Working on Legal Holidays

Many of you likely enjoyed Memorial Day off work, we enjoyed a 3-day weekend in Chicago. I’m disabled so I’m off everyday — not as great as it sounds. My husband is an hourly worker, he took the day off without pay. He gets no paid holidays.

Unfortunately, those with paid holidays don’t always think about those who work on holidays, or have unpaid days off. Monday we encountered many people working as we returned to St. Louis:

• The doorman at the building where we stay in Chicago
• Retail & restaurant workers
• Taxicab drivers
• Transit workers — the bus driver that took us to Union Station
• The many drivers for Megabus — two on most.
• Workers at the Dixie Truck Stop in McLean IL where our Megabus stopped for a break and to switch drivers.
• Ballpark workers at Busch Stadium that we passed as we were almost back.

Imagine if you went out on your day off but couldn’t get gas in your car because all gas stations were closed due to no employees. You couldn’t fly anywhere because airlines were grounded — no TSA to screen you, no flight crew to operate the plane, no air traffic controllers to guide the plane. You walk to the market but it’s closed, as are all restaurants.

First responders & healthcare workers are there for us too — even on legal holidays.

Unfortunately the number of responses to the Sunday Poll were half the usual number, but here are the results anyway:

Q: Tomorrow is Memorial Day, have the day off work?

1. Yes — paid holiday 6 [37.5%]
2. Yes — retired/disabled/unemployed 4 [25%]
3. TIE 3 [18.75%]
   1. Yes — unpaid
   2. No — will be at work
4. TIE 0 [0%]
   1. Yes — used a vacation day
   2. Yes — off on Mondays

In this small sample the number of people off without pay plus those working equalled the number who were off with pay.

Around 9pm Monday we passed Soldiers’ Memorial (WWI) and the WWII memorial as we made our way home.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Tomorrow is Memorial Day, have the day off work?

Tomorrow is a national holiday — Memorial Day. This holiday has a long history, but not everyone gets the day off.

Today’s poll seeks to see if readers have to work tomorrow or have the day off. All options should be covered, but if not, you can add your answer to the poll (upper right sidebar). The poll closes at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: 12+ months prior to the convention, who do you THINK will be the five (5) final candidates for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination?

The 2016 election cycle is heating up, on the GOP side many have declared their candidacy and others are still considering running.  It’s too early to know who the GOP will nominate at their July 2016 convention in Cleveland — that’s the point — to later be able to compare 2015 perceptions with 2016 reality.

For today’s poll I combined declared & potential candidates from these two sites:

• https://www.gop.com/presidential-straw-poll/
• http://2016.republican-candidates.org

There was a lot of overlap, but each had some not listed on the other. Here is the combined list of 47, listed alphabetical:

1. Skip Andrews
2. Kelly Ayotte
3. Haley Barbour
4. John Bolton
5. Kerry Bowers
6. Jeb Bush
7. Herman Cain
8. Dr. Ben Carson
9. Dale Christensen
10. Chris Christie
11. Ted Cruz
12. Mitch Daniels
13. John Dummett, Jr.
14. Bob Ehrlich
15. Mark Everson
16. Carly Fiorina
17. Newt Gingrich
18. Lindsey Graham
19. Nikki Haley
20. Chris Hill
21. Mike Huckabee
22. Bobby Jindal
23. John Kasich
24. Peter King
25. Michael Kinlaw
26. Dennis Michael Lynch
27. Susana Martinez
28. Sarah Palin
29. George Pataki
30. Rand Paul
31. Ron Paul
32. Tim Pawlenty
33. Mike Pence
34. Rick Perry
35. Michael Petyo
36. Condoleezza Rice
37. Mitt Romney
38. Marco Rubio
39. Brian Russell
40. Mitch Sandoval
41. Rick Santorum
42. Tim Scott
43. Rick Snyder
44. John Thune
45. Donald Trump
46. Scott Walker
47. Allen West

I usually randomize the answers in the poll (right sidebar), but because of the sheer number of names they’re displayed in alphabetical order. The poll question isn’t who you want to see make it to the final 5, but rather who you think will be the 5 who survive the next 9-12 months.

Please be sure to pick 5 answers, the poll closes at 8pm tonight. UPDATE: Because of a software problem this morning I’m going to leave this open until 10pm.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Favorite Public Fountain in St. Louis?

Unlike Kansas City, St. Louis isn’t known for fountains. Still we have a nice collection of them and other water features (waterfalls, wading pools, etc). Today’s poll is about celebrating these!

The exact poll question today is: “What are your two (2) favorite public fountain/water features in the City of St. Louis? Pick two — one can be added”

Let me clarify a few things:

• Public fountain means you don’t need to pass through an entrance gate or pay an admission. For example, this excludes fountains in the Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Zoo, etc.
• By fountain/water feature I mean something manmade — the Mississippi River doesn’t count.
• 15 answers are provided, but you can add one additional that’s not listed when you vote.
• Please vote for TWO in the right sidebar.

Tomorrow I’ll present the results, focusing on the top 1-3 fountains. The poll closes at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Is Your Opinion Of The South Grand ‘Great Streets’ Road Diet?

Today’s poll topic comes as a result of a recent discussion with a friend on Facebook over South Grand’s streetscape project. I’ve heard differing views from others as well, so it seemed like a great poll topic.

The exact question is:  “Now that it has been in place a few years, what is your opinion of the South Grand ‘Great Streets’ road diet:”

The poll, open until 8pm, is at the top of the right sidebar. The answers are provided in random order.

— Steve Patterson