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Bi-State
buses and stations will now sport the unifying
“M” symbol to reinforce the connectivity of MetroLink,
MetroBus and Call-A-Ride.
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FTA Grant
Gives a Lift to Bi-State’s Facilities and Services
The more than 52 million commuters who annually ride the Bi-State
Development Agency’s multi-modal system of MetroLink, MetroBus
and Call-A-Ride to major employment, educational, medical and
recreational centers in the region will notice improvements
in their transportation.
A $3.4 million grant to improve the Delmar, Busch Stadium and
Wellston MetroLink stations in particular is part of a nationwide
promotion of the Federal Trade Administration’s Livable Communities
Initiative. The FTA program focuses on customer-friendly, community-oriented
and well-designed transit facilities and services.
The Initiative also emphasizes community involvement in proposed
transportation improvements in the early stages of the planning
process. In the Delmar MetroLink station, for example, residents,
businesses, neighborhood groups, St. Louis City and University
City are working with Bi-State and the Arts in Transit program
to improve the appearance of the station and create a safe,
attractive transfer area. Other planned enhancements include
improved pedestrian and bicycle access to the station with additional
lighting, landscaping, bus shelters and bike racks; and enhanced
signage, public art and a distinctive gateway to MetroLink to
make the station more prominent and visible to Delmar Boulevard
and the surrounding area.
In addition, the grant will be used to help create a “front
door” to MetroLink’s Busch Stadium and support the redevelopment
of the historic Cupples buildings. Improvements will be made
to the MetroLink plaza, walkways, station platforms, bus-waiting
areas and provide a permanent ticket booth, public art, signage,
additional lighting and other customer amenities. The planned
enhancements at Wellston, including streetscape improvements
and new transit signage, are the result of a collaborative effort
on the part of Bi-State, Arts in Transit, the City of Wellston
and St. Louis County Economic Council.
Bi-State also received a $1.7 million grant to develop passenger
centers to improve the quality and convenience of bus and rail
service. The centers will be developed in the south-southwest
St. Louis transportation corridor, which has grown in population
and transit usage in recent years.
A full-scale transit center for buses and paratransit is planned
for the Hampton Loop (northwest corner of Hampton and Gravois)
and Rock Hill Loop (northwest corner of Lockwood and Rock Hill)
complete with heated and lighted passenger waiting areas and
other amenities.
In addition, passenger centers are planned at five “high traffic”
intersections with intensive daily passenger usage. Bi-State
plans to install oversize heated and lighted shelters and attractive
landscaping as well as reconfigure curbs and curb lanes to allow
passengers easier access to vehicles.
The grant also will be used for a comprehensive bus signage
program, which involves the design, construction and installation
of several thousand bus stop signs on routes serving portions
of St. Louis City and County.
“These grants will make possible enhancement opportunities that
will benefit not only MetroLink and bus commuters but citizens
and visitors of the region who use transit,” says Tom Irwin,
Bi-State’s executive director.
“It will make the multi-modal transit system more customer-friendly,
retrofit MetroLink stations to better serve the nearby neighborhoods,
improve major bus transfer centers and provide convenient linkages
between the light rail stations and immediate communities. The
FTA’s Livable Communities Initiative has made it possible to
improve the link between transit and communities.”
In addition, a $119 million infrastructure improvement is planned
for the purchase of new buses, Call-A-Ride vans and new-technology
MetroLink rail cars. The 580-plus bus fleet will sport an updated
design scheme complete with a unifying “M” for MetroBus on the
front of the vehicles.
‘We’ve taken the term “Metro” and integrated the bus and rail
system with a common design and now common name,’” Irwin says.
“MetroLink, MetroBus, Call-A-Ride and the “M” symbol on the
vehicles reinforces the connectivity of our services. The new
fleet has provided us with a unique opportunity to integrate
the bus, light rail system and paratransit vans visually.”
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist To Share Political Views
at Loretto-Hilton
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Stewart, who is best
noted for his lucid examinations of the powerful personalities
in politics and finance, will share his views on Monday, Nov.
6, at the Loretto-Hilton Center Mainstage at Webster University,
as part of the Larry Roos Lecture Series.
In his remarks adapted “From Wall Street to Washington: A Journalist’s
View of Ethics in America,” he explores the similarities between
Wall Street in the ’80s and Washington in the ’90s, cultures
where the means justified the end—the quest for power. He uses
examples from the seemingly disparate worlds of Michael Milken
and the Clinton White House and explores the ethical and philosophical
questions surrounding the use and misuse of power and suggests
ways to raise ethical standards in finance and government.
Stewart has written Den of Thieves, a definitive account of
the insider trading scandals of the ’80s; Blood Sport: The President
and his Adversaries, an exploration of the events leading up
to the Whitewater controversy and his most recent book, Blind
Eye: How the Medical Establishment Let a Doctor Get Away with
Murder. The doctor, about whom the book is written, has recently
been arrested in New York, and is receiving a fair amount of
coverage in The New York Times. Stewart is also a former page-one
editor of The Wall Street Journal, a reporter-at-large for The
New Yorker and editor of Smart Money magazine.
For more information, call Amy Schultz 314/961-2660 ext. 7916.
Sonacom IT Partners Launches Sonacom AV Interactive
Sonacom IT Partners, one of St. Louis’ fastest growing technology
companies, has launched Sonacom AV Interactive (SAVI), a separate
company fully dedicated to the design and implementation of
professional audio-visual (AV) presentation environments.
SAVI specializes in custom integrated conference centers, boardrooms,
smart classrooms, sound reinforcement and video conferencing.
Using best-of-class AV and multi-media equipment, SAVI fully
integrates AV technology into the customer’s computer network
and systems.
“Today’s businesses move in a world of rapidly changing technology.
With the high demand for web-enabled collaboration and video
and teleconferencing, we’re able to integrate and provide the
kind of ‘power tools’ that today’s corporate leaders need,”
says Todd McCandless, president of SAVI.
“Stand-alone AV equipment will soon be a thing of the past.
Today, companies want their boardrooms, training facilities
and conference centers functioning as collaboration hubs for
business activity throughout their organizations.
SAVI has completed major AV/multi-media installation for many
clients, including Southwest Bank, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, the
Boeing Learning Center, Unity Health, Anheuser-Busch Companies,
Inc., Central Institute for the Deaf and Scott Air Force Base.
SalesOrbit Opens Door to E-Commerce for Immigrants
SalesOrbit
Corp., a new St. Louis-based enterprise that provides a convenient
method for immigrants to send e-remittances to friends and family
in their home countries via the Internet, has opened its headquarter
offices in Chesterfield Valley.
Jorge
Toro, president and founder
of SalesOrbit |
Jorge H.
Toro, president and founder of SalesOrbit, brings 10 years of
entrepreneurial experience to the company. He is the former
president and founder of Toro Technologies, Inc., which has
delivered hundreds of business solutions to the information
technology industry. ToroTec developed a treasury reconciliation
system for MasterCard International that reconciles more than
$700 million dollars everyday and a currency conversion system
that manages the purchase and sales of foreign currency.
ToroTec's substantial enterprise value resulted in the sale
of the company's assets to PaylinX Corporation, a specialist
in multi-channel payment solutions that allow companies to consolidate
payments by web, phone, mail-order or other sources into one
system. PaylinX recently was sold to CyberSource Corp. for $142
million.
"Through its worldwide network, SalesOrbit opens the door to
e-commerce for millions of people and retailers that otherwise
could be left out of the Internet revolution," says Toro, who
emigrated to the United States from Columbia, South America
in 1986. "More than 125 million people live outside of their
own countries, and SaleOrbit gives them a way to keep in contact
with their loved ones back home."
SalesOrbit allows immigrants to purchase groceries, gifts, utilities,
medicine or general merchandise for family and friends still
living in their home countries.
