Archbishop Robert Carlson announced a plan this week to improve education at the 147 schools in the Catholic archdiocese. He and his administrators will work to fill 1,800 empty seats in the region’s Catholic schools, stressing cooperation among parishes and creative ways to make tuition more affordable to more families. He did not announce school closings or consolidations.

I like the archbishop's plan and I support it. His initiative explicitly addresses the... Read More

As the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission begins its negotiations with the St. Louis Rams today, there are a couple of things to remember.

First, the lease with the St. Louis Rams requires the CVC to bring the Edward Jones Dome up to top tier, as defined in the lease itself. The lease says nothing about building a new facility. It only talks about improvements to the existing facility. Not every sportswriter... Read More

The Great Recession hit the City of St. Louis really hard. But, we are recovering. During the recession, we have witnessed more than two BILLION dollars in new construction and expansion. That is a reflection of the tremendous resiliency of our economy – and our people.

Crime is down significantly in the City.

We added three new quality charter schools last fall, bringing to 13 the number of charter schools that... Read More

A lot of the country will be watching St. Louis tomorrow when a city in America's Heartland shares its own heart with its youngest veterans. I hope that many of you will come downtown for the Welcome Home parade for Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. Saturday's parade is planned to include about 100 floats and 25 performance groups. It will begin at noon and follow the St. Patrick's Day Parade route down Market and Broadway, ending at... Read More

There are some new Federal rules today that will make school lunches (and school breakfasts) healthier for our kids. That is a good thing, as public health officials struggle to address childhood obesity and the lifetime of problems it will bring.

The new rules, though, are weaker than those first proposed by the Department of Agriculture and endorsed by health advocates. Changes to the originally proposed rules were made by Congress after protests... Read More

In 2009, I was one of the mayors who voted to commit the US Conference of Mayors to supporting marriage equality for same-sex couples so that such unions would have the same rights – family leave, retirement benefits, tax equity, and constitutional protection against discrimination – as heterosexual couples. This week, I also joined the mayors of nearly 100 US cities in a proactive campaign in support of the freedom of gay and lesbian... Read More

MoDOT, which does a good job maintaining highways, ramps, and about 30 miles of major roads through the city, got a late start this morning on its highway and road treatment. They are catching up now. Meanwhile, please drive carefully. And consider taking Metro.... Read More

Later today, the City’s Planning Commission is scheduled to review the draft of an ordinance imagined and researched by members of my Vanguard Cabinet. The Bike Parking Ordinance (BPO) will require developments of a certain size and cost to incorporate bicycle parking into their plans. The BPO is aimed at most redevelopment and new construction more $1 million, and it allows developers to offset required car spaces with bicycle spaces, saving money while doing... Read More

Our representatives in Washington, D.C., have reported that there is little immediate hope that funding dedicated to the city’s highly successful fight against lead poisoning will be restored to anywhere close to its levels from years past – and they say that a federal agency is considering a recommendation to lower the threshold for lead poisoning in children. So: less money, but a larger task. The coincidence of news reminded of a good friend... Read More

Last night, I brought the City's greetings to a group gathered to mark the beginning of the state's observance of the Martin Luther, King, Jr., holiday. Here is some of what I said:

Distinguished visitors, on behalf of the people of the City of St. Louis, welcome to a week in which our state celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That week begins now.
... Read More