urbanSTL

Interesting to note that World Wide Technologies is the main corporate sponsor for Bubba Wallace, the only black driver in NASCAR's top series. 

WWT should fill the Armory

Letter to the Editor printed in today's Post:

"I praise Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Neidorff regarding his remarks about St. Louis. He makes some valid points. His honesty and candor are to be commended.

But 12 years ago, Centene was happy to exploit the St. Louis and St. Louis County divide for its own ends. At the time, Centene was trying to buy Clayton property to build its new headquarters. Several owners refused to sell, so Centene got the city of Clayton to declare the properties blighted, giving the company the power of eminent domain. The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately invalidated Clayton’s blighting designation.

Then, in 2007, Centene announced it would build its new headquarters in downtown St. Louis. This was hailed as historic, perhaps beginning a reversal of more than 50 years of corporate disinvestment there. But within months of that announcement, the Clayton hold-out property owners had agreed to sell to Centene, which said it would stay in Clayton after all. Neidorff had played the region and the property owners like a virtuoso.

Imagine if Centene had made good on its stated plan to invest in the city. Imagine if Centene’s bold leadership had persuaded other businesses to do the same, to become part of the solution rather than complain about the problem. Maybe, just maybe, the city and the region would be in a better place."

^Heh! Nice one.

Damn! Finally someone said it.

^^^Bingo

dweebe wrote: ↑

Jul 21, 2020

geconway wrote: ↑

Jul 17, 2020

 1.  Centene has a bad reputation as a place to work.  The recruiters know as well as the candidates.  It not one of the best places to work in St Louis.  They do not promote a good work life balance with their ancient work ethic.  Wake up Mike, it's not the 80's any more.  Most companies are switching to a work-from-home model.  All the best candidates are going to choose that model over Centene.

Do any of the big IT places in St. Louis have a good rep? Charter/Spectrum kept people at their desks even after the Coronavirus was raging and everyone else was at home? Centene doesn't have a good rep. Wells Fargo wasn't two bad but before the pandemic they were only 1 day remote. Express Scripts and Enterprise aren't well regarded. Seems like you have to leave St. Louis to get a good IT workplace.

Well, when I was still stupid enough to be doing the StL IT musical chairs game back in 2017....things were generally like this:
Just plain old bad: Stifel, Centene, Charter, and Express Scripts (probably the worst, they are known as Depressed Scripts for a reason).
Still bad, but less bad: AB, Enterprise, CenturyLink
Neutral: WWT, Wash U/other universities, Scott AFB
Somewhat on the good side: NGA, Emerson, whatever Brown shoe is now
Nobody knows what the hell is going on here: Maritz, Graybar, RGA

There really wasnt a large IT operation that was regarded as a slam dunk or that people were really excited to work for.

dweebe wrote: ↑

Jul 24, 2020

Aesir wrote: ↑

Jul 23, 2020

dweebe wrote: ↑

Jul 21, 2020

Do any of the big IT places in St. Louis have a good rep? Charter/Spectrum kept people at their desks even after the Coronavirus was raging and everyone else was at home? Centene doesn't have a good rep. Wells Fargo wasn't two bad but before the pandemic they were only 1 day remote. Express Scripts and Enterprise aren't well regarded. Seems like you have to leave St. Louis to get a good IT workplace.

Well, when I was still stupid enough to be doing the StL IT musical chairs game back in 2017....things were generally like this:
Just plain old bad: Stifel, Centene, Charter, and Express Scripts (probably the worst, they are known as Depressed Scripts for a reason).
Still bad, but less bad: AB, Enterprise, CenturyLink
Neutral: WWT, Wash U/other universities, Scott AFB
Somewhat on the good side: NGA, Emerson, whatever Brown shoe is now
Nobody knows what the hell is going on here: Maritz, Graybar, RGA

There really wasnt a large IT operation that was regarded as a slam dunk or that people were really excited to work for.

That all seems about correct and that friends/coworkers in other cities have found the IT environment better.

Maybe this conversation should be moved Stl technology news thread?  

Interested in what is considered bad or bad IT work environment when most of the companies noted incorporate IT to support their admin functions but not necessarily their core business.   However, don't want to extend conversation in the Centene thread.

I look at Columbus Indiana and the impact one company, Cummings and the Miller family had on that community and can't help but think what could happen here if a couple of our larger employer were more civic minded. Having said that St. Louis has numerous individuals who are making real differences in the fabric of our community. People like the Gills, Kratzenburgs, Steve Smith and Joe Edwards. However larger companies could do even more.

