St. Louis stadium funding is no dead issue

Unless some technical snag prevents it, there will be a November vote in St. Louis that likely will give that city's voters a say in any future proposals to use city tax revenue for stadiums.

The Coalition Against Public Funding for Stadiums has submitted what appears to be an ample number of petition signatures to place the issue on the Nov. 5 general-election ballot. The issue is expected to pass easily, which would be a comment on how taxpaying voters feel about the willingness of St. Louis elected officials to spend $60 million of city revenue over 30 years for a new Cardinals stadium.

In an effort to beat the clock, city officials are trying to see if they can put together a financial-aid package for the stadium before November, which would make November's vote meaningless.

By the way, the voters who are expected to approve the coalition's proposition are the same voters who elected the current city officials, which makes for a strange case of democracy in action.