to come together around the blade. Do not overmix!

Pull the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a ball, working fast to stop the butter from melting due to heat from your hands. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours and up to a day in the refrigerator. The dough will freeze for quite some time if carefully wrapped.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface to just larger than 9". Carefully transfer the dough to an 8" tart pan rubbed with butter. Gently press the dough into the edge of the pan, forming the bottom and sides of the tart. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the tart and fill with beans to keep the tart from puffing during baking. Bake on a sheet at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and carefully remove the aluminum foil and beans. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust in several spots, then return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes. Remove when center is firm and edges are just starting to brown.

For filling:
1/2 lb. bacon lardons - I used Greenwood Farms' smoked bacon
1/2 cup sliced fresh green onions, green and white parts
4 cloves minced garlic
4 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried
9 oz. Baetje Farm's "Coeur de la Creme" cheese (1 1/2 hearts)-substitute with your favorite chevre
2 T softened butter
3 T heavy cream
2 large eggs
pinch of Penzey's French Four Spice-substitute with fresh ground nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Heat a dash of olive oil in a large skillet and add the bacon. Stir over med-high heat until the bacon pieces are browned and crispy. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon. Pour off all but 1 T drippings. Stirring quickly, add the green onions and the garlic. Heat for 30 seconds until the onions start to open up, then add the spinach. Cover and remove from heat. Let the spinach wilt for 1 minute, then stir to begin mixing in the onions, garlic and oil. Cover again and wilt for 4 minutes. Stir again and let cool (preferably to room temperature but it can be a little warmer if you're rushed for time).

Mix the softened goat cheese, butter and cream with a fork until lightly blended. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the cheese and mix well until smooth. Season with a pinch of Penzey's French Four Spice and salt and pepper to taste.

Fold the wilted spinach into the cream mixture. Scatter bacon pieces on the bottom of the cooled tart crust, then gently spoon in the cream mixture, smoothing with a spatula. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until center is light and puffy and the top is just starting to brown. A knife to the middle should come out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently remove the sides of the tart pan. Cool to room temperature, then slide the tart off the bottom of the tart pan. Serve at room temperature or cold. Keeps for 3-5 days covered and refrigerated.

Recipe by Chris Freeland - cfreeland27@gmail.com
More local recipes at http://countrypolitancooking.blogspot.com

Soulard Farmers' Market Quality Selections

2008-05-20T09:21:00.002-05:00

John Davis, the Mushroom Man, shows off his wares at the market on Saturday, May 17. In the basket are Crimini, and he holds a container of morels. A variety of mushrooms are available from his specialty booth.

Soulard Quality of Life Over the Weekend - A Report

2008-05-20T08:26:00.003-05:00

A friend of Madame Chouteau, who will be known as Brenda Starr, provided insight into neighborhood life over the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, 2008. There were a series of street closings and miscellaneous celebrations. Pictured are some empties lined up along the gutter near the intersection of S. 10th Street and Allen, found on Sunday, May 18. How many dead men can you count? Following is the report of Brenda Starr. Enjoy.

One of the street closings over the weekend was for the 9th Annual Car Show, originally begun by Hammerstone’s Bar. For 8 years the car show was confined to Ninth Street. But, like most things in Soulard, in an attempt to draw more beer-drinkers to the neighborhood, the show has been expanded to include more and more cars, and then to add to the excitement there was created the "Wacky Soapbox Derby." To make room for this wonderful event, all of Geyer Avenue was temporarily closed for the excitement.

Another spectacle was billed as the "Soulard Olympix." The main event seemed to be elbow bending, since the Olympix was described as time to "crawl your way thru Soulard’s Pubs and Private residences."

Still another street closing - the area where S. 10th Street intersects Allen - was sponsored by Jim and Julie Price. I was told this was a charity affair, but the person I questioned about the matter did not know the name of the charity.

Friday night: Geyer, my street, looks like a fraternity party. Three young men have pulled chairs out onto the sidewalk in front of their apartments at 1006 and are drinking. At 1003 there are three young men and a young woman drinking beer on the stoop. Emergency "no parking" signs are posted all up and down the street, in anticipation of the Wacky Soapbox Derby.

Saturday, early afternoon: Old-timey music from Spooty’s bar is blaring across the neighborhood. I assume it is for the benefit of the neighborhood, since there are only five patrons sitting on the patio where the speakers are located.

In the late afternoon the old-timey noise is surpassed by rock music coming from the Price’s event on 10th Street and Allen. I am a block away. With my windows and blinds tightly shut and the air-conditioning going, I can still hear the music inside my home.

Saturday evening: at 10:30 p.m. the music is still blaring away. My stroll down the alley at that hour reveals several young men urinating in a neighbor’s dogtrot. When I suggest that they use one of the three port-o-potties at the event, they said that they were urinating on the neighbor’s property because the port-o-potties were full. It is not clear whether the facilities are full of people or full of urine. But, what the heck, an excuse for public urination is an excuse.

There were a lot of people at the 10th Street celebration, some of them obviously drunk, and some of them obviously underage and drunk. One wonders if anybody is supposed to monitor underage drinking. The Prices? The City of St. Louis department which authorized the liquor license? Alder woman Phyllis Young? Obviously, nobody was in charge. Obviously, nobody cares.

Sunday morning: at 7 a.m. the neighborhood is blissfully quiet. 1006 Geyer still has the chairs, now empty, and a few beer bottles, now empty, on the sidewalk. 1003 Geyer is more poetic - a beer bottle sitting in a flower pot. Soulard’s flowers. And 10th Street between the alleyway and Allen, the site of the Price event, is a mess. Plastic trash bags overflowing with food and miscellaneous garbage are everywhere. One must assume that the rats had a good time when the music stopped and the drunks went home.

Quality of Life Issues in Soulard or Trash is Good, No?

2008-05-15T19:50:00.003-05:00

We were out walking early on a Sunday morning, on May 4, 2008, and discovered this cache of trash in Soulard on S. 12th Street, near Russell. When we drove by hours later, it was still there. It looks like some people had been partying. To the left is the front door of Tucker’s Restaurant.

We watched the television program on Channel 10, the city channel, about littering. Interestingly, we did not see our alderperson, Phyllis Young, featured in the program or saying anything anti-litter. In fact, we did not hear any politicians address the subject. The Channel 10 story featured citizens urging other citizens to pick up litter around their property.

Madame Chouteau wonders why this issue is left to those who are faced with picking up after others. To be honest, St. Louis is a very litter strewn city. Go to Chicago and you do not see the litter that St. Louis boasts. Of course, go to Lafayette Square and you do not see the litter that Soulard boasts. Can you say Entertainment District?

It is a quality of life issue, just like street crime. But nobody goes near it. It seems to Madame Chouteau that the problem stems from a lack of self respect exhibited by those who litter. This group needs to be addressed. Instead, the victims are lectured, as usual, and urged to do something about the problem.

The April 30, 2008 (May 1-May 7, 2008) issue of the Riverfront Times carried an interesting story (http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-04-30/news/downtown-st-louis-residents-to-the-dolce-nightclub-shut-the-hell-up/) titled "La Dolce’ Veto," a story about quality of life issues resulting from a bar downtown. Fights, noise and some sort of drive-by shooting were all discussed, along with the outrage of nearby condo owners/residents. The police had to concede that shots were fired because there were bullet pock marks in the building and a window had been shot out. The highlight of the story was the quote from Rob Olsen, described as the owner of Dolce’ Ultra Lounge & Bistro, the name of this place, who said: "I just don’t get how people think they can move downtown and not hear some noise."

This is the classic response of discourteous, couldn’t care less people who ignore the impact of their actions on a community. In Soulard, I guess the quote would be: "I just don’t get how people think they can move here and not be confronted with litter. After all, it is an Entertainment District."

Madame Chouteau certainly has to concede that point, and she has to thank the fine folks at City Hall - and our local leadership - for ignoring the impact that an Entertainment District designation and liquor sales has on residential interests and quality of life issues. And of course, we tip our hats to those who litter, to those who are making Soulard - and the City of St. Louis - what it is.

Crime Stuff: Stay Alert, Shots Fired?????

2008-05-02T08:03:00.006-05:00

Following is a crime alert from Lisa Otke dated April 30 and forwarded by Terry Hoffman on May 1, 2008:

SHOTS FIRED

Residents reported hearing shots fired on Saturday night in the vicinity of Shenandoah & 7th/9th Streets. Per the police the shots came from the area around South Broadway Athletic Club where the suspects were not allowed into a party. The police received over a dozen 911 calls – a resident reported being on the line for 8 minutes without a answer from 911 which may have been due to the volume of calls. The police have a partial license plate number and are investigating. A problem with the investigation is that all the “victims” refused to make any statement and would not give any good physical descriptions.

Terry Hoffman added to his e-mail the following note (note was above description of "Shots Fired"):

additional information we received from hi-tech security re: the event below...

"original call was for a "large fight with shots fired" around S. Broadway Athletic Club (around midnight on Saturday night.) The call was reclassified as "large crowd causing a disturbance" and the "shots fired" was canceled. Crowd was dispersed by officers and everyone was back in service in about 10 minutes."

Madame Chouteau is not following this report. Apparently a dozen or so people called 911 to report shots fired, but now the "shots fired" concept has been deleted from any police report. Madame Chouteau is starting to understand the April 25, 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch headline: "Crime down, except for the killings," found on page C1. We like creative crime reporting: if it isn't in the police report, then it didn't happen. Some may remember that this happened with rape statistics a couple of years ago.

Too Many Bars in Soulard? When Did That Happen?

2008-04-29T08:34:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine moved to St. Louis from California almost two years ago. She purchased a home in the Lafayette Square Historic District. One day I asked her if she had considered the Soulard neighborhood while shopping for a home to buy. She had, but when she questioned her real estate agent about Soulard, the agent said that there were too many bars there.

Madame Chouteau wishes to thank that real estate agent for doing his job. Soulard has many charms. The Soulard Farmers’ Market, the European flavor of the architecture, the convenience of the neighborhood, and other elements are tremendous assets for an area that was dismissed as a slum and slated for demolition as recently as the early 1970's. However, the neighborhood recognizes that it does not benefit from people moving in and then discovering an aversion to bars and bar byproducts: noise, litter, vandalism, drunkenness and other quality of life issues. People should make decisions based on understanding the positives and negatives.

The need to confront reality is not concealed by Soulard residents. In the Sunday, August 29, 2004 issue ("News Watch: Issues and Analysis," Section B, page 1) of the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" there was a very apt quote: "Anyone who lives in Soulard isn’t going to be anti-bar. You wouldn’t move here if you were." This excellent quip (or slap in the face, if you will) for Soulard residents (and potential residents) is attributed to "Gary Siddens of the Soulard Restoration Group." The context of the quote was a debate resulting from an "effort to limit the proliferation of nightspots in the neighborhood," according to the newspaper.

Madame Chouteau remembers talking with somebody who thought Mardi Gras was too declasse. This lady had gone door-to-door with a petition, trying to enlist support for controlling (or limiting) the main event, the Grand Parade, as it is known. At one rental unit, a woman answered the door. After learning the purpose of the petition, the woman replied: "I can’t sign that, I’m a drinker." And we know another family who bought a house in Soulard. Their proud explanation was: "We were down here partying all the time, so we thought we might just as well move to Soulard."

In the early 1970's, Soulard was a slum, the result of lack of insight and of attention during the watch of Alderman Raymond Leisure. Then things started to look up, as so-called "urban pioneers" discovered the area and started turning it into a residential-oriented historic district. Just when things started to look their brightest, Soulard turned again. It was sidetracked, turned into an entertainment district whose foundation is a potemkin Mardi Gras.

