Archive for the ‘In Our Town’ Category

Sean Houlihan, Frank Schmitz, Thom Sehnert, Klaus Schmitz, Mark Hinkle

The columnist goes crazy on New Year’s Eve. Last year, just at the stroke at midnight, I grabbed the person  next to me and kept kissing until “Auld Lang Syne” was finished. I’ll never forget that night. I don’t think the detective will either! You know when it’s countdown to midnight. Your liver is beginning to cringe. Last year a reporter for an Israeli newspaper landed a big New Year’s scoop and cell phoned the city desk editor with, “Hold the back page!”  The reporter then asked the editor, “Should I put more fire in my articles about New Year’s Eve?”  The editor replied, “Vice versa would be nice.” It’s hard to remember what life had been like in the old days. What did people do then, what did they talk about?  It might be true there’s nothing deader than this season of football, but we’ve lived in it so long with its emptiness and letdown. The world champ Cardinals has risen to fictional heights and had left its mark on everyone, whether they wanted to be marked by it or not. Restaurants will have a bonanza on New Year’s Eve. The clannish Group gathered just before New Year’s at Jane and Thom Senert’s Annie Gunn’s where they got handshakes on their expansion plans. Brothers Frank and Klaus Schmitzruminated over the third BARcelona in Milwaukee and another Mosaic west of Boone Crossing. With them were Annie Gunn’s bossman Mark Hinkle and landscape architect Sean Houlihan. Next stop – at Steve and Jamie Komorek’s Zagat-hailed Trattoria Marcella to join Cyndi and Charlie Rossi along with their sons, Tim and Michael, and Steve Komorek, who was dizzying over reservations for a record 450 on N.Y. Eve. Charlie, once proud owner of his namesake bar/restaurant in south St. Louis county, is now an educator at the culinary classes at Jefferson College in Hillsboro.  He pointed out, “I grew up with Father Vince Bommarito and became part of Monsignor Sal Polizzi’s gang.”

If you make the turn there, check out some fun comforts available along with walking the marble halls. At Alexandro’s Restaurant, owner Alex Mastrogiannis looks more like Omar Sharif every day, and wifeVenus is channeling Sophia Loren. The hot dinner dish in the upstairs dining room is deep fried lobster tails.  As a state sentator and Eternal General Guv. Jay Nixon and his top aide,now Stinson, Morrison barrister Chuck Hatfield, dined so often at the Arris Pizza joint buffet they shouldl have bought pizza dough stock.  Over at the Library Lounge inside the Truman Hotel, Jeff City’s favorite entertainer, Mike Michelson, stars at the piano bar twice a week. He enjoys sharing the spotlight accompanying his old friend Neal E. Boyd, the “America’s Got Talent” million-dollar warbler. Gregarious Neal flirted with running for the Missouri House, but he decided lawmakers at play are more fun to watch.

Thompson Coburn lawyers and staff used their recent holiday party at the Champions Club at Busch Stadium to present a check for $25k to Little Patriots Embraced, a Kirkwood-based charity that supports families of military members deployed overseas. TC raised the money by collecting donations,by auctioning off a pair of flat screen TVs donated by the firm, and, by raffling off a pair of airline tickets purchased with the lawyers’ frequent flyer miles. About 275 of the firm’s business family attended.

There was a 7.1 percent drop in fatal intersection crashes nationwide during 2010, according to date analyses from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Authorities say the reduction shows effective combinations of technology and enforcement strategies. “Safety belt programs, drunk-driving initiatives, intersection safety cameras – they all deliver positive results and save lives,” says David Kelly, president and exec director of the National Coalition for Safer Roads. Meanwhile, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has a grim holiday responsibility: tallying up traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities.  Col. Ron Repogle counted four deaths and 388 injuries in 1,264 Missouri traffic crashes during the 2010 holiday season. He reminded folks to have their cell phones programmed with the Patrol’s *55 traffic emergency line.

A resident of Wildwood, *Dave S., *reports that warning signs alerting drivers to deer crossings reveal that the Highway Dept. may have discovered a completely new breed of deer – the Dobe-a-Lope.  For example, the warning sign appears to depict a Mule Deer leaping across the road. But the sign bears a striking resemblance to a Doberman
Pinscher sporting a pair of horns.  Apparently, lurking in the dense forests of Missouri are horned beasts that prove you cannot cross-breed Dobermans with antelope creating a new breed called the “Dobe-a-Lope.”  Drivers must worry not only about hitting this animal, but avoiding its ferocious bite afterwards! Drivers beware!

