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EPIC CORPORATE CRONYISM? Billionaire Wal-Mart heirs may be biggest beneficiaries of Boone County Fairgrounds tax

EPIC CORPORATE CRONYISM? Billionaire Wal-Mart heirs may be biggest beneficiaries of Boone County Fairgrounds tax

Another Paige in the Fairgounds saga

COLUMBIA, Mo 7/28/14 (Beat Byte) -- The family of Wal-Mart heiress Paige Laurie -- best known for a college cheating scandal that cost her naming rights to the Mizzou basketball arena -- owns most of the vacant land around the Boone County Fairgrounds, aka the Central Missouri Events Center .   

The Laurie family's ownership of the roughly 276 acres may explain the urgency of a six-year, $12-18 million sales tax to support the Fairgrounds known as Proposition Epic .  

The Proposition Epic tax would create another taxpayer-supported development "anchor".   The Laurie property currently enjoys three nearby development anchors , including Alpha Hart Lewis elementary school;  Norma Sutherland Smith Park ; and Tom Atkins Memorial Park.   

Prominent Columbia developers Jeff Smith and T...

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JERRY WADE DIES: CoMo City Councilman, Mayoral candidate remembered as

JERRY WADE DIES: CoMo City Councilman, Mayoral candidate remembered as "wise public servant"

A passionate populist devoted to public service
 
COLUMBIA, Mo 7/27/14 (Remembering) -- Jerry Wade , a retired Mizzou sociology and community development professor who became a tough-talking, populist Columbia City Council member and 2010 candidate for Mayor, died Saturday after a prolonged battle with lung cancer. 

Survived by his wife Edge, daughter Kim, and grandchildren who appeared alongside him during the Mayoral campaign, Mr. Wade was 73. 

The announcement of Councilman Wade's passing came as a tribute yesterday to his career as an educator, conservationist, and public servant suddenly became a memorial.   Remembrances appeared throughout the day on social media. 

Fellow Council member and longtime friend Karl Skala , who served with Mr. Wade from 2007-10, remembered " the lessons of his communi...

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"LONGSTANDING MESS": Reader explains frustrations with CoMo 'ol boy-driven development

"Our community has gone ape-sh-- with unplanned development "

By W. D. Tom

I have no doubt the intent of "Proposition EPIC" -- the August 5 Fairground/parks tax -- is to bailout previous misplays by, and line the pockets o f, our local Good-Ol’-Boy network .   The fact that developer and Columbia business bigwig Tom Atkins bought 80 acres next to the Fairgrounds -- calling it a business deal -- suggests as much.  

So does the EPIC float in the recent parade; and the 'Support EPIC' signs around town; and the glossy 'Vote EPIC' mailers; and all the on-air and newspaper publicity.   The money being lavished on EPIC shows the powers-that-be really want to put the taxpayers on the hook for the Fairgrounds .  

And why not?   Paige Laurie's family -- the billionaire Columbia resident Wal-Mart heirs -- own virtually ...

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MENACE TO COLUMBIA: Consultant's report trashes central city, but conclusions don't jibe with findings

MENACE TO COLUMBIA: Consultant's report trashes central city, but conclusions don't jibe with findings

City Hall's "outrageous" and "offensive" waste of $60,000
 
COLUMBIA, Mo 7/23/14 (Beat Byte) --  A $60,000 consultant report declares central Columbia a "menace to the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the public," under Missouri law the first legal step toward the use of eminent domain and developer tax incentives such as TIF.  

Filled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and incomplete information, the report was released by Columbia city manager Mike Matthes and his deputy, Tony St. Romaine earlier this month.   Prepared by St. Louis-based Development Strategies , the report renames roughly 577 acres bordered by Interstate 70, College Avenue, parts of Mizzou, and Providence Road the Central Columbia TIF Redevelopment Area .  

Not surprisingly, the incentive area sharply detours from its eastern Pr...

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NAUSER RANT: Councilwoman blames homeowners for sewer problems

NAUSER RANT: Councilwoman blames homeowners for sewer problems

"We really need to look at specific individuals wh...
MORE OPUS FALLOUT: City Hall quietly changing special meeting law that helped prompt petition drive

MORE OPUS FALLOUT: City Hall quietly changing special meeting law that helped prompt petition drive

If you're powerful, and don't like a law, just cha...
FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART THREE: A developer handout in need of a taxpayer bailout

FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART THREE: A developer handout in need of a taxpayer bailout

"No stronger Good-Ol’-Boy network exists in Boone ...
FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART TWO: Why the public opposed Boone County's $2.6 million purchase

FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART TWO: Why the public opposed Boone County's $2.6 million purchase

"The Boone County Commission got a white elephant....
FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART ONE: Fifteen years and a dozen plans later, Boone County wants a taxpayer bailout

FAIRGROUNDS FAIL, PART ONE: Fifteen years and a dozen plans later, Boone County wants a taxpayer bailout

Developers have had a mysterious and enduring inte...
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: A Columbia man notorious for shootings faces another felony

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: A Columbia man notorious for shootings faces another felony

A famous local outlaw, back on the streets
 
COLUMBI...
FORSAKING THE FOUNDERS: An unwarranted search complicates a CoMo police investigation

FORSAKING THE FOUNDERS: An unwarranted search complicates a CoMo police investigation

Both sides escalate a straightforward case , Part 2 ...

FORSAKING THE FOUNDERS: Experts contest expanded police search of CoMo family's apartment

FORSAKING THE FOUNDERS: Experts contest expanded police search of CoMo family's apartment

Warrants shall "particularly describe the place to...

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"Keep the Heart Beating" Spring Fundraiser Goal Met!

ARTISTS OF THE MONTH: Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri and Emily Adams

CoMo Cam: July Artists of the Month

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhouse Theatre's Romeo and Juliet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhouse Theatre's Three Sisters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhouse Theatre's Tartuffe

 

 

 

 

 

 

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COPS AND CRIME


 

 

 

 

REMEMBERING

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Around

CoMo Calendar

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