Wow. This is outrageous.

GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION
OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012

MAYOR ELLISVILLE
(Vote for ) 1
01 = DAWN ANGLIN 231 14.50%
02 = MICHELLE (SHELLY) MURRAY 448 28.12%
03 = ROBERT SROTE 203 12.74%
04 = ADAM PAUL 708 44.44%

Ladies and gentleman, they're taking your votes away. I'm ashamed I voted for Murray.

I was at this meeting. Humiliating and unnecessary. How much is ole Shelly getting paid to be a passive aggressive 'c u next Tuesday' I'm not a lawyer but there has to be some illegalities in this. Hell I even left that city council meeting considering, despite lacking any qualifications, applying to be on the ballot for city council, so that poor man at least had some support. I've never been so disgusted, and can't believe that they would dismiss mayor Paul simply because they don't want to drive as far to buy their $5 jeans. I spoke with a few people who were equally if not more pissed off when leaving and I can honestly say I didn't see a single happy citizen. This is absurd

WOW what are they thinking

Ellisville; our own little Chicago political sewer.

It's high time to get rid of little Mayor Paul

Give one legitimate (operative word) that doesn't involve Walmart. He is simply listening to the majority of citizens on that matter. I challenge you Mike K. And if you're so passionate about it why weren't you attending the meeting? Is it because its easier to hide behind the computer screen?

I guess Murray thinks that disagreement with another council member's or mayor's actions after being duly elected to office, certified, and sworn in, and *after* almost a full year of active service, somehow form the basis of his or her "qualifications" to hold said office ex post facto.

This council has sued itself, argued to have a judge overturn critical voter oversight recall provisions in its own charter, and a majority of the council acting in collusion, several of whom lost the election to the sitting mayor, are now trying to usurp the will of the voters and remove the mayor from office after gutting the charter of any ability to recall any council member or the mayor.

If successful, the council elects one of their own to serve as mayor for the remainder of the term and an election is held to fill the vacant council member's seat. I wonder if Murray will want to upgrade her title from "elected council member that expires in two months" to "appointed mayor for another two years". Maybe Murray, Anglin, and Pieper, decided to play rock, paper, scissors over who they will anoint Mayor after they conspire to remove Mayor Paul.

FYI, They disqualified Denny Lober from the District 3 race on Tuesday. So it's down to Cindy Pool and Robert Srote.

This council is to New Orleans and Louisiana politics like Hustler is to Maxim.

I can't tell which is more embarrassing: that eyesore of empty car sales lots on the most important and visible intersection in the city or the behavior of this council, particularly Murray, Anglin, and Pieper, who will all be unemployed after April. Unless this is their desperate last gasp at extending their suckling at the teat of government for a few more years.

Even dogs know not to defecate where they eat. Can't say the same of this council.

Mayor Paul throws his little temper tantrums and now he is going to face the music. He is no longer in kindergarden, he is playing with the big boys and girls now. Ellisville has no place for an immature bully who thinks he can employ his Chicago gangsta style politics in our city by intimidating local Ellisville citizens. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say.

mikek, you are a racist, a homosexual basher, walmart lover, and a pompous POS.We can assume you are on the watch list... look at the poles you dirt bag. Mayor Paul is what we need(ed).

http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/articles/poll-should-impeachment-proceedings-move-forward-against-adam-paul#poll_65116

(b) FORFEITURE OF OFFICE.
The Mayor or a Council Member shall forfeit his or her office if at any time during his or her term of office, he or she (1) lacks any qualification for the office prescribed
by this Charter or by law, (2) violates any express prohibition of this Charter, (3) is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, (4) is in default to the City, or (5) fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council.

(c) FILLING OF VACANCIES.
Any vacancy in the Council, whether the Mayor or another Council Member, shall be filled by the Council by a majority vote of all its remaining members for a period running to the next regularly scheduled Council election unless such period exceeds one year. In the latter case, the Council shall make arrangements for a special election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.

This is what Murray's treason against the citizens of Ellisville hinges upon:

Section 3.6. JUDGE OF QUALIFICATIONS.
The Council shall be the judge of all questions pertaining to the elections and qualifications of its members, including the Mayor, and of the sufficiency of the grounds for forfeiture of their office.

However, I believe that Murray is confusing "qualifications to run for Mayor" with "job performance evaluation", and the charter clearly spells out that the only parties with standing to remove the mayor based on the latter is the electorate every three years.

The only "qualifications" I can see in the City Charter for being elected Mayor (besides appropriate and correct filings to be on the ballot) is in Section 3.2:

(c) ELIGIBILITY.
The Mayor and each Council Member shall be a qualified voter of the City. The Mayor and each Council Member shall be a resident of the City and shall have been a resident of the City for at least one year prior to his or her election. Additionally, each Council Member shall be a resident of the district which he or she represents.

So, unless Mayor Paul's "qualified voter" status has changed or a new development in his residency status prior to his election has come to light, I'm not sure the Council could withstand judicial review.

Because "qualifications" in this context is referring to those of running for the office of Mayor, not those of *being* the elected Mayor. The qualifications of Mayor Paul to *be* Mayor were already considered carefully by the voters.

On appeal, I am doubtful a judge would agree that the Charter grants the Council magical Jury Nullification powers over a city-wide elected position, where we the voters were the jury that elected Mayor Paul less than a year ago with the full intent for him to serve for a three year term and full knowledge of any "qualifications" we, the people, deem relevant and required to be our Mayor. That is the entire point of an election.

I am dumbfounded by this action. The smartest person in the room is the Ellisville attorney. All he is going to do is run his legal fees up and up and up and the council follow him like sheep. (I hope he is on a retainer and not able to bill hourly.) This is Murray's final action prior to leaving office. She should be completely ashamed. Wow, talk about sour grapes and kindergarten tactics.
I am a mother raising children with no interest in politics. But boy, this is really over-the-top. I hope people really start taking notice. This nonsense is not good for anyone nor is it good for the city. I hope Mayor Paul prevails.

Thanks to BIG E who asked why 8 officers including the Chief were there when the guy elected to run the city and the meeting doesn't appear to have any authority blah, blah, blah -- What was the chain of command? -- Owed it to citizens and children in the council chamber to get it straight. -- blah, blah blah -- (What she said.)

Now we know. It was an "impressive show of force" to prop-up the current regime which is going down.

If I were a criminal, I would just watch the city council schedule since the city council is now more afraid of the people in the city council chambers than the baddies out on the street -- with good reason.

(Nice try, BIG E.)

Let me just recap to see if I have this correctly.
Former Mayor Pirrello and Shelly Murray had a plan for keeping tight control on the city of Ellisville. She would run for mayor as she was about to term out on the council. He would run for council as he termed out as mayor. They would keep the kingdom - so to speak.
Then, out of nowhere, a young, fresh, enthusiastic face entered city politics, ran for mayor, and WON. How dare he? Adam Paul rocked the apple cart.
Murray, Pirrello, and others need to deal with it and move forward. Let Adam Paul complete his term. Voters will decide in a few years if he keeps his job. We do not need a few people to make that decision.

Me thinks that there is a snake in the grass and it is not Mayor Adam Paul...Oh, what evil does appear when people want POWER,,,Shame it is!!!

Careful little 'children'~Ellisville may well loose is prestigious honor of being #25 on the annual Best Places to Live in America list according to Money magazine in 2009! And the waste of 'tax payers' monies, Shame it is!
By the way, the "Me" and "tis" in the above is the Irish coming out in me, so do not try to correct my Irish/English :)

Now when is that next council meeting?

We are new residents to Ellisville, and attended the City Council meeting for the first time on Wednesday night. What we witnessed there was completely appalling. First the council members vote to deny impeachment proceedings, and then turn around just prior to adjournment and smugly introduce a resolution to remove the mayor from office. Huh???

We have empathy for Mayor Paul for having to put up with such immature, disrespectful, and condescending behavior from Council Member Murray. What is wrong with her??? Oh, wait…she overwhelmingly LOST last spring’s mayoral election, right? Kudos to Mayor Paul for maintaining a semblance of composure while under attack last night. We, as part of majority of the electorate that put him in office, will continue to support him.

Wow and what? I had stated before that this was starting to remind me of the fiasco the St. Louis City Schools went though with their board and superintendents a few years ago that ended up driving the district under state control. I would not consider myself a Paul supporter (even if I was an Ellisville resident) and this makes no sense to me. I thought the qualification for an elected position was having to live with-in the city/district and nothing else. If this is a joke why is no one laughing? Ah, becuase it sure isn't funny.

Most of you supporters of Adam Paul are short sighted. He is from Chicago...they hate Walmart in Chicago...he wishes to gretrify (look that term up, folks) the area. Most anti-supporters of Walmart are union memebers and people that live in the apartments. People who live in apartments do not own the property, they have no say in the arguement...the owners of property can sell their property anytime. A vote was taken...Walmart got the go ahead, opponents sued to remove council memebers (first, remember?), and the process of develping that property has slowed because of some peoples deep seated hatred of Walmart....go figure.

