May 1, 2019

Why Did St. Louis Get Hosed by the Rams? We're Clueless Yokels, Exec Says

A new Deadspin article that calls the Rams' deal with St. Louis "possibly the most sweetheart lease of all time" asks a question city boosters would be wise to ponder:

"Why on earth," author Neil deMause asks, do city officials working on stadium deals keep "negotiating themselves into corners?"

The answer comes from St. Louis' tortured history on this stuff — courtesy of an expert in that torture: John Nagourney, a former sports management executive who helped the Rams get one over on St. Louis.

As DeMause writes of city negotiators: "They don’t know what they’re doing, and they won’t ask for help."

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/05/01/why-did-st-louis-get-hosed-by-the-rams-were-clueless-yokels-exec-says

May 1, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS

There are around 3m Americans in various States who have paid their debt to society and are no longer incarcerated, on parole, or on probation, yet are denied the right to cast their vote in an election. State laws vary wildly as far as re-enfranchisement is concerned, with some never disenfranchising felons, and others permanently disenfranchising them. This patchwork of state laws is inherently unfair, as citizens are treated differently depending on their location.

America’s criminal justice system should be built around the idea of rehabilitation whenever possible. We should be working with anyone who has completed their prison term and any post-incarceration parole or probation to help them reintegrate into society.

By restoring full voting rights to ex-felons who have completed the entirety of their sentence, we’ll increase their engagement with society. This will improve their lives drastically, for obvious reasons. It will also make the rest of us safer, as some studies have shown that ex-felons who vote are half as likely to reoffend. By giving these individuals a larger stake in society, we make our entire country stronger.

"If you’ve paid your debt to society, you ought to be able to vote. This is particularly true given the hodgepodge of different treatment in different states. Voters are less likely to reoffend, which is only one reason we should be pushing for it."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/restore-voting-rights/

May 1, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS

There are around 3m Americans in various States who have paid their debt to society and are no longer incarcerated, on parole, or on probation, yet are denied the right to cast their vote in an election. State laws vary wildly as far as re-enfranchisement is concerned, with some never disenfranchising felons, and others permanently disenfranchising them. This patchwork of state laws is inherently unfair, as citizens are treated differently depending on their location.

America’s criminal justice system should be built around the idea of rehabilitation whenever possible. We should be working with anyone who has completed their prison term and any post-incarceration parole or probation to help them reintegrate into society.

By restoring full voting rights to ex-felons who have completed the entirety of their sentence, we’ll increase their engagement with society. This will improve their lives drastically, for obvious reasons. It will also make the rest of us safer, as some studies have shown that ex-felons who vote are half as likely to reoffend. By giving these individuals a larger stake in society, we make our entire country stronger.

"If you’ve paid your debt to society, you ought to be able to vote. This is particularly true given the hodgepodge of different treatment in different states. Voters are less likely to reoffend, which is only one reason we should be pushing for it."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/restore-voting-rights/

May 1, 2019

Burger King's Impossible Whopper Is Going Nationwide After STL Rollout

Ever since the Impossible Whopper's surprise launch on April 1, the wonder of the meatless burger's very-meat-like taste has been a boon — to St. Louis, which was selected as the sole test city for BK's tasty experiment.

For the last 29 days, we have had something no one else had. We were the only place in all of America you could get the Impossible Whopper.

However, in a shameful but expected act of capitalism, the company is now planning to make the Impossible Whopper part of its menu nationwide.

And for that, we can take some credit for being the forward-thinking, plant-loving, food-focused city we all know ourselves to be. The Impossible Whopper test in St. Louis went "exceedingly well," a Burger King spokesman said in a statement reported this morning in the trade publication Nation's Restaurant News, announcing the company's decision to wrench from St. Louis its most recently established regional delicacy and make it something common.

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/foodblog/2019/04/29/the-entire-us-is-now-getting-burger-kings-impossible-whopper-after-stl-rollout

May 1, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on CONTROL THE COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Prescription drugs in this country cost too much. Individual drugs change prices at the whims of those running pharmaceutical companies. Patent trolls can drive the prices of certain medications up while providing no value themselves to the US healthcare system. And while drug companies complain constantly about the high cost of research, they seem to overlook that almost all FDA-approved drugs over the past several years relied on research funded by the NIH. They also overlook the record-high profits they’ve been experiencing in recent years.

It’s making it impossible for Americans who need drugs to afford their treatment—many are choosing between their medicine and food or shelter.

We need to put pressure on these companies to get their prices under control, and more in line with the rest of the world.

"Millions of Americans are stressed out and going broke trying to afford prescription drugs, which can sometimes become drastically more expensive without warning. I’ve spoken to many Americans who say they have to choose between their drugs and food. Our drug pricing system advantages the companies to the extreme—it’s time for the public to be protected from price gouging for vital drugs they rely on for their continued health. "

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/prescription-drug-costs/

May 1, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on CONTROL THE COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Prescription drugs in this country cost too much. Individual drugs change prices at the whims of those running pharmaceutical companies. Patent trolls can drive the prices of certain medications up while providing no value themselves to the US healthcare system. And while drug companies complain constantly about the high cost of research, they seem to overlook that almost all FDA-approved drugs over the past several years relied on research funded by the NIH. They also overlook the record-high profits they’ve been experiencing in recent years.

It’s making it impossible for Americans who need drugs to afford their treatment—many are choosing between their medicine and food or shelter.

We need to put pressure on these companies to get their prices under control, and more in line with the rest of the world.

"Millions of Americans are stressed out and going broke trying to afford prescription drugs, which can sometimes become drastically more expensive without warning. I’ve spoken to many Americans who say they have to choose between their drugs and food. Our drug pricing system advantages the companies to the extreme—it’s time for the public to be protected from price gouging for vital drugs they rely on for their continued health. "

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/prescription-drug-costs/

May 1, 2019

Ex-Missouri Sheriff Cory Hutcheson Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison

An ex-sheriff in Missouri's Bootheel was sentenced today in federal court to six months in prison, plus four months house arrest, on charges he illegally, routinely tracked phones without a warrant.

Cory Hutcheson, the 35-year-old former sheriff of Mississippi County, appeared this morning in federal court in St. Louis. He pleaded guilty in November 2018 to one count each of identity theft and wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office told the judge in a court filing that the case was "simply one example of his penchant for lawless behavior during his tenure as a law enforcement officer."

He had originally faced 28 charges in a federal indictment related to illegally tracking cell phones of state troopers and a Mississippi County judge.

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/04/29/ex-missouri-sheriff-cory-hutcheson-sentenced-to-6-months-in-prison