Sunday Poll: Is Being LGBT A Choice?

LGBT Pride events have been happening in the St. Louis region all weekend, the biggest happens todayL

The theme for Sunday’s parade is “Remember. Rise. Respect,” which reflects the history of the gay rights movement and the importance of respecting others within and outside the community.

Pride events are typically held in June to commemorate the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, after a police raid at the gay bar led to days of demonstrations. (Post-Dispatch)

I’ve seen a lot of change since I came out 35+ years ago, but also a lot that hasn’t changed. Today’s poll is asking for your thoughts on the issue of born this way or choice. This poll, like every week, is totally anonymous.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Any Hope of Reviving North St. Louis Without Paul McKee?

Developer Paul McKee had a bad week last week.

In a letter filed Tuesday, city officials say it’s time to face facts.

“After a decade, the promised redevelopment has not come, nor is there any indication that it will,” the letter states.

“Land lies fallow. Taxes go unpaid. Vacant buildings remain dangerous and unsecured….these are not the results the City bargained for when it granted Northside redevelopment rights for the Area,” the letter reads. 

The letter says that McKee and his entities have failed to fulfill numerous promises to the City and claims that McKee is in default.(KMOV)

The following day it got worse:

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed on Wednesday a lawsuit against developer Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration LLC, alleging the company kept $4.5 million in state tax credits despite failing to complete the purchase of more than $5 million worth of properties in north St. Louis.
Hawley’s suit brings three civil counts against the company: tax credit fraud, breach of tax credit application and unjust enrichment. (Post-Dispatch)

Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration is the subject of today’s non-scientific poll:

This poll will close automatically at 8pm tonight.  Come back Wednesday for my thoughts.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should Mayor Krewson Be Pushing For A Change To Federal Immigration Policy?

Last week Mayor Lyda Krewson posted the following on Facebook:

This week I joined more than 110 mayors calling on leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to bring the #DreamAct up for a vote and pass a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Read the letter:

Here’s the text of the letter signed by Krewson and over 100 other mayors & county officials at the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

Dear Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi:

We, the undersigned mayors and county executives, urge you to move expeditiously to pass a bipartisan solution with a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers that does not further harm immigrant communities—the DREAM Act. We are gravely concerned about the futures of Dreamers, hundreds of thousands of whom know our cities and counties as home. We are equally concerned about the increases in immigrant detention and non-criminal arrests over the past year. Congress can and must provide permanent protections for Dreamers without increasing enforcement measures against immigrants at large.

As local leaders we work closely with our residents. We know first-hand that immigrants are cornerstones of our communities who contribute with their diverse perspectives and ingenuity to ou

r local economies and participate robustly in civic life. This is why we are members of Cities for Action, a national coalition that advocates for inclusion of immigrants into our communities to create stronger, safer, and more prosperous cities. Our coalition includes over 175 mayors and county executives, representing over 70 million residents, including 17 million foreign-born residents. The 1.3 million young undocumented immigrants enrolled or immediately eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program contribute an estimated $2 billion a year in state and local taxes to economies like ours. DACA-eligible residents pay an average of 8.9 percent of their income in state and local taxes.

Recent federal court decisions currently allow DACA recipients to apply for renewals but DACA recipients are hesitating to renew because of the uncertainty over the future of the program, despite our robust efforts at the local level to conduct community outreach. We are concerned that Dreamers without DACA status will be in danger of deportation. Every day that Congress fails to pass legislation, more young lives are thrown into chaos.

DACA recipients have done everything the government has asked of them in good faith: they have proven that they are not public safety threats, submitted to regular check-ins, earned degrees, served in the military, and paid their taxes. They deserve a permanent place in this country they call home. We commend the bipartisan efforts on House Resolution 774 which already has the support of over half of the House of Representatives. We urge you to listen to these Members of Congress and bring legislation that protects Dreamers up for a vote. This is an opportunity to pass the DREAM Act, and finally provide Dreamers the protection they deserve.

This is the subject of today’s poll.

This poll will close automatically at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Was The Last Few Months Designed To Force Eric Greitens To Resign?

After months of saying he wouldn’t resign, Tuesday last week Eric Greitens  announced he would resign as Missouri’s 56th governor effective 5pm Friday June 1, 2018. Today’s poll is about Greitens’ resignation statement on Tuesday May 29, 2018:

Here is the full text:

Good afternoon. Today I am announcing that I will resign as governor of Missouri effective Friday, June 1, at 5 p.m. 

I came to office to fight for the people of Missouri, to fight for the forgotten. I love Missouri, and I love our people. That love remains. I am thankful to all those who have worked beside me, sweated beside me, those who gave their time, their energy, their precious resources so that we could pursue our mission of taking Missouri in a new and better direction. We have accomplished a lot together. I am proud of you, and I am proud of all of our work.

The last few months have been incredibly difficult for me, for my family, for my team, for my friends and for many, many people that I love. This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family. Millions of dollars in mounting legal bills, endless personal attacks, designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends. Legal harassment of colleagues, friends and campaign workers. And It’s clear that for the forces that oppose us, there is no end in sight. I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love. 

I know, and people of good faith know, that I am not perfect, but I have not broken any laws nor committed any offense worthy of this treatment. I will let the fairness of this process be judged by history. It has been a great honor and a privilege to serve as your governor. Traveling the state, I have talked to many of you who harbor extraordinary anger at this ordeal and for those who have pushed and promoted it. 

For those who would be moved to vengeance, let us allow history and God to bring justice. We must, as we have always done, work to improve the lives of those around us. This is not the end of our fight. I will always be a fighter for the people of Missouri. A great deal of work is left undone. The time has come, though, to tend to those that have been wounded, and to care for those who need us most. So for the moment, let us walk off the battlefield with our heads held high. We have a good and proud story to tell our children. Let’s love them and each other every day.  (Springfield News-Leader)

May God continue to bless you and to bless the great state of Missouri.

You can watch the video here.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Will New Crosswalks Improve Pedestrian Safety?

Regular readers know I’ve often blogged about crosswalks, so it’s no surprise I was interested in a story last week on improvements to three crosswalks on Grand where it runs through the Saint Louis University campusL: Laclede. Lindell, and the point between those two.

The project calls for the elimination of one of the three northbound lanes on Grand, which will allow the remaining lanes and the median to be widened. Bollards will also be installed to protect pedestrians who are about to cross the street as well as those who might be standing in the median. The roadway where the crosswalk is, will be changed to a brick-like surface to enhance the look and remind drivers to slow down. (KMOV)

The work will be funded by SLU, not the city. Here’s more from NextSTL:

The busiest of the three planned crosswalks is the one halfway between Lindell and Laclede — this is the subject of today’s poll

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson