Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalSt. Louis Symphony Cancels Fall Concerts, Plans Online Content
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is canceling its scheduled concerts through at least the end of the year because of the coronavirus. The organization plans to ramp up its offerings of new content online while Powell Hall remains closed to the public.
St. Louis Department of Health regulations allow for large venues to reopen at up to 75% of audience capacity. But it’s still not safe to gather the full orchestra or perform for audiences, Music Director Stéphane Denève said Tuesday.
“The situation deteriorated quite strongly in July,” Denève said of coronavirus case counts, which began steadily rising in St. Louis after local and regional officials relaxed stay-at-home orders in June.
The organization announced that it will resume its 2020-21 season as scheduled in January, but its leaders conceded that any reopening date remains tentative and depends on the state of coronavirus spread.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2020-08-11/st-louis-symphony-cancels-fall-concerts-plans-online-content
Krewson Considers Renewed Restrictions As Coronavirus Spreads Throughout St. Louis
St. Louis businesses could again see new rules limiting crowds and other restrictions to keep the coronavirus from spreading.
City officials are weighing the decision to put more rules in place, Mayor Lyda Krewson said on Monday during a livestreamed chat. The virus is more widespread across the city, and the rate of people testing positive is still too high, she said.
“We are considering making some additional restrictions, and we’ll probably visit with you about that … unless the numbers get better in the next couple of days,” Krewson said. “The restrictions we are considering would likely reduce some capacity guidelines.”
Any restrictions would likely take into account the younger age of coronavirus patients, Krewson said. Half the people who have tested positive in the week ending Sunday were in their 20s and 30s.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2020-08-11/krewson-considers-renewed-restrictions-as-coronavirus-spreads-throughout-st-louis?
Missouri Legislators Will Consider Special Session Violent Crime Bills Individually
The Missouri House announced Tuesday it is breaking up Gov. Mike Parson’s tough-on-crime package of special session legislation into one-subject bills.
House Speaker Elijah Haahr said the House is breaking up the package into single subjects to “protect the integrity of the lawmaking process.”
This comes after Parson announced Monday an addition to the package that would allow the attorney general to prosecute crimes in St. Louis.
The House had been expected to wrap up Wednesday but now won’t take up the individual bills until Aug. 24.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2020-08-10/parson-wants-attorney-general-to-intervene-in-st-louis-murder-prosecutions?
Do-It-Yourself Contact Tracing for 1.3 Million: A Union Jumps In
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is stepping in where the government has failed, running its own coronavirus contact-tracing program for 1.3 million members.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak hit, the union has sent agents into grocery stores, meatpacking plants and food-processing facilities. They talk to workers and comb work schedules to figure out who might have been exposed. Then, they notify the employer’s human resources department and direct workers to free testing sites, some provided by the union.
The program fills a void left by the Trump administration, which has failed to create a national test-and-trace regimen -- and is an active advertisement for a labor movement that’s been waning for decades. Local health departments, which usually perform the function, have been overwhelmed by a disease that has sickened more than 4.8 million Americans and killed more than 158,000. And in any event, testing delays make contact tracing impractical in many areas.
In such disarray, workers must fend for themselves, said Marc Perrone, international president of the union.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-10/with-official-systems-swamped-union-gets-into-contact-tracing?
Students, Landlords Overwhelmed As Wash U Restricts On-Campus Housing Options
Some Washington University students are scrambling to find apartments after the university announced last week that it would decrease available on-campus housing to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
After Wash U announced its plans on July 31, students flooded Facebook groups to find housing near the school’s campus west of Forest Park.
“Hi there! A sad and confused Wash U senior here,” started one message from a sorority member looking for housing for herself and three friends. Other students described themselves as “scrambling” in social media posts.
The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in St. Louis has increased by 15% in the past year, according to Zumper’s National Rent Report. Several real estate offices leasing apartments told St. Louis Public Radio they’re now receiving far more applications than they have units to lease.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2020-08-09/students-landlords-overwhelmed-as-wash-u-restricts-on-campus-housing-options?
