Sunday Poll: Did You Think the Lawsuit Against the Rams Would Fail or be a Success?

St. Louis received some positive football-related news last week. First, professional football is returning. Well, sort of…

Attorneys representing thousands of St. Louis Rams PSL-holders filed a motion for preliminary approval Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

This follows the news last week that the parties had reached a settlement in a class-action suit filed shortly after NFL owners approved the relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles on Jan. 12, 2016.

In May 2017 the majority who participated in a non-scientific Sunday Poll didn’t think the lawsuit against the Rams would be successful. See: Readers: Lawsuit Against NFL Won’t Be Successful.

This poll will automatically close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Would a MLS Stadium be a Catalyst for St. Louis’ Downtown West Neighborhood?

Last week the city’s development agency issued a glowing report about the economic value of a potential soccer stadium, and aldermanic committee approved a resolution related to a soccer stadium:

For three hours Wednesday, aldermen on the Housing Urban Development and Zoning Committee questioned the prospective team owners and their aids on the many details of the soccer proposal. They wanted to know how much money the prospective owners were putting into the deal and how much the city would be on the hook for.

Team owners said they’d cover almost the entire $392 million cost to build the stadium, although they won’t have to pay the amusement or real estate tax. And three cents will be added to every dollar spent by fans at the game, which will go to the team.

Some aldermen wanted to know how much it would cost to demolish the yet-to-be-built stadium in 30 years because the city will own it by then.

“Some of that stuff was just meant to distract and it’s sad those things continue to happen,” Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed said.

The place was packed with soccer fans; it was standing room only. Everyone who spoke up supported the proposal.

“I have asked countless people in all walks of life tell me the downside of this. ‘It’s too good to be true.’ ‘What am I missing?’ The answer is simple there is no downside,” said Cardinals broadcaster Dan McLaughlin.

The proposal passed out of committee by a unanimous 8-0 vote. (Fox 2)

With the Resolution 180 out of committee, the full board voted on it on Friday:

The city Board of Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday that outlines tax incentives for a proposed Major League Soccer stadium downtown.
The proposal passed 26 to 2, with President Lewis Reed voting yes. Megan Green, 15th Ward, and Sharon Tyus, 1st Ward, voted no. Sarah Wood Martin, 11th Ward, was absent.
“I will enthusiastically vote yes,” Alderman Scott Ogilvie, 24th Ward, said before the vote. “But I will remind everyone that our work is not done making sure this is a good and fair lease.”
 
The resolution is just a first step. It outlines the financing plan but doesn’t create the laws required to secure tax incentives. Aldermen would vote on those later — if, Mayor Lyda Krewson has said, the MLS awards St. Louis a team. (Post-Dispatch)

Now it’s up to Major League Soccer (MLS) to determine if St. Louis will be awarded one of two remaining expansion teams. Today’s non-scientific poll is a hypothetical based on being awarded a team by the MLS. It’s up to you, the reader, to define what “catalyst” means in this context. An existing highway on/off ramp — built for a long-abandoned highway loop project — would be replaced by the stadium.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight. Wednesday I’ll share my thoughts, along with the poll results.

— Steve Patterson

New CBS Sitcom To Address Race, Gentrification

The now-classic CBS sitcom ‘All in the Family’ premiered on January 12, 1971. In Meet the Bunkers the family already knows young Lionel Jefferson, he’s friends with Archie’s daughter Gloria and son-in-law Mike.

On the 8th episode, first aired on March 2 1971, Archie Bunker learns his neighbor, Mr. Bowman, sold his house.  Archie, worried Bowman might have sold to a Jewish family goes over to talk to him. We learn Bowman had previously passed around a petition to pressure another neighbor into not selling their house to a Jewish family. Soon Archie learns a black family bought the house, later learning the buyers are Lionel Jefferson’s parents. Watch Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood. Many future episodes dealt with racial tension. The final episode of Season 1 dealt with the issues surrounding Louise Jefferson inviting Edith & Archie Bunker over to dinner.

The last two seasons CBS also had Superior Donuts, often touching on gentrification of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Unfortunately, due to low ratings, it was cancelled.

Tonight CBS has another sitcom where race plays a central role. It stars St. Louis native Cedric the Entertainer:

Cedric the Entertainer has been making audiences laugh for more than 30 years. Now he’s starring in the new CBS show, “The Neighborhood,” a comedy that focuses on what happens when a white family moves into a predominantly black neighborhood.

“Like when you get the white neighbors in, this is the thing we know. Like, we know that your streets – the potholes are going to get fixed. White people will call the city on you. Like black people just tell you, ‘There’s a pothole down there. Don’t turn on that street,'” Cedric the Entertainer said to laughter Friday on “CBS This Morning.” (CBS News)

Cedric is not only a star, he’s also an executive producer.

The living room set of CBS’ “The Neighborhood” has a distinctly African American vibe — there’s an Obama commemorative plate and black art on the wall.
The show’s star, Cedric the Entertainer, marches over to his chair, sinking down into a dark brown leather recliner, the same one his proud and opinionated character, Calvin Butler, uses in the sitcom, to talk about his latest comedic project.

