11.27.24

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5 Things to Do

🎸 Last Waltz tribute at SBAC

🎵 Hamilton Band at 1860 Saloon

🍻 Hot Glass, Cold Beer at Third Degree

🥊 Guns and Hoses at Enterprise Center

🎶 Jake’s Leg at Delmar Hall

Steve Martin shows the perils of passing through St. Louis in a 1987 classic. Screenshot via YouTube

THIS JUST IN

Planes, trains, automobiles, and comedy as holiday travel hums

If you’re on the road this week, you’re far from alone. AAA projects that nearly 80 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving, an increase of 1.7 million people from last year and 2 million from 2019. That’s keeping airport workers hopping: AAA projects 5.84 million people will be flying this week.

For those lucky enough to stay home, a screening of Planes, Trains & Automobiles, which spins the nightmare of holiday travel into comedy gold, might be just the way to celebrate your good fortune of not being on the road. Hi-Pointe Theatre screens John Hughes’ 1987 classic tonight at 7 p.m.

• The film is a local favorite for good reason: Key scenes in the movie were filmed at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, including Steve Martin’s character realizing his rental car was nowhere to be found (you can see the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel in the background) and then trying to hail a cab to Chicago. “Chicago? You know you’re in St. Louis?” the dispatcher asks. “Why don’t you try the airline? It’s a lot faster, and you get a free meal.” The inquiry does not end well.
  
  
• If your holiday involves a lot of downtime, then you could use this list of 30 movies filmed in St. Louis to go beyond the obvious and curate your own local hit list. There’s way more than just Escape from New York. —S.F.

CITY SC has hired a Swedish superstar to coach the team in its third season. Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

DEEP DIVE

CITY SC, Blues bank on new coaches

CITY SC yesterday announced Olof Mellberg as the club’s next manager ahead of its third MLS season—and if you’re asking, “Olof who?” you need to pay more attention to European soccer (OK, football). He’s apparently a legend the team feels lucky to have landed.

As SLM soccer correspondent Justin Horneker explains, Mellberg was the longtime captain for both the Swedish national team and the Aston Villa club, and he’s known for being the first player to score against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. As a coach, he’s won accolades for helping guide what had been a third-tier Swedish club up the ranks to the top league—and, earlier this year, was nearly hired to manage the Swedish national team. Of the four finalists for the CITY SC job, Mellberg was the club’s first pick, Horneker reports.

Why It Matters: After a record-setting 2023 debut, CITY SC struggled in its second season, and coach Bradley Carnell was fired in July. While the team has had no problem filling CITYPARK, it will need to show that it can win to keep more casual fans invested.

And CITY SC won’t be St. Louis’ only pro sports team needing to show improvement under a new coach. On Sunday the Blues unceremoniously fired Drew Bannister just six weeks into his first season as non-interim head coach. While Bannister was off to a disappointing 9-12-1 start, the real impetus was that a dream candidate, former Blues assistant coach Jim Montgomery, suddenly became available. Expectations for Montgomery’s tenure are now officially heightened.

What’s Next: CITY SC begins play at the newly named Energizer Park in January. The Blues, which are 1-0 since naming Montgomery, take the ice tonight at 6 p.m. in New Jersey. —S.F.

Read the full story »

A MESSAGE FROM GATEWAY ARCH PARK FOUNDATION

It’s here! Gateway Arch Park Foundation’s Winterfest in Downtown STL

Enjoy your favorite Winterfest traditions—ice skating, s’mores, igloos, and a new holiday pop-up bar—all under 100,000 twinkling lights in the shadow of the Arch, through December 31.

Learn More »

Today's Top Stories

• Former St. Louis Rams player indicted (STLPR): Former Metro East football legend Dana Howard and his associates all face fraud charges related to COVID-19 relief funds.
  
  
• Second man charged in death of Clayton woman (KSDK): Emmanuel D. Suarez, 36, now faces 11 felonies of his own. Police say he helped abduct Michelle Hampton along with her twin sister’s boyfriend, Anjuan Mosby, motivated by knowledge of a $40,000 settlement she had access to.
  
  
• Doorways opens $40M campus in Jeff-Vander-Lou (St. Louis Business Journal): The St. Louis nonprofit, which provides housing and support for people with HIV/AIDS, has opened Elliott Place, which offers 39 units of subsidized, permanent housing.

