Breakfast with mayor, county executives
St. Louis Business Journal
January 7, 2011
By Kelsey Volkmann
I went to the St. Louis Business Journal's State of St. Louis breakfast this morning, along with 600 other attendees, to hear our local leaders look back on 2010 and ahead to 2011.
The first audience applause in the Khorassan Ballroom at the Chase came when St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay reiterated his desire for the city to re-enter St. Louis County as its largest municipality.
Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern all talked about wanting to work together -- and not competitively -- to make St. Louis a hub with China.
Dooley said we should have some good news to report later this month or next about making Lambert-St. Louis International Airport a Chinese trade hub. Slay said he expects two to three flights from China to start this year. Kern has already welcomed a couple test flights at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill.
Slay said he still believes in developer Paul McKee Jr.'s $8.1 billion Northside development, despite the "doubters" and several financial and legal setbacks.
With the start of the Missouri General Assembly session this week, both Slay and St. Charles County Chairman Steve Ehlmann said they hope state lawmakers finally return governance of St. Louis' police department to the city from the state.
It will be interesting to see this time next year whether any of our local leaders' goals came true.
