Sunday Poll: How Is Your Vision?

Most of us experience cities through all our senses, primarily visually. For those with reduced visibility/blindness the city experience is different.

Navigating a mega-city like London on foot can be a fraught experience no matter who you are. But as a sighted person living in a sighted world, it’s nearly impossible to imagine what that experience can be like with a visual impairment.

Take, for example, the ubiquitous pedestrian crossing. While many in London are outfitted with tactile pavements to indicate where to cross and a protruding “cone” device at the bottom of the control box, it can easily take a blind person 10 seconds to orient themselves enough to safely enter the street. In that time, dozens of sighted Londoners may have already crossed the street without giving it much thought. (The Guardian)

It’s no surprise the public fears vision loss:

A recent study from researchers at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that most Americans regard loss of eyesight as the worst ailment that could happen to them, surpassing such conditions as loss of limb, memory, hearing or speech, or having H.I.V./AIDS. Indeed, low vision ranks behind arthritis and heart disease as the third most common chronic cause of impaired functioning in people over 70, Dr. Eric A. Rosenberg of Weill Cornell Medical College and Laura C. Sperazza, a New York optometrist, wrote in American Family Physician. (NY Times)

Today’s poll relates to vision.

This poll closes at 8pm tonight. Wednesday I’ll share the non-scientific results and some personal news on the subject.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Impact Will The PGA Championship Have On Our Regional Economy?

With the exception of Tuesday’s primary the news last week was dominated by the 100th PGA Championship held at Bellerive Country Club in suburban St. Louis County.

I’m not a golf fan, so my thoughts turned to economics:

The 100th PGA Championship Aug. 9-12 is expected to have an economic impact felt well beyond Bellerive Country Club’s picturesque course, up to $100 million, according to some estimates.

Hotels are filling up downtown, nearly 20 miles from the course that’s situated in a mostly residential area with few hotels nearby. (Post-Dispatch)

For today’s poll I’d like you to think about the economic impact on the regional economy.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Will You Vote In Tuesday’s Primary?

Today’s non-scientific poll has nothing to do directly with political parties, candidates, ballot questions, etc. Instead, today’s poll is simply about voting itself.

Americans appear to be more engaged with this year’s midterm elections than they typically are. Not only do about half of registered voters report being more enthusiastic than usual about voting, up from 40% in 2014, but turnout has surged in the 31 states that already have held their congressional primaries – particularly among Democrats.

In those states, nearly 13.6 million people – or 10.1% of registered voters – have voted in Democratic primaries for the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of state election returns. By this point in the 2014 midterm election cycle, fewer than 7.4 million people – or 6% of registered voters – had cast ballots in Democratic House primaries. (The same 31 states have held primaries as by this date in 2014.) (Pew Research)

Are you more engaged this year, will you be voting on Tuesday?  Here’s the official poll question:

As always, this poll will close at 8pm.

— 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

Sunday Poll: Should Non-Violent Offenders Get Less Jail Time?

Crime continues to be a problem in St. Louis, so I thought the following recent story would make a good poll topic:

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner says she wants to see less jail time for non-violent offenders.

Gardner claims such a move could be the key to curbing violent crime, telling News 4 she believes her office and St. Louis police would be freed up to focus on more serious crime.

“We’re looking to collaborate more with law enforcement because as law enforcement we have to say things aren’t working and we have to do things differently. So we have to change the narrative of more arrests means safer cities because St. Louis has done a great job arresting and prosecuting and we still are a less safe city,” said Gardner. (KMOV)

Diversion programs &  bail reform would also be part of her plans. Please vote in the poll below.

This poll will automatically close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson