Les Sterman

Les Sterman is one of St. Louis’ most capable regional leaders. He also may be the most influential person in the area you’ve never heard of.

Hundreds of politicians have come and gone over the last 26 years. But throughout,…

Reconfiguring the Chestnut Street interchange off of I-64 is among the projects proposed by the city of St. Louis. (J.B. Forbes | Post-Dispatch)

Federal stimulus funds heading this way for road and bridge projects will create work and inject cash into the…

At its meeting Wednesday, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments board is expected to take up the agency’s staff report which, to my way of thinking, confirms that local governments have wasted billions of dollars in taxpayer money subsidizing private…

Since 1990, the St. Louis region’s crazy quilt of taxing authorities has dedicated more than $2 billion in public money to subsidize private “economic development” projects. And there’s almost nothing to show for it.

At best, the subsidies have created a…

Robert Cohen/Post-Dispatch

Emily is 27 years old and has Down syndrome. She lives with her parents in Webster Groves, but her mother says she hopes to live on her own one day. Emily’s path to independence lies along Metro’s transit routes.

Emily has…

Hundreds of millions of dollars in public money is pledged toward private economic development projects in the St. Louis region. But the public purposes of these projects, to say nothing of their costs and benefits, are poorly understood.

One basic problem: The…

We’re susceptible here in St. Louis to what might be called “fix-a-phobia” — a nervous condition caused by deep and sometimes justified concern that civic decisions are preordained by the community’s power elite.

The ongoing effort to rethink public access between downtown…

“While the public has filet mignon expectations, MoDOT has Filet-O-Fish funding,” Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn told the Missouri Legislature last winter. Come 2010 or so, MoDOT’s budget will be reduced to macaroni and cheese.
Sooner or later, we…