A St. Patrick’s Day Sunday Poll

The downtown parade was yesterday, the Ancient Order of Hibernians parade is today in dogtown. St. Louis has a long history of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day:

On March 17, 1820, a small band of Irish settlers gathered to praise St. Patrick. It was the first recorded observance of St. Patrick’s Day here, although the sparse accounts disagree whether a parade was included. The Irish then were a small part of the city’s 4,400 souls. Marching came later. (Post-Dispatch)

Here’s more on St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage. (History.com)

Today’s poll is about Saint Patrick:

This poll will close automatically at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Can Anything Be Done To Increase Voter Turnout In Local Elections

Voter turnout in last week’s St. Louis partisan primary was low, ranging from 10.09% (5th Ward) to 28.02% (8th Ward) — source.

St. Louis voter participation is always the lowest in the region.

Among the eight counties in the St. Louis region, voter turnout tends to be highest in Monroe and St. Charles counties and is often lowest in the city of St. Louis and in St. Clair County. In the 2018 mid-term election, voter turnout among registered voters was highest in St. Charles (64.1 percent), St. Louis (60.8 percent), and in Monroe counties (60.5 percent) and lowest in St. Clair County and in the city of St. Louis (both 51.9 percent).  During the 2016 presidential election, voter turnout was highest in Monroe County (78.4 percent) and lowest in in city of St. Louis (59.2 percent). — source.

Today’s poll is about voter turnout.

This poll will close at 8pm, come back Wednesday for the results and my thoughts on the topic.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should St. Louis File A Municipal Bankruptcy?

I’m a policy geek, I love reading about various policy solutions to problems.  Yesterday I finally found a topic for today’s poll.

The subject of today’s poll is municipal bankruptcy. I read articles for and against. To remain neutral I’m not going to quote from either.

Today’s poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Do Closed Streets Reduce Crime?

Yesterday the Post-Dispatch had an article about researchers examining closing streets and crime.  From the abstract of the research paper:

Unlike most American cities, St. Louis, Missouri has a highly bisected street grid. Where intersections would typically be open to two-way traffic, in hundreds in cases in St. Louis they have been closed using concrete barriers or cul-de-sacs. These street closures are the outgrowth of a 1970s-era “defensible space” strategy to address rising crime rates. Oscar Newman, who is most closely associated with this paradigm, developed it while a faculty member in St. Louis. (Link)

Today’s poll seeks to get reader input on this topic.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight. Come back Wednesday for the non-scientific results and my thoughts.

– Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Are We Lucky Dollar Stores Are Willing To Locate In Low-Income Areas?

Today’s non-scientific poll is about dollar stores:

These stores have gained attention as success stories in the country’s most economically distressed places — largely rural counties with few retail options. Two main chains, Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which owns Family Dollar), operate more than 30,000 stores nationally and plan to open thousands more, vastly outnumbering Walmarts and other retailers.
 
In cities, dollar stores trade in economic despair, with many residents saying they are a vital source of cheap staples. But as the stores cluster in low-income neighborhoods, their critics worry they are not just a response to poverty — but a cause. Residents fear the stores deter other business, especially in neighborhoods without grocers or options for healthy food. Dollar stores rarely sell fresh produce or meats, but they undercut grocery stores on prices of everyday items, often pushing them out of business. (Post-Dispatch)

In many neighborhoods dollar stores are the only stores.

So here’s today’s poll:

This poll will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson