Thursday, July 2, 2009
A Good Veto
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger first reported, Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed the bill that would have repealed the Missouri law that requires motorcyclists to wear helmets. That is a good decision that will (as Mr. Nixon notes) save lives — and millions of dollars in increased health care costs.
I wrote about the decision facing the governor here.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Update On The Smoke-Free Law
Later today, a committee of the Board of Aldermen will continue its hearing on a bill that would extend smoke-free regulations to more workplaces in the City of St. Louis.
The bill’s restrictions would cover bars and restaurants, 80 percent of hotel rooms, and most private clubs. It would not cover tobacco shops, outdoor patios, private homes, or the floor of a casino.
(I support these reasonable compromises because I believe that a-very-good-bill-that-passes is better than a-perfect-bill-that-dies-in-committee. A bill that fails to advance beyond the committee is the same as a bill that is defeated – and is the same as doing nothing. Doing nothing should not be an option.)
Yesterday’s hearings drew both opponents and supporters, with odd alliances forming between those who think the proposed regulations are not restrictive enough and those who want no restrictions at all.
The testimony with which I most agreed was that of Joe Edwards, whose iconic establishments on both sides of the Loop and on Washington Avenue have always set the bar for St. Louis “cool.” Joe said that he sees the days of smoky clubs and bars coming to an end everywhere. His customers, he testified, are younger crowds who complain about the smoke.
That is certainly the case in many other states and foreign countries. It is true locally in Kansas City, Kirksville, and (even?) Ballwin. A new law is being discussed in Clayton.
The bill being considered at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen has an emergency clause because it deals with a public health issue. It will be law immediately – which means that it will go into effect as soon as St. Louis County passes the same law. Joe’s businesses on each side of the city limit in the Loop, for example, will not be subject to different regulations nor placed at any competitive disadvantage.
We need a smoke-free ordinance in the City of St. Louis. And I will sign a smoke-free bill and make it the law when it get to my desk.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Best Qualified
Someone asked me what I thought about a recent US Supreme Court decision that considered actions taken by New Haven CT, regarding its Fire Department promotions exam.
I want the best qualified firefighters on the trucks. And I want the rules that determine what constitutes “best qualified” to be fairly devised, equally applied, and widely understood.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Brain Freeze
A note from a frequent reader wanted to set the record straight about an answer in this week’s Mini-Poll. A question asking about “the most painful event of your summer” offers sunburns, heat rashes, mosquito bites, hot car seats, and big utility bills as choices – along with an answer with which the reader good-naturedly disagreed: “Don’t think it’s possible to get a brain freeze from a Sno Cone or Shaved Ice. You must be thinking of slushies.”
The reader ought to know. He is Phil Tomber, president of St. Louis-based RIO Syrup Company, Inc. RIO Syrup manufactures 250 flavors and sends its products to all 50 states and 20 foreign countries to make Sno Cones, Shaved Ices, and — yes — slushies.
No brain freeze from Sno Cones.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Out Of The Mouths Of Babes
There was a very small child playing in the new fountain at Citygarden last night. She would stand curiously over each of the hundred or so trickling jets and would be surprised and loudly delighted — a dozen (million?) times in a row! — as the water jetted up over her.
She almost stole the show.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Get Ready For More Hot Weather
A break in the heat wave gives us the chance to catch our civic breath – and to prepare ourselves for the humidity’s inevitable return. More than 1,200 local church congregations and employees of the City of St. Louis are distributing an informational card advising seniors, people with disabilities, and parents of very young children how to find the community resources they need to keep cool.
This is good work, but some people will – inevitably – be missed by the organized effort. That’s where you come in. Please keep an eye on your own family and on your neighbors. Make sure they are ready for a St. Louis summer.
There is financial assistance to help low-income households pay utility bills; there are donated air conditioners; there are emergency cooling centers. None of that matters, though, if someone slips through the cracks. Help, please.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Which States Will Be Ready?
Governor Jay Nixon will not allow $12 million of state and federal funds to be spent now for the St. Louis region’s effort to build a China freight hub at Lambert Airport. Mr. Nixon froze $10 million of funding for the project “until the economy improves” and vetoed an additional $2 million included in the state budget by the Missouri General Assembly. The cuts were part of $430 million in statewide capital projects and expenses that Mr. Nixon vetoed from the budget or froze. Mr. Nixon noted in his announcement that state revenues “are not headed in the right direction.”
This is a disappointing decision by the governor, but it certainly does not end the region’s pursuit of the hub.
It does, however, raise a question: When the national economy finally improves, which states will be best prepared to take advantage of opportunities?
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