I Wrote a Letter to the Government!

Last night. An email actually. To Mayor Slay. I felt compelled to do something given the challenging headline of the previous post. It's not a scathing indictment yet it's not quite a lobbed softball. And in rereading it, there's a certain geek/nerd naïveté to it. But what the hell? You gotta start somewhere.

I hope he opened and read it. I'll let you know.

[Bonus points for anyone who gets the headline/image referrence. – Ed.]

From: Chris Aguirre
Date: Jul 11, 2007 10:16 PM
Subject: Saint Louis, Slow Cities and Fast Company
To: mayorslay@mayorslay.com

Mayor Slay,

In case you haven't already read or heard, Saint Louis is one of five 'slow cities' named in the current issue of Fast Company (July/Aug). Having bounced between Saint Louis and a number of other cities nationally and internationally over the years, I think I've finally settled into being a Saint Louisan (I've been here for 10+ years on this tour). So, in light of the Fast Co. 'ranking' and as a resident of the city who also works in the city, I'd genuinely appreciate a better sense of what our plan is. What are we going to do to put and end to the overwhelming outside perception that Saint Louis is a violent, backwards or worse, dying, town? (Beyond rehabbing and building lofts which, don't get me wrong, is wonderful to see when you're already here.) I know (hope) there's more to the plan.

If you're interested, I've got a brief post on my blog with some pertinent links – not the least of which is a link to the City Vitals Report which gives one a great snapshot of our place (or lack thereof) in the contemporary metropolitan scheme of things.

Thank you in advance for your attention.

Concerned,

Chris Aguirre
XXXX XXXXX XXXXXX
Saint Louis, MO 63104

314.XXX.XXXX

P.S.

If you really know the city, you might recognize that my (and my wife's) address is (close to) this: http://tinyurl.com/27vlja

How do we get a handle on the crime?

Thank you again for your time.