Posts Tagged ‘Steve Schankman’

While Tom Carnahan is poised to collect millions of dollars from Washington windbags for wind, Linda Doss, 72, mordantly described our country as “Gone downhill.”  Doss, who commutes between her apartments in Maplewood and in Puerto Vallarta,  boasted that in Mexico her electric bill every two months is about $12,  cable is $19 and telephone service is $18.  “I spend about eight months there,” she told her friend Sandy Shoults.

Whenever I feel I’m getting out of touch with a city – a fear that haunts all news people, I take a long walk along Manchester in Maplewood. which rocks with the blaring out of a little video shop and chop shops, the smell of Tex-Mex food of tiny dineries, the Ho-Made food served up at the Tiffany diner, a Childhood Center, where Linda Henke teaches the kids how to grow food and to make their own breakfasts, Maplewood-Richmond Heights High where the cagers enjoyed two successive state championship seasons, Kalb Electric and Scheidt Hardware remain there since right after the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Saratoga Lanes has been around more years than anyone remembers, an 1840 clapboard house on Woodside is crying out for a rehabber who’ll plunk down $125,000, the sweet fragrances of spices waft from Penzey’s, a spinoff of a German company,  Maplewood residents still mourn the loss of Golde’s Department Store and now have to trudge to Maplewood Commons’ Walmart and Sam’s.  There is a no-nonsense chief of police, Steve Kruse, who is still infatuated with his yesteryear Chevy Lumina.  Nowadays, Monarch Restaurant and Jive ‘n Wail are credited as the two anchors that have attracted 50 new businesses to the strip, between the 7200 and 7900 blocks.  It was at Jive ‘n Wail where a conversation between husband and wife was overheard. “Honey, tomorrow I’m going downtown to my broker.”  She darted back, “Stock or pawn?” When I walked along Manchester – the original U.S. 66 for 10 years until 1936 – I became just another face in the crowd – a crowd that takes me at face value.  It might not be the real St. Louis, but brothers and sisters, it’s real. My walk was interrupted by a flash over my iphone from Contemporary Productions’ Angela Gregory, who wrote that her boss, Steve Schankman, will present “Finale’s Encore” at the JCA to memorialize his shuttered Finale Jazz Club in Clayton.  It stars on various nights – Neal E. Boyd of “America’s Got Talent”, Steve Davis and his “Memories of Elvis”, Charles Glenn, Kim Massie and the Fabuious Motown Revue. For tix,  call (314) 721-9090 or lforrester@contemporaryproductions.com.

“Emerson stock has had a good run and (each share) is $5 away from its all-time high,”   enthused David Farr, ceo of Emerson and Variety Club’s “man of the year” at the 44th anniversary “Dinner with the Stars” at the Chase-Park Plaza on Saturday night. Farr, with his wife, Lelia, mentioned he teaches strategic planning and investments on a long time plan at WashU.  “Chuck Knight also teaches a semester and he’s brought in such guest speakers as Louis Gerstner (former ceo of IBM) and Jack Welch (former ceo of General Electric),” said Farr.  “We have about 150 students.”  Thelma and David Steward, prez of Variety and chairman of World Wide Technology turned to business, when he said, “We’re taking advantage of the latest in Cloud computing (Internet-based computing of shared resources, software and information on demand).”  Contemporary Productions founder Steve Schankman was on hand with Jake Gregory, 19, who, two years ago, fell off the edge of a rocky cliff in Augusta, Mo., and suffered severe head trauma and other injuries.  Now, the glamorous Gregory is looking forward to head for studies in Christian ministry at Lindenwood.  The evening’s emcee Bob Eubanks, a veteran of 32 years of television game shows, said he keynotes nowadays for “coporate America.” “The subject is ‘All About America,’” said a surly Eubanks.  Marilyn Fox, chairman of the dinner, sauntered in the room with her husband and staunch GOP’er Sam, who insisted, “Crazy people are now running the country!”

The columnist has made hundreds of New Year’s resolutions over the years – for himself and on behalf of many of you.  Some have taken: some have not.  For himself, the columnist vows better attention to health; more acceptance of the limits of medicine; greater patience with the pace of healing; and a more heartfelt gratitude to doctors, nurses, billing clerks, insurance companies, and (especially) to well-wishers.  He also vows greater attention to correct spelling, accurate timing, complete quoting, standard punctuation, organized note-taking, credible attribution, flattering photography, and graceful corrections.  Of course, that is an annual resolution, made with little real intention of doing anything about the habits of a lifetime gossipist. On your behalf, the columnist attributes (with no foundation and with relatively little malice) the following fantasy resolutions:

• From President Barack Obama: I’ll do my Christmas vacation next year with Claire, Joe, and their family in St. Louis, as long as Claire promises not to Tweet about it and Joe pays for the Pi.
• From Governor Jay Nixon:  I’ll ask Peter Kinder, who practically lives there, to tell Georganne the best places to eat, shop, and stay in St. Louis.
• From Archbishop Robert Carlson:  I’ll make more good news with Catholic Charities than bad.
• From SLU president the Rev. Larry Biondi:  I’ll commission a statue of a naked Rick Majerus for Bannister House if the Billikens make the NCAA Tournament.
• From Sen. Kit Bond:  I’ll use my final year to find jobs for all my staff.
• From County Executive Charlie Dooley:  I’ll ask the nice Greg Boyce for a couple of lumps of clean coal to put into a certain former staffer’s Christmas stocking.
• From Mayor Francis Slay:  I’ll give a Key to the City to Lady GaGa.
• From KMOV GM Alan Cohen:  I’ll do infomercials 24/7.
• From “Donnybrook” founder Martin Duggan:  I’ll start a blog. What’s a blog?
• From Emerson CEO David Farr and celebrated attorney Linda Martinez:  We had no idea we were named “man and woman of the year” by the Variety Club until we read it in Berger’s column. We hope he’ll be seated with us at the April 24th dinner.
• From Congressman Lacy Clay:  I’ll check “finally single”  on my Census form next year.
• From former GOP consultant Rod Jetton: I’ll use the hot air
• From the Robin  Carnahan campaign to fill a bouquet of green balloons.
• From Gateway Foundation donor M. Peter Fischer:  I think I’ll do another two blocks.
• From Build-A-Bear boss Maxine Clark:  I’ll stuff the first marketing person who suggests a children’s video on national health care reform, immigration, or gun control.
• From former Engineered Air’s Mike Shanahan:  Since that fancy country club in Naples, Fla., has blackballed me and sent me a check that bounced, I think I’ll remain at Old Warson.
• From the St. Louis Beacon’s Bob Duffy:  We now have our own space in the KETC-TV offices and hope we’ll open an Illinois bureau in Pontoon Beach.
• From television reporter Alex Fees:  Maybe I can get Donna Wilkinson to follow Steve Schankman on my “Conversations with. . .” in January on HEC-TV – if her stockings aren’t falling.
• From Congressman Russ Carnahan:  I’ll use my frequent flier miles to send mouthy Ed Martin on a long trip to country without the Internet.
• From Blues owner Dave Checketts:  I’ll play Ed Goltermann in goal for home games.
• From Gerard Craft:  I’ll open a Niche on every corner.
• From WashU chancellor Mark Wrighton:  I’ll get that Top 10 ranking back.
• From Chief Tim Fitch:  I’ll find a new badge for Floyd Warmann.
• From KSDK GM Lynn Beall:  I’ll retire or replace any face viewers might conceivably recognize.
• From Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom:  I’ll fire the coach if he blows our number one draft choice by actually winning another game.
• From Bob Baer:  I’ll ride the last Metro bus to Chesterfield if the County tax campaign fails in April.
• From would-be Rams owner Rush Limbaugh:  I’ll buy the Arch Rival Roller Girls instead.
• From north St. Louis developer Paul McKee:  I’ll mow all my yards and rake yours too.
• From entrepreneurs Mike and Steve Roberts: We’ll suggest changing the name of St. Louis City to Roberts St. Louis City.
• From Symphony music director David Robertson:  I’ll buy KFUO and program it with hip-hop, uh. . .classical music.
• From Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III:  I’ll change the name of Ballpark Village to Holliday Haven.
• From the Loop’s Joe Edwards:  I’ll open a successful venue on the actual Moon.
• From Lee CEO Mary Junck:  I’ll improve morale by signing a good contract with the Newspaper Guild.
• From AmerenUe officials:  I’ll use the phrase “a warm holiday glow” in our next filing with the Public Service Commission to soften them up on a nuclear power rate increase.
• From Art Museum honcho Brent Benjamin:  I’ll expand.
• From AB Inbev boss Carlos Britto: I’ll find out if Clydesdales go better with a little lime.
• From grocer Greg Dierberg:  I’ll open the most popular grocery in a decade and call it. . .Culinaria Too.
• From the Caseyville and Collinsville police:  Next time we hope we’ll get it right. (At Teezers Bar in Collinsville, a guy walked in with a silver handgun over the holidays and fired off a few rounds and marched out.  Police began looking for a 70 year-old man known to them and after much searching, they decided that the gunman they really needed to look for had the same name but was just 52.  Then, the Caseyville police gave their Collinsville counterparts an entirely different suspect’s name. The guy, who allegedly committed the explosive act, was none of the above: he had been hiding out all that time at Jessi’s Hideout in Collinsville.)
• From restaurateur Sam Kacar: I hope to open a third Trattoria Branica in Chesterfield Valley by mid-January and then focus on a fourth in the CWE or Webster Groves.
• From former airport director Dick Hrabko: I’m going to get those slots installed at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport.
• From Wind Capital exec Tom Carnahan:  I’ll use the hot air
• From the Roy Blunt campaign to generate electricity.
• From uber-flack Joan Quicksilver:  I’ll nominate Jerry Berger as Media Person of the Year.
• From affable CVC’s Kitty Ratcliffe:  I resolve I’ll ask for another convention center. (The woman has garnered kudos for signing such major confabs as the Church of God in Christ, that brought 40,000 here and has inked its convention for St. Louis in 2011 and 2012 – away From Memphis.
• From all of this column’s many sources: We’ll not turn a blind eye to any item that might amuse St. Louis in Jerry Berger’s website.

Caveat lector and Happy New Year!

Despite the death of Metro Sentinel’s publisher Jane E. Woods Miller, and the divorce of her daughter, Judy Woods-Williams from Mike Williams, Mike continues the newspaper under the banner of Sentinel Journals and he and his sis, Gwen Pennington, continue with the dream of Howard Woods‘ annual salute to the captains of industry as minority role models for minority students. A crowd of 500 attended at the paper’s Yes, I Can Dinner at the Polish Heritage Center in north St. Louis. Dr. Henrietta Scott of the St. Louis Community College focused on the African-American male at about the same time as the Tiger Woods was embroiled in escapades in Florida. Putting aside polics were: Mike McMillan, who served as general chairman; Mo. Rep. Allen Icet, who repped Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and mayoral chief Jeff Rainford. Seen in the crowd were: Renita Perry; Mohammed Salameh; Michael Yarborough; Judy Bentley; Daryl Jones; Rev. Dr. Williams Gillespie; Steve Warmack; Ald. Quincy Troupe; Apil Ford Griffin; Donald Calloway; Jared Boyd; Greg F.X. Daly; Robbie “Sweetie Pies” Montgomery; Ruth Smith; La Shonda Clay; Rita McMillan and Clarice Poindexter.