What a bunch of anti Walmart losers we have on this site. Mayor Paul is going down and there is not a thing you can do about it. HaHaHa

Wonder what would happen if Paul got re-elected in the special election they will have to hold, but it will be after Murray, Anglin, and Pieper (if he loses) are gone from the council? Maybe go after Perrillo under the same 'process'?

And the fix our city charter to prevent these banana republic politics and provide a meaningful recall and impeachment processes.

I have no opinion on Walmart. So please, do not make that judgement. I believe people are impeached from office for 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' You are talking about removing a municipal mayor for asking the police chief to remove a malcontent from a meeting. Think about how ridiculous that sounds and how it makes the city of Ellisville look. The lawyers will get rich on this impeachment fiasco. The city will bear an unnecessary financial burden. Employees will not be able to function properly. Reputations will be tarnished. For what? We all need to put our emotions aside and look at the nonsense of this.
You judge an individual's style and grace by how they exit the room. Michelle Murray is not exiting her council seat in a manner very befitting a public official. Maybe the electorate was correct in not electing her mayor?
Mayor Paul will prevail. Voters do not like to feel disenfranchised.

Children, children, children...Put on your BIG BOY Undies and BIG GIRL Panites and let's move beyond the doors of your respective high schools....MAYOR PAUL was VOTED IN by the CITIZENS OF ELLISVILLE...I believe that means they see right thru your attempts for the silliest of reasons at TRYING to REMOVE the mayor!

Ellis Shop,

Re: The safety of citizens. Yes. I tried. Thanks for noticing.

Also note that the City Council voted on an agenda item, drafting of a preliminary resolution to remove the Mayor, without proper notice to the public. Clearly that was pre-planned.

Given the gravity of what they are proposing, removal of an elected official, “lumping” it in with the dismissal of the botched-up Katie James complaint item…

>>>X. Mayor/Council Business/Reports

Receipt,filing and consideration of Charter Enforcement Commission's Recommendation dated February 18, 2013 relative to complaint alleging Charter violation by Mayor Paul.<<<

…hardly covered their tracks.

Did they think THIS was sufficient?

>>>February 20, 2013 Council Agenda REVISED<<<

Some so-called “revision.” Where was the preliminary resolution issue to remove the Mayor, an entirely separate issue from the botched Katie James complaint “itemized” on the agenda?

The City’s new motto – “We don’t even bother with rule of law or transparency anymore. Get Used to It or Suck It.”

And let’s remember they are very fond of posting 24 hour meeting notices before close of business inside of City Hall on the bulletin board, so even if all 10,000 of us had time to drive to City Hall each day to check the exterior glass case, we’d NEVER see it within the legally required time frame.

Sunshine (Laws) are the best disinfectant. They don't want the Sun on this.

Welcome to Fascism, my friends.

Mayor Paul was voted in by the citizens of Ellisville, never liked by the old mayor and board, and this is the only way they know how to get their buddy matts seat back. They, along with martin think they are the only one's that can run this city. I believe the end is near for matt and he's puppets. I can't believe michelle murray, who cried and lost in the mayoral election, feels the only way she can get the postion is to disgrace the current mayor who overwhelmingly beat her in the election. Kudos to Reel for seperating her integrity from the puppets and matt.

I have to say this whole Peyton Place thing you have going here with corrupt city officials and soap opera antics of Michelle Murray vs Adam Paul is highly entertaining. Clearly a temper tantrum by Michelle and her cohort are pretty infantile. i am of the opinion that using structures that already exist would be preferable to demolishing and rebuilding existing structures. look at the Straub building and the car dealerships; those are esthetically pleasing but occupation is being blocked by people who stand to make millions of dollars- the whole concept of nepotism in gov't- and going against what the common majority have in mind for the town as well as the fact that is a well known pattern for big stores to move on when the TIF expires. That is just the way they do business and why they have billions of dollars in assets... by getting other people to pay them to do what is to their benefit and not spending their own money for it. The Bottom line is that it has nothing to do with the public will and everything to do with who is going to get richer.

See the update to the article above. A statement from Matt Pirrello ---

"...Please do not succumb to the rhetoric. We live in a nation of laws not popular opinion."

ROTFLMAO!!!

So do those laws apply to the under handed, double dealing behavior of this regime?

Violations of proper notice? Public meetings notification? Invitation only meetings in a public building about a publicly financed project?

