Sunday Poll: Which of the 6 St. Louis Police Chief Candidates Would You Hire?

St. Louis will soon have a new chief of police. The six finalists include three from within the ranks and three from other cities:

• Lt. Col. Lawrence O’Toole, 59, the interim chief, who has been with the St. Louis police department for 33 years. Mayor Lyda Krewson appointed him to temporarily head the department after then-chief Sam Dotson abruptly resigned in April, on Krewson’s first day in office.
• Maj. John Hayden, currently the commander of the department’s North Patrol Division. He has been with the department for 30 years.

• Capt. Mary Edwards-Fears, 57, who is currently assigned to the Bureau of Professional Standards, which includes the Community Policing and Internal Affairs units and the Police Academy. She has been with the department for 31 years.

And for the first time in modern history, candidates from outside the department are being considered for the chief’s office. Those finalists include:

• Maj. Stephen Max Geron of the Dallas Police Department, with nearly 25 years of experience. He has held a variety of positions in the department, including as its spokesman.

• Norman, Okla., Police Chief Keith L. Humphrey, who worked in the Arlington, Texas, department before becoming chief in Lancaster, Texas, and then Norman.

• Chief Patrick Melvin of the Port Arthur Police Department in Texas. Before that he worked in Phoenix and later became the founding police chief for the City of Maricopa in Arizona. He was placed on administrative leave there before resigning in 2016. (Post-Dispatch)

Today’s non-scientific poll seeks to find out which of the six is preferred by readers, their names are in random order.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Condos vs Apartments…Does It Matter?

On Friday we learned about a proposed 33-story apartment tower across Broadway from Busch Stadium/Ballpark Village. A 29-story apartment tower is already planned within Ballpark Village.

Other recent new downtown residential projects include the 25-story Tower at OPOP at 411 North Eighth Street, which has one- and two-bedroom apartments that range between $1,295 and $2,700 per month. Two years ago, the rehab of the historic Arcade building added 282 apartments to the downtown market — the biggest single addition to downtown in decades.

In recent years, downtown has been one of the few city neighborhoods where population has been growing, as historic buildings were rehabbed into lofts and apartments amid sluggish demand for office space. Downtown’s population has more than doubled since 2000 to almost 9,000 as of last year. (Post-Dispatch)

A decade ago all the projects being built were condos, not apartments. Does it matter?

Here’s today’s poll:

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Is Shake Shack A Big Deal For St. Louis?

The first Shake Shack opened in 2004, becoming a huge worldwide hit in the years since. A week from tomorrow St. Louis will join the long list pf cities with a location.

Shake Shack, the immensely popular burger-’n’-shake restaurant chain, has locations in Moscow, Tokyo, Dubai and more.

On Dec. 11, it is coming home to St. Louis.

The chain’s founder, Danny Meyer, grew up in St. Louis (John Burroughs School) before moving to New York to open the iconic Union Square Café and later to take over the Michelin-starred Gramercy Tavern. (Post-Dispatch)

There has been a lot of hype about the opening.  Today’s non-scientific poll seeks to find out what readers think.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should St. Louis County Personal Property Taxes Be The Same Regardless of Location?

We recently received our personal property tax bill in the mail for our 2007 Honda Civic EX, but I know anyone else with the same car registered in the City of St. Louis will owe the same amount. St.Louis County, however, is very different. Yesterday the Post-Dispatch did a story on the variation in rates, citing two women at the start:

Each owns a 2014 Cadillac XTS. And each got her personal property tax bill in the mail from the county this month.

Johnson’s tax bill was $895. O’Neal’s was $436.

Across the St. Louis area, people are writing checks to pay their personal property taxes, which are due by year’s end. Residents of St. Louis all pay the same rate. But St. Louis County residents are not assessed evenly — far from it.

All county residents pay the same real estate and personal property tax rates for certain services, such as county government and community colleges. But the rates for public schools, fire protection and municipalities vary dramatically. The boundaries don’t overlap cleanly, so even next-door neighbors can pay different rates. (Post-Dispatch)

According to the Post-Dispatch it is lower income areas that are paying the most.

The above is the subject of today’s poll:

This poll will close at 8pm tonight, I’ll post my thoughts on Wednesday.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should St. Louis Police Be Able To Declare Protests Are “Unlawful Assembly”?

Last week a judge put limits on the St. Louis {P;oce:

U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry’s order says that police can’t declare an “unlawful assembly” and enforce it against those “engaged in expressive activity, unless the persons are acting in concert to pose an imminent threat to use force or violence or to violate a criminal law with force or violence.”

Police also can’t use that unlawful assembly order or threaten the use of chemical agents to punish protesters for exercising their rights, she wrote. (Post-Dispatch)

Based on reactions on social media, the public seems split on her decision. Today’s poll seeks the view of readers.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson