St. Louis touts unified economic plans

CLAYTON, Mo. -- Political, business and civic leaders in St. Louis and St. Louis County say they are done fighting over economic development projects that can benefit the region as a whole. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley joined several dozen regional leaders Tuesday morning at a Clayton hotel on the city-county border to unveil a new strategic plan for the region's economic developments. The plan's release follows the creation of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership nearly 10 months ago. Both cited the recent effort to land a new Boeing airplane assembly plant. While that bid was unsuccessful, the two elected officials repeatedly referred to it as an example of how cooperation is preferable to competition when it comes to recruiting global businesses to the metropolitan area.