Clay & Carnahan: Partisan Redistricting Plan Would Screw Over St. Louis Region

Ok, so maybe that wasn't their exact wording, but I think it covers the basic idea. Here's their joint press release:

Clay and Carnahan Say Missouri Congressional Redistricting Map Fails the Fairness Test, Weakens St. Louis Region

-WASHINGTON, DC- In a joint statement issued today Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri and Congressman Russ Carnahan (D) Missouri objected to the proposed congressional redistricting map for Missouri as "overly partisan, damaging to the St. Louis region, and unfair to communities of common cultural and historical interests.":

"We are extremely disappointed that the Missouri House Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting has produced a map that emphasizes partisanship over fairness," said Mr. Clay and Mr. Carnahan.

"The population of the St. Louis metropolitan area clearly justifies three congressional districts.

"We are surprised that the committee chose to weaken representation for our region, which is the economic engine that drives Missouri's economy.

"Historically, the City of St. Louis has been represented by two Members of Congress who strongly advocated for neighborhoods of like interests.

"This proposed map ignores vital historical and cultural considerations which should be taken into account in this process.

"The current proposal is unfair and it ignores the best interests of the people of Missouri and the entire St. Louis region."

BTW, I'm not so sure this plan doesn't screw over Kansas City as well. It sure looks like a blatantly partisan power-grab meant to disenfranchise half of the state's voters.

Phyllis Schlafly Vs. The Facts

Another great post from Hotflash at Show Me Progress about the Ed Martin forum where Martin supporters where outnumbered and outdebated by supporters of the Affordable Care Act. This one is of Phyllis Schlafly's factually-challenged speech about "Obamacare:"

Sean at Fired Up Missouri also had a nice roundup of the coverage of Ed Martin's failed event.

Cherokee Photobooth Donates Profits From Holiday Cards to Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates (MIRA)

Good friend of the blog (or at least of the blogger) Juan Montana will be donating 50% of his profits from his business Cherokee Photobooth to the important local organization MIRA. So if you need some holiday pics, you know where to go! Here's the announcement:

The Cherokee Photobooth is offering a very generous 50% of their profit to the Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates for all of the Holiday pictures they take each Thursday and Friday from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm between now and Christmas! Just remember to mention MIRA when you go to have your picture taken! They take great and fun photos! And the price is right!

This Saturday: Transformation Project Walk

Trinity and Sheridan reiterate their demands for "We Demand"; Holy Trinity Catholic School students map their neighborhood in Hyde Park; Theaster Gates explains what "the Master plan" is about. This Saturday, 2010 Whitney Biennial winner Theaster Gates' exhibition will open as part of the "Transformation Project Walk," and Holy Trinity Catholic School will showcase related works by its students.

Over the past few weeks, I've notified all you activists of panel discussions at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. These discussions sprung from the Transformation series and largely focused on how art can encourage social change. While all this discussing has been going on within the Ando building, the Pulitzer has been putting the panelists' ideas to the test by doing a lot of doing within the community.

This Saturday, the Pulitzer will host the Transformation Project Walk, a chain of exhibits, which represent the achievements of this spring's programs. Delights include refurbished furniture by Employment Connection clients, a display on sustainable design from Construction Careers Center, an exhibition of salvaged urban relics and blueprints for Hyde Park by children who live there. There will be a free shuttle service and a closing reception in the Pulitzer's courtyard. For a full description of the May 15 event, visit this page.

You may be wondering how these programs fit with the Pulitzer, which is essentially an art institution. In which case, listen to Director Matthias Waschek talk about the Pulitzer's mission as a "laboratory" in this video. In this video, Community Engagement Coordinator Lisa Harper Chang describes some of the rationale behind Transformation.

The Transformation Project Walk is an open event, but feel free to RSVP on Facebook.

This Thursday: Food, Art, and Community

Panelist Gwenne Stewart-Hayes, Executive Director of Gateway Greening, describes City Seeds, an urban farm located in downtown St. Louis.

