The EladPod: Live Town Halls with Elad Gross

#EladPod 4.3: The Missouri Comment on Schools, Health, and the Attorney General

 

Does Missouri’s Attorney General have the authority to tell schools they can no longer protect the health of their students?

 

No.

 

This past week, Attorney General Eric Schmitt started sending cease and desist letters to school districts implementing mask requirements. He also asked members of the public to take photos and videos of children and school staff – with “proper lighting” and “in the horizontal orientation” – and submit those to a new government email account.

 

The Attorney General claims that a new case prohibits schools from implementing health requirements. He is lying. The case he cites, Robinson vs. Missouri DHSS, dealt only with what public health officials could or could not do, and it greatly weakened what those folks can do when it comes to dealing with many diseases. It had nothing to do with school district officials.

 

For well over a century, Missouri elected local school boards have had the authority to protect children under their care, and, up until now, Missouri’s Attorneys General have supported that authority. To make it worse, Attorney General Schmitt actually has an ongoing case asking a court to strike down mask requirements in Columbia’s public schools. He filed that lawsuit months ago. Although he’s selling the public a fiction that mask requirements are illegal, he hasn’t told that to the court in his Columbia case. That case is ongoing.

 

The Missouri Comment is hosted by Missouri civil rights attorney Elad Gross and is part of the #EladPod series. The #EladPod​​​ is an online civic engagement town hall program bringing our government back to you. Hosted by Missouri civil rights and government transparency attorney Elad Gross. Learn more at https://www.eladgross.live​​​, subscribe on YouTube, and subscribe to the #EladPod​​​ wherever you get your podcasts.

 

You can learn more at http://www.eladgross.org

#EladPod 4.2: United States Senate Democratic Candidate Forum from Jefferson College

On November 3, all six Democratic candidates for United States Senate in Missouri met in person at Jefferson College for a forum. The event was presented by the Democratic Party of Jefferson County, the Women Dems, and the Ste. Genevieve County Democratic Club. Candidates in order of appearance:

Gena Ross

Lucas Kunce

Scott Sifton

Timothy Shepard

Jewel Kelly

Spencer Toder

The event was presented by the Jefferson County Democrats, the Women Dems, and the Ste. Genevieve County Democratic Club.

The #EladPod​​​ is an online civic engagement town hall program bringing our government back to you. Hosted by Missouri civil rights and government transparency attorney Elad Gross. Learn more at https://www.eladgross.live​​​, subscribe on YouTube, and subscribe to the #EladPod​​​ wherever you get your podcasts.

#EladPod 4.1: The Path Back in Jefferson County with Jefferson County Democratic Chair Robert Butler

The #EladPod is back! We're joined by Robert Butler, the chair of the Jefferson County Democratic Central Committee. We discuss an upcoming November 3 Senate Candidate Forum at Jefferson College, the importance of Jefferson County for Missouri Democrats, and how local groups can rebuild Democratic support.

Learn more about Jefferson County's efforts at https://www.jeffersoncountymodemcentralcommittee.org/

Watch the Senate Candidate Forum on November 3 at 7 PM at https://www.eladgross.live

The #EladPod​​​ is an online civic engagement town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Missouri civil rights and government transparency attorney Elad Gross. Learn more at https://www.eladgross.live​​​, subscribe on YouTube, and subscribe to the #EladPod​​​ wherever you get your podcasts.

#EladPod 3.9: Missouri State Rep. Michael Burton of South St. Louis County

Michael Burton is the state representative for Missourians living in House District 92 in the Affton area. Like so many residents, Michael loved Tower Tee, a local landmark that brought countless St. Louisans together over mini-golf, batting cages, and plenty of sugar. When Tower Tee looked like it was done for, Michael attended dozens of St. Louis County Council meetings and organized the successful effort to save Tower Tee. It was his first time getting seriously involved in politics and government, and it would eventually lead him to Jefferson City, where he just completed his first year as a state representative. We'll talk about the lessons all of us can take away from Representative Burton's journey.

 

You can learn more about Michael at https://www.burton4mo.com/

 

The #EladPod​​ is an online civic engagement town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Missouri civil rights and government transparency attorney Elad Gross. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live​​, and subscribe on YouTube.

#EladPod 3.8: Michele Hornish and Jonathan Zucker on It Starts Today

Michele Hornish and Jonathan Zucker form the team behind It Starts Today Missouri. It Starts Today helps Democratic candidates for Missouri state house and state senate fundraise, splitting up donations to reach candidates across the state. Both Michele and Jonathan have extensive experience in political communication and fundraising. Jonathan has worked with several tech companies, including serving as CEO of ActBlue. Michele has worked in government, including as Associate General Counsel for the Illinois State Treasurer, and has served on several political campaigns. 

Check them out at ItStarts.Today

The #EladPod​ is an open Missouri online town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Elad Gross, a Missouri civil rights attorney and educator. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live

#EladPod 3.7: Jessica Piper, Candidate for Missouri House District 1

Jessica Piper is running for Missouri State House District 1 in northwest Missouri. She is an American Literature teacher, mom, wife, member of a military family, and proud resident of rural Missouri. We talk about her campaign, education policy in Missouri, rural issues, CAFOs, and so much more.

 

You can learn more about Jess at https://www.upballot.com/Jessica-Piper/

 

This was our first live in-person #EladPod! Congratulations to Betsy for submitting our first in-person question! I apologize that the audio isn't the best, but it's not too bad, and this was a great episode. We'll be ready for the next live episode!

 

The #EladPod​​​ is an online civic engagement town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Missouri civil rights and government transparency attorney Elad Gross. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live​​​

#EladPod 3.6: Jenni Miller from MHDC on Missouri's Rental and Utility Relief Program

Are you a tenant or landlord in need of rental or utility assistance? Missouri has a program for you at http://www.mohousingresources.com​

 

Tenants and landlords impacted by COVID-19 can apply for up to 12 months of assistance through the Missouri Housing Development Commission's SAFHR program. Jenni Miller is the Manager of HUD Programs with MHDC. She answers your questions about the statewide assistance program.

 

Apply for assistance at http://www.mohousingresources.com

 

You can also see Elad's YouTube tutorial for applying to SAFHR at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdnaoXBug6k​

 

The #EladPod​​​​ is an open Missouri online town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Elad Gross, a Missouri civil rights attorney and educator. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live​​​

#EladPod 3.5: Dr. Timothy McBride on Medicaid, Expansion, and Missouri

Dr. Tim McBride is an expert on Medicaid policy and health care economics. He is the Bernard Becker Professor at Washington University in St. Louis's Brown School and the co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy. He also formerly served as the chair of the MO HealthNet Oversight Committee, overseeing Missouri's Medicaid program, and he has decades of experience working on rural health care policy.

Although Missourians passed a state constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of residents who make a little above poverty wages, the Missouri legislature is considering not funding the voter-approved health care program. We talk about Missouri's Medicaid program, what effect expansion could have on Missouri, and how the current political conflict may resolve.

The #EladPod​ is an open Missouri online town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Elad Gross, a Missouri civil rights attorney and educator. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live

#EladPod 3.4: David Tyson Smith, Candidate for Missouri House District 45

Special Election Special!

David Tyson Smith is the Democratic nominee for Missouri House District 45 in the Columbia area. A Mizzou graduate, attorney, and active member of the community, David has a passion for repairing injustice in our state. His platform highlights include support for public schools, workforce development, affordable housing, prison reform, and improved management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The special election will be on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.

You can learn more about David at https://www.davidtysonsmith.com/​

The #EladPod​ is an open Missouri online town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Elad Gross, a Missouri civil rights attorney and educator. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live

#EladPod 3.3: ACTION ALERT - Public Comment on CAFOs and Water Regulation by March 25 at 5 PM

#EladPod ACTION ALERT: Missouri's Department of Natural Resources is considering a rule change that would exclude "perched water" from the definition of groundwater, potentially clearing a big hurdle for a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) trying to open in Livingston County and others looking to open elsewhere in Missouri. The Department is accepting pubic comment until 5 PM on March 25.

Tim Gibbons of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center talks about the regulation and shows how you can provide public comment.

You can submit public comment here: https://apps5.mo.gov/proposed-rules/welcome.action#OPEN

You can read Tim's op-ed on the topic here: https://missouriindependent.com/2021/03/16/missouris-groundwater-threatened-from-corporate-factory-farm-expansion/

You can learn more about the Missouri Rural Crisis Center at https://morural.org/

The #EladPod​ is an open Missouri online town hall program designed to bring our government back to you. Hosted by Elad Gross, a Missouri civil rights attorney and educator. Learn more at http://www.eladgross.live​