Sunday Poll: Will Our Homicide Rate Be Less Than In 2017?

St. Louis had a record year in 2017, just not the type of record cities like: homicides.The St. Louis Police had complied statistics as of December 19, 2017.

Number of homicides:

• 2013: 120
• 2014: 159
• 2015: 188
• 2016: 188
• 2017: 199

Before the year was out a new chief was named and the total surpassed 200:

The homicide number for 2017 for the city of St. Louis is now standing at 203, the highest it’s ever been in more than 20 years.

The last time St. Louis had more than 200 homicides was back in 1995 when the number was 204.

The number is setting off alarms at City Hall and police headquarters, the President of the St. Louis Board of Alderman says the city is losing a population of youth to the violence. (KMOV)

So today’s poll is about homicides this year, 2018. Do you think a new chief with a new strategy will lower the rate, or will it be business as usual in tough neighborhoods?

This poll will close at 8pm, results and my thoughts on Wednesday.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen Week 29 of 2017-2018 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 29th week of the 2017-2018 session.

ELEVEN (11) NEW BOARD BILLS ON THE AGENDA* FOR INTRODUCTION TODAY 1/12/18:

*Note that just because a bill is on the agenda doesn’t mean it’ll be introduced, similarly, bills not on the agenda might be introduced if they suspend the rules to do so. This information is based on the published agenda as of yesterday @ 2pm:

• B.B.#228 – Coatar – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 701-705 North 1st Street.
• B.B.#229 – Spencer – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 3450 Oregon.
• B.B.#230 – Spencer – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 3024 Potomac.
• B.B.#231 – Spencer – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 3548 South Broadway.
• B.B.#232 – Davis –An Ordinance enlarging the boundaries of the Port Authority of the City Port District, subject to the approval of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, and authorizing certain actions in connection therewith.
• B.B.#233 – P. Boyd/Bosley/Moore/Davis/Williamson/J. Boyd/Kennedy/ Middlebrook/Muhammad/Hubbard/Pres. Reed –An ordinance amending Ordinance 69984 (which established the City of St. Louis Civilian Oversight Board, known as the “COB”) to empower the COB to issue subpoenas to compel the appearance of witnesses, produce documents, recordings and other evidence which the COB determines in its reasonable judgment are relevant and necessary to its thorough Inspection and Review of Complaints of misconduct by members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department which may be subject to COB Independent Investigation.
• B.B.#234 – Bosley/P. Boyd/Moore/Davis/Williamson/J. Boyd/Kennedy/ Middlebrook/Muhammad/Hubbard/Pres. Reed –An ordinance authorizing the Circuit Attorney’s Office to assume responsibility for investigating possible criminal conduct arising from or in relation to covered officers’ involvement in use of force incidents resulting in death or grave bodily injury to a person, and establishing an Independent Investigations Unit within the Office of the Circuit Attorney’s Office for this purpose with an annual budget in an amount equal to 1% of the annual budget of the City Division of Police, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#235 – Muhammad –Pursuant to Ordinance 68937, an ordinance authorizing the honorary naming of streets, Pastor Steven Shepard Lane will begin at the intersection of Shreve and Margaretta and run west on Margaretta to Marcus.
• B.B.#236 – Vaccaro –An Ordinance establishing a four-way stop site at the intersection of Clifton Avenue and Oleatha regulating all traffic traveling eastbound and westbound on Clifton at Oleatha and regulating all traffic traveling northbound and southbound on Clifton at Oleatha, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#237 – Muhammad/Bosley –Pursuant to Ordinance 68937, an ordinance authorizing the honorary naming of streets, Patricia Breeze Campbell Way will begin at the intersection of Grand and St. Louis, and run west on St. Louis to the intersection with Dodier.
• B.B.#238 – Martin –An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for 6132 & 7600 Vermont Ave. and 7806 & 7810 Virginia

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2017-2018 session.

— Steve Patterson

Opinion: Congress Needs To Reclassify Cannabis

Last week U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, by reversing the Cole memo, took away what little security the legal marijuana industry had.

The Cole memo was never intended to be a permanent fix to the problem posed by the conflict between states that chose to legalize marijuana and existing federal prohibitions. Written by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole in 2013, the memo gave the nation’s 93 U.S. Attorneys broad latitude to exercise prosecutorial discretion in states where marijuana had been legalized. (Mr. Cole, now in private practice, declined a request for comment for this story.) His memo was interpreted as a virtual hands-off rule, allowing medical and recreational marijuana programs to spread across the country at an unprecedented rate. Flimsy though it was, the Cole Memo nevertheless provided a measure of security for dispensary owners, growers and consumers and allowed investors to proceed with some confidence that their money was not going to be seized in a DEA sting. (Politico)

The permanent fix is to move it from a Schedule 1 drug to lower on the DEA’s list:

Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: 

heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote. (DEA)

Cocaine & meth are schedule 2 drugs — yes, cannabis is classified the same as LSD but less than cocaine!

