May 7, 2019

Better Together Pulls City-County Merger Plan, Will Aim For Local Vote If Revived

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/better-together-pulls-city-county-merger-plan-will-aim-local-vote-if-revived



Updated 7:30 p.m., May 6 — Better Together is withdrawing its effort to merge St. Louis and St. Louis County through a statewide initiative petition, instead regrouping to focus its efforts on trying to get only city and county residents to approve a plan sometime in the future.

For now, it’s the end of an ambitious proposal that would have reshaped regional government — but also stoked opposition from across the political spectrum.

“I find that many people do not attend to things that they hear about until it’s right in front of them and confronts them,” said Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton, who was leading the effort to implement the merger plan. “And it’s evident that our community needs more education about what is necessary, the problems we face, and how best to solve them.”

The Better Together plan would have a “metro government” oversee what is now St. Louis and St. Louis County. That government would be in charge of public safety, economic development and infrastructure needs for the 1.3 million people that encompass the city and county.

May 7, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on EXTEND DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ALL YEAR

Daylight Saving Time, or DST, was implemented during WWI to decrease energy utilization. While modern technology (specifically, AC units) makes the energy savings a wash, there are a lot of other benefits to the extended daytime hours.

While mornings are darker, evenings are lighter for longer. This leads to:

Increased exercise and outdoor activity
Lower crime, as the amount of time people are out in the dark decreases
Increased economic activity, as people are more likely to shop at night when it’s still light out
Fewer traffic accidents, as it’s easier to drive in sunlight

Additionally, removing the transition between the different times would:

Decrease traffic accidents that result from people being tired
Alleviate the increase in heart attacks seen following the time change
Prevent us from needing to reset our clocks (a minor annoyance, but an annoyance!)
Prevent us from being late to work (or exceedingly early, depending on the season)

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/extend-daylight-savings-time-all-year/

May 7, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on EXTEND DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ALL YEAR

Daylight Saving Time, or DST, was implemented during WWI to decrease energy utilization. While modern technology (specifically, AC units) makes the energy savings a wash, there are a lot of other benefits to the extended daytime hours.

While mornings are darker, evenings are lighter for longer. This leads to:

Increased exercise and outdoor activity
Lower crime, as the amount of time people are out in the dark decreases
Increased economic activity, as people are more likely to shop at night when it’s still light out
Fewer traffic accidents, as it’s easier to drive in sunlight

Additionally, removing the transition between the different times would:

Decrease traffic accidents that result from people being tired
Alleviate the increase in heart attacks seen following the time change
Prevent us from needing to reset our clocks (a minor annoyance, but an annoyance!)
Prevent us from being late to work (or exceedingly early, depending on the season)

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/extend-daylight-savings-time-all-year/

May 7, 2019

Settlement reached for death of 4-year-old struck by officer

A confidential settlement has been reached in a wrongful-death claim for a 4-year-old girl struck and killed by a Columbia police vehicle on a sidewalk at Battle High School.

Presiding Circuit Judge Kevin Crane during a Monday afternoon hearing approved the settlement between Aaron and Cheyenne Curry, the parents of Gabriella, and officer Andrea Heese, the City of Columbia and its insurer. Crane also approved the agreement be filed under seal, thus, details on the amount and how the settlement is structured are unknown.

The amount the city or its insurer paid to the Curry family, which is an open record under Missouri Sunshine Law, was not available Monday.

https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20190506/settlement-reached-for-death-of-4-year-old-struck-by-officer

May 6, 2019

Bonney Lake Walmart's robot zips along in tech revolution that's raising big questions for workers

BONNEY LAKE, Pierce County — When an autonomous floor scrubber was rolled out in Walmart’s Bonney Lake store last month, shoppers mistook the teal blue scrubber zipping down the aisles for a runaway machine, said manager David Klein. “Some customers are a little freaked out.”

Klein said the Auto-C robot has relieved his employees of several hours of cleaning every evening, and has allowed him to avoid hiring another maintenance worker on the previously understaffed team. The 4-foot-tall scrubber, which resembles a riding lawn mower but is considerably quieter, uses sensors to scan its environment and to avoid people or objects in its way.

The San Diego-based tech company that makes the Auto-C robot, called Brain Corp, also provides the software that powers autonomous floor cleaners at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

At Walmart, the automated machines are just part of a push to bring this pioneer of big-box discounting into the future of brick-and-mortar retail, with implications for its workforce that are still unknown.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/walmarts-push-for-advanced-technology-has-workers-asking-how-theyll-coexist-with-robots/?

May 6, 2019

Andrew Yang policy on DECREASE PRE-TRIAL CASH BAIL

In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. However, too many Americans are currently in jail before their day in court because they can’t afford to post bail.

This is problematic for many reasons.

First, it costs the country almost $80b per year in incarceration costs and loss of productivity.

Second, it puts pressure on people to take plea agreements even when they may not have committed a crime, as awaiting trial while in jail can impose a longer incarceration period than the plea deal. The unconvicted jail population is two to three times the size of the convicted population.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/cashbail/

May 6, 2019

Andrew Yang policy on DECREASE PRE-TRIAL CASH BAIL

In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. However, too many Americans are currently in jail before their day in court because they can’t afford to post bail.

This is problematic for many reasons.

First, it costs the country almost $80b per year in incarceration costs and loss of productivity.

Second, it puts pressure on people to take plea agreements even when they may not have committed a crime, as awaiting trial while in jail can impose a longer incarceration period than the plea deal. The unconvicted jail population is two to three times the size of the convicted population.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/cashbail/

May 6, 2019

Andrew Yang policy on REVIVE THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Quite frankly, the level of technological understanding by some members of our government is embarrassing. Anyone who watched Congress question Mark Zuckerberg is well aware of this, and it makes it unreasonable to expect proper regulation of major tech companies, or legislation that addresses the large technological issues that we’ll continue to face in areas such as AI and cybersecurity.

It’s also impossible to imagine that Congress can provide full oversight over the executive branch, whose Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is staffed extensively, providing guidance and information on important technological developments to the President and other executive-branch staff.

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) provided valuable research to our legislative branch until it was phased out in 1995. Free of the bias of private industry or think tanks, the OTA provided neutral information on the latest technological developments to legislators. Many of these reports, despite being a quarter of a century old, show an amazing prescience on topics that are still relevant to this day. This vital institution needs to be revived, with a budget large enough and rules flexible enough to draw top talent away from the very lucrative private sector.

"Cutting the OTA over two decades ago to ‘save money’ was the dumbest decision ever, and it likely cost the American people hundreds of times the budget of the OTA based on less efficient and informed legislation. Having a group of technology experts on hand for Congress to consult with, free of industry influence, is common sense and overdue. Let’s try to get in front of the true challenges of the 21st century and get Congress the information they need to make intelligent decisions."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/reviveota/

May 6, 2019

Andrew Yang policy on REVIVE THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Quite frankly, the level of technological understanding by some members of our government is embarrassing. Anyone who watched Congress question Mark Zuckerberg is well aware of this, and it makes it unreasonable to expect proper regulation of major tech companies, or legislation that addresses the large technological issues that we’ll continue to face in areas such as AI and cybersecurity.

It’s also impossible to imagine that Congress can provide full oversight over the executive branch, whose Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is staffed extensively, providing guidance and information on important technological developments to the President and other executive-branch staff.

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) provided valuable research to our legislative branch until it was phased out in 1995. Free of the bias of private industry or think tanks, the OTA provided neutral information on the latest technological developments to legislators. Many of these reports, despite being a quarter of a century old, show an amazing prescience on topics that are still relevant to this day. This vital institution needs to be revived, with a budget large enough and rules flexible enough to draw top talent away from the very lucrative private sector.

"Cutting the OTA over two decades ago to ‘save money’ was the dumbest decision ever, and it likely cost the American people hundreds of times the budget of the OTA based on less efficient and informed legislation. Having a group of technology experts on hand for Congress to consult with, free of industry influence, is common sense and overdue. Let’s try to get in front of the true challenges of the 21st century and get Congress the information they need to make intelligent decisions."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/reviveota/

May 6, 2019

Farm Equipment Sales Drop In Early 2019 As Trade War's Effects Linger

The ongoing effects of the trade war, severe weather and low crop prices have farmers reluctant to make big purchases like tractors, combines and planters. It was apparent in the U.S. Commerce Department’s new report, which shows farm equipment sales were down $900 million dollars over the first three months of 2019.

That’s the biggest decline in sales since 2016.

Farmers will eventually have to replace aging machines, so University of Missouri agricultural economist Pat Westhoff sees it as a temporary situation. But while that old equipment — the kind that Westhoff says don’t have “all the new bells and whistles” — stays out in the fields, farmers will be less productive.

“(W)e don’t make the big advancements in the amount of acreage we can plant per hour and the amount of product we can harvest eventually from those fields,” he said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/farm-equipment-sales-drop-early-2019-trade-war-s-effects-linger