This peculiar and ugly celebration - which symbolizes the difficulty of Soulard (and of St. Louis) to envision a future - and the growth in the number of bars and liquor outlets (and the designation of Soulard as an entertainment district) has occurred on the watch of Seventh Ward Alderperson Phyllis Young. The alteration in the personality of Soulard has been ignored by the clueless neighborhood organization, the Soulard Restoration Group, and it has been spurred by the venality of liquor purveyors who have been given a free reign.

This course change, which caters to the lowest common denominator of neighborhood interests, has just happened, like a rudderless ship foundering on the rocks. The metamorphosis harks back to the visionless leadership provided during the years of Raymond Leisure.

Madame Chouteau thanks Alderperson Young and her supporters and handlers for her governance, for looking out for the interests of the businesses in Soulard and for helping turn the neighborhood into the setting for an annual, mirthless bacchanal and for the year-around antics of people devoid of any respect for Soulard or themselves. And Madame Chouteau hopes that real estate agents will continue to inform their clients of the existing reality in Soulard. After all, if this is as good as it gets, then new arrivals and the unwary need to be informed.

Despite Cool Weather, Spring has Arrived

2008-04-28T16:01:00.005-05:00

Scharf Farm delighted Soulard Farmers' Market patrons by trotting out the first asparagus from their fields in Millstadt, IL on Saturday. They offer bundles of thin, thick and medium asparagus stalks. Madame Chouteau purchased two bundles, and this fresh-from-the-farm, locally grown produce was absolutely delicious. Many thanks for the treat.

Roco Trading, which seems to have settled in at Stand 23, sort of across the way from the Scharf booth, is offering seafood, including shrimp, Alaska cod fillets, Maine lobster tails, scallops, dressed catfish and other products. The market is offering an array of seafood, it would seem, with Roco Trading and 2 Big Fish. Seafood fans are provided with an interesting selection.

Another stand of interest, also located near the Scharf Farm booth, sells Autumn Crest Bistro Blends of Napa Valley Gourmet Flavored Balsamic Oils and Vinegars.

With the warming weather, the Soulard Farmers' Market is beginning to hop. Pictured is the barn at Baetje Farm. Of course, the snowy picture was taken in February. Warm inside were the happy goats, sources of the milk that makes the delicious Baetje Farm goat cheese, available at the market. By the way, Steve Baetje is a stone cutter, and he has created some unique and beautiful stone cheese boards. Thick and thin cheese boards are available at their booth, along with the excellent Coeur de la Creme and Fleur de la Vallee cheeses.

City dwellers are fortunate to have available at Soulard Farmers' Market so many vendors with such outstanding offerings. Stop and talk with these folks, and buy their products. And add your reactions to the market in the comments section below. Madame Chouteau is always interested in hearing from you.

Remembrances of a Pope's Visit Past

2008-04-17T07:21:00.005-05:00

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States revives for Madame Chouteau fond memories of the stop in St. Louis of Pope John Paul II in January, 1999.

It was exciting. Even today I can replay in my mind the tv footage of the Popemobile carrying Pope John Paul through the empty streets of St. Louis. Yes, empty! Nobody came out to see the Pope. No cheering crowds lined the streets. I can hear the news announcer intoning before the event: "Don’t even think about coming downtown (to see the Pope)." St. Louis leaders forecast that the crowds would yield gridlock, and so they orchestrated a media campaign to keep traffic in check. It was a clear case of meddling (big brother knows best) and overkill. They scared almost everyone away from the historic event.

Not only did people who wanted to see the Pope stay home, but downtown workers took time off, staying home to avoid being caught in the anticipated crowds.

The "St Louis Post-Dispatch" story dated 1/31/1999 by Repps Hudson and headlined "Business prayers weren’t answered" describes disappointed parking lot owners (their lots were empty), unhappy restaurant owners (burdened with extra supplies laid in for the non-existent crowds), etc.

A paragraph from the story stated that "according to many merchants and restaurateurs, the news media left the indelible impression that downtown would be swamped with cars, pedestrians and papal parades. So tens of thousands of people who normally went downtown stayed away Tuesday and Wednesday."

One quote from Hudson’s story says it all: "Downtown looked like a city during World War II," and the interviewee added: "Downtown has a tendency to do boo-boos like this."

The blame game is classic St. Louis. The absence of people was blamed on the weather and on papal security. And the press was blamed for publicizing the dire warnings that organizers told them to publicize.

More insightful than blaming the weather and the press, though, was the blaming of the citizenry. Following is a quote from the "P-D" story: "‘We had no idea the local folks could be so easily swayed and scared,’ Franklin "Kim" Kimbrough of the Downtown Saint Louis Partnership said Friday. Kimbrough had urged street-level businesses to stay open to show the world how downtown works."

But some good came from this debacle. It put a name and a face on a time-honored leadership tactic. To get your way, do a "Pope Scare." Basically, a Pope Scare campaign is designed to terrorize the populace so they do what civic leaders want, usually something contrary to public interests and good government.

For example, when the Cardinals owners wanted a new stadium and tax breaks, the Pope Scare line was: "If the poor Cardinals owners don’t get what they are so humbly seeking and need, then the team will move to East St. Louis (or Granite City or Mascoutah or East Whatever)." The majority of the population trembled in its shoes, and the Cardinals received whatever they demanded. A mud hole is only a down payment in the price to pay.

And how about this one: "If the voters don’t approve legalized gambling, then gambling tax revenues will not be available to revive and power our school system and people will not move to the city." Well, that certainly has worked out! The City of St. Louis public school system makes the wreck of the Hesperas look like sunny day, smooth water sailing.

Want another? How about: "If you don’t vote for this sales tax increase, then our firemen and policemen will not get a raise and they will quit and your house will burn down and you will be at the mercy of criminal elements." The resulting increased tax revenues mean that municipal finances do not need to be put in order. Special interests can continue to feed at the trough.

On the national level, here’s a great Pope Scare from the Bush-Cheney misinformation machine: "If the troops are brought home from Iraq, Al Qaeda will follow them home."

And, of course, the local beer peddlers have one for the Soulard neighborhood: "If Mardi Gras moves downtown, then all the police will be there, and when drunken hordes return to Soulard, the residents will be at their mercy." Another overkill. Downtown wouldn’t touch that pig. Let it wallow where it is.

In the St. Louis vernacular, Pope Scares are fabrications designed to invoke fear. And they really work. But we always pay a price for buying a phony line in exchange for security. Madame Chouteau loves Pope Scares and applauds their use by our leaders. Pope Scare based government is a substitute for thoughtful planning and real leadership. So when somebody tells you to go with the flow or something terrible will befall you and the entire community, think of the Pope. His was a lonely, bleak introduction to the deserted streets of St. Louis. And St. Louis lost an historical moment on the world stage.

A Walking Tour of Soulard in St. Louis

2008-04-08T13:44:00.004-05:00

History buffs and folks looking for some moderate exercise, as well as those curious about the Soulard Historic District, are invited to participate in a walking tour of the neighborhood. Provided will be discussions of architectural characteristics and insights into the people who built and lived in early Soulard. The charge is $10 per person for a two hour tour, minimum $30 per tour. Reservations required, minimum 24 hours advanced notice. Comfortable shoes are suggested and participants should bring a water bottle. For additional information, please e-mail Madame Chouteau at showvillage@yahoo.com. All proceeds are used to increase security in the neighborhood. Tours begin and end at the Soulard Farmers' Market, unless otherwise discussed.

Pictured is Rick Soulard, a resident of Petrolia, Ontario, who points to the vestigial boundary line in the sidewalk on S. 8th Street of the property of Julie Soulard, widow of Antoine Soulard. Julie obtained title to the property in 1836. Rick's side of the Soulard family moved from France to Acadia - the Fundy coast of Nova Scotia - in 1636. Antoine Soulard, the namesake of the neighborhood, arrived in St. Louis in 1794 after deserting the French Naval Service in Martinique because of social upheaval in France. Neighborhood points of interest were spotlighted for Rick and wife Agnes during a Soulard walking tour.

A More Amazing Mardi Gras

2008-03-26T19:58:00.001-05:00

Madame Chouteau found this press release on another blog. It certainly contains good news. A more sophisticated Soulard (a French word meaning "Swami Gupta will not be at the office today") Mardi Gras. What joy this brings. And now it is the largest Mardi Gras event in the country. Our fragile little historic district does not get any better than this. For your pleasure and edification, we reproduce the release:

Draft Press Release, February 20, 2008

Soulard Mardi Gras sees Great Things in 2009

Preparations are even now underway to make Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day 2009 even more exciting than it was on Feb. 2, 2008.

For example, more exotic and costly floats are on the drawing boards. Some krewes started design and construction as soon as a week after 2008 parade day. The underlying float theme for 2009 parallels this year's theme: sophisticated floats which caricature and imitate trucks. Just as in the Rose Parade, thousands of flowers are used to create floats which resemble truck floats. It is really very unique, as all parade goers testify, and the St. Louis floats always have put the Rose Parade offerings to shame. After all, Lumberous Place, sponsor of the Grand Parade, don't sponsor no cheesy events.

In addition, more publicity for the festival, now billed as the "2nd largest Mardi Gras celebration" in the United States, is coming. Negotiations are underway with FOX, CBS, Discovery Channel and BET to nationally televise the parade. Imagine the favorable publicity for St. Louis when Siegfried and Roy, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen or some similar sparkling personalities sit alongside Mayor Slay to moderate the parade to a national audience. First in shoes, first in Mardi Gras is the objective.

Already St. Louis has several feathers in our cap to capture the national spotlight. The New Orleans Mardi Gras is now borrowing our good ideas, such as our Krewe of Barkus Parade. They have started to hold a similar event in the French Quarter, or what is left of it. Hey, N.O., give credit where credit is due. They are obviously on their last legs, while St. Louis is on the upswing, enjoying the favor of Fortuna, thanks to our innovativeness.

Parking problems are also being resolved. Both Soulard and adjoining LaSalle Park have restricted parking, so all you party animals are urged to park in Lafayette Square and Benton Park. The kind folks in Lafayette Square are so in love with their neighborhood that they pick up after us, so it is less a clean-up expense to Mardi Gras Inc. Who knows what goes on in Benton Park?

Finally, and most exciting, is an increase in the number of bars and restaurants in Soulard. In French, the word "soulard" translates as "drunken pig." We are all excited about living up to that. More and more buildings are being converted to or used as bars and bars and restaurants. Mardi Gras fans are grateful for the excellent support from political and redevelopment officials with the City of St. Louis, who perceive that the family-oriented festival and more bars will help save St. Louis and bring it greater prosperity, just as the increase in gambling facilities will contribute.

In summary, Soulard Mardi Gras profiteers are looking forward to bigger and better things. As Official Parade Spokesman Back Madly comments: "Lazy less beantowns rolaids," which is French for "let the good times roll."

Troubling report about Soulard restaurant/bar

2008-03-22T17:21:00.000-05:00

A story titled "State Rep Experiences Racial Discrimination" has been published on http://www.pubdef.net. The story reports that State Representative Rodney R. Hubbard, his brother and a local businessman received an unexpected reception on March 19 at Johnny's Restaurant and Bar, 1017 Russell in Soulard. Following is a quote from the story: "Shortly after their arrival, they became the victims of racially-charged threats by two male patrons who told them that they were in a 'white bar' and [were] unwelcome."

We do not know what to make of this.