Readers Support HB1380 Preventing Homeowner’s Associations From Banning Political Signs

More than half of the few who took the poll last week thought it was a good idea to prevent homeowner’s associations from restricting political signs.

Q: HB1380 would prevent homeowner’s associations from banning political signs in the state. Thoughts?

1. Good, these associations can be way too restrictive 37 [56.06%]
2. Bad, buy elsewhere if you don’t like the rules 18 [27.27%]
3. Neutral 8 [12.12%]
4. Other: 3 [4.55%]

The three “other” answers provided by readers were:

1. of all the things for politicos to take a stand against, campaign signs?
2. Political signs should not have a time restriction.
3. Doesn’t the state legislature have more important things to work on?

You can read the original post and comments here.

– Steve Patterson

St. Louis Prosecutor George Peach Charged 20 Years Ago Today

A year and a half after I moved to St. Louis a huge scandal broke — 20 years ago today:

The chief state prosecutor for the city of St. Louis, who has spent most of his 15 years in office crusading against obscenity, pornography and prostitution, was charged today with a misdemeanor offense of patronizing a prostitute.

[snip]

Since being elected as circuit attorney in 1976, Mr. Peach has led a fight to rid St. Louis of pornography and prostitution. In the 1980’s he was responsible for closing the city’s major pornographic book and video stores. Last June, he endorsed changes in city ordinances that would make jail mandatory for prostitutes, pimps and customers who are second-time offenders. (New York Times)

Peach was busted three days earlier, on Tuesday March 10, 1992, in a hotel in St. Louis County. In the days immediately following his arrest on the misdemeanor charge local officials were debating if he should resign or run for a 5th term as prosecutor.

A January 2004 story in the Post-Dispatch recounts many the sorted details including more criminal activity:

In an eight-month Post-Dispatch investigation in 1992, reporters disclosed that Peach financed his extracurricular activities with cash from a confidential city checking account he controlled. He also took money from a fund set up to aid crime victims. (Full story — highly recommended)

A number of years ago an independent hollywood company began raising money to produce a film about Peach’s downfall, myself and many others donated money to help get the film made:

Heart of the Beholder is a 2005 drama film that was written and directed by Ken Tipton. It is based on Tipton’s own experience as the owner of a chain of videocassette rental stores in the 1980s. Tipton and his family had opened the first videocassette rental stores in St. Louis in 1980. Their business was largely destroyed by a campaign of the National Federation for Decency, who objected to the chain’s carrying the film The Last Temptation of Christ for rental.

The film won “Best Feature Film” awards at several film festivals. Critic Ryan Cracknell summarized the film, “There’s no shortage of material for writer-director Ken Tipton to work with here. That alone makes Heart of the Beholder a film of interest. It is in many ways a politically charged film as it touches on issues of freedom of speech, religious beliefs and all out fanaticism. Still, I didn’t think it was charged with enough balance and I think a large part had to do with the film’s inconsistent pacing.” (Wikipedia)

As one of thousands of uncredited producers I got the film on DVD, but here’s the trailer:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onnQwK8DhA4

You can order the DVD here or you can watch the entire film online, view chapter 1, do not watch at work! The film is also available for instant streaming on Netflix.

I recall a video store on the south side of Olive between Compton & Grand, now part of Saint Louis University’s campus, that closed in the early 90s. I only visited the store once, not sure if it was one of Ken Tipton’s Video Library stores or not.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts On Missouri Bill That Would Prevent Homeowner’s Associations From Banning Political Signs

Many live in places where a homeowners association may restrict your rights, one Missouri state rep has introduced a bill to curb that:

The measure, by Republican Rep. Kurt Bahr, would prevent homeowners associations from enforcing or adopting bans on political signs.

“Should a private organization allow you to contract away constitutionally protected inherent rights?” Bahr asked. (STLtoday.com)

The bill is  HB 1380 — Restrictive Covenants

This bill prohibits a property owners’ association from enforcing or adopting a restrictive covenant that prevents a property owner from displaying on his or her property one or more signs advertising a political candidate or ballot item for an election on or after the ninetieth day before the date of the election to which the sign relates or before the tenth day after that election date.

A property owners’ association is authorized to:

(1) Enforce or adopt a covenant that requires a sign to be ground-mounted or limits the property owner to displaying only one sign for each candidate or ballot item;

(2) Enforce or adopt a covenant that prohibits a sign that contains a nonstandard decorative component, is attached in any way to plant material, a traffic control device, a light, a trailer, a vehicle, or any other existing structure or object;

(3) Enforce or adopt a covenant that prohibits a sign that contains the painting of architectural surfaces; threatens the public health or safety; is larger than four feet by six feet; violates a law; contains language, graphics, or any display that would be offensive to an ordinary person; or is accompanied by music or other sounds or by streamers or is otherwise distracting to motorists; and

(4) Remove a sign displayed in violation of an authorized restrictive covenant.

This is the subject for the poll this week.  Mobile users need to switch to the desktop layout to see the poll in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

St. Louis to Study Removal of Elevated Highway

Some potentially good news reported in the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday:

“…now the city is poised to fund a study of how knocking down the elevated section of 70 might work. Last week, the St. Louis Development Corp. issued a request for proposals for a $90,000 “downtown multi-modal access study.” It focuses on ways to improve connections between downtown and the riverfront.” (STLtoday.com) 

This is encouraging to see the city taking this step to study the issue. While I want to see easier connections to the Arch grounds at multiple points it’s the elevated highway between Laclede’s Landing and the Edward Jones Dome and the area billed as The Bottle District that’s a bigger block to development and connectedness.

Way back in August 2005, in a post about the then-proposed Mississippi River Bridge, I ended with a somewhat radical idea — replace the highway through downtown with a boulevard:

So imagine the existing I-70 removed from the PSB to the new bridge (North of Laclede’s Landing & the proposed Bottle District). In its place a wide and grand boulevard lined with trees and shops. The adjacent street grid is reconnected at every block. Pedestrians can easily cross the boulevard not only at the Arch but anywhere along the distance between the bridges. Eads Bridge and the King Bridge both land cars onto the boulevard and into then dispersed into the street grid. The money it would take to cover I-70 for 3 blocks in front of the Arch can go much further not trying to cover an interstate highway. Joining the riverfront and Laclede’s Landing to the rest of downtown will naturally draw people down Washington Avenue to the riverfront. In one bold decision we can take back our connection to the river that shaped our city. The decision must be made now. The interchange for the new bridge is being designed now — we’ve only got one chance to get it right. Similarly, the lid project in front of the Arch could shift to a removed I-70 and connecting boulevard design before we are too far along the current path. (view full post)

Of course the bridge is under construction and the lid is proposed to cover part of the highway west of the Arch. Still there is a way to remove the elevated highway and have a boulevard go under the lid once finished. How many people want to walk directly from Busch Stadium to the south end of the Arch grounds? Just a fraction of the number that currently navigate under I-70 going from our convention center to Laclede’s Landing.

I’ve spent quite a bit of my time around the elevated highway and it’s miserable space. A high volume roadway/boulevard can move the traffic but also be much more hospitable to pedestrians. For more information on the subject see the grassroots group City to River.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Will Komen St. Louis Suffer From Recent National Controversy?

At the start of the month the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation implemented a new funding policy that would cease funding $680,000/yr in breast cancer services at Planned Parenthood, setting off a huge backlash against Komen. On February 3rd the new policy was reversed:

After Komen’s decision to end the grants became public, Planned Parenthood raised about $3 million in pledges from more than 10,000 donors, Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s president, said in a call with reporters. Komen announced its reversal in a statement today with an apology “to the American public” from Chief Executive Officer Nancy Brinker. (Bloomberg)

On Facebook, many of my friends said they were done with Komen which got me wondering about the annual fundraiser in St. Louis.

Will the 2012 event have fewer participants than the 64,461 last year?

The 14th annual Susan G. Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure® will take place in downtown St. Louis on Saturday, June 23, 2012.

Sharon Korn and Stacy Kingston will serve as volunteer co-chairs of the 2012 Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure.

“I look forward to seeing a huge crowd gathered in downtown St. Louis on the morning of June 23,” said Korn. “It’s such an exciting day and a meaningful event that directly benefits those in need in our community. I am so honored to be a part of it.”

In June 2011, the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure welcomed 64,461 participants. The event raised more than $3.1 million in the fight to end breast cancer forever.

Up to 75 percent of the net money raised by the Komen St. Louis Affiliate stays in the St. Louis area to fund screening, treatment, education and research programs. A minimum of 25 percent of money raised goes to the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure Research and Awards Program® specifically to fund research. (Komen St. Louis)

This is the setup for the poll question this week — see right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson