It’s tough to please everyone when proposing cuts to reduce a $500 million state budget deficit. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon learned this the hard way when he spoke at Washington University on Wednesday on his plans for the budget and investing in jobs.

In Washington University’s Danforth University Center, Chancellor Mark Wrighton, Chesterfield Mayor John Nations, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit Tom Shrout, and CEO of St. Louis Metro Bob Baer speak to a crowd of students and supporters after Proposition A, which supports St. Louis public transit, passed April 6.

Students and St. Louis County residents went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their say on a sales tax increase for Metro, as campus leaders continued their mobilization effort to get students to turnout. With the future of public transit and sales taxes in the region on the line, students and administrators leading pro-Proposition A efforts worked feverishly to turn out as many students as possible before polls close at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, cash-starved local opposition called and e-mailed supporters and tried to gain as much media exposure as possible.

In the fight over the future of public transit in St. Louis, one local man has been an inspiration to local Tea Party activists and a thorn in the side of transit advocates and Washington University students and staff.

Supporters of a proposed sales-tax hike for Metro are making their final case to students and local residents to get them to turn out to vote “yes” in Tuesday’s St. Louis County election, as a smaller organized opposition continues to work to defeat the measure. Sensing that they face an uphill battle, Washington University students and administrators have joined forces with local transit advocates.

For many students who don’t have cars, finding things to do off campus can be challenging, and ordering a taxi cab can be expensive. But thanks to the local transit system and Wash. U.’s U-Pass program, many otherwise out-of-reach attractions are much easier to access. Students may know the suburb of Maplewood for its Walmart and Maplewood Commons shopping area, but a ride on the MetroLink from the University City-Big Bend stop adjacent to campus to the Maplewood-Manchester stop will bring you to within walking distance of several other restaurants and attractions. Here’s a sampling of them.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton on Monday called on community members to turn out for the April St. Louis County election to vote in favor of a sales tax for funding Metro, as Washington University continued efforts to mobilize the community around the measure.

Prison life will soon be here for Jeff Smith.
“Surely it won’t be a picnic,” Smith said. “But I’m a strong person, and I’ve overcome things before…so I’ll get through it, with the help of friends and family and a great support system.”

Former state Sen. Jeff Smith was sentenced on Tuesday in St. Louis federal court to one year in prison on federal charges. Steve Brown and Nick Adams were also sentenced.

Mr. Smith’s long journey is about to end.
A former Democratic state senator from St. Louis and a Washington University political science instructor, Jeff Smith will be sentenced in federal court in St. Louis on Tuesday, after he pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and resigned from the Missouri Senate on Aug. 25.