urbanSTL

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... ffice.html

City releases plan for $19.2 million of the $30 million in tornado recovery funds.

-$2.5M for meals and supplies at resource hubs.
-$2.2M for storage, rental assistance, and temporary housing.
-$5M for repairs to uninsured and under-insured homes.
-$1M for cooking hubs and water stations.
-$5M for non-profit support.

Looks like a pretty good plan to me. Happy to see it!

StlMag - How St. Louis could fortify its buildings against the next tornado

https://www.stlmag.com/news/solutions/b ... esistance/

quincunx wrote: ↑

Aug 13, 2025

StlToday - St. Louis wants the feds to take over tornado cleanup


https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 06c4e.html

that will not help. in fact there are many folks who are waiting on approval from insurance adjusters and they are predicting at least a year to even start roof repairs.

Idk, I feel like it probably would help the clean-up. Considering it took a month for the city to clear the debris off the sidewalks in my south city neighborhood and there are still upturned stumps all around that haven't been removed, I have very little faith in the city's ability to expedite a clean-up. Obviously, Missouri has utterly useless as well. However, I expect the request to be denied.

StlToday - 3 months after tornado, St. Louis residents face a harsh reality. 'Not going to be rebuilt.'


https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/met ... 42873.html

I’m not really sure what the answer is. Uninsured homes that were already well below replacement cost. Who is responsible for rebuilding? If government, what does that say to people who do pay for home insurance.

Focus should be holding insurance companies accountable (federal) and giving people access to moving on whether that be in/out of the City.

quincunx wrote: ↑

Aug 14, 2025

StlToday - 3 months after tornado, St. Louis residents face a harsh reality. 'Not going to be rebuilt.'


https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/met ... 42873.html

For those of us on this side of the paywall. Can someone give a summery of contents?

There isn’t really anything new. Just heartbreaking stories from people and families, most of which have no other option but to leave behind their homes or patchwork their home into something livable.

Surprised that the Mayor appointed Julian Nicks as the lead for the office of tornado recovery and not someone with previous disaster recovery experience.

^Why is it surprising? 

He's a rising star in the Democrat/NGO faction of the local ruling class. He brings racial solidarity with the majority of the affected people, and class solidarity with the moneyed interests intent on abandoning them.

He's a perfect pick for the task at hand, which isn't to restore/recover the neighborhood for its previous occupants, but to clear it for investment and redevelopment ("recovery") by private capital.

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

^Why is it surprising? 

He's a rising star in the Democrat/NGO faction of the local ruling class. He brings racial solidarity with the majority of the affected people, and class solidarity with the moneyed interests intent on abandoning them.

He's a perfect pick for the task at hand, which isn't to restore/recover the neighborhood for its previous occupants, but to clear it for investment and redevelopment ("recovery") by private capital.

Probably because politics and race solidarity is the last thing to be worrying about in disaster recovery.

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

He's a perfect pick for the task at hand, which isn't to restore/recover the neighborhood for its previous occupants, but to clear it for investment and redevelopment ("recovery") by private capital.

Is that really a possibility? We've seen how that worked out for McKee

I'm not arguing for what the administration "should" be doing, only describing what they are doing. And everything any elected government does, ever, is political to some degree. In America that nearly always includes a racial element (to mask the class element). 

What would be the political ramifications if Spencer appointed a middle-aged white dude, even one with a book-length list of disaster recovery credentials, to gently tell the now-homeless residents they're up sh*t creek and no one will bring them a paddle? I suspect it would not be well-received. A messenger with a familiar face helps soften the blow.

Ask yourself, what is being "recovered" from the disaster? Drop your assumption that its the people/buildings that resided there previously, and set aside what your values (which I share, btw) tell you "should" happen, and the Julian Nicks pick makes perfect sense.

STL isn't ready for that yet, but at some point North St. Louis will experience large-scale redevelopment. Ten years? Twenty years? Who knows, but it'll happen.

quincunx wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

He's a perfect pick for the task at hand, which isn't to restore/recover the neighborhood for its previous occupants, but to clear it for investment and redevelopment ("recovery") by private capital.

Is that really a possibility? We've seen how that worked out for McKee

That's the real question. Personally I doubt it, but I'm not particularly connected to that world. 

