Our story today outlines the pressures facing the venerable President Casino, the gaming palace-on-a-boat that’s been downtown for years. It’s been shuttered several times this year because of high water (including right now). It’s facing stiff competition from Lumiere Place (owned by the same company, Pinnacle Entertainment). There’s more competition across the river from the newly renovated and expanded Casino Queen.

According to our story:

So far this year, business is down 54 percent at the President, according to figures from the Missouri Gaming Commission. Through August, gamblers spent $20.6 million there, or a little more than three weeks’ take at the…

Rick Pierce, one of my colleagues at the Post-Dispatch, is seeking your input on a question:

“We’re writing a story about construction of a new overlook on the east side of the Mississippi River that provides a great view of downtown St. Louis. So what or where is your favorite view of St. Louis?”

UPDATE: We’ve plotted many of your hot-spots on a map over here. Plus, you can add yours to our interactive map. Click and check it out.

We’re reporting now that “Centene Corp.’s much touted move to Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis is dead.”

That’s according to the early version of our story on STLtoday here.

The company put out a news release today, coinciding with the release of documents the Post-Dispatch had requested two months ago related to the Ballpark Village project.

City leaders and Centene officials announced in September that the company would relocate its headquarters to the proposed retailing and entertainment district near Busch Stadium. Few details have been forthcoming about Centene’s $250 million proposal or the Ballpark Village development since then and speculation has been…

Regional planners and the business community can cite plenty of facts and figures when they promote the St. Louis area. They note a National Association of Home Builders report that puts the area as the second most affordable housing market among the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. They tout the Council for Community and Economic Research report pegging us with the third lowest cost of living.

They are pushing hard for development around Busch Stadium — the Ballpark Village project — and they applaud the bi-state agreement to build a new Mississippi River bridge. They point to statistics showing that development has attracted more…

UPDATE: It seems to be coming down pretty good today, doesn’t it? In addition to commenting on the topic posed earlier, can you tell us where you are and what conditions are like? My wife just e-mailed me to say that conditions in Chesterfield are basically white-out. I’m downtown and the snow is steady — but not that bad.

The earlier topic:

As I sit here, the very first flakes are starting to fall around my home in west county. My son is playing a video game on the couch, instead of sitting in school, where he would just be arriving at…