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Fatality rate on rural American roads is double that of urban roads, Chao tells St. Louis audience

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(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Jill Enders)

ST. LOUIS- The U.S. Transportation Secretary traveled to St. Louis on Tuesday to unveil a new initiative aimed at addressing disparities in transportation infrastructure in rural America.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao speaks to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials in St. Louis on October 8, 2019 (Jill Enders photo)

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao delivered the keynote address at the annual American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials meeting, which is taking place at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel. She emphasizes that the fatality rate on rural America roads is twice that of urban roads.

Chao has announced a new program called the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success initiative, which is known as R.O.U.T.E.S.

“Rural America, which has a disproportionately high rate of fatalities and is historically neglected, needs to have its transportation needs addressed,” Chao tells the audience.

“We will bring together leaders and staff in key infrastructure modes – highways, aviation, transit and railroads, to examine grant programs’ potential to better support the nation’s critical rural transportation infrastructure,” Chao adds.

The main focus of her address was the high rate of traffic fatalities in rural America. Secretary Chao cites numerous transportation safety statistics.

“Rural communities and their transportation networks are vital to our nation. 69 percent of the nation’s lane miles are in rural areas. Two-thirds of rail freight originates in rural areas. But rural transportation infrastructure is challenged by disparities. The disproportionate rate of crash fatalities in rural areas is especially alarming. 19 percent of Americans live in rural areas. Yet, 72 percent of large truck occupant fatalities, 67 percent of pickup occupant fatalities and 58 percent of SUV occupant fatalities occur in rural areas. The fatality rate on rural roads is twice that on urban roads,” Secretary Chao tells the audience.

She’s also announced the formation of a rural transportation infrastructure council to lead this initiative. It will be called the ROUTES Council.

This new internal deliberative body at the Department will identify critical rural transportation concerns and will coordinate efforts among DOT’s different modal administrations. The Council will also create a rural resources handbook and will hold its first meeting in November.

Elaine Chao served as the U.S. Labor Secretary from 2001-2009 under President George W. Bush, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website notes she is the first Asian-American woman to be appointed to the President’s cabinet in American history.

The U.S. Transportation Department was established by Congress in October 1966.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Gov. Parson lays out plan for state to help St. Louis region fight crime (VIDEO)

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As promised, Gov. Mike Parson returned to St. Louis Thursday with a plan for state government to help the St. Louis area fight a “growing number of gun crimes,” as he describes it. St. Louis continues to have one of the nations highest violent crime rates, year after year.

Highlights of his agreement with city and county leader starting Oct. 1 include:

– Two state Troopers to the US Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force
– $2 million dedicated to the St. Louis area from the Victims of Crime Act to assist victims services.
– Two state highway patrol troopers to the ATF Strike Force
– Two state trooper and one cyber analyst to the Mission Saved Task Force
– Highway Patrol interstate highway surges for highways through St. Louis targeting violent criminals, with four to six troopers per surge.
– Two investigators to the U.S Attorney’s Office to assist with federal gun and drug cases

The plan uses 25 officers/staff and will cost between $3 million and $4 million.

Two more children killed Thursday as St. Louis region awaits a plan from governor, city and county leaders

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Tuesday, St. Louis County Chief of Police Jon Belmar sat at a conference table with Gov. Mike Parson, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson as they sought solutions to the area’s increase in violent crime. Video of meeting press conference. 

Belmar (left), St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden, MO Public Safety Dir. Sandy Karsten with Parson at St. Louis City Hall September 10, 2019.

Thursday, two youngsters died from gunshot wounds in north St. Louis County: a toddler who found his father’s loaded gun and a 13-year-old who was walking through an apartment complex. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, six children have died from gunshot wounds in St. Louis County this year, and 13 children have been killed by gunfire in the city of St. Louis this year.

Belmar told the press Thursday, “It’s heartbreaking for the families and those involved and I will tell you it is also heartbreaking for the police officers who are involved in this.”

Gov. Parson has promised to announce the first steps of a state-local plan within the week. He says he will also meet with county and city prosecutors soon.

“I’m not the fix-all to everything, I’m not. But I want to support everybody at the table today. I want to come up with solutions.”

“As somebody who has been in law enforcement for 22 years and I am standing up here with these fellow officers who are up here today to try to figure out how do we deal with this terrible situation in our state. And the bottom line is how do we protect those children who are out there being killed in the streets every day.”

Meanwhile, Democrat lawmakers who were in the state capital for a special session this week asked for an interim committee to address gun violence across the state. Kansas City Senator Kiki Curls asked her chamber, “Maybe there is some gray area, some middle ground so that we can make sure that folks that are using firearms and guns lawfully are not impacted by it.”

Senate President Dave Schatz, a Republican from Sullivan, near St. Louis, says he will consider the idea as long as it “does not take guns away from law-abiding citizens.”

A snapshot of the Missouri Legislature’s special session this week

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Missouri lawmakers will return to the State Capitol in Jefferson City on Monday for a special session involving a complicated State Supreme Court ruling about vehicle sales.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs legislation on July 10, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s office)

While it’s not officially on the special session agenda, Democrats in both the House and Senate will have an opportunity to speak on the respective floors about the issue of gun violence, which is a top priority for the Legislative Black Caucus.

Governor Mike Parson (R) announced in August that he’s calling the special session over the Supreme Court’s “Kehlenbrink vs. Department of Revenue” case.

“After reviewing the court’s decision, we’ve decided to call a special session because it’s simply the right thing to do for the people of our state,” Parson announced in August. “The enforcement of this decision would create a financial burden on Missouri taxpayers and unnecessary government red tape that we can proactively prevent.”

The Supreme Court’s summer ruling involves using the sale proceeds of a vehicle as a credit against the purchase price of a new vehicle when calculating sales tax. Essentially, the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that state law unambiguously permits the sale proceeds of only one vehicle as a credit against the purchase price of a new car, for the purposes of calculating sales tax.

“And really, the simple version of it (the Supreme Court’s ruling) is when you trade cars in, for example if you trade two cars in, you get a credit back on those two cars or for that model if you’re buying another one. There was a ruling by the Supreme Court that says you can only do one,” Parson told Missourinet on August 15 at the State Fair in Sedalia. That was the first time the governor had spoken publicly about the issue.

Parson says the ruling impacts about 2,000 to 3,000 Missourians, adding this is money out of their pocket.

GOP leaders in both chambers indicate the special session should end by Friday.

House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, has released a schedule indicating the House will have a technical session on Monday, with floor debate and discussion expected Wednesday morning and afternoon. The House is expected to give final approval to the vehicle tax bill on Wednesday.

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, tells Missourinet he expects the Senate to take possession of the bill on Thursday. A Senate hearing would take place Thursday, and Schatz expects the Senate to approve the bill on Friday.

Under the state Constitution, both chambers will also hold the annual veto session Wednesday at noon, which means they will stop the special session and then reconvene it after veto session ends.

Governor Parson vetoed six bills this year. State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, tells Missourinet he doesn’t expect any override attempts in the House or the Senate.

As for the Legislative Black Caucus, they support legislation allowing cities with high gun violence, like St. Louis and Kansas City, to approve their own gun control legislation. They wanted Governor Parson to include the issue in this week’s special session.

The governor opposes that, saying there are “many different opinions on how to find a solution.” Governor Parson met with State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, and other Black Caucus leaders behind closed doors last week at the Capitol. Representative Manlove says the governor is pushing for improved job opportunities in St. Louis and Kansas City.

The governor told Missourinet’s Jill Enders in St. Charles last week that he plans to send Missouri state troopers to St. Louis within the next 30 days. Parson also supports working with churches, to help prevent violence.

Manlove and other Black Caucus members will have an opportunity to discuss the issue on the floors of the House and Senate. Manlove tells Missourinet children are still dying, noting there have been more than 100 Kansas City homicides in 2019.

She says gun violence is “ravaging our streets,” and notes Kansas City and St. Louis have consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Governor Parson and Missouri Legislative Black Caucus discuss gun violence; agree to future meetings

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Missouri’s governor and leaders of the Legislative Black Caucus met behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon at the Statehouse in Jefferson City, discussing gun violence.