I always thought McKee was full of sh*t and his whole project was an elaborate tax dodge/money laundering scheme, but perhaps there are other investors out there with more serious intent.

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

I'm not arguing for what the administration "should" be doing, only describing what they are doing. And everything any elected government does, ever, is political to some degree. In America that nearly always includes a racial element (to mask the class element). 

What would be the political ramifications if Spencer appointed a middle-aged white dude, even one with a book-length list of disaster recovery credentials, to gently tell the now-homeless residents they're up sh*t creek and no one will bring them a paddle? I suspect it would not be well-received. A messenger with a familiar face helps soften the blow.

Ask yourself, what is being "recovered" from the disaster? Drop your assumption that its the people/buildings that resided there previously, and set aside what your values (which I share, btw) tell you "should" happen, and the Julian Nicks pick makes perfect sense.

I'm not a disaster recovery expert nor do I have experience in it. And it doesn't appear that he has any more experience than I do. But he will be getting paid $142k per year to do the job.

I am not too personally worried about the ramifications of not picking a black guy, I am for more worried about the long term ramifications of a botched recovery because the best person wasn't picked.

framer wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

STL isn't ready for that yet, but at some point North St. Louis will experience large-scale redevelopment. Ten years? Twenty years? Who knows, but it'll happen.

Why?

Auggie wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

I'm not arguing for what the administration "should" be doing, only describing what they are doing. And everything any elected government does, ever, is political to some degree. In America that nearly always includes a racial element (to mask the class element). 

What would be the political ramifications if Spencer appointed a middle-aged white dude, even one with a book-length list of disaster recovery credentials, to gently tell the now-homeless residents they're up sh*t creek and no one will bring them a paddle? I suspect it would not be well-received. A messenger with a familiar face helps soften the blow.

Ask yourself, what is being "recovered" from the disaster? Drop your assumption that its the people/buildings that resided there previously, and set aside what your values (which I share, btw) tell you "should" happen, and the Julian Nicks pick makes perfect sense.

I'm not a disaster recovery expert nor do I have experience in it. And it doesn't appear that he has any more experience than I do. But he will be getting paid $142k per year to do the job.

I am not too personally worried about the ramifications of not picking a black guy, I am for more worried about the long term ramifications of a botched recovery because the best person wasn't picked.

You don't get it. I'll try again.
No one will be picked for their disaster recovery knowledge. That's irrelevant, because its not the point. Mr. Nicks is being picked because the point, his job, is to deliver a difficult message to a politically important constituency (the displaced residents who endured the disaster) and move them on (humanely, but expeditiously) to whatever is next for them, on behalf of an even more important political constituency, the people who *might* build something else in their (former) place, who are also the people that, by-and-large, fund election campaigns. 
More concisely, his job is to remove the old to make way for the new, without losing political support from those displaced and perhaps gaining or solidifying support from those who stand to benefit from their removal. That requires a political operator, not a disaster recovery specialist.

You may not like this reality (I don't, the above is not an endorsement), but everything is political and politics is a blood sport. Spencer is proving herself highly adept at it, at least so far.

quincunx wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

framer wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

STL isn't ready for that yet, but at some point North St. Louis will experience large-scale redevelopment. Ten years? Twenty years? Who knows, but it'll happen.

Why?

Because that much flat, vacant land centrally located in a major metropolitan area is simply to valuable to remain undeveloped in the long term. Especially with our central location and abundant water resources.

Popularity of metropolitan areas waxes and wanes; St. Louis has been in the doldrums for a while, but some day will undoubtedly start to grow again. When it does, all that vacant, close-in land will be the natural place to quickly and easily start fresh.

I'm not gonna try to predict when this will happen, but I do truly believe it's only a matter of time.

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

Auggie wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

I'm not arguing for what the administration "should" be doing, only describing what they are doing. And everything any elected government does, ever, is political to some degree. In America that nearly always includes a racial element (to mask the class element). 

What would be the political ramifications if Spencer appointed a middle-aged white dude, even one with a book-length list of disaster recovery credentials, to gently tell the now-homeless residents they're up sh*t creek and no one will bring them a paddle? I suspect it would not be well-received. A messenger with a familiar face helps soften the blow.