Where's the lawyer for the citizen's on these Sunshine Law matters?

Oh, yeah. Supporting the very regime violating the spirit if not intent of the law.

My opinion Pirrello is that you are full of it.

Don't lecture us on the "law."

****Don't you get it, the council was involved in the setup to get Mayor paul impeached form the Katie James complaint for giving orders to the chief. This is all planned to get him out and get him out before the election. Why do you think they set the charter review committee to meet exactly 1 week after the complaint was filed. they planned to impeach him then but that plan was botched when Katie put the wrong charter section (see complaint.pdf on previous article) 3.5c instead of 3.4c. they had to recommend to dismiss. remember Katie james was appointed by matt pirrello to sit on the Walmart TIF committee and was also a council member. Furthermore, she herself was the first person to ever be charged of a charter violation for real estate accusations.They are all in on it. Now, the ATTORNEY is writing the pre-resolution and the charges for the council. Mayor Paul asked what the charges were to invoke the resolution last night and they couldn't answer. Watch,the attorney is going to slam a bunch of bs and make Mayor Paul look like a monster and the council says..." oh so much he seems to have done wrong. we are doing our jobs to remove him." To prove I am right, watch how fast they will try to push this thru and look at the deadlines in the charter/election.The attorney will make stuff up from his first day in office.They knew they couldn't get him with Katie, or else they would have passed his impeachment lastnight.City heads/atty will all be fired if he gets a majority.

Also, further proof... Murray, why would you/the council give a dismissal recommendation for impeachment and on the same night make a motion/approve it to have the mayor removed? with no reason? then the council to vote on it.. do you have half a brain? I believe you do and I believe that you have a deadline to meet otherwise you would have done it at the next meeting and the rest wouldn't vote like they way they did. U R Pathetic. Disgusting, and Ugly. Matt, save the bs... I saw your head nod to murray right before she made that motion at the end of the meeting. Don't try to be nice guy. You are a joke and everyone knows it. This is the key part "to waive any privileged attorney-client communications related to the contents of the preliminary resolution", they can discuss and devise a plan in secret. It is like saying, "well, lets get the resolution to the way we think wil make him look the worst and know from the attorney whether it would hold up in court and the view of the people. LOL! Do they care what we say? Nope, they voted for a Walmart after hearing several hundred of people speak against it. Mayor, we have your back!

When this nonsense is over and Paul is still in place... after the new council is sworn in... what will it take to get the city attorney thrown out on his ear?

Goodbye Mayor Paul, don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

I agree with Mr. Wilson. It is all a set up by bullies thinking they had a patsy to do as the counsel would want.
Mayor Paul -Get R Done- Show them who is the Mayor.

Just remember-counel members and board members can be fired by a flick of the marker or a punch on the ballot. Just remember to vote and take Ellisville back from those likes who don't want what the majority of residents want but want what their little group of hoofty doos want.

Mayor Paul is trying to do what is good for the City. All those who are trying to get him out are nothing more than political bullies who didn't get their way when they were young. Freaking Bullies trying to bully others and through their weight around. Mayor Paul,I wish you the best. Get R Done!

Mayor Paul I am behind you!!! This whole, thing is ridiculous and truth and honesty will prevail. To the rest of the Council:"Shame on you!" What goes around, comes around and I believe it will be coming around in April after Ellisville votes!!! I have to say it again: "Shame on you, Ellisville Council!!!" I am almost ashamed to say I live in Ellisville! What a bunch of immature adults we have on our council. Well, na-na-na-boo-boo.....you will be gone in April!!! (How's that for immature!)

Rah Rah Rah You go Mayor Paul ..... all the way back to Chicago and hopefully the sooner the better

Thank you for everyone that is supporting my husband, Mayor Adam Paul. There has been so much hate directed his way and it is very disheartening. It is personally disappointing to see a community that we specifically chose to raise our children in act in such a way. My husband stands on what is right, and that is an admirable thing for any person to do.

Now to be treated by city employees with the intent to be blatantly disrespectful is sad. Most recent event: I was just outside shoveling with our children and watched as the Ellisville City plow went to the other streets in our neighborhood and bypassed ours. He was looking at me when he came into the neighborhood and when exiting our neighborhood. Why? Why has this become so personal and hateful? Why can't a person stand on what is right in life and not be attacked. These instances are becoming more frequent and I fear for myself and children. When he first took office I was receiving threatening text messages and emails. After hearing how the swat team was at the last meeting, I don't feel safe in this city. I don't feel safe being in a small town, like New Town, with a rage being directed at my husband just for being a good person. Yes, my husband is a Mayor, but he is also a husband and father of two beautiful children. As the city proceeds to hurt him you are hurting us for no apparent reason. These efforts to hurt my husband is a crippling move by the people behind it all, and it is hurting the city as a whole.

If people are not in politics to enhance the community they live in because they care about it, they should not be in politics. I am proud to be married to a man that is passionate about causes, and grateful he understands how to uphold the trust of people and character of self.

Several people keep calling him a 'Chicago thug', but I think you should turn around and look at yourself and your actions; Very sad and very sick. That reference is defamatory, and you have no knowledge of what an exceptional person he is.

Adam, if you read this, I am proud of you and I love you. I love you for being the man and example of what a man should be for our kids. I am proud that you care about what is best for the city we are raising our children in. I hope you are proud of yourself and know you are supported, not just by the community, but by your family and children that call you 'the Jedi Mayor'. You do fight for what is right, and in any book you are a winner and God will always protect and guide you.

I would also like to say, this note was not to say anything bad about our public works department. They have, in the past interactions, been nothing but cordial to us as citizens of the community. I just believe this was just an unfortunate event that took place today.

D Paul—

Just remember that your husband was elected with a decisive plurality of 44%. If people had known the truth about Michelle Murray’s position, I believe he would have gotten over 70% of the vote.

He has the vast majority of Ellisville supporting him now. I would say a super-majority.

At any given City Council meeting, far more than half of the people sitting in the chamber are behind him.

So, we got his back.

Try not to worry so much.

@ Mike K.: My husband is a strong man that has class. God knows and understands hate and holds all accountable for their words, actions, and intent to harm. I will not get into an online debate with you because I am better than that. I will pray for who ever you really are and wish you the best in life. I know you will post again, because you appear to always want to have the last word, but it will not be met with a response because I have said all I need to. Good day.

@ E. Schmidt: Thank you. I am not worried we place all things in God's hands. I simply wanted to say to all who are supporting him thank-you. When reading my above post, please understand it was a thank-you to those who stand on the same side as he does. If one is fighting for what is right, they are fighting against something that is to the core opposite of that position. I wish nothing but the best to all; whether a person embraces my husband as mayor or rejects him as mayor. We are all Americans and we are allowed to have opinions, which is the beauty of our country. I was simply stating mine.

I support Mayor Paul, and I truly feel for his wife and kids during all of this craziness. I would love to hear more about the Council Candidates that are running, as I will BE THERE TO VOTE! One of my current council reps (Dist 3...figure it out) stood on my own front lawn last year and lied to my face about her position and intention regarding both the Walmart/Sansone project overall, and items particular to the TIF. I'm looking for some new representation.

@MIKE K: "My objection to your husband is that he is bad for Ellisville businesses"
Said by someone that has never had an Ellisville business nor done anything to support Ellisville businesses. Walmart is NOT an Ellisville business, and the current council gave away the sales tax revenues to Sansone before Paul took office.

And the Mayor is just one person. The Mayor cannot pass resolutions. What has any of the SIX council members done to support Ellisville businesses? It is the COUNCIL that is to blame for the horrible business climate you whine about.

And the people are going to fix three of them in April. And if, heaven forbid, we should find ourselves in a special election for Mayor, we will simply re-elect him with an even bigger majority.

Big Mike,

I have spent a great deal if time researching the stories behind the two dealership parcels in RPA-1 (immediately next to Clarkchester Apts.) and the five dealership parcels in RPA-2 (at the corner of Manchester and Clarkson/Kiefer Creek.)

All these properties were embroiled in some combination of a downturn in the economy, embezzlement, divorce, death, bankruptcy and other issues related to the Ronald W. Moore family and Moore family of dealership businesses that left them vacant.

It was like an opera. It took years for those properties to work through the court system. The large parcels at the corner (RPA-2) got listed for sale only last summer.

No amount of meddling on the part of city was going to change that. It is certainly not the "fault" of the new Mayor that they are vacant. This has been going on for years and years.

Related to other "business matters," I have heard any number of small business people complain about their treatment by the city and the resulting business climate in Ellisville. That lies squarely on the shoulders of the current city staff and council including ex-Mayor Matt Pirrello.

At this time I wish to pre-empt any blame to be erroneously mis-placed on Mayor Paul for the possible closure of our local Office Depot. Office Max and Office Depot are merging per an email I received as a customer. This is happening nation-wide and is a corporate decision based on the realities of the current economy.