Premiering Oct. 1, “The Neighborhood” humorously explores the fallout after a white family moves into a historically and predominantly black working class neighborhood. “I’m the guy that feels like we’ve built the neighborhood up and now I can see gentrification coming this way,” says Cedric. (LA Times)

Here’s one of the trailers:

It’s too early to know if the show will do well, but I’m glad to see this subject matter getting screen time. The first episode premiers tonight on KMOV (4.1) at 7pm.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Represent a Diverse Range of Ages

Each Sunday Poll is non-scientific, so we can’t extrapolate draw any conclusions bigger than the number of responses. The recent Sunday Poll results, however, do confirm my experience over nearly 14 years.

Q: Which age group are you in?

• 19 or younger: 0 [0%]
• 20-29: 3 [8.57%]
• 30-39: 10 [28.57%]
• 40-49: 6 [17.14%]
• 50-59: 7 [20%]
• 60-69: 8 [22.86%]
• 70-79: 1 [2.86%]
• 80 or olde: 0 [0%]
• Prefer not to answer: 0 [0%]

Readers come from all age groups — younger and older than my 51+ years. That’s very rewarding to know.

Today is my husband’s 35th birthday. Yes, I’m 16 years & 5 months older then he is. I was driving and about to enter my junior year of high school when he was born. Relax, he was 29 when we met.

I’m Gen-X, he’s Gen-Y. We learn from each other, he helps keep me young(-ish). He also helps me by explaining who people are since I’m no longer clued in on musicians, actors/actresses. etc. He’s feeling old at 35, but I guess I did too. Can’t remember that far back.

My oldest brother will turn 70 in less than two years. His first grandchild, my great-niece, turned 20 last month.   I assume those of you with children & grandchildren understand this, but for those of us without kids we don’t experience them growing up daily like you do. It seemed like one day she was all about American Girl and the next she’s in college.

It seems like my husband and I spend more time watching Netflix/YouTube than watching broadcast television. So very different than just a decade ago. We both like watching React videos.  Here’s a fun one watching kids react to rotary phones.

This was all we had when I was a kid. I still remember when AT&T was broken up and we got newer phones that plugged into a wall jack rather than be hard wired. I love watching these kids try to figure out how to text on a rotary phone!

The other side of the spectrum is elders (boomers) react. My particular favorites relate to the only video hame I’ve played: Grand Theft Auto V. First the reached to the trailer, a year later they played the game.  Don’t worry, they bleeped out “expressive language.”

What’s fascinating about the above is their different reactions and views on the influence of violent video games. If you enjoyed watching the elders play GTAV, later they return to get a tattoo. visit the strip club, go to the beach, and fly a helicopter. Again, it’s PG. I want to have a beer with Catherine.

Remember we can learn from each other, so be open to the views and experiences of those who are both younger and older than you are. By all means, enjoy the package of time.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Which Age Range Are You In?

Every so often I like to poll readers to see their ages.This is just my curiosity about who comes here on a Sunday.

For the record I’m 51. Time really does fly by quickly, next month marks 28 years since I arrived St, Louis as an enthusiastic 23 year-old from Oklahoma.  It has been more than a decade since my stroke, more than 4 years since I got married. This halloween will be the 14th anniversary of this blog. Fourteen years!

In the 70s, when I was a kid, people in their 50s were portrayed on television as so old. My parents were older than my friend’s parents, but they were stilll only in their 40s.  Archie & Edith Bunker were an old couple, but Edith didn’t turn 50 until 1977 — in season 8. Her was an emotional 2-part storyline where a man tried to rape her at home. You can watch both episodes here.

In 1978 I got hooked on the show Dallas (1978-1991). Larry Hagman who played J.R. Ewing was 47 when the show premiered. Patrick Duffy, who played younger brother Bobby Ewing, was just 29. Barbara Bel Geddes, who playe70s d their mom, was only 56.  Their father “Jock Ewing” was portrayed by a much older Jim Davis — he was 69 when the show debuted. Duffy is now 69. At that time late 60s was very old for television.

In the 80s you had The Golden Girls — three “older” women in their 50s living together, plus the mom of one. Now that I think about it, Betty White first appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore show in 1973, playing the sex-crazed Sue Ann Nivens — White as 51 at the time.  Moore was 37.

One of my favorite current series is the Netflix show Grace and Frankie (trailer)– the four main characters are all in their 70s (even though Janw Fonda is actually in her 80s). I was also a huge fan of the Roseanne reboot — I loved it when Estelle Parsons, now in her 90s, returned as Roseanne & Jackie’s mom Beverly. Hopefully she’ll return for The Conners.I’m betting Roseanne Conner will die of an accidental opioid overdose. We’ll see on Tuesday October 13th.

Anyway, here’s this week’s poll:

This poll will close at 8pm tonight. On Wednesday I’ll discuss the results and wish my husband a happy 35th birthday.

— Steve Patterson