Readers Rejected Apology From Lewis Reed Before Email Campaign Dramatically Altered Poll Results

It was nearly seven years ago I began posting a new poll question every Sunday. These polls are non-scientific, but some of us find them interesting. The polls were open for an entire week.  Most votes came on Sundays, except when an email campaign would dramatically alter the more natural outcome of the regular readers.

In November 2014 I switched the poll from lasting a week to just 12 hours: 8am to 8pm each Sunday. Since then no poll has been the subjected to mass voting as a result of an email campaign. Until this past Sunday.

At 3pm, my daily nap time, the vote was still progressing like usual — 30 votes after 7 hours. A few hours later the total vote count had ballooned to well over 125. Thankfully I checked the results on my iPad — leaving the 3pm results on my computer untouched.

Here are the results as of 3pm — 30 total votes:

Q: Lewis Reed has apologized for his appearance on Bob Romanik’s radio show last month. Do you accept or reject Reed’s apology?

• Strongly accept 3 [10%]
• Accept 0 [0%]
• Somewhat accept 4 [13.33%]
• Neither accept or reject 4 [13.33%]
• Somewhat reject 1 [3.33%]
• Reject 8 [26.67%]
• Strongly reject 7 [23.33%]
• Unsure/No Answer 3 [10%]

Just over 23% accepted, more than half rejected. The remainder were unsure or fell into the middle.

A few hours later the results looked dramatically different — 159 total votes:

• Strongly accept 113 [71.07%]
• Accept 10 [6.29%]
• Somewhat accept 5 [3.14%]
• Neither accept or reject 4 [2.52%]
• Somewhat reject 2 [1.26%]
• Reject 12 [7.55%]
• Strongly reject 8 [5.03%]
• Unsure/No Answer 5 [3.14%]

Seven hours to get 30 votes, but another 129 came in the last 5 hours. A Reed staff person found out about the poll through a mass email. See screenshots of both here.

Here’s the problem I have with Reed’s apology: timing. Reed said he was trying to get Bob Romanik to stop by using a note/sign while on the air on January 11th. I too would’ve been shocked & speechless. If he was truly upset and embarrassed about what was said he’d have tweeted he’s feelings following the broadcast. But he didn’t.

A series of apology tweets didn’t come until nearly a month later, February 8th, after more people listened to the show on YouTube. An apology letter was posted on Facebook at 8:34pm on February 9th.

I’d never heard of radio host Bob Romanik before February 8th. From a look at the official show website I don’t think I missed out.

Here’s the official show description:

The Kraziest Son of a Bitch you’ll ever hear on the radio.  Radio like you’ve never heard it before and will probably never want to hear again. If you think the real grim reaper is scary, wait until you see and listen to Bob Romanik “The Grim Reaper of Radio!”. The Grim Reaper’s show will be like his face, very scary and very, very ugly. “On the Dark Side” is the most controversial show on radio today. “The Grim Reaper of Radio” is not politically correct or politically incorrect, he’s politically insane!!

After your Experience with Bob Romanik, “The Grim Reaper of Radio”, Death Just May be Enjoyable!

Reed was so upset with Romanik during his January 11th appearance that he came back on January 28th (@25:20) — sending out a tweet w/photo! I listed to the entire show but Reed didn’t let Romanik know his January 11th comments were out of line. Fifty-seven minutes I’ll never get back.

Reed has embarrassed the Board of Aldermen.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Do You Accept Lewis Reed’s Apology (UPDATED)

UPDATE:

This poll was manipulated by mass voting.

—

Last week a radio interview from January 11th began spreading like crazy on social media and the news:

For anyone who’s ever listened to Bob Romanik’s On the Dark Side radio talk show on 1190 AM, it should come as no surprise that a recent episode is drawing controversy. After all, the ex-strip club owner/police chief and convicted felon is always coming after his political and personal enemies with a mixture of wild insults and abhorrent threats, all book-ended by the show’s trademark rainstorm sound effects as though forecasting the flood of complaints that’s to come.

So it’s not exactly news that Romanik tried to discredit 15th ward alderwoman Megan Green last month by calling her a “good-for-nothing, skanky bitch” who, in his words, deserves to be literally flushed down the toilet and sexually violated by a storybook character. For veterans of Romanik’s radio wars, it’s more of the same. (St. Louis Magazine)

Romanik’s guest was Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen.

Short version: 2:50 minutes:

Long version: 12:34 minutes:

After this became controversial Reed apologized in a series of tweets:

Today’s poll question:

[results deleted]

This poll will be open for 12 hours, will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

More On Soccer Stadiums

Yesterday’s post was my site idea for locating a Major League Soccer (MLS) downtown — Downtown West, to be precise. In trying to figure out if a soccer-specific stadium would fit I looked at other recently built stadiums. Today I thought I’d share some of the research.  I like to start with a big picture historical view — knowing where we’ve been helps to know where we may go.

