The Tower of Doom is a monstrous burger from the St. Louis Brewhouse. It’s stacked high with 3 pounds of meat, 1/2 pound of bacon, 1/2 pound of cheese, BBQ sauce, jalapeño, and a 1-lb. side of fries. People who dare eat this in under 30 minutes will get their meal free, plus a t-shirt.Apparently, about 36 have tried, and the only one to complete the taks was a man by the name of Randy Santel. Of course, he did it in 11 minutes. Game on!
-->Study: St. Louis lags in transit spending
By Ken Leiser • kleiser@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8215 | Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2010 1:57 pm | (10) Comments
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Nobody had to tell St. Louis-area transit riders how bad things got for public transportation in recent years.
But dead last?
A new study released today by the Transportation Equity Network showed St. Louis ranked 20th out of 20 metro areas for the percentage of transportation spending dedicated to transit.
The St. Louis region spent 15 percent of its transportation improvement program funding on transit. By comparison, New York spent 75 percent while Honolulu spent 66 percent.
"The average across all of these metropolitan areas is about 37 percent," said Will Winter, a co-author of the "More Transit = More Jobs" study and a research analyst at the Public Policy Research Center at University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Winter and others who spoke at today's news conference, outside a state unemployment office on Delmar Boulevard, equated transit spending with job creation and economic development.
Similar news conferences were held in other U.S. cities.
"These jobs will create monies that will stimulate the economy," said Darrell Pulliam, a veteran Metro bus operator. "They will bring people up from the dredges and despair of poverty."
It is unclear whether the snapshot of St. Louis transportation spending lines up with other metropolitan areas. For instance, Metro's operating budget is not reflected in the multiyear spending blueprint, according to the East-West Gateway Council of Governments. The TIP does reflect capital spending, which has taken a hit in recent years while Metro grapped with its financial woes.
Of course, the overall spending picture has brightened somewhat. In April, St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for transit. The successful tax vote triggered collections of a similar sales tax hike in the city of St. Louis.
The additional tax proceeds aren't expected to reach the Metro transit agency's coffers until this fall.
Posted in Along-for-the-ride, Local on Thursday, September 2, 2010 1:57 pm Updated: 3:27 pm. | Tags: Transportation Equity Network, Metro, St. Louis County, Transit,
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This is where I'm supposed to make a commend, but I have nothing to say. Dead last out of 20 metropolitan areas for transit spending. Its no wonder we're in the shape we're in when it comes to transit in St. Louis. Oh, and don't overshoot that bus stop "its only my second day driving alone" bus operator.
Regarding the safety of our bus operators... we are very selective in those we accept into training. Then we put the potential operators through a rigorous training period. Included are defensive driving and customers service. All operators must obtain a commercial drivers license issued by the State and must pass written and on-the-road tests. We continue to monitor and supervise all operators. The new drivers may not be able to give you all the Metro system information immediately. That will take some days/weeks/months of on the job training.
What to do if you get lost or miss a connection?
Please don't get me wrong. I'm happy that the new schedule is now in effect. I personally will benefit from the schedule, with the bus I take to work coming almost a mile closer to my home than it did before. I'll have a bus that actually passes my office for the first time in two years, and that's a good thing as well. But again Metro has failed to adequately prepare for the service changes and has done their usual amateurish half-baked effort to let the masses know what is going to be happening starting today.Even with careful planning, there is always a chance you could get lost or miss a connection and need to figure out what to do next. Here are some options to help you find your way.
1. Customer service. The Metro Customer Service line will be open as usual from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Missouri: 314-231-2345
TTY: 314-982-1555
2. Email transit information questions to transitinfo@metrostlouis.org.
3. Via Twitter use “@STLMetro” with your question. We will be available with a Google Maps app and transit information to help Twitter users.
4. Locate a Transit Service Manager throughout the system. TSMs and other available personnel will be out Monday to help customers. TSMs wear yellow Metro polo shirts, and Metro ambassadors have white Metro polo shirts.
Also, please help one another. If you find someone on your bus who is confused or needs some help, please consider reaching out and lending a hand. You may just make someone’s day.
