St. Louis Morning Brief: St. Louis Embraces “Tarps Off” Baseball Trend as Waymo Tests Hit Legal Roadblocks and Water Rate Hikes Loom

The “St. Louis Morning Brief” opens with the viral “tarps off” trend at Busch Stadium, where fans in a designated upper-deck section are encouraged to go shirtless after the stunt originated with a visiting Texas team and quickly became a stadium-wide marketing moment embraced by the Cardinals organization. The discussion then shifts to the rollout of autonomous vehicles, focusing on Waymo testing in St. Louis since December, which is now facing uncertainty after Missouri legislation aimed at standardizing regulations and liability rules failed to pass, creating new barriers to full deployment. A parallel anecdote from another city highlights how self-driving vehicles have created unexpected gridlock issues in residential neighborhoods, fueling skepticism about driverless safety and usability. The segment then turns sharply to city finances, as St. Louis officials weigh how to allocate remaining Los Angeles Rams settlement funds while preparing residents for a proposed 18% water rate increase, with further hikes projected in coming years. The discussion criticizes city priorities, arguing that settlement money intended for economic redevelopment has instead been directed toward infrastructure gaps, even as major investments like a planned Google data center in nearby New Florence signal broader regional tech growth. Hashtags: #StLouis #BuschStadium #Waymo #SelfDrivingCars #RamsSettlement #WaterRates #Google #MissouriPolitics #UrbanPolicy #TechInvestment