For those of you who didn't make Sunday's Earth Day celebration, there's still a chance this week to mingle with the green at heart. This Thursday evening, the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts will host "Food, Art, and Community," its final panel discussion in a series fired by its current exhibition Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark. Gordon Matta-Clark and fellow artists ran a restaurant called "Food" in 1970s SoHo, which turned cooking into performance art and provided a common space for the neighborhood to cultivate creative ventures. This week's panelists will talk about how art can work together with sustainable produce, urban farming and farmers' markets to foster community and urban renewal. You can RSVP to this event on Facebook.

Another Media FAIL on Proposition A

I understand the need for journalists to strive for objectivity. The way in which information is presented is important, and if we didn't have journalists that at least attempted to be unbiased in their reporting (whether or not they are ultimately successful), it would be extremely hard for news consumers get the information they need to form educated opinions. But modern day journalists often seem to operate using a warped notion that defines "objectivity" as simply taking down quotes from two opposing sides of an issue, even when clear facts are available. In my opinion, not only does this warped notion result in less informed readers, it actually defeats the original purpose of the quest for objectivity.

Take this recent story by the Beacon on Proposition A, the 1/2 of 1 percent sales tax increase needed to preserve and expand public transportation in St. Louis. The article begins with a focus on the pro-transit campaign, and then shifts to an interview with John Burns, whom I've profiled here, about opposition to the campaign. The author writes:

A major sore point for Citizens for Better Transit [the tea party group opposed to Prop A] is Washington University, which it alleges gets thousands of passes for its students and staff at a greatly reduced price.

She then included the response from Chancellor Mark Wrighton, who pointed out that the university is simply using a program at Metro that offers a reduced rate to any institution that buys in bulk. So the idea that Washington University is getting a "special deal" is ridiculous. This is nothing more than the fact that groups that buy in bulk get stuff at cheaper rates.

Yet, the author then goes back to quote another Metro critic, Tom Sullivan, as follows:

They don't have the deficit they're claiming and they're spending money on things they shouldn't be like subsidies for Washington University.

Here's what makes no sense. Why present this as a "person 1 said A, person 2 said not A" type of issue? There is a simple fact to the matter. All the reporter (Kathie Sutin) would need to do to answer the question is simply to ask Metro if this deal is available to other businesses.

Given that there is a fact to the matter, what possible value is there in simply presenting quotes from both sides? Beacon readers would be more informed on the issue if reality was plainly stated. By presenting the issue as something questionable, the Beacon is actually presenting a story that is not objective, because it is presenting information as questionable that is in fact true, and does so to the advantage of an anti-transit campaign that is working hard to misinform voters.

It's time to do away with the notion of "objectivity" that thinks that the way to be unbiased is to simply present two sides of the issues, even when there are clear, verifiable facts available (it's also worth noting that the way the media chooses the two "sides" is itself biased; the far right's opinion will always be included, but people to the left of the Democratic Party will generally be completely excluded from conversation). The anti-transit group's talking point that Wash U is getting a special deal is simply false, and the media needs to start working harder to inform their readers of basic facts like this.

"Day of Decision" Rally on Tuesday

The California Supreme Court has announced that it will be ruling on the legal challenge to Proposition 8 this Tuesday, May 26. Supporters of marriage equality will rally across the nation regardless of the decision.

Ed Reggi of Show Me No Hate is organizing a rally in St. Louis to be held at City Hall on Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. From the Show Me No Hate blog:

A pro-Equality court decision would help fortify our community against what could be difficult years of economic strain and scapegoating.

A[n] anti-Equality court decision would likely fuel the heightened level of violence already recorded against the LGBTQ community across our nation. It will embolden more bigotry and homophobia.

If the court overturns Prop 8, we will all be celebrating. If the court upholds the proposition, we will all unite in protest. "We must pack our City Hall to stand in solidarity with California and the world," Reggi said. Please join us downtown on Tuesday evening as we stand united for equality!


