October 18, 2019

On Chess: Not Particularly Beautiful

"Not Particularly Beautiful" is a chessboard I created with Daniel Meirom, in homage to women players who endure backlashes as they find new power, inspired by the chess queen.

The queen was once the weakest force on the board, only able to move one square diagonally. Games were long and tedious, as it was much harder to checkmate without the chief executioner.

'Is that Lady on Drugs?'

Around 1500, as powerful queens reigned in Europe, the piece rose to the potent powerhouse she is today. This faster, better game that we still play over five centuries later was initially derided as the "madwoman’s chess game."

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/chess-not-particularly-beautiful

October 18, 2019

On Chess: Not Particularly Beautiful

"Not Particularly Beautiful" is a chessboard I created with Daniel Meirom, in homage to women players who endure backlashes as they find new power, inspired by the chess queen.

The queen was once the weakest force on the board, only able to move one square diagonally. Games were long and tedious, as it was much harder to checkmate without the chief executioner.

'Is that Lady on Drugs?'

Around 1500, as powerful queens reigned in Europe, the piece rose to the potent powerhouse she is today. This faster, better game that we still play over five centuries later was initially derided as the "madwoman’s chess game."

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/chess-not-particularly-beautiful

October 18, 2019

Edwardsville Approves Shopping Bag Fee. Will Other Metro East Cities Follow Its Lead?

Edwardsville will become the first city in downstate Illinois to require retailers to charge for single-use plastic and paper shopping bags to help protect the environment.

Edwardsville City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an ordinance that was first proposed by a grassroots organization called Bring Your Own Bag Glen-Ed. Members argued that single-use bags pollute land and water, harm wildlife and human health and waste resources.

“This action by our council is not going to save the planet, but it’s going to impact on Edwardsville, and it will start to address a problem,” said Ward 6 alderman Craig Louer.

The ordinance will go into effect April 1, 2020. Stores larger than 7,000 square feet will be required to charge 10 cents per bag and post signs at doors and cash registers. Smaller retailers, restaurants, pharmacists and other specified vendors are exempt.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/edwardsville-approves-shopping-bag-fee-will-other-metro-east-cities-follow-its-lead

October 18, 2019

Edwardsville Approves Shopping Bag Fee. Will Other Metro East Cities Follow Its Lead?

Edwardsville will become the first city in downstate Illinois to require retailers to charge for single-use plastic and paper shopping bags to help protect the environment.

Edwardsville City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved an ordinance that was first proposed by a grassroots organization called Bring Your Own Bag Glen-Ed. Members argued that single-use bags pollute land and water, harm wildlife and human health and waste resources.

“This action by our council is not going to save the planet, but it’s going to impact on Edwardsville, and it will start to address a problem,” said Ward 6 alderman Craig Louer.

The ordinance will go into effect April 1, 2020. Stores larger than 7,000 square feet will be required to charge 10 cents per bag and post signs at doors and cash registers. Smaller retailers, restaurants, pharmacists and other specified vendors are exempt.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/edwardsville-approves-shopping-bag-fee-will-other-metro-east-cities-follow-its-lead

October 18, 2019

Circuit attorney appoints Captain Ron Johnson as law enforcement liaison

If St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner’s primary motive in appointing retired Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ronald Johnson as her law enforcement liaison was to repair a fractured relationship with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, she had the right idea.

“Captain Johnson has a great reputation and a strong law enforcement background,” St. Louis Police Chief John W. Hayden stated. “He is the ideal person to serve as the liaison.”

Gardner made the announcement on Wednesday, October 16. She stated that Johnson also will “lead efforts to enhance communication and collaboration” between her office and other law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri Highway Patrol, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Missouri.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/circuit-attorney-appoints-captain-ron-johnson-as-law-enforcement-liaison/article_bbe9e19c-f0ff-11e9-8d15-7bd964f6c522.html

October 17, 2019

Andrew Yang's 10-Hour Q&A Friday

The Q&A Will Run from 10 AM-8 PM Eastern on Friday
Yang will be answering questions for 10 hours live on Friday, October 18. The live Q&A will be broadcast on multiple platforms.

According to his campaign: “He will answer questions live for 10 hours, splitting time between a multiplatform livestream and posting answers online using channels including Twitter’s new Q&A service.”

The Q&A will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, October 18 and run until 8 p.m. Eastern.

To submit a question go to

https://www.yang2020.com

October 17, 2019

Andrew Yang's 10-Hour Q&A Friday

The Q&A Will Run from 10 AM-8 PM Eastern on Friday
Yang will be answering questions for 10 hours live on Friday, October 18. The live Q&A will be broadcast on multiple platforms.

According to his campaign: “He will answer questions live for 10 hours, splitting time between a multiplatform livestream and posting answers online using channels including Twitter’s new Q&A service.”

The Q&A will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, October 18 and run until 8 p.m. Eastern.

To submit a question go to

https://www.yang2020.com

October 17, 2019

County wipes clean $3.4M in inmate debt, County Council eliminated six jail fees in late August

Some of the region’s most vulnerable people and their families have had $3.4 million more to spend between them over the past two months because the St. Louis County Council listened to Lt. Col. Troy Doyle, interim director of the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services.

In July, Doyle advised that the county eliminate six jail fees, and the council passed an ordinance eliminating those fees in late August.

The county eliminated a $70 booking fee, $20 bond fee charged to someone who posts bond, a $2 fee charged each time an inmate is seen by a nurse, a $5 fee charged each time an inmate is seen by a dentist, a $5 fee for dispensing medication, and a $20 medical assessment fee charged each time an individual is incarcerated.

The fees were put in place by the St. Louis County Council in 2009.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/county-wipes-clean-m-in-inmate-debt-county-council-eliminated/article_25c12b90-f031-11e9-adb1-4b45636c4f59.html

October 16, 2019

This Robotic Trash Can Takes Itself to the Curb

Automation is coming into areas that we never even considered. This is just one example.


A major appeal of automation in this era of rapidly developing tech is increasing accessibility and autonomy for disabled individuals. Scientists have created impressive exosuits and robotic gloves for people with limited mobility and motor skills. But for all the advantages of these flashy advancements, they remain pricey, complex and hard-to-use, while, as some critics point out, failing to address critical infrastructure upgrades, like ramps and accessible transportation, needed to improve disabled folks’ daily lives.

Even still, some companies are striking a balance between flash and function, finding small ways to use robotics to make everyday tasks less monumental for people who aren’t able-bodied.

One such invention is the SmartCan: a motorized garbage can and app that takes the trash to the curb for you. SmartCan, the first product developed by the Massachusetts-based company Rezzi, just won ProtoLabs’ Cool Idea award, which provides grant funding to “innovative thinkers” for building prototypes and accelerating the process of bringing inventions to market. With assistance from ProtoLabs, the SmartCan team slashed nearly six months off their production schedule, and the manufacturer fabricated the entire prototype.

SmartCan is essentially a pair of robotic wheels that are compatible with any municipal-issued trash receptacle. Initially, those wheels were programmed to travel from a docking station at a person’s residence to a second docking station at the curb. (They’ve since eliminated the dock at the curb to accommodate local laws and pedestrian safety.) SmartCan is also synced to an app that can be scheduled for the time and day of your neighborhood’s trash pickup.


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/robotic-trash-can-takes-itself-curb-180973346/

October 16, 2019

Measuring equity: New project tracks regional racial disparities

How are we doing? In terms of racial equity, that is. That question was often asked a couple of months ago around the 5-year anniversary of the onset of the Ferguson unrest. Now the Regional Equity Indicators Dashboard, STLEquity.org, strives to provide data sets to answer that question and track future progress over time.

The dashboard, or graphical user interface, was created as a response to the Ferguson Commission’s Signature Calls to Action for a way to quantify the state of racial equity in the region. It’s an expansion of the City of St. Louis’s Equity Indicators Baseline Report released in late 2018.

It consists of 72 indicators organized into three main themes drawn from the Ferguson Commission report – Youth at the Center, Opportunity to Thrive, and Justice for All. They measure quality-of-life factors such as child wellbeing, education quality, educational attainment, financial empowerment, health and safety, neighborhoods, policing, court reform, and civic engagement.

The dashboard currently measures indicators for the City of St. Louis and St. Louis, St. Charles and St. Clair (Illinois) counties.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/measuring-equity-new-project-tracks-regional-racial-disparities/article_7f5fcfa6-f015-11e9-bc74-f7a8cc967130.html