Options are killing people daily, but the pain-killing ability of cannabis is ignored.

From April 2017:

Two Florida congressmen, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz and Democratic Representative Darren Soto, introduced legislation that would transfer marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act from its current standing as a Schedule I substance, the strictest of the classifications.

Having marijuana on a lower scale would uphold the rights of states that have legalized the use of it medically, allow for banking activities, and create a clearer path for research, Gaetz stated, “I have supported cannabis reform as a state legislator, and I want to see the people that I fought for in my state have access to a legal, high-quality product that’s been well-researched.” (Huffington Post)

Hopefully enough bi-partisan votes can can overcome objections from social conservatives from both parties.

Most of you likely agree, here are the results of the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: Agree or disagree: Kudos to AG Jeff Sessions for ending the 2013 rule that ignored states that legalized the recreational sale of a federal controlled substance

• Strongly agree 5 [11.11%]
• Agree 0 [0%]
• Somewhat agree 0 [0%]
• Neither agree or disagree 3 [6.67%]
• Somewhat disagree 1 [2.22%]
• Disagree 4 [8.89%]
• Strongly disagree 31 [68.89%]
• Unsure/No Answer 1 [2.22%]

If congress doesn’t act, perhaps the SCOTUS will decide a future case that changes the classification.

— Steve Patterson

Chain Retail Stores Closing at Hampton Village (JCPenny) & Chesterfield Mall (American Girl)

I can only think of one thing I purchased at JCPenny in Hampton Village since moving to St. Louis in 1990– a pair of Levi’s jeans about 5-10 years ago. My total lifetime purchases at JCPenny stores can be counted on both hands..maybe just one. My husband and I stopped there a few weeks ago so he could look for some jeans — he ended up buying them on Amazon.com. When JCPenny announced in March 2017 they were closing 138 stores nationwide I was shocked Hampton Village wasn’t on the list.

So it was no surprise to me when I saw a friend’s Facebook post about it closing. The last day is January 21st.

The Hampton Village Penney store opened in 1949. The chain had 10 stores in the St. Louis area in the early 1980s, according to Post-Dispatch archives. (Post-Dispatch)

I can’t believe that JCPenny has been renting this 50,000 square foot location for decades. I looked up records online and the real estate arm of Schnucks grocery, DESCO, has owned most to all of Hampton Village since 2011. I think JCPenny got a generous offer for their real estate and stayed around until the end of their leaseback

As I wrote when Macy’s was closing downtown, I’m no fan of department stores. The format of a register in each department within the store is so dated. Reminds me of visiting Sears as a kid in the 1970s. However, I’ve been shopping at the Target across the street once per month for most of my years in St. Louis.

Like JCPenny at Hampton Village, I only recall going inside Chesterfield Mall once — for a free movie screening within the last 5 years.  O don’t recall the movie, but I do recall the mall being dead.That has had an impact on at few stores, with one announcing it will soon close

American Girl, which opened at Chesterfield Mall in 2012, will close the St. Louis County store on Feb. 21.

 The company said it made the decision to close “based on the current challenges facing the mall property, which have adversely impacted our store’s business.”   (Post-Dispatch)

About the time American Girl opened in Chesterfield my great-niece, who lives in Oklahoma, was outgrowing her obsession with the dolls. Whew…no need to visit the store for a birthday gift. My hubby and ‘i were in Chesterfield shopping earlier this month, he bought new shoes at the Nike factory store at a very busy outlet mall — an outdoor mall on a very frigid day.

As a country we invested in drive to retail for decades. Thanks to technology and younger shoppers that is coning to an end. Brick & mortar retail will never cease, it just will look & feel very different.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Agree or Disagree With AG’s Decision on Marijuana Legalization?

On Thursday last week U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended a 2013 rule allowing federal prosecutors to ignore violations of federal marijuana laws, as long as state laws permit the activity.

The Department of Justice today issued a memo on federal marijuana enforcement policy announcing a return to the rule of law and the rescission of previous guidance documents. Since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970, Congress has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana.

In the memorandum, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directs all U.S. Attorneys to enforce the laws enacted by Congress and to follow well-established principles when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana activities. This return to the rule of law is also a return of trust and local control to federal prosecutors who know where and how to deploy Justice Department resources most effectively to reduce violent crime, stem the tide of the drug crisis, and dismantle criminal gangs.

“It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Therefore, today’s memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country.” (Department of Justice)

You can read the memo here. This return to enforcing existing controlled substance laws is the subject of today’s non-scientific poll.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson