House Fire in Richmond Heights Put Out with Neighbor's Help

A Maplewood woman got the homeowner to safety, and firefighters extinguished the blaze, KSDK Newschannel 5 reported.

A Maplewood woman is being credited with saving the home—and life—of a Richmond Heights resident Tuesday, KSDK Newschannel 5 reported. Quoting from the KSDK report: "A woman driving down Boneta Avenue around 3:30 p.m. noticed flames shooting out of the back of a home." Hear from Patricia Farrell, the neighbor who helped, and watch how fire crews extinguished the blaze in the complete KSDK report.    

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House Hunt

Weekend Open Houses: 13 Mid-County Homes for Sale

Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch rounds up 13 area homes for sale that have open houses scheduled for Sunday, May 20.

Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch goes on a hunt for homes for sale in the area every week. Most recently, we shared homes for sale with plenty of bathrooms. This week, we’re spotlighting Mid-County homes for sale that you can see this weekend. Each home featured has an open house scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, May 20.  

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Route 66 Travelers Pass Through Clayton

The journey—as experienced in classic cars—is the subject of a recent article on Autoweek.com.

Clayton gets a mention in an Autoweek.com article this week about one person's travels along Route 66 using classic cars. Quoting from Rory Carroll's AutoWeek.com post: "The road trip turned out to be a bit more challenging than I had imagined. From start to finish, I counted 22 mechanical failures that required immediate attention before the trip could continue." Read more about the technical failures, adventures in Texas and Oklahoma and, of course, Clayton in the complete AutoWeek.com post. More about transportation on Patch:

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Taxes at Work: How Richmond Heights Keeps Buildings Humming

How much money does Richmond Heights expect to spend next year to keep several of its key buildings in shape? Check out our comparison chart.

The City of Richmond Heights, like its residents, must spend money to keep property in working order. A 2012-13 draft budget details how the city plans to spend its money so that City Hall, the public works building and the public safety building are in good shape. Here's a look at some examples of the projected expenses. A copy of the draft budget may be reviewed in its entirety at City Hall by calling 314-645-4595: *Editor's note: The electricity figure for the public safety building also includes electricity for City Hall, City Manager Amy Hamilton said.

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Patch Political Potpourri

PBS Focuses on Missouri's Payday Loan Initiative This Weekend

The national program airing Saturday and Sunday will focus on initiative petition campaigns tied to capping interest rates at 36 percent.

A Missouri ballot initiative aimed at curtailing interest rates at “payday loan” entities is getting some national attention. For an episode of PBS’s Need to Know, airing locally this weekend, the program traveled to the Show Me State to follow around activists who are collecting signatures for an initiative petition. If the ballot measure makes it to the ballot and if voters approve it, interest rates on certain lending companies would be capped at 36 percent. Supporters of the initiative argue that the loan agencies place poorer Missourians in a cycle of debt. But opponents counter that the entities are usually the only way lower-income citizens can obtain short-term loans to pay ordinary expenses. While supporters of the initiative …

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The Spotlight

Rock On: Broadway Flop Gets Second Chance in Clayton

Here's how New Line Theatre plans to turn 'High Fidelity,' the story of a record-shop owner with a lot to learn about love and life, into a St. Louis sensation—again.

When High Fidelity opened on Broadway in late 2006, it flopped. Critics were merciless. The show seemed destined never to be produced again. But Scott Miller of Clayton's New Line Theatre—having heard the cast album—saw something different. After working out an agreement with the writers of the musical, Miller produced High Fidelity in St. Louis. It was a bona fide hit. Critics praised it. Every performance but one sold out, and it inspired productions across the country. Now, it's returning for a second run. Like the cult movie that came before it, High Fidelity the musical—with a book by David Lindsay-Abaire and songs by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green—is based on a 1995 novel by Nick Hornby. The story focuses on Rob, a 30-something Brooklyn …

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Election 2012: Sewer Vote June 5 Flows from Clean Water Act

St. Louis voters will decide the rate at which their sewer rates rise this summer. Here's a look at the federal law—and lawsuit—that started it all.

Hundreds of sewer overflows in the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) system are at the heart of a Clean Water Act settlement agreement and a ballot issue planned June 5 in Clayton and Richmond Heights. That's according to a primer document compiled by MSD. In August, MSD reached the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation, a news release posted to the federal agency's website states. Now, MSD customers are tasked with deciding whether they will pay more now—or later—to fund the $4.7 billion in repair work mandated by the agreement. Several sources outline the alleged violations and the reasons for the EPA's involvement in the case. The following are …

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Inside the Clayton Farmer's Market

Clayton Farmer's Market: Meet Kris and Stacey Larson of Riverbend Roots

The couple share a passion for farming, family and an honest day's work.

First-generation farmers Kris and Stacey Larson have two great love stories to tell their future grandchildren—one about how they met, the other about how they found their shared passion. Each spouse loves farming, and each intentionally chose to make farming a career. But the couple didn’t follow a traditional path: Unlike many farmers, neither grew up on a farm. Instead, each discovered farming in college. The best part: This all happened before they ever met. “We both independently discovered it,” Kris Larson said. “I was volunteering on a local farm a few hours a week, and Stacey had joined a farm as a farm apprentice.” He said his volunteering led him to consider farming as a full-time job. The couple met and fell in love after they …

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