The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team originated in St. Louis in 1875, as the Brown Stockings. The team started here, has stayed here. The Chicago Cardinals football team moved to St. Louis for the 1960 season — staying through the 1987 season. St. Louis was just a pit stop. In 1967 the St. Louis Blues hockey team was created during the NHL’s first expansion — doubling in size to twelve teams. Founded here, stayed here.

And of course, the always moving Rams:

• Cleveland 1936-1945
• Los Angeles 1946-1994
• St. Louis 1995-2015
• Los Angeles 2016-

Teams that were founded here, have stayed here. Teams founded elsewhere —  that moved here — moved again.

What about soccer?

The earliest record of organized soccer in St. Louis date to 1881. In 1891, the St. Louis Soccer League was organized, and before long, amateur soccer was flourishing in the city. Unlike other cities where clubs were often associated with immigrant working communities and sponsored by ethnic social clubs, many of the major clubs in St. Louis were associated with churches and parishes, and later with manufacturing & retail companies. The catholic parishes in St. Louis, through the CYC chapters, adopted soccer as an inexpensive mass participation sport for their recreational programs, and it wasn’t long before the top teams were winning national honors. One result of this is the long history in St. Louis of developing home grown talent rather than attracting foreign players to the top level professional leagues. 

The Kensingtons won the first two league championships, followed by Blue Bells and St. Teresa’s. Later, the first dynasty was established by St. Leo’s who won nine consecutive championships between 1905/06 and 1913/14. St. Leo’s was originally composed entirely of members of the St. Leo’s Sodality, a church men’s organization. After the team opened its memberships to outsiders, it began its championship run. They were also the first team to tour the East, as they played a series of New Jersey teams in tours during this time. St. Louis soccer grew very early on, and the leagues have been strong from the beginning, but the city also had a very independent tradition, and even after the local association joined the United States Soccer Federation, it remained somewhat aloof, not fully integrating itself into the national body until 1918.
(History of Soccer in St. Louis — recommenced)

So soccer has a very long history in St. Louis.

To see if a soccer stadium would fit in Downtown West I needed to look at dimensions.

A soccer-specific stadium typically has amenities, dimensions and scale suitable for soccer in North America, including a scoreboard, video screen, luxury suites and possibly a roof. The field dimensions are within the range found optimal by FIFA: 110–120 yards (100–110 m) long by 70–80 yards (64–73 m) wide, These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation American football field width of 53 1?3 yards (48.8 m), or the 65-yard (59 m) width of a Canadian football field. The playing surface should also consist of grass as opposed to artificial turf, since the latter makes players more susceptible to injuries.

Lastly, the seating capacity is generally small enough to provide an intimate setting, between 18,000 and 30,000 for a Major League Soccer franchise, or smaller for minor league soccer teams. This is in comparison to the much larger American football stadiums that mostly range between 60,000 – 80,000 in which the original North American Soccer League teams played at and most MLS teams participated in during the league’s inception. (Wikipedia: Soccer-specific stadium)

I also looked at some recent stadiums and how those would overlay in the area bounded by Pine, 20th, Market, and 22nd (new). The distance between Market and Pine is tight, between 20th and 22nd generous — assuming the pitch was oriented East-West. Placing the pitch North-South might be better — would give lots of room to the East & West sides for amenities. Ideally restaurants, team store, etc would face 20th Street. I love the idea of the main stadium entry being located at 20th & Market. A tower at that corner could have a rooftop restaurant open year round with Eastern views of Aloe Plaza/Gateway Mall, Union Station, Civil Courts,  and the Arch.

There is a preference for urban stadiums:

Going urban also helps activate the building on non-gamedays with everything from company picnics on the pitch to conferences in suites and club spaces that offer more than the mundane four walls of a downtown hotel.

“It is an amazing thing to have (the stadium) in the heart of downtown,” Portland Timbers president of operations Mike Golub, tells SI.com. “The energy, intimacy and passion comes through.” (Sports Illustrated)

Providence Park in Portland OR is an urban neighborhood (aerial). I’m still reviewing Wikipedia’s List of Major League Soccer stadiums. More will open in 2017 & 2018.

As I stated yesterday, I think any new soccer stadium should[n’t] be owned by the public. I think government’s role would be to rework the public streets and highway on/off ramps to free up land for private development.  The city/state were responsible for the existing hole in the urban fabric — they’re responsible to piece it back together. Part of this investment into getting currently wasted land ready for development would be a form-based zoning code to achieve a walkable urban neighborhood once fully built out.

