In February, the topic of expanding the downtown convention center came up:
The city’s convention center complex should expand to more than 900,000 square feet, half again its current size, according to a report given Thursday to the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission. (Post-Dispatch)
So this is the topic for today’s poll:
The poll closes at 8pm.
— Steve Patterson
Increasingly rare, I agree with readers in the latest non-scientific Sunday Poll:
Q: Ald Chris Carter was arrested, his wife accused him of abuse. Should he resign now or remain in office.
The allegation of something shouldn’t be enough to force an elected official to resign. The police, prosecutors, and courts will seek justice.
The other issue, however, is his place of residence. I contacted Ald Carter on Monday to ask him a few questions, we spoke by phone. He says he and his wife, Lotasha Carter, are separated. She and their 18 month old daughter moved out of their house in the 5900 block of North Pointe Blvd a few months ago, they’ve been staying with her mother on East Gulf Shore in unincorporated North St. Louis County. Carter says he visits daily to help with their daughter.
Chris & Lotosha Carter were married in June 2013, but they’d been discussing divorce — which is why she moved out of their home. They bought the home in July 2014 — year after getting married. Both of their names are on the deed. The Carter’s listed their home for sale in December 2015
Monday afternoon I replied to 27th Ward Committewoman Pamela Boyd’s email, who’d questioned his residency, to see if she had any facts otherwise. In her reply she indicated her claims were based on the fact she had seen a for sale sign in the yard. I also contacted the other person questioning Carter’s residence, I’ve not heard back from Rep Clay. Chris Carter told me the sale is scheduled to close Friday next week.
It appears the issue of his residency is much ado about nothing.
— Steve Patterson
Last week a city alderman was in the news:
A St. Louis city alderman was arrested in St. Louis County on Monday under suspicion of domestic abuse.
Alderman Chris Carter was taken into custody by St. Louis County police after a traffic stop, authorities confirmed.
Carter’s wife called police about 11:20 a.m. on April 30 to report that Carter had injured her during an argument at a home in the 4200 block of East Gulf Shore near Florissant. (Post-Dispatch)
Carter represents the 27th ward, where the Democratic committeewoman is calling for his resignation. Carter has commented.
What do you think? Vote in today’s poll:
The poll is open until 8pm, the answers are shown in random order. Please note: any organized effort to get a large number of votes, one way or another, is easy to see. If it happens the poll will be shut down and the last unaltered results will be final.
— Steve Patterson
Two mornings a week admission to the Missouri Botanical Garden is free to those who live in St. Louis city & county — who pay property taxes to the Zoo-Museum District. The rest of the time admission is charged. The zoo, however, is free.
In 1972, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District – the Zoo Museum District – was formed. Through the District, the citizens and taxpayers of St. Louis City and County make possible the extraordinary quality of five institutions that are essential to life in St. Louis: the Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center, Botanical Garden and History Museum. (Zoo-Museum District)
Limiting the district to city and county made sense, that’s where the bulk of the population lived:
In 1970, the large majority of St. Louisans came together to save the cultural institutions. Today, less than half of the citizenry is left to carry the tax burden that fulfills the dream. There are actually 220,000 fewer residents today than there were in 1970 within the combined borders of the city and county, while the metropolitan area has grown by more than 400,000. (St. Louis Magazine, March 2009)
Yes, in 2009 the population of city & county is less than what it was at formation of the district.
St. Louis and St. Louis County residents already pay property taxes that raise more than $70 million a year for the region’s five cultural institutions. The zoo gets $20 million a year, as does the St. Louis Art Museum. The Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Science Center each receive about $10 million annually. (Post-Dispatch, October 2013)
From last month:
Zoo lobbyists are now working in Jefferson City to get legislation passed. The bills would allow county councils to put the tax on county ballots, perhaps as early as next spring.
But a variety of regional leaders have asked the zoo to consider an entry fee for nonresidents instead.
Charging St. Louis and St. Louis County residents with two taxes is unfair, said Ben Uchitelle, a former board member of the Zoo-Museum District, which collects and distributes the existing property tax. He’s also worried about accountability with a new tax. The Zoo-Museum District “carefully studies and holds accountable” the five regional institutions, including the zoo, that receive property tax dollars. Who would collect the new tax? Who would monitor its use? (Post-Dispatch)
In the non-scientofic Sunday Poll a majority supported a sales tax in five counties.
Q: The St. Louis Zoo may propose a 5-county 1/10th of a cent sales tax. Support or oppose?
Support was 55.56 % to 41.66% for opposition. Count me among the opposition. We already have a good model for regional cooperation, we just need to expand it the way population has.
— Steve Patterson
The Sunday Poll on medical marijuana got lots of responses — but the results stayed consistent throughout the 12 hours the poll was open.
Q: Medical cannabis/marijuana may be on Missouri’s ballot in August or November, support or oppose such a proposition?
Less than 10% oppose, but this non-scientific poll isn’t representative of Missouri voters. Still, supporters gathering signatures for a ballot measure believe there is sufficient statewide support for passage in 2016.
The initiative is described as:
If passed, it could be far more effective than Illinois’ current effort.
Are you one of the few who oppose this? If so, you’re like CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta — before he researched the facts. After looking into the issue, he did a 180.
Below is a short segment from his CNN special called Weed.
The fact is cannabis/marijuana has real medical benefits. Decades of a racist ban has stifled research, but that’s slowly changing. Below is the full Weed documentary.
When the 1937 law prohibiting cannabis was ruled unconstitutional, the Nixon administration included it as a Schedule 1 drug — again, for racist reasons.
We’ve been sold lie for decades — I fell for it too for a long time. It’s time to wake up to the medical benefits of this plant!
— Steve Patterson