Missouri’s Helmet Law a Good Thing

Once again there is chatter about repealing Missouri’s helmet law. To do so would be foolish. Like seatbelt laws for adults, I get the freedom of choice argument.

However, in these last few months I’ve also been around so many people with severe head injuries and therefore I know more clearly than others how devastating such an injury can be. It doesn’t take much of an impact to cause brain damage which can result in the loss of speech, ability to walk, etc…

The question is if the government has a compelling enough case to mandate the use of a helmet. First, the use of the road is not a right. In the interest of safety for all, the government mandates safety equipment such as lights. A motorcycle helmet is a natural extension of this.

So why should the government care if you split your head open for not wearing a helmet? Well when you are dead or a vegetable you are no longer contributing to society.

When I can return to my scooter I will wear a helmet regardless of the law — it is simple common sense. Still many motorcycle advocacy groups are working hard to remove helmet requirements in Missouri and 19 other states that require helmets for all riders regardless of age. Another 19 states require riders up to a certain age (18 to 21 depending upon the state) to wear helmets (see list).

There are many types oh helmets on the market and critics of these laws correctly point out that the laws don’t define what constitutes a helmet per the law. Fine, let’s work on a definition but not toss out the requirement all together.

If you are bicycling or riding a scooter.motorcycle please wear a helmet regardless of the law.

Parking Nightmare on Halliday Continues!

It has been nearly a year now that residents of one block in the Tower Grove East neighborhood have been dealing with a paved front yard that just won’t go away. Sadly the saga continues. Yet another hearing is scheduled before the board of Adjustment on Wednesday afternoon at City Hall (1:30pm, room 200).

Initially the developer just paved the front yard of the property without proper permits. Since then numerous meetings have been held between residents that objected to having a neighbor’s front yard be nothing but parking. The compromise was to be angled on-street parking. The developer and alderman Conway were pushing for the city to vacate part of the street so that real estate could be deeded to each of the four condo units — a bad idea.  I think someone from the city this would br bad policy so that pu the developer back at trying to pave the front yard for parking — this time applying for a permit in advance.

Currently the space remains unplanted and filled with gravel — condo residents are parking on the gravel area.

This is what we gey when we allow aldermen to play development consultant.

State & City Help fund competition for existing grocery store

Last month Mayor Slay made an announcement many had been expecting:

Schnucks will build downtown’s first full-service grocery store, a 20,800 sf urbanized version, in the Missouri Development Finance Board’s Ninth Street Garage at 9th and Olive Streets.

I guess I am not clear how mayor Slay defines “full-service.” City Grocers opened in October 2004 and offers this downtown resident everything I expect from a grocery store. Of course, I don’t expect to fill a prescription at a grocery store. Nor do I expect to get mylar balloons & florals from a grocery store. I expect groceries.
The Mayor continues:

This is an important step forward for downtown. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me why downtown doesn’t have a supermarket, and where downtown residents shop. Now we have a great answer to both those questions — we will have a Schnucks downtown later this year or early next year, and downtown residents will shop at it.

And what exactly has the Mayor told all these many people asking about where to shop ? Hopefully City Grocers.

The business journal had more:

It will cost $7.56 million for Schnuck Markets Inc. to build out, stock and open downtown St. Louis’ first full-service grocery store. But the family-owned supermarket chain is getting help.

Lots of help — from tax payers of course.

Schnucks will pay $3.42 million necessary for tenant improvements, inventory and other opening expenses at the downtown location, at Ninth and Olive streets, according to state finance board documents. The remaining money will come from a combination of state, federal and city subsidies.

“If we didn’t have the public support, it wouldn’t be a viable project,” said Scott Schnuck, chief executive of Schnuck Markets. “We’re starting with a space that wasn’t designed for a grocery store.” The location will require a leveled floor, extensive wiring and other improvements, he said.

Not designed for a grocery store? Who’s fault is that? Schnuck’s development arm DESCO was involved in building the garage. And in razing the National register listed Century Building. And in suing two downtown property owners who believed a parking garage facing the Old Post Office would be a detriment to downtown.

Does this mean they could not lease the space to anyone else?

Back to the article:

The grocery chain will receive $1.1 million in state funds from the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB), $1.29 million in proceeds through the federal New Markets Tax Credits program and $1.75 million from the city of St. Louis through a development agreement that will operate like a tax increment finance (TIF) plan, according to a resolution approved March 18 by the state finance board. The city’s Board of Aldermen approved the development agreement March 14 and has sent its bill to Mayor Francis Slay for his signature.

So tax dollars are now being used to buy inventory??? Inventory that will be sold for profit! WTF?  Meanwhile we have a grocery store already — just not one that is heavily subsidized.  Granted prices will likely be less at this new Schnucks compared to City Grocers.  So we are helping buy food for downtown loft dwellers.

Do we really want the state and city government handing out favors to help one business at the risk of harming another?  What message does this send to someone looking to start a small business in the city?  That once you’ve taken a huge financial risk and proven the market does exist we will swoop in and give favors to our wealthy buddies so they can steal your customers!
From the same article on the new store; “it will have a pharmacy — something that’s been missing downtown since Walgreens left a few years back.“  Walgreens, ironically was located in the very same spot — on the ground level of the Century.  Walgreens was booted out so the building could be razed for a parking structure.

It will be nice to see a new Schnucks without a massive treeless surface parking lot out front.

UrbanReviewSTL named an Influential Missouri political blog

UrbanReviewSTL has been named by blognetnews.com the 20th most influential political blog in Missouri (see list). Not to shabby considering that was never a goal of mine. I simply want to make St. Louis a better place. But with big money, tax incentives and state involvement in projects like the razing of the historic Century building for a parking garage you can’t help but touch on the politics.
Pubdef.net, published by my friend Antonio French, moved up a notch from 5th to 4th – congrats. The Arch City Chronicle, now online only, slipped four slots from 12th to 16th as it falls from being relevant.

Once I am back in St. Louis I plan to begin looking into state house & senate races as well as state-wide races.  Late last year I met one-on-one with one candidate for state-wide office — I was trying to get some issues on the table for discussion and action.  Locally we will see party committeemen & committeewomen elected in each of the city’s 28 wards on August 5th.  To what extent I can, I hope to influence the issues being discussed with support going to those candidates that publicly hold views close to my own (pro mass transit, reduced dependence on cars, local production of food & goods, etc).  We are less than a year from odd-ward elections, the mayors race and a couple of other city-wide offices.  The next year will be interesting.

Beware of the Sweetheart Dell?

In 2004 my hometown of Oklahoma City was all excited about being selected for a new Dell “customer contact center” to be located on 60 acres near downtown. Around the same time, Dell announced plans for a similar center in Edmonton, Canada. Everyone in Edmonton seemed excited, from a Business Edge article from January 2005:

“With 475 of the initial 500 positions now filled, Dell said it will hire another 250 people and hopes to have a total staff of 750 working in its Edmonton customer-contact centre by July.

Dell’s entry into Edmonton was first projected to create economic benefits pegged at $600 million over a 20-year period. That figure now rises to $900 million.

“The new jobs could mean another $300 million over the 20-year period,” said Edmonton Economic Development Corp. (EEDC) president and CEO Allan Scott, who added that these numbers may have to be revised upward once more.

The EEDC inducements included lease incentives valued at $1.1 million – equal to five years of property taxes during the first five years of the 20-year agreement – and assistance in helping Dell to locate a permanent site for its customer-contact centre. Further, land for Dell’s permanent Edmonton home will be leased to Dell for 20 years at the rate of $1 per year. Dell will pay all school and business taxes from the beginning of its operations in Edmonton. Over the first five years, those taxes are valued at about $750,000.

In return, Dell agreed to provide and maintain at least 500 full-time positions within its first six months and to begin construction of a permanent facility on the leased land within 18 months.

According to Scott, the incentives were necessary to level the playing field with highly competitive prospects in the U.S. Dell was considering a total of 153 locations, and that also included Calgary.”

Time for Edmonton’s EEDC to recalculate — Dell today announced the closing of the facility. In Oklahoma City another 200-300 employees got pink slips, 1,200 in total between the two locations. Did the deals with Edmonton and Oklahoma City include any type of clawback in case Dell backed out before the end of the deal? Given the competition among cities, probably not.

So what happened? Many things beyond the control of the respective governments of Edmonton and Oklahoma City. HP passed Dell to be the #1 supplier of computers in the world (or was that US?, doesn’t really matter), Dell’s quest to offer the public a $400 computer didn’t really leave room for a profit. While computer sales have been growing, Apple’s sales have far outpaced the growth of the overall market. Microsoft released Vista upon the world and many ordered new computers with XP instead — the sales boom that makers like Dell expected never happened. Finally, Dell’s delivery method — a very efficient system —- has saved every penny it can. I should disclose that I am a major Mac fan — logo tattoo and all.

Interestingly, as I’ve gleaned from my professors, companies often do not select a city based on the incentives offered. Other factors such as a workforce skilled for the proposed work, availability of a suitable site (which could play into incentives) and such are the bigger forces. Of course, if offered, the companies are not going to turn them down.

So what does all this have to do with urban life in St. Louis? Plenty.

St. Louis’ RCGA (Regional Commerce and Growth Association) does business much like all the other cities out there. Local governments do the same. Centene’s decision to locate in downtown St. Louis at the delayed Ballpark Village comes to mind. We’ve all seen the reports — x-number of jobs to be created, generation of so many hundreds of millions of dollars — yadda yadda yadda. In all the excitement we lose track that markets can change quickly.

One day Enron is a wonderful corporate citizen and the next it is bankrupt because of mismanagement by owners. The St. Louis region has some great long-term companies — those that haven’t cashed out yet. Small to large, longevity is more important than flash and show for the short term. If they want incentives here is one — on the 20th anniversary of a facility with an average of x-number of employees over the years then the company will get a refund of Y. Break it up in five year increments or whatever. We need to know more about these sweetheart deals that companies like Centene are getting and what happens if they are bought out, go under or just decide to move?

Edmonton’s Dell center was only open just over 3 years. It probably took the city a year to put the deal together. Certainly not a good return on their investment.