Poll: Top 3 Reasons Why You Don’t Ride Public Transit?

Fifty-eight years ago today a forty-two year old Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama:

The Montgomery City Code required that all public transportation be segregated and that bus drivers had the “powers of a police officer of the city while in actual charge of any bus for the purposes of carrying out the provisions” of the code. While operating a bus, drivers were required to provide separate but equal accommodations for white and black passengers by assigning seats. This was accomplished with a line roughly in the middle of the bus separating white passengers in the front of the bus and African-American passengers in the back.

When an African-American passenger boarded the bus, they had to get on at the front to pay their fare and then get off and re-board the bus at the back door. When the seats in the front of the bus filled up and more white passengers got on, the bus driver would move back the sign separating black and white passengers and, if necessary, ask black passengers give up their seat.

On December 1, 1955, after a long day’s work at a Montgomery department store, where she worked as a seamstress, Rosa Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus for home. She took a seat in the first of several rows designated for “colored” passengers. Though the city’s bus ordinance did give drivers the authority to assign seats, it didn’t specifically give them the authority to demand a passenger to give up a seat to anyone (regardless of color). However, Montgomery bus drivers had adopted the custom of requiring black passengers to give up their seats to white passengers, when no other seats were available. If the black passenger protested, the bus driver had the authority to refuse service and could call the police to have them removed.

As the bus Rosa was riding continued on its route, it began to fill with white passengers. Eventually, the bus was full and the driver noticed that several white passengers were standing in the aisle. He stopped the bus and moved the sign separating the two sections back one row and asked four black passengers to give up their seats. Three complied, but Rosa refused and remained seated. The driver demanded, “Why don’t you stand up?” to which Rosa replied, “I don’t think I should have to stand up.” The driver called the police and had her arrested. Later, Rosa recalled that her refusal wasn’t because she was physically tired, but that she was tired of giving in.

The police arrested Rosa at the scene and charged her with violation of Chapter 6, Section 11, of the Montgomery City Code. She was taken to police headquarters, where, later that night, she was released on bail. (Biography.com)

The bus was so full of white passengers the driver wanted Parks to stand. In 1955 more of the general (read: white) population rode public transit compared to today.  Increased car ownership and decentralization of regions has changed who does — and doesn’t ride public transit.

For the poll this week I’m asking for the top 3 reasons why you don’t ride public transit — as your primary mode. One answer in the poll is that you do ride, I’ve also provided a field for you to submit your own answer. The poll is on the top of the right sidebar in the desktop view.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: How should Missouri make up the shortage in funding for roads & highways? (pick 2)

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says it needs more money than it receives:

MoDOT has been warning for years that its annual highway construction budget would decline significantly as bond payments for those projects came due. That drop-off has now hit: The annual construction budget has fallen from $1.2 billion to less than $700 million, and it’s projected to drop to $425 million by 2019.

Missouri’s highway system has long depended on fuel taxes. But the report, required by federal law, said people drive less, and vehicles are more fuel-efficient. Meanwhile, inflation is increasing the cost of projects, the report noted. The price of asphalt, concrete and steel are double and triple what they were 20 years ago, when fuel taxes were last raised, the report said. (Columbia Daily Tribune)

One idea from earlier this year, a sales tax, is back in the news:

A proposal to raise a statewide one-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects could be headed to a Missouri ballot in 2014, if supporters of a new initiative petition are able to gather enough citizen support to put it there. (Kansas City Business Journal)

Other revenue options include tolls, increased licensing fees, raising the state fuel tax, and even closing roads/bridges rather than maintain/replace them. For the poll this week I’d like you to pick your top two options. Two because one alone might not be sufficient enough, the poll is at the top of the right sidebar.

 — Steve Patterson

Poll: Should Missouri Allow Same-Sex Couples To Marry Before Being Required By The Courts?

