Metrolink Opens...Affton and City Both Under-represented!!

Well the new extension of the MetroLink opened Saturday with much fanfare and the First Family was all over it. In addition to free rides along the route, we opted to partake in the festivities that were planned at the Shrewsbury station. My first beef with this was that it involved closing the few remaining feet of River Des Peres that are not under construction. The entire area south of Landsdowne was blocked to traffic.

But first, the train...parking is more than ample at the station. My recent change in jobs now allows me to take the train to work which I did today and plan on trying to do most days. I can't tell you how actually beautiful River Des Peres could be if it were allowed to have water in it all the time. It had rained a lot Friday night and was flowing well when our train pulled out over the bridge that extends over I-44. Get a glimpse of it soon if you can. The ride was delightful and full of people out for a free test ride which was nice to see.

On our return, we headed toward the party across Landsdowne. There was plenty of free stuff to do as well as food and live music. Your Mayor and First Father-in-Law even got to have a beer (making all encounters with in-laws universally better!) The BIGGEST spoiler for me the entire day was the fact that I spied a mexican food vendor with margaritas AND THEY WERE FROM O'FALLON!!!! WTF? This party was less than one mile from (Mayor's favorite) El Maguey and no one invited them to the party??? Clearly someone screwed up big time.

Why on earth would you invite ANYTHING from St. Charles County...a place that has no public transportation, votes down any involvement in MetroLink expansion, and has one of the largest disparities between workforce housing and jobs...to the grand opening of METROLINK???!!! The Mayor demands an explanation for this.

Sour Grapes, Grantwood Village People

Well, apparently the Grantwood Village People have decided that they can't have their cake, but they are going to eat better despite themselves.

Back around the end of June, at the height of opposition to the proposed development, Grantwood Village proposed their own annexation plan with the Boundary Commission and (what a surprize) they want to aquire the future site of the Villages at Grant's View next to Cor Jesu Academy.

Boundary Commission: Don't Test Me!

As promised, I am writing to inform you, fine Afftonians, that the hearing for annexation proposals with the Boundary Commission has been scheduled. It will be at Affton High (home of the Cougars) in the cafeteria on Tuesday, August 22. The Mayor will be in attendance.

The Journal reports that proposals will be heard from Bella Villa and St. George, but oddly there is no mention of SHREWSBURY'S EVIL PLOT to annex most of Affton over several years. While I love to call this evil, I think little will come of it. Becuase of the rules, Shrewsbury would be forced to annex mostly cemeteries first which holds little interest for them as a tax base.

Also of vexing note, the Boundary Commission web site feature that allows you to enter a zip code to see if you are affected by a proposal is not working...again! This happened back in the spring as well. They fixed it thanks to my email. Today, the Exec. Director notified me that the site is undergoing maintenance and that we can still scroll down to see the proposals. Curious that twice Affton is affected and twice the information system is not functioning properly. In fairness, they have been very responsive on making repairs.

FURTHER, the Journal notes a start time of 7PM for the meeting. The Boundary Commisssion lists both 6:30 and 7. I think I'll be early just in case Shrewsbury decides to spring something on us.

Don't forget..the ACBA meets tomorrow morning at 9AM at Commerce Bank. I am not able to be there this month, but feel free to show up on behalf of the Mayor's Office and listen in.

O-O-O'Reilly's Nice Guys

Generally speaking, auto and auto parts dealerships are not good for neighborhoods. They tend to junk up the area and have a bunch of folks working on cars in a public parking lot detracting from an area's appeal. (See the Auto Zone on S. Kingwhighway if you don't believe me.)

Affton is fortunate to have some good-looking chain stores that I'd consider more of an asset than a liability. In our case, the folks at the O'Reilly's store at 9445 Gravois are worthy of kudos in spreading the Affton love. Even the Mayor shops there to keep his 2-hubcapped hooptie running.

I had a chance to buy some wiper blades and a brake light bulb for the First Lady's car this weekend. On my arrival, I noticed a sweet 1970's VW bus running in the parking lot. While checking out, the owner of the van came in accompanied by a huge Great Dane to say goodbye to the store staff. It seems my checkout guy, Brian and many of the others at the store put in some long after hours work to help this guy fix his van. The kid was on a road trip to Phoenix when the van broke down in Affton. He stayed for three days while they got parts and installed them to get him back on the road.

The store staff gathered around to wish him well as the van sputtered off in that sound only an old VW makes. Why can't everyone be this nice? If you are in the market for mud flaps or gear shifters that light up, consider a visit to these fine representatives of Affton pride.

VOTE TODAY

Be sure to cast your ballot today and let me know what you think of the new voting machines with your emails or comments. The new system has complicated the way we used to be able to look up our local issues, so here's how to do it:

Enter your address here.
This form will result in your district information and show you your elected officials.
Click here to view a listing of candidates and issues. You will need to compare these to see if you folks are running for reelection.