15th Anniversary of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse In Downtown St. Louis

A year before the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, the new Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse opened in downtown St. Louis. It was named for the then still living Thomas Eagleton (1928-2009).

Last year I posted about the post-9/11 temporary barriers still around the courthouse.  Perhaps someone saw my post because yesterday I noticed the temporary barriers had all been removed!

From October 2011:

The Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse downtown suffered extensive flooding due to a burst pipe in August. Since then, demolition and debris removal have been completed, leading up to the repair and reconstruction phase, which is set to begin. The repairs have been budgeted to cost taxpayers close to $10 million.

Approximately 8,000 gallons of water poured down 17 of the buildings’ 29 floors, damaging 10 courtrooms. The 1.3 million-square-foot building opened 11 years ago. Court proceedings have not been delayed due to the flooding as many judges are sharing spaces in other areas throughout the building. (Flood damage repair to cost federal courthouse $10 million)

Fifteen years later the half block decorative park to the East remains largely unused — but I’m sure the judges like seeing it from their chambers.

— Steve Patterson

Motorcycle Parking on Sidewalk

Last week I posted about buying a small 49cc Honda Metropolitan scooter a decade ago. Like a bicycle, it wasn’t required to be registered as a vehicle, often overlooked, and could be easily stolen.  As a result, I’d park it on the sidewalk -locked to something if I couldn’t watch it. But I also see very large motorcycles on sidewalks

Really?

I’m at a loss for why this is parked here, maybe no on-street parking spaces were free?   I’m open to hearing the reasons why registered motorcycles/scooters should be allowed to park on sidewalks.

— Steve Patterson

10th & Olive Parking Lot Loses One Entry; Fence Gains Height, Gate

It’s rare to see an owner of one of downtown’s many surface parking lots spend money making improvements, but for nearly a month now that has been the case at 10th & Olive.

Ideally, at some point in the future, this corner will once again have a multi-story building. In the meantime, these changes are welcomed — especially closing off the 10th Street entrance.  Would be nice to see one additional on-street parking space added where the driveway was.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: The Missouri legislature may attempt to override Gov Nixon’s June veto of right-to-work legislation. Which side are you on?

The national fight over ‘right-to-work’ has come to Missouri. In June Gov Nixon vetoed such legislation:

Missouri did not become the country’s 26th “right to work” state Wednesday: Gov. Jay Nixon issued a veto, setting up a clash with the state’s Republican-led Legislature.

The bill would have made it a misdemeanor for anyone to be required to become a union member, or to pay dues to a labor organization, as a condition of employment. Nixon, a Democrat, was expected to block the legislation, leaving state lawmakers to round up enough votes to override him. (LA Times)

I’m not going to get into the pros & cons now, I’ll save my views for Wednesday.  In the meantime, I thought this would be a good topic for today’s poll:

The answers are presented in random order, the poll closes at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Bought A Honda Metropolitan Scooter Ten Years Ago Today

Last weekend was the 10th anniversary of Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast:

Hurricane Katrina surprised disaster preparedness authorities when it made landfall 10 years ago, leveling entire communities and killing more than 1,800 people. The storm caused more than $100 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. But for all the damage the storm caused in New Orleans, Katrina was a relatively weak hurricane when it hit the city.

In the academic community, the unexpected disaster prompted climate scientists to consider the link between climate change and storms. Since then, research has shown that climate change will increase the devastation caused by hurricanes as sea levels rise due to global warming. Some research has also suggested that climate change has increased the intensity and frequency of storms. (Time: Why Climate Change Could Make Hurricane Impact Worse)

After watching video of the resulting destruction I knew I had to do something, but what? My solution was to buy a nearly-new Honda Metropolitan scooter, 49cc. I did so ten years ago today!

Most scooters get very high fuel economy, I regularly got between 80-95 mpg. Over the next 29 months I put about 5,000 miles on that scooter — driving all over the region. Eventually it allowed me to go car-free!

On February 1, 2008 my scooter days came to an end, 15+ hours of no help following a hemorrhagic stroke left me able to ride scooters or bicycles. I sold the scooter to a neighbor — he eventually got another with a larger engine.  I also sold all my bicycles — except one.

I have many fond memories of riding both the scooter and the orange bike. New poll on Sunday — have a great weekend!

— Steve Patterson