Missouri and same-sex marriage made the national news last week:

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) said Thursday that he would sign an executive order to allow gay and lesbian couples who were legally married in other states to file joint tax returns with the state Department of Revenue, a move likely to prompt a legislative reaction from the Republican-dominated legislature.

Nixon told reporters Thursday that because the couples will be able to file joint returns with the Internal Revenue Service, the Missouri Department of Revenue should accept those returns as well. (Washington Post)

Missouri requires couples to file in Missouri as they do their federal return(s).  Those who file individual federal returns must file individual state returns with Missouri, those who file a joint federal return must also do so in Missouri. This worked until the IRS said legally married same-sex couples can file together regardless of their state of residence.

This as two more states recently joined the list recognizing same-sex marriages:

As Hawaii and Illinois join the list of states approving same-sex marriage, the United States crosses a big mark on the issue: More than 1 in 3 Americans will live where same-sex marriage is legal.

It’s a dramatic shift in a short period of time — one not seen on other social issues.

Hawaii’s Legislature passed the measure Tuesday. Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed it into law Wednesday morning. It will go into effect December 2.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sign legislation for his state November 20. It will take effect June 1. (CNN)

With Hawaii and Illinois the total number of states recognizing same0-sex marriage is 16, plus the District of Columbia. Here’s the list in order of effective date, showing when effective and how it happened:

1. Massachusetts/May 2004/Courts
2. California/June 2008-November 2008, June 2013/Courts, Prop 8, SCOTUS
3. Connecticut/November 2008/Courts & legislature
4. District of Columbia/March 2009/City Council
5. Iowa/April 2009/Courts
6. Vermont/September 2009/Legislature (overrode veto)
7. New Hampshire/January 2010/Legislature
8. New York/July 2011/Legislature
9. Washington/December 2012/Legislature & voters
10. Maine/December 2012/Voters
11. Maryland/January 2013/Legislature & voters
12. Delaware/July 2013/Legislature
13. Rhode Island/August 2013/Legislature
14. Minnesota/August 2013/Legislature
15. New Jersey/October 2013/Courts
16. Hawaii/December 2013/Legislature
17. Illinois/June 2014/Legislature

The above list is from information from Wikipedia.

More than half are based on legislative action, not the courts. This list accounts for 16/50 states, what about the other 34?

Here’s a list of states that have passed constitutional bans:

1. Alaska 1998
2. Hawaii 1998 (changed in 2013)
3. Nebraska 2000
4. Nevada 2002
5. Arkansas 2004
6. Georgia 2004
7. Kentucky 2004
8. Louisiana 2004
9. Michigan 2004
10. Mississippi 2004
11. Missouri 2004
12. Montana 2004
13. North Dakota 2004
14. Ohio 2004
15. Oklahoma 2004
16. Oregon 2004
17. Utah 2004
18. Kansas 2005
19. Texas 2005
20. Alabama 2006
21. Colorado 2006
22. Idaho 2006
23. South Carolina 2006
24. South Dakota 2006
25. Tennessee 2006
26. Virginia 2006
27. Wisconsin 2006
28. Arizona 2008 (a 2006 ban failed to pass)
29. California 2008 (ruled unconstitutional in 2013)
30. Florida 2008
31. North Carolina 2012

So 29 states (31 less Hawaii & California), including Missouri, have constitutional bans against same-sex marriage by defining marriage between a man and a woman. Thirteen of these states passed their ban in 2004, the year same-sex marriages began in Massachusetts. Five states don’t recognize same-sex marriage, but also don’t have a constitutional ban. These rely on state law to make marriage between a man and a woman.

By the time the 2016 election I think we’ll see a different landscape from today. The poll question this week wants your take on Missouri, should we allow same-sex couples to marry before being required by the courts to do so? The poll is in the right sidebar until next Sunday morning.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: How Did Sesame Street Influence Your Childhood Perceptions of Urban Neighborhoods?

