Calif. Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban : NPR
By Cara | May 27, 2009
The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. But it also ruled that an estimated 18,000 gay couples who wed before the law took effect will remain married.
via Calif. Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban : NPR.
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Metro Service in the 8th Ward
By Cara | May 27, 2009
It looks like Metro services to 8th ward residents will either be increased or extended. Here are some of the proposed changes:
57 Manchester
The 57 Manchester would no longer serve the Grand MetroLink Station, but service would be provided between Wildwood and the Civic Center MetroBus Center seven days a week. Weekday and Saturday service would operate every 30-minutes between the Civic Center MetroBus Center and Barrett Station Road, and every 60-minutes to Wildwood. Sunday service would operate every 40-minutes between the Civic Center MetroBus Center and Barrett Station Road, and every 80-minutes to Wildwood.
59 Shaw
Service would extend to the Webster Groves area, ending at the Rock Hill Loop via Brentwood Boulevard, Kirkham Road, Elm Avenue, and Lockwood. All trips would serve Maplewood Commons. Weekday and Saturday service would operate every 30-minutes during daytime service and every 60-minutes during evening service. Sunday service would operate every 60-minutes all-day.
70 Grand
Weekday service would change from operating every 15-minutes to every 12-minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Service would extend to Broadway and Taylor until 9:30 p.m. These changes are proposed because of heavy passenger loads.
Metro is seeking public comment about the proposed transit service restoration plan. Comments may be forwarded by email to restoration2009@metrostlouis.org or by phone at (314) 335-3433. You may also address comments to: Metro, Attn: Planning-Restoration 2009, 707 N. 1st Street, St. Louis MO 63102. All comments must be received by 5:00 P.M. on Monday, June 8. If you are hearing impaired and wish to comment, you may call TTY at (314) 982-1509.
Click here to view the entire metro service enhancement plan
Topics: 8th Ward, newsletter | No Comments »
Obama chooses Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court
By Cara | May 26, 2009
from my.BarackObama.com:
I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
This decision affects us all — and so it must involve us all. I’ve recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and explain why I’m so confident she will make an excellent Justice.
Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.
Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America’s finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.
A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:
http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourt
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
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Ecology of Absence: $5.3 Million in Block Grants Coming
By Cara | May 20, 2009
Thanks to Michael R. Allen via Ecology of Absence: $5.3 Million in Block Grants Coming.
A blog entry on MayorSlay.com reports that the city of St. Louis expects to receive $5.3 million in additional Community Development Block Grant funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and that there is a May 22 deadline for applications. Apparently, the city received a notice from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 6. The funds are prioritized for “hard development costs” associated with infrastructure activities that provide basic services to residents or activities that promote energy efficiency through rehabilitation or retrofitting of existing buildings.
The link to the application forms is here.
These funds can do a lot of good for the city, especially because they are expressly available for existing buildings. Hopefully neighborhood organizations are ready to jump at this chance!
Topics: 8th Ward, St. Louis, newsletter | No Comments »
Crank and Click to benefit BicycleWorks
By Cara | May 20, 2009
Title: Crank and Click to benefit BicycleWorks
Description: Crank and Click is a city wide bicycle and digital camera scavenger hunt.
Teams will be given a list of items around the city to take pictures of. Most items will be objects located around the city. A special list will be items located in Tower Grove Park for players with children. Each item has a point value associated with it. The teams will have 2 hours to get pictures of as many items as possible. The hunt will start and end at The Atomic Cowboy. Remember, this is a bicycle scavenger hunt! No cars allowed. To qualify for point all pictures require your bike and at least one member of your team in them. Participants must provide their own camera\’s and bicycles. Camera\’s must have digital display so that pictures can be seen from them.
For families with children who want to participate, SCOSAG will be placing items to take pictures of and interact with around Tower Grove Park. This way you can drive over to the park and take pictures without riding on the road with your children.
The hunt will cost $10 to enter per adult player and $1 per child under 10. Money generated from the hunt will be donated to BicycleWORKS.
\”The primary objective of BicycleWORKS is to increase the probability of positive life outcomes for “at-risk” youths in the Saint Louis area. This is accomplished by providing them the incentive and opportunity to develop their academic, vocational, and social skills through our Earn-A-Bike Program.\”
This is not a race. All participants are expected to follow the rules of the road and exercise the utmost safety while riding around town.
For more information, visit our website: http://www.WillCycleforCharity.com
After the ride join us for dinner and drinks at the Cowboy!
Date: 2009-05-23
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Food Stamp Stimulus Monies in Missouri
By Cara | May 20, 2009
Missouri’s food stamp recipients increased 15.2% in the past year…
from Stateline.org:
Food stamp stimulus hits state economies
By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer
States quietly launched a multi-billion-dollar boost in food stamp funding last month that experts say is more likely than any other stimulus program to jolt the moribund economy back to life.”People who receive these benefits are hard-pressed and will spend any financial aid they receive very quickly,” said Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi. Every $1 spent on the food assistance program adds $1.73 to local economies because an uptick in food sales creates related jobs and further consumer spending.
In April, 32.5 million low-income recipients got their first monthly bonus - a 13.6 percent increase in benefits, averaging about $20 more per person - under the Obama administration’s stimulus plan. Slated to pump $20 billion into the market over five years, the stimulus plan gives each recipient more buying power but does not affect the number of enrollees.
It’s up to states to sign up the burgeoning ranks of the unemployed and others whose incomes have plummeted in this recession, and they have every incentive to do so. All of the benefits and about half of administrative costs are paid for by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Missouri, newsletter | No Comments »
Diversity in Supreme Court?
By Cara | May 20, 2009
from Brennan Center for Justice:
A recent poll shows that most Americans do not feel strongly about the role that diversity should play in the selection of a Supreme Court nominee. Sixty-four percent of respondents said it “doesn’t matter” to them if President Obama nominates a woman; sixty-eight percent were uninterested in whether Obama had selected a Hispanic nominee, and 74% said “it doesn’t matter whether the first African American president appoints a black justice.” Mark Silva, Americans Not Concerned with Diversity on Supreme Court, Poll Shows, Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2009.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-supreme-court-poll14-2009may14,0,2842269.story
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