Thomas Hill, CEO of Summit Materials, and Thomas Dunne, Sr., continue to sharpen their pencils on a possible acquisition of some or all of Earth City-based Fred Weber, Inc. Summit has a $1 billion credit line with Blackstone Capital Partners VLP. . .The Rev. Larry Biondi is rarely spotted outside his own campus, unless a meal is involved.  Thus, a rare personal appearance Monday to testify in front of the St. Louis Preservation Board marked the seriousness with which St. Louis University’s president regarded a request to demolish four historic structures near the university’s medical center in order to accommodate a new $75 million outpatient center.  Biondi won approval to demolish two of the structures, but will have to return next year with a different plan (or find a willing judge to throw out the decision) if he wants the two other structures – an office building and a smokestack - demolished.  All four structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. . .To address what she calls “the growing speculation about whether Rep. Jamilah Nasheed will seek the newly redistricted 5th Senatorial seat” – speculation that she herself is fueling – Nasheed has sent out a media advisory announcing that she will make an announcement about her plans on Jan. 3.  In the meantime, we can only – speculate.

That new voice on KMOX news belongs to Allison Blood, known to friends as Allie, and she has lots of friends and admirers after covering statehouse news and politics.  Like many of the talented staff
at KMOX, the vivacious Mizzou grad arrives by way of the Missourinet. .  .There is historical irony here.  Missourinet’s founding and still hard-charging news director Bob Priddy was just starting out in the
business when KMOX legend Bob Hyland dangled a job with pittance wages. Father of a young family, an unimpressed Bob Priddy instead joined Clyde Lear and the late farm broadcaster Derry Brownfield in pioneering what became Missourinet and its parent company, Learfield Communications.  Nearly 40 years later, Learfield has more than 350 staffers, operates five state news networks, the leading agriculture radio network and manages multimedia athletics rights for more than 50 colleges and athletic associations. Learfield has grown into a multimedia power Bob Hyland could envy.  Learfield recently closing a large strategic investment by Shamrock Capital Growth Fund III, the
investment unit that originated with the Roy Disney family.  In Missourinet’s early years, Priddy received a job application from a young announcer at Lexington, Missouri station KLEX.  Priddy took the application to Clyde Lear, who put rookie sportscaster John Rooney to work on Mizzou basketball broadcasts, including a season alongside Bob Costas, who Hyland once hired as a wisp of a lad out of Syracuse University.  Now John shares the Cardinals broadcast booth with Mike Shannon and the meters keep moving.  Over the weekend on the Mssourinet, Alice Blood reported on the $100k Bank of America donation to help rebuild Mercy St. John’s Joplin Hospital.  That hospital became an iconic backdrop for news coverage of the May 22 Joplin tornado.  Its windows were shattered but the Stars and Stripes fluttered from the exposed windowsills.

Media relations wizard Scott Charton of Charton Communications fame: “I’m advising St. Louis clients to make any bad news announcements today – it’ll never get daily media attention amid the Pu-nami of Albert the Angel coverage.” Albert Pujols’ defection to the Angels got a ho-hum reaction from some guests Thursday night at the Covenant House fundraiser in the Khorassan Room of the Chase.  “The Cardinals could get three good players with the money offered to Pujols,” opined City Hall’s Jeff Rainford.  Red Schoendienst: “Don’t know why he left. He won’t get our town’s atmosphere there.” Jeff Aboussie, exec secretary/treasurer Building and Construction Trades Council: “The Cardinals’ should take the money it would have paid Pujols and start Ballpark Village tomorrow, putting to work 1,000 construction workers.” Other voices: “I wouldn’t run for office until 2016,” insisted former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway, partner in the Ashcroft Group law firm. As for the firm’s business, she offered, “It’s too good!” Jack Martorelli, mainstay of Guns ‘n Hoses: “The recent event will bring in more than $300,000 for BackStoppers.”  Rex and Jean Sinquefield hosted the party of which Jean giggled and pointed out, “We’re giving the party and guests have to pay.”

Covenant House's Diane Compardo, Paul Kindl, Sue Wagener

Pay they did for Covenant House of Missouri, whose exec director Sue Wagener said that 5,300 youth were served last year. The non-profit agency empowers homeless, runaway and at -risk youth to become independent and contributing members of the community. With Wagener were board chairman Paul Kindl, finance chief Diane Compado.

Rex Sinquefield was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for his promotion of chess.(a sport?) Gillian and James Harris were front and center.

Sharon and Kim Tucci with music maker Al Oxenhandler

Then, it was onward to Tucci & Fresta’s Trattoria & Bar in Clayton, where we found co-owner Kim Tucci coochie-cooing with diners including Barbara and Barry Beracha. former exec with Sara Lee (their son,Brad, owns nearby Araka Restaurant).

Barbara and Barry Beracha

Later, we learned that Lambert Airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge is no longer considered as a candidate to succeed Dick Fleming at the RCGA. On another note, St. Louis Ald. and mayoral hopeful Lewis Reed has just bought a new car, raising eyebrows at City Hall.

Ray Wagner and State Rep. Tim Jones

AT&T prez John Sondag and John TemporitiRay Wagner and State Rep. Tim Jones

Bob, Susan and Mike Kelley with Donna Wilkinson