I feel like at one time they did. But as soon as the founding families, the Queenies and McDonnells and Busches, lose control the company's civic mindedness goes right out the door with them. People give to our community. Corporations, it seems, aren't actually people when it comes to having a heart or caring about their neighbors.

People criticize folks from "The Gilded Age" for all their extravagance and excesses, but they also left tremendous legacies that still impact communities today. Who are the people today who will step up and found our next great university or museum, for instance? How about a major new research institution (the Danforths may have done it with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center). 

BTW, I like to think that The Gateway Foundation is our version of the Cummins Foundation in Columbus.  

framer wrote: ↑

Jul 26, 2020

Who are the people today who will step up and found our next great university or museum, for instance? 

For museums the latest major examples are probably the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (2001) and Mildred Lane Kemper Museum (2006) (whose primary patrons are self evident). The major modern wing expansion of the St. Louis Art Museum (2013) was supported by $10+ million donations from Pulitzer, Siteman, Taylor, Weil, and Werths. Also, the major renovations/reconstructions of the Soldiers Memorial Museum (2018) and Gateway Arch Museum (2018) were supported by $55 million and at least $30 million respectively from the Taylor family. 
There's also the National Blues Museum (2016), oddly supported by millions from Lumiere Casino, the World Chess Hall of Fame (2011), supported by millions from Rex Sinquefeld, the Newman Money Museum (2006, housed within the Kemper), supported by millions from Eric P. Newman, and in a league of its own is the City Museum (1997), endowed by incalculable sweat, genius and acetylene. 
St. Louis seems to have a pretty strong pipeline of people (and families) who have stepped up to found (and refurbish) the City's next great museums. 
For universities, with the current state of higher education it seems kind of odd - and perhaps hubristic - to found a new university at this point, doesn't it? Why not endow a new facility, department or school within Wash. U., SLU, UMSL, Webster, Maryville, Harris-Stowe, SIUE, etc.... as countless benefactors have done? Or make a transformative donation to a Ranken of SLCC? 
A look around Wash. U.'s new East End reveals a number of people today who "stepped up": Weil, McKelvey, Schnuck, Tisch. 

I think Wash U. set a great example by making their school free to locals. But not everyone can get into a Wash U. They don't have space for everyone, and not everyone would necessarily benefit from that environment anyway. I tend to agree we don't need new schools, but I think we could use better funded schools. It would be great if someone endowed the St. Louis Public schools with that kind of legacy, say. Is there a mechanism in place for our public schools to build an endowment? The University of Missouri wasn't allowed to start one until after the worst of the funding cuts in the 90s, if I recall correctly, but by about 2000 they were working hard to build one. And if schools like Harris Stowe and UMSL are able to offer the same kind of free tuition to local students as Wash U . . . that might be even better. It might be hard to get Missouri to pass tax increases to fund public schools and universities, but there shouldn't be anything preventing our foundations and corporations from stepping up to fill the void. Heck, if education were better funded we'd have more skilled workers earning more money. And even if you didn't raise tax rates, revenue would increase. And property values would go up, also leading to more revenue. But someone has to step to the plate and put money into the unsexy basic stuff.

In such a prominent location visible in all Arch skyline photos, and also so close to baseball and the Arch tourist attractions, I would think some St. Louis corporation would love to have it's name prominently visible on a combination office/hotel/apartments layout on that site.  Maybe it could include entertainment as well, such as a roller coaster mentioned earlier.  

Then when the kids get tired of the BB game in about the 4th inning, the family can go to the pool/water park/ small roller coaster where the game is being shown on a big screen for Dad.  Good place for conventions too.

Other: Could a 2nd downtown Casino be built there?  Or maybe a City Branson.  Maybe a large Bass Pro Shop like the one in downtown Oklahoma City.

Anyone know if they are going to paint or finish the East-facing garage wall? Hard to believe they managed to make that area at jackson and Forsyth so uninviting when you drive in to Clayton.


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moorlander wrote: ↑

Sep 18, 2020

“Welcome Center”

With covid rewriting work from home rules, those pictures really hammer home the incredible amount of space taken up by garages vs working space. I think the new tower looks great too, and agree on the garage aesthetics. With the cancellation of additional development any time soon, I’m sad they put that East garage up, I can’t imagine it gets any use for years.


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