Well Well Well
This just in from the St. Louis Post Dispatch and www.stltoday.com
Metro taps Chesterfield Mayor John Nations as new chief
BY DAVID HUNN > dhunn@post-dispatch.com > 314-436-2239 | Posted: Monday, August 23, 2010 6:59 pm
Chesterfield Mayor John Nations has been tapped to head Metro, the taxpayer-funded regional bus and light rail agency, according to several close to the decision.
He will be announced at a press conference tomorrow morning.
Nations is a partner at the law firm Armstrong Teasdale, with an expertise in city planning and land use regulations. But he also just finished leading the successful campaign to pass the half-cent transit sales tax in St. Louis County, which is expected to generate $75 million a year and restore services cut more than a year ago. Without the funding, the region may well have faced a transit meltdown.
Nations did not return a phone call seeking comment. It is not clear who else was a finalist.
This is not the first time Metro leaders have reached outside of the agency, or even outside of the field, to choose their chief.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Metro picked Robert Baer, a retired United Van Lines chairman, to turn the agency around.
I still have my issues with Metro, and the agency needs a lot of work. But I've worked with John Nations and respect his understanding of the importance of mass transit to our region and its residents, his strong will to keep the St. Louis region vibrant and attractive to employers and workers alike, and his willingness to fight for what he believes in.
I said in my previous post that the new person in charge of Metro is in for a bumpy ride, and I stand by that comment. Mayor Nations is a good man, and I wish him well in what will be a very challenging new job.
After a hard fought campaign to increase funding for St. Louis' Metro Public Transit System, the day service increases take effect is almost upon us. Many will benefit from the new service and increases or changes in existing service. That's good, but trying to find information on the upgrades is, in true Metro fashion, as hard as finding a bus west of Union Station on Market Street.
OK, if not the website, they could use their allegedly cutting edge social media blog Next Stop STL to pimp the changes. Not so much. Not a post on the front page about the changes, but some lovely YouTube videos of how Volkswagen has applied their "fun theory" to mass transit stations IN OTHER CITIES. 
So let me try to make this just a little bit easier. If you're looking for a complete rundown of the service changes coming Monday, June 28th, you can go directly to this link. It may not be the easiest to navigate, but it does give an overview of the routes that are changing and a web 1.0 list of links to a bunch of PDF's with route information. At least all the information is in one place. Metro officials and elected leaders will be on hand Monday to welcome passengers back. They will hand out wrapped cookies at MetroLink stations and bus transfer centers.That's fine and dandy, but won't make a lick of difference if people don't know that all these changes are taking place.
Posted 2:20 p.m. Thurs., 02.22.10 - Less than three weeks after St. Louis County voters approved more money for Metro, Missouri is taking back a hefty chunk of its aid.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that he has cut $4 million from the $12 million that the Legislature OKed last year as one-time aid to the region's public transit agency, which had slashed services a year ago after area voters rejected in November 2008 a half-cent increase in the sales tax rate.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the hike April 6, which Metro said would result in restoration of many of its service cuts. Agency officials said the governor's action wouldn't affect Metro's plans.
Ironically, Nixon cited Metro's success on April 6 as the reason he was cutting its state aid. That reasoning may anger some Metro allies, who noted during the campaign that most states -- unlike Missouri -- subsidize their urban transit systems.
But Metro chief executive Bob Baer was philosophical in his statement released this afternoon. "While we are disappointed, we are not surprised,'' he said.
"Metro has closely monitored the budget debates in Jefferson City over the last several months and we have been in discussions with our St. Louis legislative delegation," Baer continued. "We understand that the state’s precarious budget situation has put many important services at risk, and that public transit is among them."
Baer said the agency still plans to restore some services this fall, as additional money comes in from the sales tax increase known as Proposition A.
In the meantime, Metro is considering several options for dealing with the cut in Missouri aid; one of them calls for accepting a $1.8 million offered last year by officials in St. Clair County in Illinois.
In Missouri, Metro's cut was among $45 million in additional state budget cuts for the current fiscal year that Nixon announced today because of the state's continued lower-than-expected income collections. By law, the state must have a balanced budget when its fiscal year ends on June 30.
Others who took a hit:
- Parents as Teachers, a nationally honored pre-school program that already is on the chopping block for the next fiscal year, took a $4.9 million cut today. That's in addition to $2 million trimmed earlier.
