December 24, 2018

Poll on what we should call this new economy

Just after the "Esteemed" Mr Trump somehow was heading to the Oval Office I heard the stock market surge referred to as The Trump Bump. Now that the situation seems to be heading downhill what should we call it?

December 24, 2018

Warlord Games

For those in the table top miniatures community.

I picked up their new release The Cruel Seas a couple of weeks ago. Friday they dropped 10 pages of errata for a book that runs 107 pages in total about half of that being rules and scenarios. Following the discussions on a couple of Facebook groups and The Miniatures Page (TMP) it appears that they do not intend to replace the rule books for those who have already invested in the game system. The best that can be hoped for is a release of a corrected Quick Reference Sheet that can be downloaded and printed on your dime or wait until the 2nd printing of the rules comes out, then you can buy a corrected version.

This release was also plagued with packing errors in the sets. Items were mispacked and parts were missing forcing them to put a downloadable set of wake markers online as well.

December 18, 2018

They Shall Not Grow Old

The documentary of WWI done by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) and the Imperial War Museum.

Got to see it last evening and I encourage all to try to attend one of the limited screenings. Well worth the price and the time.

December 7, 2018

Under Investigation: Sen.-Elect Josh Hawley For His Conduct As Missouri Attorney General

Not that anyone really expects anything to happen to the "charming" Little Josh, but it's nice to see some investigation into his conduct.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is under investigation for possibly using "public funds" in his bid for U.S. Senate, the Secretary of State's Office announced Thursday.

Deputy General Counsel Khristine Heisinger said in a letter that the office will "commence an investigation" but didn't provide more details. The letter was addressed to the left-leaning American Democracy Legal Fund, which requested the investigation.

Hawley beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on Nov. 6, and will resign as AG in January before becoming a senator next month.

An Oct. 31 Kansas City Star article said Hawley, a Republican, had consultants from his U.S. Senate campaign talk with state-paid staffers. The article, which was based on emails and other documents obtained through public records requests, also said that consultants ran meetings with senior staffers and were included on emails about state business.

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/under-investigation-sen-elect-josh-hawley-his-conduct-missouri-attorney-general?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Under%20Investigation%3A%20Sen.-Elect%20Josh%20Hawley%20For%20His%20Conduct%20As%20Missouri%20Attorney%20General&utm_campaign=newsletter_LRL#stream/0

November 5, 2018

These Lowe's stores are closing in the next three months

Lowe’s Companies said Monday that it will close 51 underperforming stores, including 20 in the U.S. and as many as 31 in Canada, as part of its plan to focus on its most profitable stores.

The stores being closed are located across 13 states in the U.S. and five provinces in Canada.

The home improvement retailer expects the store closures to be completed by Feb. 1, 2019, which is the end of its fiscal 2018. The company plans to have closeout sales in most of the stores it is shutting, except for some U.S. stores that are closing immediately.

Most employees of the U.S. stores being closed will be provided the opportunity to have similar jobs at nearby Lowe’s stores. The majority of the stores being closed are within 10 miles of another store.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-lowes-stores-are-closing-in-the-next-three-months-2018-11-05?mod=pulse_full_story

October 10, 2018

UFCW Locals 655, 88, 881 win major protections for members impacted by Shop 'n Save sale

The realization that a union contract is a worker’s only real “Job Insurance” was driven home in recent weeks when Shop ‘n Save announced it was selling 20 of its locations to Schnucks Markets and closing its remaining 15 locations in the St. Louis/Southern Illinois region, impacting the lives of 2,500 union members and their families. Most are members United Food & Commercial Workers Locals 655 (some 1,300) and 88 (some 400) in St. Louis and UFCW Local 881 (some 500 in Southern Illinois).

But thanks to strong union contracts, the tragic impact on these workers will be softened considerably because their union was able to negotiate something normally unheard of when a company closes: for impacted Shop ’n Save members, severance pay, a temporary continuation of critical health and welfare and pension contributions to keep benefits and an opportunity to go to work for Schnucks.

Under most circumstances you read about today, companies close and workers are immediately on the street with nothing.

