MOScout Daily Update: Vaccination Roll-Out - End-of-the-Year Readers Poll - KC to Sue for Police Control and more...

Vaccination Roll Out

Post-Dispatch reports that “the nation’s largest pharmacies on Monday gave the first of more than 120,000 vaccinations to Missouri’s long-term care facility residents and staff, beginning the inoculation process for some of the state’s most vulnerable.”

Getting older people vaccinated is absolutely critical.  I understand the push to give frontline workers and teacher and others early vaccinations, but the demographic data is very clear: if you vaccinate older folks, you will immediately save lives.

·         Approximately half the COVID deaths in Missouri have been people over 80 years old. 

·         About 75% of deaths have occurred in those older than 70. 

·         And if you vaccinate everyone over 60, you’d cut the number of COVID deaths by 90%.

And

Governor Mike Parson will give an update on the vaccine rollout tomorrow.  Is Missouri still on track to vaccinate 2 million people by the end of February?  If so, that should make an enormous difference in the number of COVID deaths, and have tremendous economic benefits.

MOScout End of the Year Reader’s Poll

Find the end-of-the-year MOScout Readers’ Poll here.  I’ll tally results for tomorrow’s update.

Possible Suit for KC Police Control?

KCStar floats a possible lawsuit to give Kansas City local control of its police force.  See it here.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas minces no words in assessing the current oversight of the police department. “It is not working,” Lucas says of the state-appointed governing board that manages the Kansas City Police Department.

While the mayor has made regaining local control of the police department a priority, Missouri lawmakers have shown little inclination to make this long overdue change… With grim legislative prospects, the mayor says that legal action might be the city’s last best hope for finally forcing this issue.

“I think that Kansas City, Missouri, or a set of plaintiffs … should actually consider pursuing litigation to get us out of this situation,” Lucas told The Star Editorial Board.  He argues that the current governance model for the Kansas City Police Department violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which prohibits state and local governments from denying any individual equal protection of the law and which has been essential to the protection of civil rights….

FYI

Lobbyists for KC’s Board of Police Commissioners: Andy Arnold, Matthew Grant, Joseph Mabin, Derek Lee McCollum, Kari Dawn Thompson, and Steve Patrick Young.Charles

Lobbyists for Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police: Gamble & Schlemeier.

Reader on Bush’s Gambit

While Nancy Pelosi is caricatured as a Bay Area lib, those really aren't her instincts. Her instincts come from her dad, Tommy D'alessandro Jr., and her brother, Tommy D'alessandro III, both of whom were well known for their hardball politics as Baltimore mayors. In other words, Cori Bush has probably ensured - if it weren't already the case - that she won't be meaningfully influencing legislation for the next two years.

It's one thing if a Dem rep from a conservative Trump district does this after pledging during the campaign not to support Pelosi. That's seen as a more acceptable survival mechanism. From an 80% Dem district in a cycle where Pelosi has few votes to spare? Not so much.

eMailbag on Oxford

I should never be surprised when I see how various companies and organizations choose to retain a lobbyist or discontinue a contract, but who doesn’t think JMO did an outstanding job for Empower Missouri and was universally liked and trusted?

Lobbyists Registrations

Dave Almeida added The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Deirdre Hirner added The Missouri Bar; and deleted Hirner Law Associates, LLC.

Adam Kazda added Greater St. Louis Inc.

Aaron Baker and Hannah Beers deleted MCTA – The Missouri Internet & Television Association.

James Durham and Jennifer Durham deleted Consumer Technology Association FKA Consumer Electronics Association.

Jason Zamkus deleted Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

$5K+ Contributions

MBA Capitol Region PAC - $8,068 from Hawthorn Bank.

Planned Parenthood Votes-St Louis and Southwest Missouri - $7,000 from Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Julie Gibson.

MOScout Schedule

Update tomorrow, then I’m off for another long weekend before session starts…