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You Say You Want A Resolution

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I would love to see the complete involvement of the community with public education. People always say that education is so important, yet as we see so many times, actions speak louder than words and officials don't make it their first priority. I think it should start at the governor's office and work way down through the entire political system. Education is so important to the vitality and future of St. Louis and all the surrounding communities. The success of the schools is often a great indicator of the success of the entire community.

Susan Slaughter, principal trumpet, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

My New Year's resolution is more of a message to all St. Louisans. In spite of the closing of Highway 40, let's all resolve that life will go on as usual, and that includes attending events at the symphony, Fox Theatre, Black Repertory Theater, cathedral concerts. These organizations are vital to our city and your continued attendance is vital to their survival.

Michael Anders, director, Michael Anders Prison Ministry in the Central West End

I would like to see society be a little bit more forgiving toward people coming back into our communities. We should reach out more to them during their transition back into society with more job and housing opportunities so we can help them to remain crime free and drug free. And when we do this, guess what? Everyone comes out a winner.

Joni Karandjeff, co-chairwoman, Greater St. Louis Book Fair

We need to get the airport back as a hub. Since we've lost 200 TWA/American flights per day, we don't get as many entertainers or authors coming to St. Louis. Traveling is much more challenging, with many flights connecting through Chicago or Dallas. It can take longer to get from Chicago to St. Louis than it takes to get from Europe to Chicago. Planes are crowded, and flights are frequently delayed or canceled due to the weather in Chicago. The new runway has been built and there are plans to renovate the airport, but we need the airlines and the business to make it worthwhile.

Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004, raised in Florissant

There has been construction in the St. Louis International Airport parking garage for as long as I can remember. For people who travel in and out of the city often (I'm typically back home about once a month), it can become quite a hassle. I know they didn't build Rome in one day, but surely the parking structure would have been finished by now! I don't know what the holdup is, but you can see buildings go up overnight almost in many metropolitan cities. They should put an emphasis on finishing up something that is so used and important.

Julie Longyear, candlestick maker and owner, Irie Star in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood

I would create more aggressive, easily accessible, publicly or privately funded programs for low- and middle-income city residents to acquire a home, improve their property, get vocational experience and start businesses. Home-ownership and rewarding, stable occupations give people a reason to do the right things in life and be proud of themselves. My business is at a really great point right now where I get to offer jobs to others. I intend to use my business as a format to mentor others as I grow. I'd love to be an example of what you can accomplish if you think outside the box. Maybe that American dream is still possible after all?

Joe Edwards, owner, Blueberry Hill in the Delmar Loop

There are many great neighborhoods in St. Louis. Some, like the Loop, are rebounding, while others are slipping. For the benefit of all, I would love to see the city and county merge, but maybe not necessarily in the traditional sense. Perhaps St. Louis and St. Louis County could merge and form an umbrella government that could oversee major infrastructure needs and pool resources for the good of all in the community, while neighborhoods retain (and even gain) more autonomy. Issues like design standards for street signs — which streets to make one-way and which businesses to attract or ban — could be decided by the "new" neighborhood-cities. Right now, an alderman in north St. Louis needs to spend valuable time learning about a potential development on Kingshighway in south St. Louis. If that alderman and other neighborhood leaders could spend all their time on their own areas, more positive activity might be the result. If people believe their hard work really can make a difference and it's focused on a manageable area, they can reclaim urban and suburban areas that have declined.

Bob Cassilly, founder, City Museum

I would have Emily Pulitzer redeem herself by buying back the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and reselling it to a real newspaper — or selling it to Christine Bertelson. If she did that, I'd start buying the paper again.

Frank Lydon, epidemiology specialist, Missouri State Department of Health

I would change the segregation and under-the-radar racism in St. Louis. I'm the father of a biracial child, and I keep asking why people act the way they do. If I had the answer to that question, I'd be a billionaire speaker on some circuit. We need to be able to get people to see beyond the surface. We need more interaction, more activity, more self-awareness and people acknowledging that they have this bias, and then delve into the why.

Joe Hanrahan, actor, director and playwright, The Midnight Company in South St. Louis City

If I could improve one thing about St. Louis, I would improve its perception of the arts of St. Louis. St. Louis generously supports (and St. Louis media over-generously covers) the arts in St. Louis — visiting actors, artists, musicians, dancers, artistic heads, companies — swinging through town, selling their wares. St. Louis should continue that. But we have to improve our awareness, appreciation and support of the arts of St. Louis — actors, artists, etc. — living and creating here. It's the soul of our community. How? 1) Media of all kinds have to devote much more thoughtful coverage to the arts of St. Louis; and 2) The actors, artists, et cetera then have to deliver the goods.

Chris King, editor, The St. Louis American

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