How a global board games giant exploited Ireland's Magdalene
It’s almost impossible to think of my childhood in 1980s Dublin and not to think about Elsie. Elsie, my great aunt, was hilarious, caring, kind hearted, and good natured. But there was a strange, childlike innocence about her.
She was, I would later figure out, institutionalised by a totalitarian regime that had corruption and cruelty built into its DNA.
When we normally think of the Magdalene laundry scandals, the era most of us tend to associate it with is the Catholic theocracy of the 1950s. Black and white photos of women with scowls on their faces and nuns in white robes. It’s something we recognise from films. But not something we associate with modern Ireland.
As recently as the 1980s and 1990s, though, I remember witnessing at first hand, this world, where fervent religiosity melded with an invisible, and profitable economy. Elsie lived, and worked, in one of those infamous convent homes.
http://littleatoms.com/penance-industry
This is a fairly long piece but I hope that some can find time to give it a read and understand how these women were exploited by a very brutal system.
How a global board games giant exploited Ireland's Magdalene
t’s almost impossible to think of my childhood in 1980s Dublin and not to think about Elsie. Elsie, my great aunt, was hilarious, caring, kind hearted, and good natured. But there was a strange, childlike innocence about her.
She was, I would later figure out, institutionalised by a totalitarian regime that had corruption and cruelty built into its DNA.
When we normally think of the Magdalene laundry scandals, the era most of us tend to associate it with is the Catholic theocracy of the 1950s. Black and white photos of women with scowls on their faces and nuns in white robes. It’s something we recognise from films. But not something we associate with modern Ireland.
As recently as the 1980s and 1990s, though, I remember witnessing at first hand, this world, where fervent religiosity melded with an invisible, and profitable economy. Elsie lived, and worked, in one of those infamous convent homes.
http://littleatoms.com/penance-industry
Cori Bush Upsets Lacy Clay In Congressional Democratic Primary
Missouri’s 1st Congressional District will have a new Democratic candidate for the first time in more than 20 years, after Cori Bush defeated longtime Rep. Lacy Clay in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.
“Tonight, Missouri’s 1st has decided that an incremental approach isn’t going to work any longer,” Bush, of Florissant, said at a celebration of her victory Tuesday night. “We decided that we the people, we have the answers and we will lead from the front lines.”
Bush, 44, ran on a progressive agenda saying Clay, of University City, had been in office too long and hadn’t done enough for the residents of the district. She defeated Clay by about 4,600 votes.
Bush is favored to win in November since the 1st District is mainly Democratic. If elected, she would become the state's first Black woman in Congress.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2020-08-04/cori-bush-upsets-lacy-clay-in-congressional-democratic-primary?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium
Galloway wins Democratic nomination for Missouri governor's race
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Latest on the Missouri primary election (all times local):
State Auditor Nicole Galloway has won the Democratic nomination for Missouri governor.
Galloway, 38, faced four other Democrats with little statewide name recognition. She was the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate currently in statewide office and the only candidate to have won a statewide campaign previously.
Galloway is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who served as lieutenant governor until taking over in 2018 when former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens resigned in scandal.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/politics/galloway-wins-democratic-nomination-for-missouri-governors-race/63-d3fd98ac-3cc3-4419-9507-1d5f175744ba
'Election Insiders' Goes Behind The Scenes With St. Louis County Elections Board
From hanging-chad jokes to complaints about absentee ballots, election workers have heard it all. But there’s one question Gloria Shur Bilchik says they dislike the most: “What do you do the other 364 days of the year?”
Bilchik’s new book answers that question with eye-opening detail. And, in the final chapter, the Creve Coeur resident explains what they do on Election Day, too.
“Election Insiders: Behind the Scenes With the People Who Make Your Vote Count” is the result of the 18 months Bilchik spent observing the St. Louis County Board of Elections. It is her first book, and in it, she presents St. Louis County as a microcosm of the challenges faced by election boards across the country.
Those challenges are especially acute this year, as the coronavirus continues to ravage the nation.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2020-08-03/tuesday-election-insiders-goes-behind-the-scenes-with-st-louis-county-elections-board?
Profile Information
Gender: MaleCurrent location: U.S.
Member since: Sat May 13, 2006, 07:37 AM
Number of posts: 38,958
