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On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome back St. Louis County Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger to the program.

The Huntleigh Republican represents the council’s 3rd District, which includes municipalities such as Kirkwood, Manchester, Fenton, Sunset Hills, Frontenac and Valley Park. Wasinger has represented her district since 2007.

Heading west from St. Louis on I-64, just over the Missouri River bridge, bluffs rise and land rolls. There is a golf course (hard to see) and a corporate campus area. With a St. Charles County zoning change, a high-density 350 luxury home development could soon alter 200 of these bluff acres.

Conservationist and landowner Dan Burkhardt, guest for this Earthworms edition, was surprised in December to learn that bluff property owned by the University of Missouri was in a sale process to a home developer. His Katy Land Trust was formed to prevent just this kind of move. Adjacent to the Busch and Weldon Spring Conservation Areas - land purchased and given into care of the Missouri Department of Conservation in the 1950s and 70s respectively - the forested Missouri Bluffs acreage in question is currently zoned Agricultural.

The outcome of a public hearing on February 21 by the St. Charles County Planning and Zoning Commission is key to a requested zoning change to Medium- and High-Density Residential, to accommodate the proposed development. The Katy Land Trust is leading opposition to this change. Public comments will be considered in person, and via email before 2-21-18.

Burkhardt and his wife Connie farm their acreage near Marthasville, in a corridor of natural features, German cultural heritage, a thriving regional arts movement and public recreation that is anchored by Katy Trail State Park, with a link to St. Louis in process from Great Rivers Greenway.

Tourism in this heart of Missouri's wine country increasingly returns investments in these resources to all Missourians - and our visitors. Opponents of an intensive luxury housing development here note that that investment will return to very few, and diminish public benefits.

This is an important point for public input. As Dan Burkhardt says, Asphalt is the Last Crop.

Music: Deep Gap, performed live at KDHX by Marisa Anderson

THANKS to Anna Holland, Earthworms engineer

EARTHWORMS is produced as a volunteer community service. Views expressed by volunteer host are her own, and not intended to represent KDHX St. Louis Independent Media or any other organization. Guest views, and the organizations they represent, are clearly presented in each interview, and in accompanying texts.

Producer Lara Hamdan talks to filmmaker Mark Krenzien about his career and film, "Journey to the South Pacific," which takes place on a tropical island in West Papua.

Host Don Marsh discusses the issues raised by the shooting at Kirkwood City Hall 10 years ago and how they may have been addressed.

Host Don Marsh discussed the history of the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club and a book that details it.

Host Don Marsh talks to St. Louis Public Radio political reporter Jo Mannies about the Lincoln Days gathering, where Missouri Republicans discuss their plans for upcoming elections. 

Host Don Marsh talks with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Linda Greenhouse about her career and the current state of media and political affairs.

Don Marsh goes Behind the Headlines to discuss the aftermath of the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision on a partial removal of World War II-era radioactive waste at the West Lake Landfill, in northwest St. Louis County.

Host Don Marsh talks to Rx Outreach president Darryl Munden about the non-profit organization based in Maryland Heights, which is a fully licensed mail-order pharmacy.

St. Louis on the Air producer Alex Heuer talks with Grammy award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard about his score in the "Bud, Not Buddy" production. 

Host Don MArsh talks to St. Louis Public Radio science and environment reporter Eli Chen about an EPA proposal for the West Lake Landfill. 

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome back St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder to the program.

The Ballwin Republican represents the council’s 7th District. It takes in a number of large municipalities in St. Louis County, including Chesterfield, Wildwood, Ellisville and Ballwin.

Host Don Marsh talks to our partners at Sauce Magazine about their top restaurant picks for the month of February. 

Host Don Marsh talks to St. Louis Public Radio digital reporter Kae Petrin and Washington University dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences William Tate about the income gap between white and black residents in St. Louis. 

Plastic has overtaken our pantries, our shopping carts, our personal-care product cabinets - and our planet's waterways all the way to the oceans! Is there any hope for turning this plastic tide?

Jay Sinha and Chantal Plamondon, Canadian sustainable product entrepreneurs, offer their own experience to encourage fellow humans to break free plastic's hold on our lives. Their new book is Life Without Plastic - the Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep your Family and the Planet Healthy (Page Street Publishing, 2017).

Their book - and their online store, established in 2003 - packs facts about plastic pollution that Jay says is as pressing as Climate Change. But they are not polypropyl-whiners, by any stretch. Jay and Earthworms host Jean Ponzi pick through piles of plastic issues - with encouraging focus on options he and his family continue to test out, that can be useful to you.

What are the problems plastic is causing, for us and around our environment? What are alternatives to some of plastic's most pernicious influences in our lives?

Bring on the glass, wood, fabric and stainless steel! And PLEASE RECYCLE the plastics you do increasingly choose to use.

Music: Infernal Piano Plot, performed live at KDHX by The Claudettes

Thanks to Anna Holland, Earthworms Engineer

Host Don Marsh talks with St. Louis members of the grassroots organization 500 Women Scientists about local activities taking place that will introduce more women and people of color to the science fields.

Host Don Marsh talks with citizen negotiators during the 1972 City Jail sit-in protest and compared the experience with the protests of today.

Host Don Marsh talks to ArchCity Defenders new executive director Blake Strode and the legal advocacy organization's continued efforts to help under-served citizens.

Host Don Marsh talks to conductor Stéphane Denève about his music career and upcoming role at the St. Louis Symphony and Orchestra. 

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty to the program.

The Kansas City Democrat has been the leader of Missouri House Democrats since 2017. She’s often the public face for a 46-member caucus that regularly faces an uphill battle to outflank the Republican supermajority on key issues.

Most of the attention in Jefferson City these days is over the uncertainty around Gov. Eric Greitens. He addressed reporters last Monday for the first time since admitting to an extramarital affair before he became governor. Greitens has denied allegations he blackmailed a woman into keeping the infidelity secret and repeatedly said he won’t resign from office.