— Steve Patterson

Voting For Bernie Sanders Today Via Absentee Ballot

Absentee voting begins today in Missouri.

I’m a regular voter who rarely misses an election, but eight years ago I didn’t vote in Missouri’s Presidential Presence Primary, held on February 5, 2008. I have a good excuse for not voting though — I was sedated in the ICU at Saint Louis University Hospital. The afternoon of February 1st, at home alone, I had a rare hemorrhagic stroke. The next morning, 15-16 hours later, a worried friend found me.

Three weeks later I was awake again and starting physical therapy. Friends told me they joked about telling me it was already November and Mitt Romney had been elected — McCain hadn’t yet won the GOP nomination.

John McCain had won Missouri’s 2008 Republican Primary with 32.96% of the vote, with Mike Huckabee 2nd and Mitt Romney 3rd. In Missouri’s 2008 Democratic Primary Barack Obama barely won — with 49.32% to Hillary Clinton’s 47.9% — so close they evenly split Missouri’s delegates.  The 2008 Iowa caucuses were held on January 3rd that year. My father had died on New Year’s Day, so I wasn’t paying attention to politics.

I was home for the conventions, but I don’t recall having any strong feelings about Obama vs Clinton. After both parties nominated their candidates and running mates were selected, I became excited about Obama-Biden. After 2011 I my downtown loft got redistricted from the 6th ward to 5th ward — changing my polling place. At first it was ok, Patrick Henry Elementary on 10th Street.   Then it changed to a community center that was closer — but harder to reach. I was using my power wheelchair more and driving less, so access was an issue. I began voting absentee.

I’d like to see early voting in Missouri.

You might think I’m a recent Bernie Sanders supporter — swayed by the recent surge in the polls. No. By June 2015 Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley had all officially entered the race for the Democratic nomination.  Before then I’d been leaning toward Clinton, but I had to do my due diligence. Initially I was impressed with O”Malley — and I liked his youth. After Obama was elected in 2008 I told myself I’d only support someone born in the 60s or later. But as I researched these three the oldest candidate stood out as the best candidate.

I took the ISideWith.com‘s detailed quiz and Bernie Sanders was my top match on the issues. His long record, passion, and energy won my support. He also won the support of my husband — a millennial voter. For months now we’ve been following the issues & campaigns and still see Bernie Sanders as the only choice in the primary. This is my 8th presidential election as a voter  — I’ve never been as excited about a candidate.

On Sunday February 27th marches in support of Bernie Sanders will be held coast to coast — St. Louis’ will be downtown — details are still being finalized.

In Missouri, the last day to register to vote in the primary is February 17th.   The primary is six weeks from today: March 15th. In the sidebar (desktop) I have links to various county election boards in the region.

— Steve Patterson

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens In Former Insurance Building

Earlier this week the first of two Illinois medical marijuana dispensaries opened in the metro East. Finally.

Relief has arrived in the Metro East for patients with cancer and other chronic illnesses. The area’s first medical marijuana dispensary, HCI Alternatives, opened in Collinsville Monday. (KSDK)

Illinois’ experiment in medical marijuana is off to a painfully slow start. Can it survive?

The clock is ticking for the Illinois medical marijuana program. A low number of approved patients could force some marijuana businesses to close just as the program is getting underway.

The issue is that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has only approved a small amount of illnesses that would meet the requirements for taking medical marijuana. The Medical Cannabis Advisory Board for the program had recommended that 11 conditions and diseases be added to the list. However, in September the IDPH said it wouldn’t expand the list.

The group came back in October with a list of 8 conditions and if approved, would lead to a much larger patient population and would ensure the success of the programs and the viability of the businesses. Several chronic pain conditions, osteoarthritis, autism, irritable bowel syndrome and post-traumatic stress syndrome are on the list the board recommended. The IDPH said it would accept petitions from patients during the month of January 2016. Mind you these petitions aren’t just signing a sheet of paper. (Forbes)

Given the exorbitant fees these businesses paid to Illinois I don’t think they’ll let them go under — the powerful don’t treat the wealthy that way.

When we stopped by in November 2015 we noticed the numerous security cameras all around the building. Hopefully Illinois will approve more conditions and patients will get their cards. HCI Alternatives also has a location in Springfield IL. Missouri approved CBD oil in 2014 but I don’t think it is available to patients yet.

This week a woman in Georgia testified before legislators in her state about buying marijuana on the black market to create her own CBD oil to help treat her child. This November Missouri voters should have the opportunity to approve medical marijuana.

— Steve Patterson