Perhaps we'll get lucky and our own Office Depot will remain in place, relocate within Ellisville and/or even expand. They are good folk there and have been helpful....and they are doing it without a TIF

Big Mike K,

Your wrote:

>>>My gut says they close BOTH Office Depot stores (Ellisville and Manchester) and refocus on the Ballwin Office Max that is as far as it can be from both Walmart stores.<<<

You could be dead on with your guestimate re: store closing and openings.
Lease expiration dates and options to renew will also play a part.
I have not seen a time frame on the merger/consolidation of the two corps.

Their real competitor is Staples, not Walmart. But, Walmart no doubt cuts into their margins on the low end of some products.

From a Chicago Trib article.

>>>OfficeMax, with about 29,000 employees, operates 978 stores, including 10 in the Chicago area. Office Depot has about 39,000 employees and operates 1,675 stores, including seven in the Chicago area.

The two CEOs wouldn't say how many stores would be closed, but Balter has predicted about 600.<<<

No doubt with our brilliant Mayor in charge, our Office Max will be closed, just like the Ellisville BlockBuster. Please note not all the BlockBusters or Chevy Mexican Restaurants in the St. Louis area are closed or closing but ours sure were. Given the option of which store in an area to close, with our Mayor's anti business attitude, what CEO in their right mind would not close their Ellisville store. Ellisville, the East St. Louis of West County brought to you in living color under Mayor Paul.

Our Ellisville *Office Depot* will close. There is no OfficeMax in Ellisville. And it will close because OfficeDepot knows that locations across the street from Walmarts lose money, like the one in Manchester. It has nothing to do with the dysfunctional City Council we have. Thankfully, three members will be gone by April, and replaced by people that can hopefully salvage the damage from their predecessors' toxic, scorched earth obstructionist actions that have disgraced the entire City Council in the view of the 44% of the voters that elected Mayor Paul, if not the entire St. Louis region.

Hey BIG E,

Ordering a couple of thousand dollars worth of consumer items on line. No sales tax to the city of Ellisivlle to waste. Starve the Beast from Within. No Mom and Pops harmed in the purchase of these items. Sorry to good non TIF corporate citizens. You mostly don’t have what I want or at the right price.

Voting with my wallet for now. Voting on April 2nd to get them out of office.

@ES: Not exactly true. You do know you are still required to claim items purchased from outstate (internet) where you did not pay sales tax on you MO tax return and pay the Use Tax (which just happens to be the same rate as the sales tax. The loser in collecting that is the local sales/use tax entity - Ellisville.

For commodity items, I prefer to give the Ballwin Target my business or Kmart before UPS/FedEx/USPS. The carbon footprint/efficiency of the gas-powered-truck-to-your-door for watch package scaled up to everyone is worse than a big box store distribution model. So it is a 'green' thing for me to purchase over the internet only those items that are truly not available locally and no local alternative exists.

I don't know of studies on the carbon/environmental costs of distributor @ entry/source to door for individual items (internet) vs adding a local distributor with consolidated trips to door.

Substitute 'each' for 'watch' above. My mobile keyboard's autocorrect isn't sometimes.

Our illustrious Mayor is presiding over the greatest exodus of businesses from Ellisville that has been known to man and guess what, he is doing NOTHING to reverse the trend. In fact he is going out of his way to build walls to keep new businesses from coming into Ellisville. From a business perspective, he is worse than the black plaque that swept Europe between 1348 and 1350. He has got to go before there is nothing left of Ellisville to preserve.

44% of the voters have the same question of the City Council - which wad presided over by Perrillo.

You also claim nothing more than he happens to be the guy in office during an economic downturn. You have demonstrated no action by Mayor Paul that has any element of causality whatsoever.

I am not surprised by your overwhelming abundance of intellectual inability.

Yes, little mike k. Disguised in your white hood, driving your race car ever so fast, the girls and I will never know it's you or even be able catch you if we did.

VA-ROOM VA-ROOM VA-ROOM, etc...

Caff and Big Shopper, I woke up laughing.

I'm going to agree with Liz and Big Mike K on this one. Chevy's, Blockbuster, and the car dealerships were closings that have little or nothing to do with local Ellisville politics.

I think we lose the K-Mart for similar (non-Ellisville) reasons in the next few years, with or without Walmart. I hope not, because even if the Walmart goes in, I still plan to do some of my shopping at K-Mart.

I hope Liz is right and our Office Depot stays.