BRANDED CONTENT

Ready for a holiday adventure like no other?

See beautiful displays of light surrounded by the stunning beauty of the Ozarks at Top of the Rock's Nature at Night holiday light tour! Explore a 2.5-mile trail of mesmerizing displays in a private golf cart.

Who wouldn't want to give this little friend a hall pass for the holidays? kobkik / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Around Town

🌎 AS THE COUNTY TURNS

Someone in St. Louis County government leaked to the news media details of a legal settlement agreement in order to retaliate against former Democratic state legislator and county council aide Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a lawsuit filed yesterday alleges. Chappelle-Nadal’s attorney Jeremy Hollingshead tells SLM that the former lawmaker settled her discrimination complaint with the county last November, but on the very day that it was e-signed, the details were leaked. The lawsuit argues that the leak was made as part of an effort to disparage Chappelle-Nadal and damage her reputation using what Hollingshead calls “outrageous spins.” As one example, the lawsuit cites Councilwoman Rita Heard Days telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Chappelle-Nadal lost her job in Day’s office because “she wasn’t doing it.” The suit also alleges that the county jammed up the Sunshine requests that Chappelle-Nadal made on behalf of a podcast, After the Uprising, which was investigating the deaths of several Ferguson activists who rose to prominence in 2014. Hollingshead says that in response to one routine records request, his client got hit with a $4,000 bill. But of all the county tea the suit could eventually serve up, the hottest could be the identity of the leaker. Hollingshead says he believes the leak came from “someone very high up” in county government—and he points out that by definition it’s a pretty short list. —Ryan Krull

☕ THE POLITICAL TEA

Joe Vollmer is retiring after 22 years as a St. Louis alderman, a move that he originally planned to make two years ago, after an even two decades on the board—but federal prosecutors had other ideas. “I was ready to call it quits,” he says. “But then, the Three Stooges all went to jail, and I woke up and I was president of the board.” Vollmer is referring to then-Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, as well as Aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad, after whose resignations Vollmer served as interim board president for four months. “You lost all the senior leadership between Lewis and Jeffrey, and I just wanted to make sure that there was some cohesion down there,” Vollmer says. The 65-year-old is now ready to retire from political life for real, eager to focus on running Milo’s, his popular bocce bar on The Hill, and traveling with his wife. Vollmer says he’s particularly proud of having represented a part of the city where families have stayed for generations, a place where people want to move to and one that has reimagined itself without losing its soul. He cites as examples the former Magic Chef factory on Daggett Avenue, which has been converted to office space, as well as a planned development of 70–90 homes at the site of the former Hubert Wheeler School. One development from recent years that Vollmer is less excited about is the board going from 28 wards to 14. “It's a completely different animal,” he says, adding that he’s skeptical about vesting so much power in just eight people. He’s also not crazy about aldermen attending meetings via Zoom, a holdover from the pandemic. “As far as looking each other in the eye, talking about things, and getting together, you have  a little more distance than it used to,” he says. In April’s election, Vollmer is backing Matthew Devoti, an attorney who lives and works on The Hill and is up against attorney Steven Kratky. —R.K.

🐾 CATS AND DOGS

The holidays are a paradox—both the most relentlessly social time of year and also the loneliest. You may be listening to friends complain about rushing hither and yon and realizing you have nowhere to go. Or maybe you’re traipsing from event to event, but that frenzied activity makes your apartment seem all the more empty when you get home. Either way, Stray Rescue just may have the answer. Its Rovernights program lets you take home an orphaned pet for the holidays, allowing you to open your home to an animal in need from Wednesday to Sunday. “Their bags are packed, and they are ready to spoon with you all weekend long,” the rescue promises. What could be sweeter than that? Note that this program is intended for families who do not have other pets—or can keep them separated from the newcomers. No animal needs the extra stress of a random guest slurping from their water dish. —S.F.

Quick Hits 

So long, farewell: Locally owned deli is closing

Community curation: Smithsonian helps Black St. Louisans find their roots

Staycation dreams: 6 local holiday hotel packages

Meet Mensch: Kirkwood arts center has a new statue

Winter fun: Where to ice skate in STL

Last Call 🥃

Gioia’s swings into Winghaven, where they’re not shy about exploring the full menu. (But will this location serve pineapples?)

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