"I know it is now time for the next transformation to begin," St. Louis University President Fr. Lawrence Biondi has said, according to a university press release. According to the Post-Dispatch, St. Louis University President Fr. Lawrence Biondi announced tonight his intention to step down from the post he's held for 25 years. The announcement came at a gala celebrating his quarter century of service. Biondi has recently come under accelerating criticism for his handling of academic affairs at the university. This past August, nextSTL was first report the resignation of SLU Law School Dean Annette Clark. She didn't go quietly, making public her grievences in a letter that pulled no punches. Faculty and students have held no-confidence votes in Biondi's leadership in recent months. According to St. Louis Public Radio, a recent campus survey found near 70 percent of faculty wanted Biondi to step down.

Biondi has also drawn the ire of an increasing number of preservationists in St. Louis with his push to demolish numerous buildings without plans to replace them. The most public example has been the Pevely Dairy complex. This site first reported that SLU would pass on the Pevely site for its claimed ambulatory care center. In order to receive city approval for demolition, Biondi had testified that the school was ready to break ground and financing was in place. Seventeenth Ward Alderman later stated that he was led to believe that development was imminent more than a year ago.

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{This Building Matters - a video series by Preservation Research Office

Cupples #7 appears likely to be demolished in about a month. On his blog, Mayor Slay pleads one last time for a developer to come forward to preserve and redevelop the building. If no one arrives, cash in had, by the end of May, the city plans to proceed with demolition. The pricetag is $850K and the city will be stuck with the bill, hoping to pursue payment in the courts. The city's Preservation Board denied demolition in late 2011. Soon after, the city installed a fence around the building, concerned that it could collapse.

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A signature hotel, acres of new animal exhibits, a gondola and much more are part of the St. Louis Zoo's ambitious expansion plans. The zoo held its second open house yesterday to present and discuss a framework plan for expansion. In March 2012 the Zoo announced that it would acquire the vacant Forest Park Hospital site just south of I-64. The first open house was held December 2012. The 13.5-acre site presents the only opportunity for the approximately 100-acre zoo to change its boundaries, as it is otherwise set within Forest Park, where it is virtually impossible for the institution to grow its footprint.

Recognizing that the project would garner significant interest, the zoo quickly engaged the public. This site solicited design ideas as part of our What Should Be initiative and gathered plans were incorporated by the zoo and lead planner SWT Design into their framework discussion. More important, residents of the adjacent Dogtown neighborhood were engaged in design charrettes.

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{Fountain Park (left) and Columbus Square (right) in blue - "neighborhoods" used in crime ranking in red}

"Two St. Louis neighborhoods among 'most dangerous' " states the KSDK.com headline. Their Twitter account used the headline, linked to the story and asked followers, "Do you agree?" The site's first comment on the story began, "These communities SHOULD feel shame..." The story totaled just 108 words, just passing along a little danger ranking for you. So what's wrong with the story? A couple things.

First, the whole neighborhood crime stats ranking game is a play for page clicks and not for information or a better understanding of our communities. Also on the site of the organization responsible for these rankings: Most Dangerous Cities in America, America's Best Public Schools, and Safest Cities in America. For $88 you can order an "instant, objective" "complete risk profile" for your home address. So there's that.

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