Our town is in for a treat this weekend as Brooklyn, Illinois native and world-renowned baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett performs on Saturday, November 26, in Soulard.

Bluiett, a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet who frequently plays high-profile gigs in New York, all across Europe and even in Asia, will be joined by violinist Billy Bang and
percussionist Kahil El'Zabar for a show called Trifactor.

For a town like St. Louis, which is known the world over for its rich jazz and blues heritage, a show like this, with such quality practitioners of improvisational and "avant-garde" jazz, is unfortunately rare and should therefore not be missed. Do not miss this opportunity.

Tickets are only $20 at the door. Shows start at 8 and 10:30 p.m. at the Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th Street. Seating is limited so come early. This show is sponsored by Gallery Urbis Orbis.

State Senate candidate Jeff Smith held his campaign kick-off and fundraiser last night at The Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway. Alderman Steve Conway (8th Ward), Committeeman Francis R. Slay (the mayor's dad, 23rd Ward), and State Rep. Fred Kratky (D-65) were among the many in attendance.

For a while, Kratky was considering entering the race. When he announced his support of Smith last month, it signaled to many political observers a southside unification, the likes of which north St. Louis can still only dream about.

The other two candidates in the race, State Representatives Amber Boykins and Yaphett El-Amin (both colleagues of Kratky's), are from the same part of town. Most believe that if one of them does not drop out of the race, both their bases will be split, virtually assuring Smith a victory.

That wouldn't be such a bad thing, but I just hate to see black folks shooting themselves in the foot over and over again.

The burst of new development taking place in downtown St. Louis is remarkable. New buildings and businesses, new faces of people who actually live there and are not just counting the hours until they can punch the clock and go back home to the county. Most of the credit for this emerging downtown should be given not to politicians but to the actual risk-takers, the developers, the entrepreneurs. People like Craig Heller.

Heller and his LoftWorks company are responsible for some of the first and best developments downtown. Places like the 10th Street Lofts, the Louderman Lofts, and the new Moon Brothers Carriage Lofts.

Heller is also the owner of City Grocers, a quaint little shop at the corner of 10th and Olive that is downtown's only grocery store, and whose expressed goal is “to be the shopping destination of choice for the central St. Louis area.”

And so it was troubling to hear that, for many downtown residents, City Grocers is not an option for them to buy food. That is because the store does not accept EBT cards, the modern day version of food stamps, given to the poor and working poor of our city so that they can afford to purchase food for themselves and their families.

EBT cards work like debit cards and can only be redeemed for food. But not at the city’s only downtown grocery store.

When I asked Heller about this, he said he and his partners just never felt it was necessary. He said people who use EBT cards make up such a small part of their business that they don't feel it’s worth the trouble.

But a person who works at City Grocer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that she turns people away daily who try to buy food with EBT cards.

Maybe it doesn’t feel worth it to Heller or his partners. But for people with no transportation, who live at one of the many low-income residences downtown, it would mean a big difference. The architects of the new downtown must insure that it belongs to all of us, not just those that can afford to buy new lofts.

For some downtown residents, food and how to get it are still daily challenges.

Sen. Barack Obama will be making an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

The Chicago Tribune reported that Obama was invited on "The Daily Show" more than a year ago, but just recently agreed to do the show. Obama's live interview will be broadcast Monday, Nov 7.

Senators Barack Obama, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow, Jon Corzine, and several other members of the U.S. Senate have joined to introduced legislation to honor Rosa Parks with a statue in the U.S. Capitol's famed Statuary Hall.

The proposal mirrors a bill filed in the House last month by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, and would make Parks the first African American to be honored there. Of the 100 statues in the National Statuary Hall collection, there are currently no African Americans and only eight women honored.

"Rosa Parks held no public office, but when the history of this country is written, her name and her legacy will be remembered long after the names of senators and presidents have been forgotten," said Obama.

It is possible another statue in the crowded hall would have to be moved to accommodate the new Parks statue, because the number of statues in the hall collection is limited to 100, two per state.

Rose Alito, the 90-year-old mother of President Bush's latest nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Appeals Court Judge Samuel Alito, told reporters at her home in Hamilton, N.J., "Of course he's against abortion."

An ugly milestone was reached this week in the ongoing U.S. occupation of Iraq. Two thousand American military personnel have now died, according to figures issued by the Pentagon. Another 15,000 have been wounded.

But even more tragic is the number of Iraqi civilians that have been killed since their nation was caught in the middle of the latest showdown between the Bush family and Saddam Hussein. Estimates range between 26,000 and 30,000 dead.

Monitor this ever-rising number of civilian deaths at www.iraqbodycount.net

Instead of War, the local anti-war organization, in coordination with MoveOn.org, will be conducting a vigil at the corner of Grand and Lindell TONIGHT from 6:30 - 8 p.m., to express sorrow and outrage at the rising number of dead Americans and Iraqi civilians.

Catch Antonio French on KDHX 88.1's 'Collateral Damage' along with civic blogger Steve Patterson as they discuss the news, politics, and happenings of St. Louis with hosts DJ Wilson and Fred Hessel.

The show is Monday at 7 p.m. and, if you miss it, it will also be available as a podcast.