From the Connect With… e-blast:

We’re offering a break next Friday afternoon (10/10) for all young professionals-future leaders-who thirst for new business contacts, professional relationships, fresh ideas and tools to help lead and develop professionally. It’s a small investment for hopes of a big future.
 
Some of the things you’ll learn from attending:
- About other people in the St. Louis Region and their unique perspectives
- How to concentrate on the “nuts and bolts” of starting and growing your own business
- Ways to connect your strengths and passion with civic and charitable organizations
- Tools for communicating effectively across generations
- Realistic steps for finding and leveraging mentors to help your career
- How to cut through the hype and get to actions for going green
- Keys to building your personal brand - an essential ingredient to success

Some of the Summit Speakers and Leaders include:
Anna Doyle: Partner at RubinBrown leading Strategic Business Development, Tom George: Chancellor of the University of Missouri St. Louis, Eric Greitens: Chairman of the Center for Citizen Leadership, Brenda Newberry: President and CEO of the Newberry Group, Michael Novack: President and CEO, Kiosite, LLC, Ben Rosario: Co-Owner of Big River Running Company, Gary Steps: Founder of Butterfly Energy Works, Frank Stokes: CEO of Innovate St. Louis, Michael Torres: US Brand Communications, Anheuser-Busch
 
To Register now, go to www.ConnectWithSTL.com, click on Schedule of Events (on the top toolbar), then scroll the Connect With… Leaders Summit event and click on link provided below the description.

Details are:

7th Annual Friends for Life Music Festival
Thursday, October 16, 6:00pm - 11:00pm
F15teen - 1900 Locust Street
The 7th Annual Friends for Life fundraiser, hosted by long-time Food Outreach supporter Dr. Matt German, will feature a variety of live music and fabulous food provided by top area restaurants and caterers.  Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on live and silent auction items – getaways, dinners and more!

VIP Tickets are $115* per person and include the special VIP reception, entertainment, food, complimentary valet parking, and open bar until 9:00 p.m.  General Admission tickets are $30 in advance ($40 at the door) and include entrance at 8:00 p.m., entertainment, food, plus a drink ticket for your first beer or wine.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 314-652-FOOD (3663) ext 118 or online at www.foodoutreach.org.

From the science of chocolate and the physics of rock & roll, to climate change and the future of cancer research, SciFest 08 is a festival where everyone can engage in science.

The heart of SciFest is made up of hour-long sessions presented by world-renowned scientists and experts. All sessions are ticketed separately, so you can choose the topics that appeal to you and put together a personalized Festival package.

SciFest also includes a free showcase of spectacular science demonstrations, experiments and activities throughout the Science Center on all five days. Special Young Scientist Workshops and the SciFest Film Fest in the OMNIMAX® Theater round out the Festival and guarantee there will never be a dull moment at SciFest.

Notable Sessions:

Green Fashion Show
The Science of Baseball
Busting Beauty Myths
Seven Rules of Dating
Super Science Quiz Show
The Science of the Paranormal
Rules of Attraction
Fashion Goes Scientific

For more info, visit www.scifeststl.org.

St. Louis is a great place to live, work and play, as people who are active and engaged can attest.  So come out and give it a try and get involved. It is much better than sitting on your ass at the same old bar; listening to that same old cover band thinking “St. Louis sucks.” Come on. I dare ya.

Event Details:

Connect With… Kick-Off Event
Wednesday, October 1, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Skybox - 800 N. 3rd Street
more info @ www.connectwithstl.com

During the month of October, Connect With… will feature 4 key events and programming provided by over 40 young professional organizations, giving you the opportunity to see all that St. Louis has to offer. The key events are:

Connect With… Kick-off Event @ Skybox - 10/1
Connect With… Leader Summit @ UMSL - 10/10
Connect With… Arts Unzipped @ Regional Arts Commission - 10/15
Connect With… Volunteer Project @ Stray Rescue - 11/1

For more information and a list of additional programming, visit www.connectwithstl.com.

From todays BJ online:

WMVN 101.1 to change format to sports talk radio

Yeah, because THAT’S what we need more of in this town! *end sarcasm*

Oh, yes, and Mr. Jackson. May we have a refund on that $49.3 mil salary? Thanks.

But, back to parking. Matthew Mourning points out a correlation between the number of parking spaces to workers and the health of a city, with a good balance of 200 spaces per 1000 employees. Chicago and New York, both very healthy cities, have under 100 spaces per 1000, where as Detroit, a struggling city has 473 spaces per 1000. St. Louis, a whopping 541! Maybe we are planning ahead for that big growth spurt? Doubtful.

For some reason, St. Louis leaders seem to equate urban renewal with parking garages. So far we have lost the Century Building (800 feet from Thompson Colburn) and the Ambassador Building (torn down in 1995) which is the proposed spot of the new garage. I had the opportunity to tour the Ambassador Theater before demolition and it was amazing, rivaling the Fox Theater IMHO. But it, of course had to go to make way for “progress.” Now what do we get to replace this downtown jewel? A parking garage. Nice trade. 

I have a better way to look at the situation. Let’s propose a solution to Thompson Colburn centering around the health benefits of walking! We could carve out space in the “Century” garage and they could walk the 800 feet to their offices! Oh, let’s do the math shall we? The “Century” garage is 800 feet away from Thompson Colburn. So, figure 2 trips per day to the garage… 5 days a week… 52 weeks a year… 12 months in a year… comes out to about 6.5 miles/month. I am sure cardiologist would agree that adding 6.5 miles/month of walking is in their best interest, right? Plus think of the advantage to TC workers walking past such things as a nice high rise with a boutique or a Dunkin Donuts? Well, that may ruin the benefit. Damn.

From their website:

From the science of chocolate and the physics of rock & roll, to climate change and the future of cancer research, SciFest 08 is a festival where everyone can engage in science.