Ask yourself, what is being "recovered" from the disaster? Drop your assumption that its the people/buildings that resided there previously, and set aside what your values (which I share, btw) tell you "should" happen, and the Julian Nicks pick makes perfect sense.

I'm not a disaster recovery expert nor do I have experience in it. And it doesn't appear that he has any more experience than I do. But he will be getting paid $142k per year to do the job.

I am not too personally worried about the ramifications of not picking a black guy, I am for more worried about the long term ramifications of a botched recovery because the best person wasn't picked.

You don't get it. I'll try again.
No one will be picked for their disaster recovery knowledge. That's irrelevant, because its not the point. Mr. Nicks is being picked because the point, his job, is to deliver a difficult message to a politically important constituency (the displaced residents who endured the disaster) and move them on (humanely, but expeditiously) to whatever is next for them, on behalf of an even more important political constituency, the people who *might* build something else in their (former) place, who are also the people that, by-and-large, fund election campaigns. 
More concisely, his job is to remove the old to make way for the new, without losing political support from those displaced and perhaps gaining or solidifying support from those who stand to benefit from their removal. That requires a political operator, not a disaster recovery specialist.

You may not like this reality (I don't, the above is not an endorsement), but everything is political and politics is a blood sport. Spencer is proving herself highly adept at it, at least so far.

No, I do understand. The point I'm making is that it's a stupid way to go about things, has been done for decades, and has failed for decades. Remember how good Francis Slay had everyone feeling 2005-2009? Regardless of how good the message is, if the reality is garbage, the message doesn't matter.

"More concisely, his job is to remove the old to make way for the new, without losing political support from those displaced and perhaps gaining or solidifying support from those who stand to benefit from their removal."

I sincerely hope this not remotely what his mission is. This just sounds straight up evil and incredibly offensive to the incumbent population. The singular goal of the city and his office should be to retain as many affected residents and businesses. This is not an opportunity to "remove" the "old" and "support those who stand to benefit". No one stands to benefit here. People's lives were ruined. The city's job (and the state and feds) is to get as many people back to as close to where they were on May 15 as possible. So I choose not to believe that is what the actual goal is for this "recovery", because that's not a "recovery", that's just evil.

Ultimately, the recovery will be judged years from now based on how many people stayed and how many people left. How many businesses stayed open, and how many closed.

Edit: I do get that you have made clear that you are not endorsing, rather explaining. I mean nothing personally towards you. Just to keep things clear.

framer wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

quincunx wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

framer wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

STL isn't ready for that yet, but at some point North St. Louis will experience large-scale redevelopment. Ten years? Twenty years? Who knows, but it'll happen.

Why?

Because that much flat, vacant land centrally located in a major metropolitan area is simply to valuable to remain undeveloped in the long term. Especially with our central location and abundant water resources.

Popularity of metropolitan areas waxes and wanes; St. Louis has been in the doldrums for a while, but some day will undoubtedly start to grow again. When it does, all that vacant, close-in land will be the natural place to quickly and easily start fresh.

I'm not gonna try to predict when this will happen, but I do truly believe it's only a matter of time.

Put that on a t-shirt! It's an existential thought but true. We're all just witnesses of a small stretch of St. Louis's history. One day the geographies, economies, and governments that dictate STL will change. In the eyes of human history, St. Louis is just a baby. 

I personally feel that St. Louis will be Atlanta by 2100 and London by 2200. Devastated that I probably won't see it (semi-optimist about AI and the ability to live forever) but still very excited for it. 

Auggie wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

SB in BH wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

Auggie wrote: ↑

Aug 15, 2025

I'm not a disaster recovery expert nor do I have experience in it. And it doesn't appear that he has any more experience than I do. But he will be getting paid $142k per year to do the job.

I am not too personally worried about the ramifications of not picking a black guy, I am for more worried about the long term ramifications of a botched recovery because the best person wasn't picked.

You don't get it. I'll try again.
No one will be picked for their disaster recovery knowledge. That's irrelevant, because its not the point. Mr. Nicks is being picked because the point, his job, is to deliver a difficult message to a politically important constituency (the displaced residents who endured the disaster) and move them on (humanely, but expeditiously) to whatever is next for them, on behalf of an even more important political constituency, the people who *might* build something else in their (former) place, who are also the people that, by-and-large, fund election campaigns. 
More concisely, his job is to remove the old to make way for the new, without losing political support from those displaced and perhaps gaining or solidifying support from those who stand to benefit from their removal. That requires a political operator, not a disaster recovery specialist.

