A special look at the H1N1 pandemic in the St. Louis region. First, Anne-Marie Berger talks with her oral communications class at Florissant Valley Community College about their thoughts and concerns about this flu season. Next, Ruth Ezell discusses the current situation and steps you can take to avoid the flu with Dr. Jeffery Lowell, professor of surgery and pediatrics at Washington University Medical School and a member of the board of STARRS: the St. Louis Area Regional Response System; Jan Polizzi, Nurses for Newborns; and Dave Reddick, Pandemicprep.org. For more information about H1N1 and to find out about resources are available in the Greater St. Louis area, call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1.
Ruth Ezell visits with Twitter co-founder and St. Louis native Jack Dorsey. Dorsey was honored by Webster University’s School of Business and Economy’s 2009 Person of the Year in September 2009. Dorsey had an interest in dispatching software from his days in St. Louis, and with the help of one programmer developed the basics of Twitter in two weeks during 2006. Now the online messaging service is used by millions around the world, and Dorsey is looking for way to expand Twitter’s reach even further.
Anne-Marie Berger visits with Don Robinson on his 843 acre property near Cedar Hill in Jefferson County, Missouri. Robinson began acquiring the land in 1964 when he bought 320 acres for $21,250. An area of land exactly the size of Central Park in New York, Robinson has put plans in place to turn the land over the Missouri Department of Natural Resources when he dies, and the land will become Missouri’s 51st state park.
Jim Kirchherr visits the Current River in the Ozark National Scenic Riverway. The river and the area around it are control by a range of government and private groups, including the National Parks Service and the Nature Conservancy. Those who manage the river have long been looking to strike a balance between conservation, recreation and commerce.
Anne-Marie Berger and Kate Shaw follow in the footfalls of Jack Frohlichstein, an 80 year old who has run in over 2,500 competitive races in his life and still runs today. The GO! St. Louis 5K in April 2009 was his 5,211 race, by his count. He also has run more than 46,000 miles in his lifetime. Frohlichstein is a founding member of the St. Louis Track club and a well-known figure in the St. Louis running community.
Ruth Ezell visits the Midtown Alley area of Locust Street in St. Louis. An area once known as “Auto Row” from the 1920s through World War II, the area fell into disrepair but is now making a strong comeback with restaurants and other businesses. Renaissance Development Associates is developing the area, and has high hopes for the continued growth of the area.
Jim Kirchherr visits with Jerrold Reilly, a local maker of automaton toys, self-operation machines that move via gears, leavers or other mechanical tools. A Jerrold and his wife are collectors of vintage items, and Jerrold began making automatons after purchasing some a shows. He picked up the skills needed to fix and create these toys along the way, and now he and his wife set up displays at shows.
Producer Anne-Marie Berger enters the world of contemporary art in a gallery in South St. Louis. Director Juan William Chavez describes Boots, opened in 2006, as an “art lab” where emerging artists have the opportunity to experiment and risk-take with their art. At Boots, the displays often include performance art, where exhibits can be experienced using many or all of the senses. The most recent opening featured Bazuco, a Columbian art company, whose art has deep-rooted political and cultural implications that push the norms and provoke further thought. Boots is a contemporary art space where art can be experienced by the general public in an atypical fashion.
Up and down the Meramec River, Jim Kirchherr discovers an abundance of trash and the eager people willing to clean it up. The Open Space Council and its plentiful volunteers donate time and energy to beautifying the Meramec River and the area around it. The lake district of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the Meramec was home to many weekend houses that have since been abandoned and left behind copious amounts of garbage, including refrigerators, washers and cars. A great deal of progress has been made since the start of Operation Clean Stream in 1967, thanks to the generosity of local businesses and people who contribute the supplies and manpower needed. This event raises awareness, as well as beautifies the historic Meramec River.
Anne-Marie Berger explores the effect of construction beyond St. Louis to the small town of Bloomsdale. The Establishment Creek Bridge, constructed in 1932, has been determined deficient by MODOT, The Missouri Department of Transportation and is being restored. The closure of this bridge will affect many people in the area, who depend on the bridge to get into town. Local residents understand the inconvenience this construction will cause, but agree that it is necessary. In order to meet the needs of today’s traffic, the bridge must be completely demolished and replaced.\
