The St Louis Contrarian

Providing Independent and Intelligent Insight on St. Louis Public Policy Issues

Archive for the tag “covid”

24 May 2021

Why St. Louis is a Mess

Just some random examples of the mess we are in.

1. New mayor Tashaura Jones is elected, crime is at an all time high, and she wants to cut police budget.

2. The same mayor is trying to end support to the Foundary Project which is one of the few new projects in St. Louis and had already received city support. This decision makes no sense and puts ideology over practicality.

3. Metro Link, our light rail system is a haven of crime. Bi state which runs Metro Link won’t let cops carry guns while patrolling the trains. Furthermore, the three police departments who do this patrolling cannot communicate with each other over their respective radios.

4. There are concrete barriers blocking lanes on many of the streets in the downtown. Why? Because bad guys had been racing cars.

5. The covid vaccination program at the Dome was a big bust because we can’t get people from the black community to come down and get shots.

Written by Paul Dribin

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18 May 2021

Illinois targets money to landlords to help tenants

www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/illinois-preps-to-give-away-1-5-billion-in-federal-rent-aid/article_c9dbc2fe-9d27-563a-a90c-863a35dadda6.html

A good idea. Much better than pure eviction moratorium which hurts landlords.

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05 May 2021

Moratorium on Evictions

A federal court has stopped the federal moratorium on evictions during covid. This was an expected decision. I have never known how you could pass a moratorium on evictions that nullified a contract between the landlord and tenant and deprived the landlord of their property rights under the constitution. If the goal was to prevent evictions, then the landlord needed to be made whole in each case with payment. Many of these tenants arrears have nothing to do with covid and others face eviction for damaging the unit or drug use; not non payment of rent. Others were behind on their rent before covid. The court made a sensible decision. Written by Paul Dribin

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23 Feb 2021

Covid Relief Bill and Politics

it is a mystery to me why Republicans don ‘t support the Covid relief package put forth by President Biden. It is hugely popular and will help Republican as well as Democratic constituents. I guess they are more focused on opposing anything Democrats propose than on getting anything done. Written by Paul Dribin

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26 Jan 2021

Missouri Has Lowest Rate of Covid Vaccinations in the Country

www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/tony-messenger/messenger-slow-vaccination-pace-is-another-dubious-victory-in-missouris-race-to-the-bottom/article_d8f43bda-61ad-51d6-8874-7d62f87f16f7.html

Tony Messenger points out that Missouri ranks at or near the bottom of a lot of important public health measures.

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24 Jan 2021

Evictions

Eviction filings have increased dramatically in the St. Louis area and across the country. A moratorium on evictions does not mean that evictions will not be filed. What will happen when moratoriums are lifted is not pretty. There could be massive evictions and homelessness. In addition small landlords in particular are hurting by not receiving rent payments. Any solution to this problem must include payments to landlords as well as tenants. Written by Paul Dribin

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24 Jan 2021

Can Biden Get His Agenda Through

I will add my two cents to the comments. This blog is supposed to comment on local issues but this affects us all. I do think there is a real chance to pass covid relief measures and an infrastructure bill. The Democrats need to remove things like raising the minimum wage from the covid bill. That was stuck in to appease the left wing of the party. I think there are enough Republicans who are willing to compromise. An infrastructure bill should also be able to pass providing there are not poison pills in it. Right now there is some posturing on both sides which is ok. Written by Paul Dribin

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03 Nov 2020

Covid Cases Significantly Up in St. Louis Region

Cases are up. Positivity rate is almost 9%. Dr. Sam Page, County Executive and Lyda Krewson, Mayor of St. Louis have issued stern warnings. It is sad to see the opposition that Page in particular has received. BobDylan’s song Idiot Wind is appropriate for our time. Written by Paul Dribin

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