Cross-posted to The Quixotic Pragmatist

Public Schools and Urban Renewal

I've been a resident of St. Louis for six years. For the past two years, I've lived on Lindell Boulevard, just across the street from SLU's law school, where I am a student. Before that, I was a student at WashU and lived mostly in campus housing. My senior year, I ventured out into the real world and got a place in Clayton about a block from campus. I always thought of myself as a relatively well-informed citizen- I read the student newspaper and the Post-Dispatch, occasionally caught the local evening news. But I realized how sheltered my experience had been when I read this New York Times article.

The article is about a student who attends Beaumont High School, part of- as the article put it- "a city school system in which poverty, politics and mismanagement so closely conspire against the likes of her that the state recently decided to take it over." I knew the public schools in the city had some problems, I even knew that they had lost their accreditation, but I didn't know that Beaumont High School is two miles from my apartment.

Two miles away, and I had never heard of it or the problems its students face. The audio slide show accompanying the article explains that Beaumont administration officials estimate that 1 in 10 students is homeless, 2 in 10 are precariously housed, and 3 in 10 will be homeless at some point in the school year. Eighty percent of the school's students qualify for free or discounted school lunches.

Those statistics make the poverty component pretty clear, but what other problems do the schools face? A 2007 report from the Missouri State Teachers Association explains that there are 14 performance standards that contribute to accreditation. A school must meet nine standards for full accreditation and six for provisional accreditation. St. Louis Public Schools met four, and its accreditation was rescinded.

After losing accreditation, state law dictated that a three-member Special Administrative Board be appointed. The elected members of the former school board brought suit against the state, arguing against the appointed board, but the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the state takeover.

The current 2008-2009 school year has proved a testing ground for the members of the Special Administrative Board, who had to deal with, among other things, a $30 million budget deficit. This Post-Dispatch editorial explains that the Board's first priority is "restoring order, stability, and a business-like approach to the district." The editorial is a little unclear about actual steps being taken at the moment, but does make a vague reference to "long-term structural and governance changes to the system." For now, it seems like the Special Administrative Board is doing its best to keep the district minimally functional.

The problems facing the St. Louis Public Schools are extremely difficult, and there are a lot of opinions with regard to the best way to fix it. One solution that's been in the news lately: charter schools.

Late last month, the Post-Dispatch's education blog reported that the state school board issued approval for two new charter schools to open in the 2009-2010 school year, Grand Community School and KIPP St. Louis. Grand Community will be sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis and KIPP will be sponsored by Washington University. KIPP is part of a national program of charter schools and plans to eventually open five schools in St. Louis.

One major obstacle standing in the way of charter schools, deed restrictions on former public school buildings, was removed just last week. District-wide sale terms were set in 2007, prohibiting the sale of shuttered school buildings to charter schools for 100 years. The Riverfront Times reported on the struggles of one would-be administrator of a proposed charter school, St. Louis Language Immersion Schools. Rhonda Broussard had found an abandoned building perfect for her school, but it was subject to the 100-year deed restriction and thus unavailable for her purposes. On April 17th, the St. Louis Public School Board voted to lift the restrictions.

Charter schools are not a magical fix. This Slate article focuses specifically on KIPP schools, but a lot of its analysis can be applied to charter schools generally: many charter schools succeed by requiring more from their students. A lot more. Long hours, a high degree of parental involvement, rigorous coursework. That makes sense, since a lot of these students begin with significant educational deficits and it takes a lot of hard work to essentially "catch them up." So even with a lottery system in place, this tends to be a self-selecting group. Families unwilling or unable to put in the time and effort will choose not to utilize a charter school.

Personally, I don't think this is an argument against charter schools. I think it's important to recognize that they are not a system-wide solution, but I also think it's important to acknowledge that they can be a solution for some students and their families. At this point, we need all the solutions we can get.

What will solve the over-arching problem? Well, I think the first step is to not be like me- blissfully unaware of the problems facing the community in which you live. A 2006 school board election drew only 12% of eligible voters. Mayor Francis Slay concluded that "there's no constituency for urban public schools." That's shameful, it really is. As residents of St. Louis, we all need to be more invested in our community and aware of its challenges. Not just because it's the right thing to do (although it is...), but because the public schools in St. Louis don't exist in a vacuum. They don't only affect the families whose children attend. There will never be any meaningful "revitalization" of the city if the schools do not improve.

Steve Patterson, who writes the excellent Urban Review STL, wrote in 2006 that the problems that plague St. Louis schools are the problems that plague St. Louis City- "concentrated poverty, lack of nearby jobs and poor housing." I realize that the City is diverse, and this is a gross overgeneralization, but the current population doesn't really provide a sustainable model. It's largely downtown businesses, young (largely single, largely childless) people in rehabs and lofts, and the very poor. That isn't a viable community; the city needs mixed-income neighborhoods with all kinds of families. Those kinds of neighborhoods attract business and investment and jobs, which in turn attract more families. But that will never happen if the schools don't improve. People who have the resources to live elsewhere will not move to the city and send their children to the city schools if they continue to under-perform.

Educational reform is a complicated topic, and there are a lot of people better-qualified to propose solutions. I'm not an educator, I have no experience in school administration. But I do think it's important for people who care about St. Louis to recognize the integral role that schools play in the life of a community. Whenever the topic of urban renewal comes up, there are a lot of ideas tossed around-improved mass transit, historic tax credits, mixed-income housing, etc. Schools need to be a part of the discussion as well.

Tea Party Redux

First, I'd like to thank Adam for letting me post. I've never written for a group blog before, and on my personal blog I occasionally dabble in politics but really, just as often, I write about buying new shoes. So we'll see how this goes.

Do you know what's happening in downtown St. Louis on April 15? The St. Louis Tea Party. This is an anti-tax protest organized by two radio personalities from the local Fox News Radio affiliate, 97.1 FM. It's actually a repeat of the first tea party protest in St. Louis, which took place on February 27 and turned up gems like this protest sign: "Let's Keep the Tea, Dump the Politicions." The protest was largely in response to the passage of the stimulus bill- you can read the Post-Dispatch article here. The P-D also ran an editorial a few days later, suggesting that it might be counterproductive to dump tea into the Mississippi River when a lot of people in our community are struggling to buy food. According to the editorial, one in six Missourians is eligible for federal nutritional assistance. Of course, people on food stamps probably qualify as free loaders, right?

The tea party protests aren't confined to St. Louis, this is actually a nationwide movement. The national website, Tax Day Tea Party, explains that the protests are a response to CNBC's Rick Santelli and his attempts to "expose the bankrupt liberal agenda of the White House and Congress." I've read the "About" sections on both the national and local protest websites, and looked through photos from the February 27 protest in St. Louis in order to read the signs and placards of the protesters, and I'm still not 100% clear on what is being protested. Here are some possibilities:

1) "Big government," which seems to mean a government that spends money in any way with which you disagree.

2) As seen in the above-linked photo, free loaders. Unclear who qualifies. My student loans are subsidized through federal programs, am I a free loader? Probably.

3) People who don't have jobs. See here.

4) Income tax and payroll tax. No, really.

5) The Congressional habit of passing legislation without actually reading it. This is actually a really valid argument, and CBS has a nice article outlining the problem. Pushing through legislation without adequate time for review is how we ended up with the USA PATRIOT Act. But I don't think tossing some tea into the river will do much to implement what is, in the end, a massive reform of Congressional practice.

6) National health care.

7) I actually have no idea what this man is protesting, but he's definitely upset. About something.

8) Socialism. This is an oldie but a goodie. I know it's become a reflexive argument for a lot of people on the right, but it's also really lazy, and it makes it clear that they have zero understanding of differing economic theories. Socialism is not the same as communism, nor is it the same as Marxism, nor is it the same as liberalism. This article is a useful breakdown of liberalism v. socialism. I know it's not very fun, it doesn't make for snappy slogans to put on your protest signs, but it really is important to understand the evolution of economic thought and the ways in which different schools of economic thought continue to shape the policies of our country and others. Robert L. Heilbroner wrote an excellent primer on economic theories, The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers. The book ranges from Smith to Malthus and Ricardo, covering the utopian socialists and then on to Marx and Veblen and Keynes. Maybe that guy should read it.

