Poll: Should Casinos Be Exempt From Smoke-Free Laws?

Casinos are not for me, even if they are smoke-free.  Since the first of 2008 casinos in Illinois have been smoke-free.  In July 2009 the St. Louis Federal Reserve released a study, No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Illinois Casinos Lost Revenue after Smoking Banned,  showing Illinois lost $200 million in 2008 and the local economies lost $12 million:

“One of the reasons that the smoking ban has been more contentious for casinos than for other types of businesses is the contribution that gambling taxes make to state and local tax revenue. In Illinois, casinos are subject to a per-capita admissions tax, as well as a progressive tax on gambling revenue. Revenue from these taxes is divided between the state government and the governments of the communities in which the casinos are located.”

When the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County passed smoke-free laws in 2009 both exempted casinos.

Now the Illinois legislature is considering exempting their casinos.

“Smoking could soon be allowed again in Illinois casinos. State legislators are considering changing the two-year-old law because casino profits and local revenues are being hit hard.” (KMOV)

For the poll this week I’m asking if casinos should be exempt from smoke-free laws.  I’ve included a range of answers but if one doesn’t fit you can fill in your own.  The poll is in the upper right corner of the blog.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts On St. Louis’ Gateway Station

Two years ago today the Gateway Station opened, combing Amtrak passenger rail service with Greyhound bus service.  The station, at 15th & Poplar, is adjacent to the Civic Center MetroLink light rail station and local bus transfer station

In January of this year author James Howard Kunstler named the Gateway Station his Eyesore of the Month, which prompted a reaction from me: Kunstler’s wrong, St. Louis’ new train/bus depot is not an eyesore.  Also in January the Gateway Station was the setting for a Recovery Act high-speed rail announcement in St. Louis.

I like the station but I’ve never been a customer.  I had used the old “temporary” Amtrak station and the old Greyhound station in the former Cass Bank at N 13th & Cass.Neither was great, although the interior of the old bank was spectacular.  Next month I will take a trip by train so I will get to use the new station as a customer.

The poll this week asks for your thoughts on the station now that it has been open for two full years. The poll is located in the upper right corner of the blog.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Who Will Be Elected St. Louis Mayor In 2013?

Now that we are past the midterm elections it is time to think of St. Louis Spring 2011 elections. But first I’m thinking about the race for mayor in 2013.

The first & second mayors of St. Louis are the only two that have served more than three terms, but those first two don’t really count:

“Under the original city charter, the mayor was elected to a one-year term. The mayor served a two-year term after the adoption of a new city charter in 1859.  The mayor’s office was extended to its present four-year term after passage of the Charter and Scheme in 1876 which separated the City of St. Louis from St. Louis County. The mayor is not term limited.” (Wikipedia)

Francis Slay is our 45th mayor and at the end of his current term he will be only the fourth mayor to have served three (3) four-year terms. Slay may decide to seek an unprecedented fourth term in office but I’m guessing he won’t. Our last 3-term mayor, Vincent C. Schoemehl (1981-1993), did not seek a fourth term.

So I thought since we are just over two years away from the next mayoral election that it would be interesting to see who you think would be the person elected in 2013. Not who you necessarily want, but who you think will be elected to the office.

Will Slay become the first four-year four term mayor?  Perhaps a current holder of another city-wide office? A current alderman? Bill Haas?  Don’t like my answers, make up your own. The poll is in the upper right for for a week, final results will be posted Wednesday November 24, 2010.

– Steve Patterson

Readers See Our Walkable Origins, Building Stock & Compact Street Grid As Helpful To Future Growth

Not everyone got the poll question last week. The question, What do we have that will help the City of St. Louis to grow & prosper in the next 20-30 years is? (pick up to two), was about the attributes that we currently have — not those we need. The standard answers picked by readers were:

1. The walkable city origins with great building stock and a compact street grid 117 [37.26%]
2. Our cultural institutions 52 [16.56%]
3. Our urban parks & trails 33 [10.51%]
4. General demographic changes 32 [10.19%]
5. The people 24 [7.64%]
6. Other answer… 18 [5.73%]
7. Sports teams: Cardinals, Blues and Rams 13 [4.14%]
8. Nothing, the city isn’t going to grow & prosper 13 [4.14%]
9. The city isn’t within St. Louis County 7 [2.23%]
10. That we only elect Democrats to local office 3 [0.96%]
11. The weather 2 [0.64%]

Other answers is where it becomes clear some readers focused on what we need, rather than what we have:

1. Pride.
2. investment by the city to attract/retain businesses downtown, midtown
3. Vastly reduce the crime rate
4. merge city
5. public schools
6. The bones left over from previous prosperity (e.g. walkable, parks, culture).
7. nothing
8. Safe public schools
9. we have plenty of great things that we need to emphasize, like our LOCATION
10. This is a strange and badly worded poll question. I have no idea what to choose.
11. Relatively few “urbanists” with big ideas about my property / no $ of
12. Have you have businesses to bring people.
13. pretty limited on answers, how about increasing jobs
14. Steady supply of water
15. Restructure local government to give mayor more control
16. Great universities
17. Accessible, extensive public transit
18. Better schools and a better city crime image

Some good other answers include transit, water, and location. A future poll will deal with the “what we need” question.

– Steve Patterson