According to a new report  on America's cities, St. Louis and Detroit top the list as least safest in the nation. You will recall these two cities fielded baseball teams last week in the World Series . Both cities enjoyed exposure to a national TV audience and were able to boast their rejuvenated downtowns. I hope development efforts reach deep and represent an earnest try at making the cities good places to live.

(These two teams met in the 1968 World Series, a year after devastating riots and destruction in Detroit. That series is locally considered a major factor in healing divisions  within the burning city.)

If it's crime that makes a place generally unsafe—rather than, say, lousy roads , bad weather or falling pianos —why is it that people commit crime?  And so much of it? The answer is very complex, of course, and can't be pinned to one reason. Economics is a fundamental place to start, though .

All over the world, it's getting tougher for people to get a start  economically, experts say. Even with experience and talent , circumstances may conspire to keep someone out of work . On top of that, British experts now profess the environment is ready to play a role  in economics.

And the population is growing , even as money and weather work up (apparently) to doomsday for Mayfield . There are opportunities though, if you're willing to try someplace new. The Christian Science Monitor  tells of a growing need for artisans and skilled workers in the "remote" West, where thriving industries can use people from dying industries. All it takes is a little getting used to.

The problem is pretty neatly summed up here: Plants are closing , and folks need to find a way to put food on the table .