In the end, I have to agree with Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly:

I suspect one of the problems with the Tea Parties is that it's not altogether clear what they're rallying for. They're conservatives who don't like the Democratic domestic policy agenda; this much is clear. But usually there's some kind of point to organized political events, and the Tea Parties are still a little vague.

I take it they don't like the economic stimulus package, but that's already passed. They don't like budget deficits, unless they're run by Republican presidents. They don't want their taxes to go up, but Obama has already passed a significant middle-class tax cut, which by most measures, is the largest tax cut ever signed by a U.S. president.

So, angry, right-wing activists are going to get together to demand ... what exactly? A 36% top rate instead of a 39.6% top rate? A $3.1 trillion federal budget instead of a $3.5 trillion budget? It's hardly the stuff of a credible and coherent political movement.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the April 15 protests, here and around the country. Keep an eye out for the protesters if you're downtown- the St. Louis protest site has details. Maybe there will be a more coherent articulation of their demands, maybe not. Either way I bet there'll be more fun stuff like this- yeah, it's juvenile. But c'mon, that's funny.

As St. Louis Goes, So Does Missouri

Thanks Adam for inviting me to post. I've already made my email to Senator Schmidt concerning SB 477. I cannot communicate how imperative mass transit is to a vibrant community, viable economy, and sustainable ecology.

An Open Letter to Governor Jay Nixon:

Public transit in the state of Missouri is in crisis. Most states realize that public transit is essential to building a strong regional economy. Missouri, unfortunately, continues to see public transit as a "local" (i.e. urban) issue and, worse, fails to understand the economic role public transit plays state-wide. As a result, Metro is facing a 43% reduction in service - a reduction that will have disastrous effects on the largest economy (St. Louis metro) of the the state. These effects include lost state and local tax revenues and - at the same time - increased need for state and locally-funded social services, lost economic activity, lost productivity, and more - all on a potentially massive scale. If these effects are left unchecked and the economy of the largest population center in the state allowed to sink, the effects on the state-wide economy will be catastrophic. Thus, it is imperative that the state of Missouri ensures the economic vitality of its largest urban area by FUNDING its public transit system, METRO.

Mass transit stimulates economic activity by getting people to work and school and by providing access to shopping, entertainment venues, childcare, and medical facilities. It provides opportunities to participate for sections of the population that would otherwise be left out of both the economy and the community. Mass transit provides access to libraries, museums, community centers, churches and other places that increase social capital of the entire region. Public transit systems attract quality employers AND the quality citizens who work for these employers. In short, mass transit improves the quality of life of all citizens - even those who do not directly use the system regularly such as myself. It is the backbone of a strong economy and a viable community.

Other states provide as much as HALF of public transit funding for their metropolitan areas. The state of Missouri needs to step up to the plate and fund Metro to ensure economic viability of the St. Louis metro region and, ultimately, the state. It is unfortunate the prejudiced attitude and lack of understanding of many of Missouri's residents concerning the need for mass transit. Worse, this attitude often extends to those in positions of power. The petty maneuvering and refusals to work together for the common good continue to prevent St. Louis and the state from living up to its significant potential. It is time to lead by example and demand that agencies work together and shift funding from one-time projects that offer little return or benefit only a select few to long term investments in infrastructure for the common good: an efficient, reliable mass transit system serving the major metropolitan area of the state and its outlying suburban communities. Every successful urban area in the US has such a system. And every state with a successful urban area benefits economically statewide. Will St. Louis and Missouri join the ranks of these successful regions or continue to lag in economic development, opportunity, quality of life, and community cohesiveness? Will ignorance, prejudice, and petty rivalry continue to keep St. Louis and Missouri in the realm of the "flyover" or will educated leadership create a vibrant community that lures the best companies and citizens to the region? I can only hope for the best. You can make it happen. Thank you.

Lori Allen
Maplewood, MO.