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Narwhal’s Crafted, a master mixologist’s version of a frozen drink emporium with locations in Midtown and St. Charles and Loaded Elevated Nachos, is planning to anchor the east end of the Grove in dramatic fashion. Scalene Solutions LLC (get it?) purchased the property from Koman Group last October. Their original plan presented in September 2020 […]

The post Narwhal’s to Make a Splash at Chouteau and Vandeventer appeared first on NextSTL.

Comedian Nikki Glaser talks about reacquainting herself with her hometown after moving back to St. Louis in 2020, what her hit HBO Max show “FBoy Island” taught her about love and more.

Atlantic staff writer Adam Harris discusses his new book “The State Must Provide,” which explores the long history of inequality in higher education, and offers a provocative remedy for the funding woes of historically Black colleges.

While Austin and Charlotte are examples of cities expanding now, let’s not forget STL City ran out of space to grow in the 1950’s! We had our growth spurt and while more is needed, not many cities can compare to STL CITY. Our housing boom started in the 1870’s through 1940’s, which means our solid red brick building stock is old and frequently needs attention. TGNCDC bought 3635 Hydraulic Ave. as a vacant property in 2015 then made improvements to keep the units occupied as affordable homes. We noticed some cracking along the front façade and hired an structural engineer to take a look. The structure was built in 1913 and over the years the front façade started pulling away and failing. Our board was faced with a very familiar decision, save the property and keep the block intact or demo the structure and create a vacant lot. They choose the former and work began. The result was over $70,000 of additional investment to create TWO newly updated and affordable two bedroom units rented at $700-$750 per unit. The building is now stable and positioned to last for decades to come! Attached are some photos of the before (when we purchased) and after.

Congratulations to K-Bop, 6120 Delmar, for being included in St. Louis Magazine’s Best New Restaurant List! Here’s the dish on their favorite dish and drink!   K-Bop DISH: If you’re relatively new to Korean food, the Beef Bulgogi Bop is a great way to get familiar with some of its foundational flavors. Then take it up a […]

In today’s “Communities Forward” podcast, we have our continuing guests, Michael D. Frances and Michael Beran, who helped create the new reality TV show that focuses on removing animal wildlife intruders from people’s homes and businesses called “Bare Hands Rescue.” The live-action show is currently available for viewing on multiple platforms, including Animal Planet and […]

The post Communities Forward Podcast Part 2 of 2- Michael D. Frances & Michael “Bare Hands” Beran appeared first on Rise.

A third-generation pastry chef is offering food outside of Kurdistan for the first time in his family's history.

Missouri allows passengers in moving vehicles to drink alcohol. That policy has cost the state roughly $370 million in highway construction money for failing to comply with federal safety policies.

Leonard Slatkin, conductor laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, discusses his new book and what it will take for classical music to thrive again.

Grammy-nominated jazz singer Somi Kakoma has spent almost seven years turning the story of South African singer Miriam Makeba into a musical. She discusses its world premiere in St. Louis — and plans for Off Broadway.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded CARES Act funds to St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) to make loans to businesses that have been negatively affected by COVID-19 or that are providing goods or services addressing problems caused by the pandemic.

Read the rest of “EDA Loans for City Businesses Affected by COVID-19” 

The post EDA Loans for City Businesses Affected by COVID-19 appeared first on DutchtownSTL.org.

Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5

Local journalism is critical to communities all over the country, but many organizations that have long employed reporters to cover important local news stories have struggled to find a financial footing over the past several decades.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act — a bill introduced with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and a notable slate of Democratic backers in the Senate — aims to remedy that disconnect with a collection of temporary benefits that could sustain small local news outlets and give them time to retool.

We are usually wary of federal legislation aimed at supporting local journalism, despite its importance, because of conflicts of interest that can emerge from the government picking what kinds of outlets qualify, or from direct subsidies coming from the subject of coverage. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act seems to solve those long-standing issues in an innovative way. We at Freedom of the Press Foundation endorse the bill.

Instead of laying out strict criteria to qualify for direct subsidies, the LJSA would provide three primary mechanisms that would potentially help all small local news outlets. Perhaps most notable for most readers, the law would cover a large portion of the cost of a local newspaper (or news non-profit) subscription in the form of a tax credit, up to $250. For the five years this law would be in effect, more Americans could pay much more than they currently do for local news with a subsidy from the federal government. This prong is well-structured: for households that pay federal income tax, a tax credit is effectively direct money towards subscriptions, more readily available than an itemized deduction, and would incentivize local news outlets to form relationships with readers.

The second mechanism is a payroll tax credit for the news outlets themselves towards the salaries of reporters, editors, and photographers. For outlets facing a vicious cycle of declining revenues leading to diminished newsroom staff leading to a less obvious value proposition to readers, a cash infusion that allows newsrooms to staff up could help tremendously.

Finally, also on the revenue side, the bill would provide tax credits to small businesses that pay to advertise on local news sites, in newspapers, or on television and radio.

American federal support of news reporting and publishing is nearly as old as the country itself, including similarly “content-neutral” postal subsidies for newspaper and pamphlet delivery. Over that time, defining "journalism" in a way that includes innovative and independent outlets has been a hard problem only gotten more difficult. (That difficulty has often been our sticking point with other proposals, such as increasing penalties for assaults on journalists.)

But it's undeniable that local news reporting provides important benefits to the communities that can sustain commercial or nonprofit newsrooms. This bill takes a very broad approach to the question of definition, and makes it easier for those communities to provide their own support for local outlets.

That reliance on existing community support has its flaws, too. For one thing, historically marginalized and underserved communities may not have existing outlets (or subscriber bases) to build up with the tax benefits. And by contrast, the many legacy outlets that have been dramatically cut back by hedge fund or private equity purchasers could stand to receive these benefits. Still, it would provide major help for many existing newsrooms that provide important coverage and could use the lifeline.

With broad bipartisan support in the House, this bill would have good odds in that chamber. Although the co-sponsors on the Senate side are exclusively Democrats to date, its supporters aim to include a version of this bill in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that is likely to pass with or without Republican support.

It’s the time of year again where people all around the world are preparing to ditch their keys for Car Free Day on September 22 to help... Read More

The sister restaurant to Blues City Deli is now serving a few more styles of pizza in South St. Louis.

Several elements came together at the World's Fair in St. Louis to show off America's global impact on the economy, science, art, and food. It also opened in the middle of the Jim Crow era of discrimination and at the height of the country's removal and forced assimilation of Native Americans.

The Grim Reaper has been spotted on the 4500 block of Manchester in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Demolition permits have been pulled for 4534, 4358, 4540, 4544, 4552, and 4556 Manchester. The buildings are owned by Grove Properties. The vacant lot at 4542 is owned by the LRA and presumably would be acquired for […]

The post Demo Alert: 4534-56 Manchester appeared first on NextSTL.

Downtown St. Louis has been hard-hit during the pandemic, with office workers replaced by troublemakers on many evenings. Aldermen Jack Coatar and James Page discuss the issues facing the neighborhood and Mayor Tishaura Jones’ plan to tackle them.

by Mark Schlinkmann ST. LOUIS — Petitioners on Monday submitted signatures aimed at yanking away the job of redrawing ward boundary lines from the Board of Aldermen, spurring two board […]

In her timely essay for Washington University’s Common Reader, longtime St. Louis journalist Jeannette Cooperman explores the often surreal contrasts between “our quiet, lamp-lit private life” and “the shadows outside our window” in the contemporary world. She shares excerpts and reflections with producer Evie Hemphill in this episode.