You may not like this reality (I don't, the above is not an endorsement), but everything is political and politics is a blood sport. Spencer is proving herself highly adept at it, at least so far.

No, I do understand. The point I'm making is that it's a stupid way to go about things, has been done for decades, and has failed for decades. Remember how good Francis Slay had everyone feeling 2005-2009? Regardless of how good the message is, if the reality is garbage, the message doesn't matter.

"More concisely, his job is to remove the old to make way for the new, without losing political support from those displaced and perhaps gaining or solidifying support from those who stand to benefit from their removal."

I sincerely hope this not remotely what his mission is. This just sounds straight up evil and incredibly offensive to the incumbent population. The singular goal of the city and his office should be to retain as many affected residents and businesses. This is not an opportunity to "remove" the "old" and "support those who stand to benefit". No one stands to benefit here. People's lives were ruined. The city's job (and the state and feds) is to get as many people back to as close to where they were on May 15 as possible. So I choose not to believe that is what the actual goal is for this "recovery", because that's not a "recovery", that's just evil.

Ultimately, the recovery will be judged years from now based on how many people stayed and how many people left. How many businesses stayed open, and how many closed.

Edit: I do get that you have made clear that you are not endorsing, rather explaining. I mean nothing personally towards you. Just to keep things clear.

You and I may judge it by these criteria, and all will express sympathy for those who's lives were ruined. 

Some of them may truly benefit by whatever policies and programs Mr. Nicks puts in place, and hopefully somewhere in the City. Most of them will continue living the same life of quiet desperation, just in a different part of town.

But once the immediate trauma fades and the media moves on, if a low-income population and decaying infrastructure is replaced by a higher-income population (and/or businesses, etc.) and new/improved infrastructure, then most people, including City officials and many in the urban development community, will judge recovery a tremendous success. 

This is the way of the world. I wouldn't say its evil, more like indifferent.

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/d ... -Louis.pdf

The final report is out. I'd recommend everyone read it. Unfortunately for Sarah Russell the report does not indicate they will have a career in emergency management going forward. I'm half way through. 

"While the failure to activate the sirens was perhaps most publicly noticeable issue on May 16, 2025, our investigation discovered additional systemic problems, including (i) a failure to maintain a current EOP, (ii) a failure to maintain a functional siren system, (iii) a lack of communication between CEMA and the Fire Department and Police Department, and (iv) CEMA’s lack of staffing, funding, and resources. The foregoing issues coupled with the inability of Commissioner Sarah Russell, the head of CEMA, to direct and control the EOC resulted in a failure to follow and implement the NIMS and ICS. As a result, there was no Incident Action Plan (“IAP”)."

"The day after the testing, May 16, 2025, CEMA Commissioner Sarah Russell and two CEMA employees were scheduled to attend a workshop hosted by CEMA with Air Collaborative at 1520 Market Street. The fourth CEMA employee was at training in Arnold, Missouri. In the preceding days, various entities (including CEMA itself) made multiple social media posts about the anticipated severe weather on May 16, 2025. Despite this, all CEMA employees were offsite that day attending the workshop and training. The workshop began at 8:00 a.m. and was scheduled to last all day. Commissioner Russell and Public Information Officer Kim Vanden Berg monitored the weather throughout the day. As the weather continued to progress, Vanden Berg asked Commissioner Russell if one of them should return to CEMA headquarters given the severity of the weather. Commissioner Russell decided that they would remain at the workshop."

"After the tornado cleared downtown, CEMA employees Vanden Berg and Kristen Capps- Jones went back to the Police Department headquarters to establish the EOC. Instead of accompanying them to ensure an effective disaster response, Commissioner Russell left 1520 Market to personally drive the affected area for the purpose of conducting a “windshield assessment” within North St. Louis. This decision was a departure from normal protocol as these “windshield assessments” are typically performed by police officers, and the CEMA Commissioner should be coordinating the disaster response at the EOC. After concluding the windshield assessment, Commissioner Russell finally arrived at the EOC at 4:00 p.m"

It took Sarah 1 hour and 20 minutes after the tornado to report to CEMA.