- Transportation money for public schools' bus systems was slashed $8 million, which is in addition to $4 million cut earlier.
- Public hospitals, which saw a $2.2 million trim in their Medicaid payments.
Today's cuts were unexpected because Nixon and state Budget Director Linda Luebbering had said several weeks ago that they thought the $900 million that he'd already cut from the current budget would be enough to keep it in balance.
But they apparently were wrong. Luebbering announced that, as of April 20, this month's state revenues are down 19 percent from April 2009 -- a month that also had been down from April 2008.
With just over two months left in the fiscal year, this year's overall state revenue collections are down 13.8 percent -- about twice what the Nixon administration had projected just a few weeks ago.
Luebbering said in today's announcement that the state's money troubles are exacerbated because "the average income tax refund is up nearly 8 percent compared to last year, while the average payment has fallen nearly 30 percent.
"Also, withholding (income tax) and sales taxes remain historically weak,'' the statement said. "Through March, individual withholding has declined five straight quarters and sales tax has declined 10 straight quarters."
Via the St. Louis Beacon www.stlbeacon.org and veteran reporter Jo Mannies.
Stunning number of cuts by formerly family and disabled friendly Gov. Jay Nixon (D). I understand the state has a budget crisis, but some extremely deserving organizations, NOT just mass transit, really got the shaft today.
Its kind of wild when the lady at the front desk calls and says "there's a TV crew here to see you". That could be a bad thing, or a fortunate moment. Luckily it was the latter today, as KSDK, the local NBC station, dropped by to talk about the passage of Proposition A Wednesday afternoon.
Alwas a good thing when I can get on TV without the terms "accused", "alleged" or "person of interest" somehow associated with my name.
Thank you, voters of St. Louis County, for passing Proposition A and funding public transit in our region!
After a heated and sometimes ridiculous campaign, it looks like the voters of St. Louis County passed Proposition A, a half cent sales tax that will fund public transit in the St. Louis region. I for one could not be more happy about this, as my very poor vision prevents me from driving and I rely on public transit to get to and from work, as well as to other business and personal destinations around St. Louis.
By passing this measure, the people of St. Louis County have begun to see the importance of public transit, not just for people like me or people who can't afford an auto, but for the region as a whole. Metro, the region's mass transit agency, has been struggling to provide even a bare bones level of service due to the often provincial attitudes of people who most likely have never set foot on a bus and the tunnel vision of local radio talk show hosts.
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| You have been invited by The St. Louis Region to Vote Yes On Proposition A For Public Transit. |
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If the link doesn't work, please click here. And please share this with everyone you know who lives in St. Louis County!
Some things about the upcoming St. Louis County Proposition A vote from The St. Louis Beacon http://www.stlbeacon.org/content/view/101349/74/
Please plan now on voting YES on Proposition A on Tuesday in St. Louis County.
John Nations: The facts support 'Yes' on Proposition A, the one-half cent sales tax for Metro
By John Nations, Special to the Beacon Posted 11:30 a.m. Wed., 03.31.10 - An unbiased review of the facts surrounding Proposition A in St. Louis County on April 6 will lead to a fair and obvious conclusion: The public-transit system in the St. Louis region benefits all of us, but cannot continue operations or make improvements without the new, long-term funding source provided by the half-cent sales tax in Prop A.
But opponents of Proposition A are desperately attempting to kill public transportation in St. Louis by misrepresenting the issue and misquoting its supporters. Opponents appear to be hoping that you do not find out the truth about Proposition A. John Burns wrote an article in this space a few days ago, which misleads the voters.
It's time to cut through the political rhetoric and get to the facts that you need when you go to the polls in St. Louis County on Tuesday, April 6.
BURNS: "Only 10,300 St. Louis County residents use mass transit."
FACT: Burns's numbers come from an old census questionnaire and not from the actual Metro verifiable ridership figures. Which would you rather rely on? The numbers for 2006-2007, before the service reductions last year, showed 15.6 million boardings of Metro vehicles a year in St. Louis County. Further, Burns' numbers do not count the thousands of daily riders in St. Louis County who are not county residents but who rely on public transportation to get to their employment in the county. Nor does the include the thousands of students, disabled, and elderly. We will not have successful businesses in St. Louis County if we do not allow people from outside the county to get to their jobs.
BURNS: "Metro has ... repeatedly asked for tax increases."
FACT: Metro has been in operation for 60 years and has had only two small sales taxes in St. Louis County during that entire time, during which there has been tremendous change in the St. Louis region. The last increase was in 1994 -- 16 years ago -- and the only other tax levied to support public transportation was in 1974. Since then, federal funding for operations was eliminated and in the last four years, the cost of fuel has quadrupled. The St. Louis County Council voted to put Prop A on the ballot in April because so many citizens were distressed by service reductions after the defeat of the sales tax in 2008.
Read more from beacon
How much will Prop A for Metro cost county residents?
TRANSITion: Who rides Metro? Low-income workers need Metro to get to their job
TRANSITion: Without state or federal help, Metro depends on sales taxes to pay for operations
TRANSITion: From horses to high speed, the history of the region's mass transit
TRANSITion: Metro explains what Prop A's half-cent sales tax would buy
BURNS: "Metro made the disastrous decision not to apply for federal funding" for Cross County MetroLink expansion.
FACT: Metro did not, and in fact could not, make that decision. That authority legally resides with the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGCG), the region's planning agency. Also note that EWGCG, the St. Louis County Council and the Metro Board have all agreed to pursue only future expansions that are supported by federal funds.
BURNS: "The plan doesn't contain simple information such as where a new light-rail route will be built and by what date."
FACT: After more than 30 regional public meetings, Metro has produced a long range plan which has been adopted unanimously by both the Metro Board and by East-West Gateway. The plan's priorities are (1) restore service cuts implemented in 2009, (2) expand the bus system and improve service throughout St. Louis County with expanded Metro Bus, Call-A-Ride for the elderly and disabled, and new Bus Rapid Transit, and (3) plan for future light rail expansion, which will only happen if economically feasible and with continued extensive public participation. Metro is not empowered to decide where a future light rail would be; that decision belongs to East-West Gateway.
BURNS: Metro "hasn't proven to voters that it can successfully manage itself."
FACT: More than 20 independent reviews and audits over the last two years have given Metro's new management team a clean bill of health. In fact, Metro has won awards for excellence in financial reporting, budget practices and risk management. The region's political leadership and more than 250 endorsements confirm that there is a "New Metro" which has definitely earned the public's trust and support.
BURNS: "Metro doesn't allow the public to look at its books."
FACT: Metro is a public agency and its financial statements, audits, budgets and nearly every other document it has are open to public inspection -- many of them online -- and are discussed in public meetings by the Board of Commissioners. Visit MetroStLouis.org and click on the "Inside Metro" tab.
BURNS: "With all of this oversight, why are they $50 million in the red?"
FACT: Oversight does not create revenue. Only revenue from fares, which Metro has increased four out of the last five years, is keeping pace with inflation. Federal funds for operating systems like Metro ended in 1999, leaving (in today's dollars) a $30 million annual gap. Many regions filled that gap with state and/or local support; ours did not. Missouri contributes about 1 percent of operating funds while the national average from states is about 23 percent. Revenue from regional sources has been flat or declining. Those are the reasons Metro needs more revenue. Opponents want you to believe that the funding situation began with the latest light rail extension, but the truth is that Metro has been talking about this for more than a decade.
BURNS: "Metro has demonstrated it doesn't care about its employees or the poor."
FACT: Metro's employees and the poor, who are among the highest number of Metro riders, are among the biggest supporters of Prop A. They all know how essential public transit is to them and to the region as a whole. Metro took many steps to avoid layoffs or service reductions, but it can only go so far when costs increase and revenues decrease. All one has to do is look at the many groups who are supporting this issue to realize how shameful Burns' political tactics are.
Those are the facts and they're readily available to anyone interested in the truth. And they clearly support a "yes" vote on Proposition A.
John Nations is mayor of Chesterfield, chairman of the Advance St. Louis campaign supporting passage of Proposition A, and a long-time advocate on employment and transportation matters in the St. Louis region. To reach him, contact Beacon features and commentary editor Donna Korando.