But not so for these union members because of the “job insurance” of having a strong union and a written contract standing behind its members, even in such tragic circumstances, said Local 655 President David Cook.

“It’s times like these that our partners need their union family the most… and we are committed to protecting our partners at Shop ’n Save,” said the presidents of the three locals when the sale announcement was made in April: Local 655’s Cook, Local 88’s Dan Telle and Local 881’s Ron Powell.

October 10, 2018

UFCW Locals 655, 88, 881 win major protections for members impacted by Shop 'n Save sale

The realization that a union contract is a worker’s only real “Job Insurance” was driven home in recent weeks when Shop ‘n Save announced it was selling 20 of its locations to Schnucks Markets and closing its remaining 15 locations in the St. Louis/Southern Illinois region, impacting the lives of 2,500 union members and their families. Most are members United Food & Commercial Workers Locals 655 (some 1,300) and 88 (some 400) in St. Louis and UFCW Local 881 (some 500 in Southern Illinois).

But thanks to strong union contracts, the tragic impact on these workers will be softened considerably because their union was able to negotiate something normally unheard of when a company closes: for impacted Shop ’n Save members, severance pay, a temporary continuation of critical health and welfare and pension contributions to keep benefits and an opportunity to go to work for Schnucks.

Under most circumstances you read about today, companies close and workers are immediately on the street with nothing.

But not so for these union members because of the “job insurance” of having a strong union and a written contract standing behind its members, even in such tragic circumstances, said Local 655 President David Cook.

https://labortribune.com/ufcw-locals-655-88-win-major-protections-for-members-impacted-by-shop-n-save-sale/

September 28, 2018

My email to Senator Blunt regarding Kavanuagh

Senator Blunt:

I urge you to reject the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Accepting or rejecting the allegations of sexual impropriety notwithstanding, his demeanor during the questioning on Thursday September 27th clearly indicated that he does not have the temperament to sit upon either the highest court in the land or frankly any other court.

Thank You Very Much,
Sincerely,

September 21, 2018

Big Sports Plans In Hazelwood

All elements are in place for the final approval for the game-changing mega sports complex, POWERplex at the site of the St. Louis Outlet Mall. The Hazelwood City Council gave its unanimous and strong vocal support at its September meeting for the redevelopment of the former Mills Mall for the huge sports complex, described as the largest youth sports complex in the country.

All sides in the financing should be in place when the city council takes a final vote for approval at the Oct. 17th council meeting.

Construction should start before the end of the year with the first tournament by next spring. Developer Dan Buck of Big Sports Properties estimates more than 2.6 million visitors annually, providing a major economic boom for not only North County, but the entire metro area.

The resolution passed by city council on Sept. 12 states that Big Sports Complex will provide $49.6 million from bank financing, the St. Louis Cardinals and several investors. The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission would provide $6 million and St. Louis County will put up $2 million for roads, parking lots and sidewalks. Hazelwood’s portions of the estimated $62 million project is $5.6 million loan to Big Sports.

http://www.flovalleynews.com/big-sports-plans-in-hazelwood

Happy to see new life being pumped into this former outlet mall as it is repurposed into a sportsplex. This mall came online just as malls were falling out of favor for shopping in general. It never had a good mix of retail outlets and with the shakeouts of the Great Recession and The Retail Sector in general it never had much of a chance. At this point all that remains are a few retailers and a theater. Food court is closed as are some outlet restaurants.

September 21, 2018

Governor Addressing Shortage Of Truck Drivers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Mike Parson is considering changes to Missouri regulations to help address a shortage of long-haul truck drivers.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports one possibility is changing a law that takes away driver's licenses or occupational licenses from people who haven't paid child support for three months.

Parson said with an increasing shortage of truckers, the state should find another way to punish those who don't pay child support, although he offered no specific alternatives.

Parson also said he would like to give state prison inmates a chance to learn truck driving so they could help fill the driver shortage when they leave prison.

https://www.ktts.com/news/local-news/governor-addressing-shortage-of-truck-drivers

Interesting, with regard to the taking of licenses from those who fail to pay child support, I would think it more logical to simply garnish their wages than to take away the means of generating income to pay the child support.