State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, speaks on the Missouri House floor on February 20, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, tells Capitol reporters while Governor Mike Parson (R) won’t be adding the gun violence issue to next week’s special session, he will have additional meetings with the Black Caucus.

“And unfortunately I think he’s feeling some of the pressure that we feel,” Manlove says. “The General Assembly is in a (GOP) supermajority and that is apparently even hard for him to navigate.”

Republicans have a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the Legislature.

The Black Caucus met with the governor for about 40 minutes inside his Capitol office, while reporters and photographers waited outside in a Capitol hallway. Representative Manlove, the Black Caucus’ vice chair, says the governor is focusing on ways that they can move forward together.

“Tying back into that workforce development (issue) and how if a person has a good-paying job, that might deter them from some of this crime,” says Manlove.

Representative Manlove says the governor is pushing for improved job opportunities in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Governor Parson opposes a September special session on gun violence, saying there are “many different opinions on how to find a solution.” He outlined a few possible solutions, during a news conference last week with Capitol reporters.

“I think you can partner up with the federal government, the city (St. Louis) and the county can do some things. I think on the state level, there’s things we can do, maybe put the (Missouri State) Highway Patrol, put them back in there on the ground. That’s things we can do right away,” Parson told reporters on August 28.

The governor also supports working with churches, to help prevent violence.

The Black Caucus supports legislation allowing cities with high gun violence to approve their own gun control legislation. Manlove tells Missourinet that children are still dying, noting there have been more than 100 Kansas City homicides in 2019.

She says gun violence is “ravaging our streets,” and notes Kansas City and St. Louis have consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.

State Reps. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, and LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, joined Manlove at Tuesday’s press briefing. Brown serves as the Black Caucus’ treasurer, and Bosley serves as secretary.

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri Legislative Black Caucus asks to add gun violence legislation to special session in September, Parson says “not the correct avenue”

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Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, briefs Capitol reporters (file photo courtesy of Ben Peters at House Communications)

A group of state lawmakers wants to talk about gun violence in the special legislative session scheduled for September 11.

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus has drafted a letter to Gov. Mike Parson, asking him to add consideration of a law to allow cities with high incidents of gun violence to pass their own gun control legislation.  The governor called lawmakers back for a special session to clear up a vehicle sales tax technicality.

The MLBC argues that the rate of child deaths caused by shootings is a more serious matter. Caucus chairman, Rep. Steve Roberts of St. Louis says that since the letter was drafted, another child bystander was shot and killed, bringing the total to 13 this year.

Gov. Parson today denied that request and issued the following statement:

“While the issue of how to reduce violence in our urban areas certainly needs addressed [sic], there are also many different opinions on how to find a solution. However, special session is not the correct avenue. If we are to change violent criminal acts in Missouri, it will take all of us at the federal, state, local, and community levels working together toward that common goal,” said Governor Parson.

Caucus member Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, said, “Kansas City and St. Louis have shamefully and consistently ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least the past ten years. This is now a public health crisis. With double-digit numbers in both cities of children being murdered, it’s time to give individual municipalities the ability to regulate how weapons flow through our neighborhoods. We must change the law now.”

 

Missouri Attorney General teams up with federal prosecutors in St. Louis in violent crime initiative

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Five special assistant U.S. Attorneys for the St. Louis region were sworn in on Thursday as part of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s Safer Streets Initiative.

Schmitt says this team of state and federal prosecutors will focus on violent crimes cases.

“Tackling a problem as large and widespread as violent crime takes constant action and discussion. With the swearing-in of these five talented Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys and continuing our work with U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen and his talented team, I’m reminding Missourians that I’m not backing down from fighting violent crime,” said Schmitt.

This week, St. Louis Alderman Brandon Bosley asked for the National Guard to be deployed to north St. Louis to combat the city’s growing rate of violent crime. The unofficial murder count for St. Louis is 36 this year.

“I think Alderman Bosley has rightly pointed out that we need to do something. As far calling in the National Guard, I’ll leave that to the Governor.” Schmitt said.

The five Special Assistant U.S. States Attorneys, who were sworn in by the Hon. Rodney Sippel, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, are Katharine Dolin, Gregory Goodwin, Jennifer Szczucinski, Natalie Warner, and Jordan Williams.

Schmitt began the Safer Streets Initiative in January and has expanded the cooperative agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to include Springfield and Kansas City.

Group puts plans in motion to bring MLS to St. Louis

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Carolyn Kindle Betz from The Taylor Family of Enterprise Rental Car made the announcement they’ve teamed up with Jim Kavanaugh, founder of World Wide Technology to make a bid for one of the last two MLS expansion teams.

A new, St. Louis-based ownership group led by Carolyn Kindle Betz, who is Senior VP of Enterprise Holdings and Executive Director of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, and six other female members of the Taylor family, along with Andy Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings, and Jim Kavanaugh, CEO of World Wide Technology, announced plans to bring a Major League Soccer club to St. Louis.

The proposal will mostly be privately funded. Some funding will come from “user taxes” that allows for the collection of taxes from only those who attend events.

The preferred site for an open-air soccer stadium sits adjacent to Union Station in downtown St. Louis. The stadium would also be used for concerts, high school and college tournaments, camps and more.  The design of the new stadium has not yet been completed, but will not be the same stadium that was first proposed for this site in 2016.

“We envision an MLS team as yet another way to increase the energy and momentum to an already wonderful city that means so much to us,” says Andy Taylor in the release. “The addition of a third major league team speaks to our desirability as a place to work, live and play. St. Louis is a major league city that deserves the many benefits that come with an MLS club.”

“A new St. Louis MLS team would be the first female majority-owned club in the league’s history and one of the few in all professional sports,” Kindle Betz added at the press conference.

MLS is looking to expand to two more cities and St. Louis hopes to grab one of those two slots.  Early estimates say that if St. Louis is awarded a franchise, the club could be ready to play by 2022.

Soccer stadium gets a no-vote in St. Louis

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An HOK Image of where the new MLS stadium would have been built in downtown St. Louis

St. Louis will remain a two-team sport. City voters defeated the measure to help pay for a Major League Soccer Stadium by a 53 to 47% no vote on Prop 2 which would have provided $60 million from a business tax to help build a stadium.

The funding plan actually needed both Prop 1 and 2 to pass.  Proposition 1 was a sales tax increase that would fund MetroLink expansion, which was approved by voters.  Proposition 2, an increase to the use tax paid by businesses by half a cent lost with 30,603 ‘no’ votes to 27,363 ‘yes’ votes.

After the state rejected a proposal to give any money to a new stadium project, Prop 2 was a restructured attempt that failed.  If there is any hope of St. Louis getting an MLS franchise, that $60 million gap would most likely need to be filled by team ownership.

Dan Courtemanche, Major League Soccer’s executive vice president of communications, released a statement via Twitter.

Major League Soccer stadium proposal passes through committee after an initial defeat

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An HOK Image of where a new MLS stadium would be built in downtown St. Louis

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ways and Means Committee passed a proposal for the MLS stadium after a second round of voting on Thursday.  The proposal now shifts to the full Board of Aldermen.  After an original 6-2 defeat of the vote, the committee reconvened and passed the proposal by a 5-4 vote after a ticket tax was added to the proposal.

The ticket tax would generate $7.5 million to $12 million in general revenue for the city of St. Louis.  Money initially dedicated to developer Paul McKee is also added to this project.  The rest of the stadium budget is from a “use” tax.

If the Board of Alderman approve the new proposal, it will then move onto a judge who must act in order to get the measure on the April ballot for a public vote.

“SC STL is very grateful for the thorough review and passage of our bill by the Ways and Means Committee and we now look forward to a public hearing and the full Board of Aldermen in the coming weeks. There is clearly more work ahead, but today’s result brings us much closer to a ballot measure that will allow city voters the opportunity to make St. Louis a future home for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise,” said spokesperson for SC STL Jim Woodcock in a statement.

The initial proposal was asking for city residents to vote on $60 million.  That is no longer in play.

21st Ward Alderman Antonio French is against a soccer team coming to St. Louis, but tweeted:

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