03.09.2010 7:19 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
If you got mail from the U.S. Census on Monday, you’re not alone.
The bureau sent letters to 90 percent of residential households across America, telling them that their real Census form will be arriving next week. The bureau says sending out the advance letter generates a better rate of return on the real Census form, and that saves money in the long run.
Maybe I’m the exception that proves that rule, but the letter seemed like a real waste of resources to me. A piece of mail telling me I’m going to get another piece of mail?
In…
03.04.2010 10:26 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Most people probably don’t want a kid playing around in an air traffic control tower. I know I don’t. A controller’s job is to make sure planes are on course and can take-off and land safely. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to bring your out-of-school kid along to work to give instructions to pilots flying planes f ull of people who want only to get where they’re going, safely.
Is there a bigger question here involving people who bring their kids (and sometimes, their pets) to work on an occasional or even semi-regular basis? I know when staffers…
03.01.2010 9:31 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The trout season opened this morning across Missouri, a fact that might have escaped my attention were it not for the lovely photograph my colleague Elie Gardner took documenting the start of the season at Meramec Springs Park.
Trout season opened this morning.
In my family, we occasionally fish for fun but not really for food. We do hunt, though, and in January my husband shot two deer that now have residence in our freezers. We aren’t much for gardening, although my sister and her husband share the bounty of their garden with us….
02.25.2010 4:32 pm
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It was billed as a summit, but turned out to be more of a debate. [click here for story]
President Barack Obama brought members of both parties and both chambers of Congress to the Blair House to talk about his health care reform proposal and to try to see if they could find common ground.
Both sides, however, stuck mostly to their talking points.
Loading …
If so,…
02.23.2010 7:08 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
If you’ve been following this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver at all, you’ve seen the elation on the faces of the athletes at the top of the podium as they get gold draped around their neck and watch their flag go up as their nation’s national anthem plays.
Their faces tell the tale
The silver medalists are happy, too, but are they as happy as those with bronze around their necks? A report in USA Today indicates maybe not. Maybe it’s the idea that it was a near-miss, that the gold could have been…
02.22.2010 8:07 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
You can see them fluttering down the street, caught in branches, draped over sewer drains and, quite likely, spilling from a drawer or cabinet in your own home.
The ubiquitous plastic bag
Those plastic bags that store clerks use to drop in your gum, your groceries and much of everything you purchase at all types of stores.
Since last month in Washington, D.C., consumers have been asked to pay 5 cents for their bag
The idea is to reduce waste, litter and pollution, so activists are watching closely to see how the program fares…
02.18.2010 6:55 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The troubles keep coming for Toyota. The latest round is related to the Corolla line and problems with its power steering.
Before the Corolla problems surfaced, Toyota had already recalled 8.5 million cars, including the wildly popular Camry, over problems with gas pedals, floor mats and brakes. (What, no glove compartment woes?) That recall had included some Corollas, too.
For years, experts pointed to Toyota as the model for car companies. It was a company that made reliable cars with excellent safety records. And American consumers snapped them up.
But with all the recent safety and recall problems,…
02.16.2010 7:42 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Tonight is the big night for dog-lovers as the Westminster Dog Show will crown the top dog in all of the nation.
There have been all sorts of preliminary competitions aimed at tonight’s big finale, which will be televised on the USA network. One of the favorites for the coveted ‘Best in Show’ is a Scottish terrier named Sadie.
Sadie the Scottish terrier
Just two years ago, it was Uno, the beagle from Belleville, taking home that title.
Let’s face it, though, most of us who have dogs are not going to be winning…
02.12.2010 7:39 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I am not a holiday hater. Color me red and green at Christmas, give thanks for Thanksgiving, fire me up for the Fourth of July.
But when it comes to Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day, my enthusiasm wanes.
Bead-seekers in New Orleans
I realize Mardi Gras is a big honking deal for Soulard. And florists, restaurants and candy-makers make gobs of money during Valentine’s Day.
Somehow, celebrating the last weekend before the Christian season of Lent just doesn’t strike me as something I need to do. Ditto Valentine’s Day. My husband and I…
02.10.2010 8:16 am
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The budget problems in Illinois are being felt everywhere, and education is feeling the pinch as much as anyone. Our front-page story today details how the state has fallen behind on promised payments to school districts and universities.
A statue on the SIUE campus
But it’s the sidebar to the main story that raises some interesting questions
Illinois, like some other states, offers a 50 percent discount on tuition to the children of state university employees. But is that a good idea, or a fair one?
With a daughter in college and a…
Previous entries