New Grant Funds Fontbonne's Career And Spiritual Development
Courses
The Teagle
Foundation has awarded Fontbonne College a grant of $375,000
over three years to expand services to its student population,
particularly those enrolled in Fontbonne's specialized business
programs. The grant provides career development, counseling
and spiritual support services in the evening and on weekends.
In addition to expanding the college library hours and services,
the grant provides opportunities for adult students to network
with alumni; goal management seminars for graduates who are
anticipating or experiencing job change; and leadership training
for class representatives in the college's OPTIONS programs,
which is an accelerated evening program for adult professionals.
Teagle funds cover staff salaries and startup costs of these
expanded services. Fontbonne will continue funding these areas
after the grant period ends in 2003.
"The career development, goal management and networking programs
are especially important during this time of mergers and downsizing,"
says Carol Dillon, associate dean for adult student development.
"The job market is becoming even more competitive, with an increasing
number of people competing for a decreasing number of mid- and
upper-level management jobs," adds the licensed professional
counselor, who has been with Fontbonne College for seven years,
most recently as the director of student services for the OPTIONS
program.
Fontbonne sought Teagle funding to expand the college's tradition
of personal and professional growth to its increasing adult
student population. Business programs at Fontbonne College account
for 42 percent of the college's total adult student enrollment.
Engelbreit's Home Companion Launches Spin-Off Newsletter
Mary
Engelbreit |
Publishers
of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, the fastest growing women's
magazine in circulation, launched a spin-off bimonthly newsletter
called Leading the Artful Life.
The 16-page newsletter, to be staggered between issues of the
bimonthly Home Companion Magazine, boasted more than 10,000
pre-launch subscribers. Publishers Universal-Engelbreit-Cox
compares its early success to that of Home Companion, whose
paid circulation has grown to 597,000 since its launch almost
four years ago.
Each issue of Leading the Artful Life will feature readers'
own letters and essays; previews of upcoming artwork and products;
special merchandise offers; information on Engelbreit's appearances;
craft projects and recipes; gardening tips; book suggestions;
listings of antique shows, flea markets and artist appearances;
and a paper doll.
The newsletter also will offer "behind the scenes" scoop from
Engelbreit, such as the "Artists as Angels" holiday-themed online
auction that benefits Material for the Arts, a New York-based
charity that promotes and encourages education.
Habañero Merges with Access US to Provide Internet
Solutions
In a recent merger, Habañero and Access US have combined
resources in web development and design, hosting and connectivity.
By teaming up with a leading Internet service provider, Habañero
now offers enhanced services, greater project capabilities and
a broader range of Internet solutions.
Access US offers Internet connectivity, web development, co-location
and hosting to more than 20,000 clients worldwide and has built
its network in partnership with AT&T and Cisco.
Exhibition at Missouri History Museum Explores Controversial
1936 Olympics in Germany
Official
poster for 1936 Olympic Games |
The Missouri
Historical Society and the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum are presenting an in-depth examination of the controversies,
achievements, and consequences related to America's participation
in the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. The special
exhibit at the Missouri History Museum, which opened in September,
runs through January 7, 2001.
The 1936 Olympic Games were awarded to Berlin prior to Adolf
Hitler's rise to power in 1933. As the world watched Hitler's
extreme nationalism, many wondered if it would conflict with
the international spirit the Olympics fostered.
This exhibition examines the International Olympic Committee's
decision to leave the Games in Berlin after Hitler came to power
in spite of well-known and on-going persecution of Jews and
other "non-Aryans." The boycott battle that raged in the United
States and around the world, the difficult decisions made by
Jewish athletes to compete or not, and the remarkable accomplishments
of African American athletes all made the 1936 Olympics unforgettable.
Tickets for the exhibition may be purchased at the Missouri
History Museum in Forest Park. Prices are $5 for adults; $3
for senior citizens, students and tour groups, and free for
Missouri Historical Society members, students in scheduled programs
and children 6 and under.
Sendouts.com Introduces First Web-based Applicant Management
and Collaboration Tool for Staffing Industry
Following in his parents' entrepreneurial footsteps, Don Breckenridge,
Jr., son of St. Louis real estate developer Donald, and interior
design firm owner Diane, has launched Sendouts.com, an application
service provider (ASP) offering a suite of web-based recruiting
software for the staffing industry.
Sendouts.com hopes to alleviate the current drought of skilled
workers by leveraging the latest Internet technology to help
recruiters efficiently manage their recruiting process and match
job orders with qualified candidates across different staffing
firms.
With collaboration, the recruiter with a job order but no matching
candidate can search the candidate databases of other firms.
When a match is found, the candidate's information is "blinded,"
so that both recruiters must agree to make the placement and
split the fee before the information is revealed.
"We are providing an exchange for matching job orders and candidates
through the very application recruiters use every day to manage
the recruiting process," Breckenridge says. "With each new user,
the searchable network of prescreened candidates and open job
orders grows."
Sendouts.com products are web-based, meaning the application
resides on an Internet server and can be accessed using any
Internet browser at anytime.
According to Breckenridge, this is an advantage over traditional,
high-end, client-server applications that are not only unaffordable
to the average staffing firm, but also lack the necessary Internet
integration required by the new economy.
"The beauty of web-based software is that it provides the functionality
and flexibility of high-end software applications, but comes
at an affordable price," Breckenridge says. "Rather than pay
several thousands of dollars for software that often requires
special hardware, you can now rent the software-which only requires
an Internet browser-on a monthly basis."
Alper Audi's Name Change, Expansion Signals Evolution of
Leading Structural Engineer
Leading St. Louis-based structural engineer Alper Ladd, Inc.
has changed its named to Alper Audi, Inc. and has relocated
to an expanded headquarters in West County.
Founded by Albert Alper in 1951, his son Marc Alper joined the
company in 1971 and became president in 1985. Andre Audi, executive
vice president, joined the company in 1987. Since then he has
gradually broadened his executive role, becoming executive vice
president and establishing ownership position in 1997.
Alper Audi provides structural engineering services to a national
clientele of architects, developers, contractors, owners, industrialists
and government agencies. The company completed structural engineering
for concrete, steel and timber buildings valued at more than
$500 million last year.
Alper Audi currently employs 21 people and plans to increase
staffing by 25 percent in the coming year.
Recent bellwether building projects in which Alper Audi played
a role include the St. Charles Family Arena, an 11,000-seat
sport and multi-function facility in St. Charles; a 2.4 million-square-foot
distribution center in Fishkill, N.Y. for retailer Gap, Inc.;
a 2,000-vehicle parking structure for Saint Louis University
Medical Center and the Grand Rapids Museum in Grand Rapids,
Mich.
Ameritech Gives $25,000 Grant to JJK Boys & Girls Club to
Provide Vocational Training
Ameritech donated $25,000 to the Jackie Joyner-Kersee (JJK)
Boys & Girls Club to establish a Local Academy for its highly
successful Cisco Networking Academy in East St. Louis.
The grant gives Club members as well as adult residents an opportunity
to be trained for the following high-tech vocational skills:
construction of computers; design of network systems; and maintenance
of computers and network systems. A team of Cisco certified
instructors from Southwestern Illinois College oversees the
classroom training given to the students.
Everything from pulling cable to learning advanced networking
concepts such as subnet masking and rules/strategies are included
in the Cisco Academy curriculum. The courses are project-based,
requiring students to address problems from the real world of
networking and find workable solutions.
In cooperation with East St. Louis School District 189, Southwestern
Illinois College and various other local organizations, the
JJK Boys & Girls Club takes the existing Cisco model-which is
generally taught as part of a school curriculum-and broadens
its appeal to interest young men and women who are active Club
members.
"With generous support from sponsors like Ameritech, we can
help local residents, especially the youth of East St. Louis,
learn computer skills and improve their education," says Lincoln
Ellis, executive director of JJK Boys & Girls Club. "Our goal
is to provide these young people with all the tools they need
to become productive, responsible citizens."
