Nineteen year ago I started this blog as a distraction from my father’s heart attack and slow recovery. It was late 2004 and social media & video streaming apps didn’t exist yet — or at least not widely available to the general public. Blogs were the newest means of …
The new NGA West campus , Jefferson & Cass, has been under construction for a few years now. Next NGA West is a large-scale construction project that will build a new facility for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis, Missouri.This $1.7B project is managed by the U.S. Army …
Book publisher Island Press always impresses me with thoughtful new books written by people working to solve current problems — the subjects are important ones for urbanists and policy makers to be familiar and actively discussing. These four books are presented in the order I received them. ‘Justice and …
This post is about two indirectly related topics: the new Siteman Cancer Center building under construction on the Washington University School of Medicine/BJC campus and an update on my stage 4 kidney cancer. Let’s deal with the latter first. You may have noticed I’ve not posted in three months, …
I love seeing new mixed-use buildings going up in the Central West End neighborhood, along Euclid Ave. Unfortunately, I’m not excited about the aesthetic of the nearly finished 7-story CityWalk. When construction began in late 2013 it was expected to be completed by last Summer:
Bruce Mills, whose Mills Properties is developing City Walk, said construction will begin in early November. He said construction will take 22 months, meaning that City Walk, with 177 apartments, will be completed in late summer 2015. (Post-Dispatch)
Let’s take a look…
Looking North on Euclid toward the nearly-complete CityWalk development at Pine
A new Whole Foods will soon open on the West end of the ground floor. I like the look of the black windows used in the project — but the white doors on the corner are very wrong — especially with black railings.
The balance of the ground floor facing Pine St
Looking South along Euclid
The West facade along Euclid
The facades are a hodgepodge of elements, the window are proportionally too small & horizontal. However, the building is large and the mass has been well-maslked. The parking garage is hidden.
I look forward to taking the #10 MetroBus from downtown to shop occasionally at the Whole Foods after it opens.
The past winter was the warmest on record, from March 8th:
The Lower 48 states had its warmest winter in 121 years of record-keeping, NOAA announced this morning.
Temperatures averaged over the country between December and February were nearly five degrees above the 20th-century average. Every state but two were warmer than normal and all six New England states set winter records. (Washington Post)
The December–February average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 2.03°F (1.13°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.52°F (0.26°C). December 2015–February 2016 also marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record set last month, November 2015–January 2016, by 0.16°F (0.09°C).
The globally-averaged land surface temperature for December 2015–February 2016 was 3.47°F (1.93°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record of 2015 by 0.83°F (0.46°C). December 2015–February 2016 also marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record of November 2015–January 2016 by 0.70°F (0.40°C).
The December–February globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 1.51°F (0.84°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.40°F (0.22°C).
Though we had some cold spells, it didn’t seem as cold as last year. Here are the results from the non-scientific Sunday Poll:
Q: Winter is over, how were your heating bills compared to the previous winter?
Substantially higher 0 [0%]
Higher 0 [0%]
Somewhat higher 2 [7.41%]
About the same 6 [22.22%]
Somewhat lower 6 [22.22%]
Lower [7 25.93%]
Substantially lower 6 [22.22%]
Unsure/No Answer 0 0% [0%]
More than two-thirds reported lower heating bills. Our heating bill was substantially lower — it was zero! Yes, we went all winter with our HVAC system turned off. Our loft has three floors below and above, plus units on each side. With windows only on one side, we’re well insulated. An advantage of multi-family living.
For comfort I worried more about the inside humidity level — dry Winter air feels colder.
Most of the Winter was like this — 69 degrees. The humidity level was maintained by the regular use of a humidifier, boiling a large pot of water, and doing laundry. January 10th
Both the interior temperature & humidity dropped when we went away for a few days in mid-February. This is from the 13th as we returned pm Amtrak. Upon returning we didn’t turn on the furnace to take out the chill — we raised the humidity level;
A few days ago we were back to the natural interior temperature for when we’re home and maintaining the interior humidity
Many sites suggest 40%-60% relative humidity for healthy air quality, but that depends on the outside temperature:
If outside temperature is 20 to 40 degrees, humidity indoors should not be more than 40 percent. (Source)
In the Spring & Summer we do need to use air conditioning, but largely to lower the humidity. Eventually we’ll get a dehumidifier.
Five days a week people take public transit to/from St. Louis & St. Charles counties! No, MetroLink light rail wasn’t secretly extended over the Missouri River. No, MetroBus doesn’t serve St. Charles County either. “How”, you ask?
Just the way Madison County Transit enters the City of St. Louis, St. Charles Area Transit (aka SCAT), enters St. Louis County. In late February I took the last morning SCAT bus from the North Hanley Transit Center into St. Charles. Over four hours later, I took the first SCAT bus back.
The shuttle type bus used by SCAT at North Hanley. They can’t/don’t get close to the sidewalk for easy boarding via wheelchair. No curb ramp exists on the end so I had to backtrack to find the nearest ramp. .
I’m now at the nearest ramp to reach the white bus. Metro needs to add a curb ramp and/or SCAT needs to pull closer to the sidewalk.
The I-70 Commuter bus makes six stops in St. Charles plus one at North Hanley
I got off on the last stop — the Streets of St. Charles, the driver is putting the wheelchair lift away. I’ll post about that development on Thursday. Click image to see my initial post on it from February.
We departed North Hanley on time — here’s the official schedule for the last SCAT bus leaving St. Louis County:
8:55am North Hanley
9:19am St. Joseph Health Center/Main St St. Charles
9:24am Ameristar Casino
9:31am Cave Springs Commuter Lot
9:38am Zumbehl Commuter Lot
9:46am Fairgrounds Commuter Lot
9:50am Streets of St. Charles — where I got off
10:16am last morning drop off at North Hanley
The route, logically, is designed to serve St. Charles residents needing to get into St. Louis County for the day. Just 30 minutes to go from the Fairgrounds Commuter Lot to North Hanley four times each weekday morning, starting at 5:44am! Still, my bus from North Hanley into St. Charles had about 10 other passengers — people I presume were going to work.
In the afternoon the SCAT I-70 bus runs four times, starting at North Hanley at 1:38pm, the last on 5:59pm.
1:38pm North Hanley
1:45pm Fairgrounds Commuter Lot
1:52pm Zumbehl Commuter Lot
2pm Cave Springs Commuter Lot
2:11pm St. Joseph Health Center/Main St St. Charles
2:16pm Ameristar Casino
2:20pm Streets of St. Charles — where I got on
2:42pm arrival at North Hanley — next departure is 2:48pm
I’m so glad to see the City of St. Charles operating transit buses, connecting to the rest of the region — via St. Louis County. However, the webpage and route maps need improvement. Online maps for the four St. Charles routes must be viewed separately. No system map exists, at least not online. Still, it’s a start.
Last Tuesday was Missouri’s presidential preference primary.
More than 1.5 million Missourians voted in Tuesday’s presidential preference primary. That is up from about 1.4 million, the state’s previous record, set in 2008. Overall turnout hovered at 39 percent of registered voters, up from about 36 percent in 2008, the last time Republicans and Democrats had divided contests to decide.
Those trends were repeated in the St. Louis area, where turnout surged in St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties. St. Louis County turnout topped 45 percent, higher than the state average.
The trend did not hold in St. Louis, where turnout and ballots cast were slightly under the 2008 levels. (Post-Dispatch)
In the City of St. Louis, we know that Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump were the winners in their respective parties citywide. Is that it? After digging into the breakdown of the 28 wards, the election was more nuanced.
CITYWIDE
Registered Voters: 181,167
Ballots Cast: 76,729
Turnout: 42.2%
Percent Democrat/Republican: 81.8%/18%
Democrat:
Clinton 34,458 (55.01%)
Sanders 27,748 (44.30%)
Others
Republican:
Trump (36.35%)
Cruz (32.41%)
Kasich (18.49%)
Others
2011 Ward boundaries map, click image to view larger PDF on Scribd
Astronomically speaking, the equinox (March 19/20) marks spring’s beginning begins in the Northern Hemisphere (whereas it announces fall’s arrival in the Southern Hemisphere). At this moment, the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north along the ecliptic. The equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, even if our clock times reflect a different time zone. Did you know this is the earliest spring of our lives thus far? Do you remember when spring started on March 21? It’s due to leap year madness. Read more about, “The Earliest Spring of our Lives.”
Meteorologically speaking, however, in the Northern Hemisphere the official spring season always begins on March 1 and continues through May 31. Summer begins on June 1; autumn, September 1; and winter, December 1.
Weather scientists divide the year into quarters this way to make it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics from one year to the next. The meteorological seasons are based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun, and they more closely follow the Gregorian calendar. Using the dates of the astronomical equinoxes and solstices for the seasons would present a statistical problem because these dates can vary slightly each year. (Old Farmer’s Almanac)
Today’s poll question isn’t about Spring, it is about the Winter that just concluded:
AARP Livibility Index
The Livability Index scores neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. for the services and amenities that impact your life the most
Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
Geo St. Louis
a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
