We know that you listen to us on air and check our website for news and information about our region. We hope that you look at our website every day, but we know that's not always possible. So, once a week, on Friday, we will highlight some of the website's top stories of the week. This week, we try to stay mostly on the sunny side of the street.
A stroll down Memory Lane
Yacovelli's Restaurant Closing After 95 Years
After 95 years in business, thousands of customers, and hundreds of employees, Yacovelli's Restaurant in Florissant will close Jan. 1. The Italian restaurant has been in the Yacovelli family since 1919. But owners Jack and Jan Yacovelli decided in September that it was time to close. "We’re tired, we want to have more time," Jan said. "We both have our health. It’s time to enjoy life. We’ve worked really hard our whole life."
No Buyers Yet For The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle
Five months after the news broke that the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville is for sale, we figured it was time to ketchup with the story. So far, there are no buyers for the 70-foot-tall water tank perched atop a 100-foot-tall tower, says Mike “Big Tomato” Gassmann of the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group, which formed in the 1990s to raise money to repair and paint the icon.
8 Things That Changed This Year In The St. Louis Arts Scene
As our city rocked from the upheavals of 2014, a series of quieter changes was taking place in the St. Louis art world. Several arts organizations debuted, others expanded and a few folded. Some relocated and others featured uncharacteristic fare to appeal to wider audiences. Here’s a look at eight of this year’s evolutions in the local arts scene.
From Fingerprints To Beer Distribution, Exploring St. Louis' Firsts
First use of fingerprinting. First drive-up bank teller. First cocktail party. First nighttime Major League Baseball season opener. St. Louis has been the home of many firsts, the subject of a book by Diane Rademacher, “Famous Firsts of St. Louis,” which was discussed on St. Louis on the Air.
Life lessons
Homeless Students In Missouri On The Rise; Some 'Clique Up' In Vacant Buildings
By April 2013, the latest state data showed the number of homeless students in St. Louis Public Schools had doubled over the past three school years. At the time, Deidre Thomas-Murray, the coordinator of students in transition, described what these numbers look like in practice. Skip ahead about 18 months and there are data now for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. “It’s not getting any better,” Thomas-Murray said.
Reflections on Ferguson
McCulloch Has No Regrets: 'I Did What I Thought Was Right'
St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch says he’s not surprised by the scrutiny his office continues to receive as a result of the grand jury decision a month ago not to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. In fact, McCulloch observed in an interview that his staff is conducting its own examination of how the office handled the investigation of the shooting on Aug. 9.
Lawmakers Produce Ideas Responding To Ferguson Unrest — But Can They Deliver?
While legislators may have the zeal to propose public policy changes to respond to the Ferguson unrest, there’s no guarantee that any of the ideas will pass. Even proposals with a kind of consensus — such as whittling down the power of municipal courts — will face opposition from groups like the Missouri Municipal League.
Glut of Municipal Governments And Services Could Make Change After Ferguson Difficult
The central challenge to enacting policy change to the St. Louis region after the Ferguson unrest is the multitude of cities and police departments throughout the county. It would require wholesale change to policing or municipal courts in dozens of independent jurisdictions to be effective. Attorney General Chris Koster has lamented this reality: “The level of balkanization, in my personal opinion, is hurting the future prospects of growth in the St. Louis County region and the St. Louis municipal region as a whole.”
Food for thought
'Angel' Is A Job Title At This Cookie Bakery That Employs St. Louis Teens
The holidays are the busy season at Angel Baked Cookies, a nonprofit that hires teenagers from north St. Louis year-round to make chocolate chip, sugar and oatmeal raisin cookies. Angel Baked, which makes about 1,500 cookies a week, was started in 2007 by the Rev. Gary Meier, then-pastor at St. Teresa and Bridget Catholic Church. It’s a program of North Grand Neighborhood Services, a nonprofit that partners with the church to develop affordable housing in the Jeff Vander Lou neighborhood. Angel Baked uses the kitchen of the nonprofit's office for dough making and convection ovens at the church for baking.
Sound Bites: Reviewing The Best Restaurants, Dishes, Drinks Of 2014
Looking back on 2014, Sauce Magazine's editor and restaurant critics shared their favorite new restaurants, meals and drinks on St. Louis on the Air.