Forty-four years ago today  a new children’s program debuted that was very different from predecessors such as Howdy Doody (1947-1960), Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984), and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968-2001). These earlier shows weren’t set in the gritty inner-city. I was a few months shy of being 3 years old when Sesame Street first aired on November 10, 1969, so I didn’t notice the change. Mister Rogers Neighborhood had only been on the air a year.

Officially located in New York City, as is often confirmed by regional references and the adjacent New York subway, Sesame Street was designed to resemble an urban, inner city landscape, recognizable to children although slightly idealized (though urban grunge was still well accounted for thanks to Oscar the Grouch). While many of the inserts took place in puppet-scale interiors, ranging from Ernie and Bert’s apartment and Charlie’s Restaurant to the countless walls or the varying game show sets of Guy Smiley, the main storyline scenes have always focused or at least begun on the street and its environs, outside of special location episodes. It serves as a meeting place for human and Muppet cast members alike. (Muppet Wiki)

My family moved into a brand new home in suburban Oklahoma City just months before I was born. Our subdivision lacked sidewalks, we had a 9-car driveway (3×3).

To my eyes Sesame Street seemed exotic, nothing like where I lived. Sure, I’d see neighbors, tinkering in their garages or sitting in a lawn chair  — on their driveway. But the interaction was different on Sesame Street, they couldn’t help but run into neighbors as they went about their lives. Since my dad worked on new homes, I rarely got to experience older/walkable neighborhoods closer to those on  Sesame Street.

Thankfully our family doctor had his office in OKC’s Capital Hill area, a once-thriving shopping area similar to the Wellston Loop. My father would also do carpentry work on his personal home from time to time, it was located in the historic Heritage Hills neighborhood, just north of downtown Oklahoma City. Otherwise I saw new homes going up in subdivisions far from the center. We drove to buy groceries, clothing, etc. — anything really other than a few things I might get at a convenience store I could walk/bike to.  We shopped at an L-shaped strip mall built in 1965 called Southwestern Plaza 1+ mile away, or a big Sears, also from 1965, a mile further away.Watching Sesame Street though, I knew there was another way to live.  I’m not sure when I got too old for Sesame Street, but the images of the conversations on the front stoop stayed in my memory.

Looking back, I think Sesame Street gave me a very positive image of urban neighborhoods.  This is the subject of the poll this week, the question being “How did Sesame Street influence your childhood perceptions of urban neighborhoods?”

Answers provided in random order are:

• Very positively
• Positively
• Neutral
• Negatively
• Very Negatively
• Unsure/No Answer/Not Applicable

The poll in the right sidebar for one week.

— Steve Patterson

A June 2014 Wedding

Monday night on KDHX I announced that my boyfriend and I got engaged last month. We didn’t plan to go to any of the 14 states, or Washington D.C., to get married. We wanted to get married in Missouri (where we live) or Illinois (his state of residence until this past February). We knew that meant a possible long engagement but we also knew there had been talk of the Illinois General Assembly approving a same-sex marriage bill most of this year. As late as a week or two ago it didn’t look like a vote would happen this year but 2014 looked promising.

Then suddenly, Tuesday morning, we hear the vote will happen. By the end of the day both the chambers passed the bill, sending it to the governor! To pass the measure the sponsor removed the paragraph making the law effective in 30 days. The law becomes effective on June 1, 2014.

Gov. Pat Quinn (D) said in a statement Tuesday that he would sign the bill into law, although he did not specify a date. The House, which had adjourned in May without passing a Senate bill legalizing same-sex marriage, approved the measure Tuesday by a vote of 61 to 54.

“Today the Illinois House put our state on the right side of history,” said Quinn, who campaigned for the measure, which is scheduled to take effect in June. (Washington Post)

So Tuesday night we set a date in June and started a wedding website. Yesterday I began the process of confirming the location. Today we’re going to city hall to register as Domestic Partners.

When I came out 30 years ago I didn’t think marriage would ever be an option…

— Steve Patterson