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It’s Time to Stop Daylight Saving Time Forever, Says Wash U Expert | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2023

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click to enlarge JOE ANGELES / WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Erik Herzog wants to fall back and then spring forward again.

As a biology professor who studies circadian rhythms, Washington University’s Erik Herzog has strong feelings about the seasonal time changes that will have us “falling back” on November 5 — namely, that we need to scrap them. The former president of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms is proud to have led the organization to a position that has now been adopted by all of the medical and scientific societies that have taken a position on time changes: That permanent Standard Time is the preferred schedule, and our twice-annual adjustments are not worth the damage.

Herzog joined us last week to share why these seasonal switches are dangerous — and just who has him on speed dial.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

People love falling back. What’s wrong with getting an extra hour of sleep?

There’s nothing wrong with getting an extra hour of sleep. We all need an extra hour of sleep. Our society is chronically sleep deprived.

I would argue that we need to make this permanent. We need to have everybody stay in Standard Time, because the goal with the fall back is to set things up so that there’s more light in the mornings, for people’s commute, for kids to get to school and be alert and for everybody to be at their best.

So your real argument is that we should just never spring forward after this. What’s so bad about that change?

For the three days after we spring forward, we see increases in car accidents and heart attacks. It’s disruptive, it’s confusing, it’s even fatal. And so it’s just a matter of whether we want to switch to Daylight Saving Time, which we currently observe for nine months out of the year, or Standard Time, which is the way things were originally designed when they made the time zones.

The way they made our time zones was figuring out where in the middle of the time zone that the sun would be directly overhead at noon, for most of the year. And right now, for nine months of the year, we’re living contrary to that.

So why is there such a big lobby for permanent Daylight Saving Time?

Senators like Marco Rubio are really in favor of getting rid of time-switching, and originally they said, “Let’s go to permanent Standard Time.” When that didn’t fly, they said, “Well, how about permanent Daylight Saving Time?” Now they’ve done the math, and they think they can make an extra billion dollars a year in the golf industry with people being able to go to the golf courses after work when it’s still sunny. And that’s probably true; it probably would make Florida more money, or at least the golf industry in Florida.

The problem is that the rest of us who live further north or live further west have real consequences on not just our health but our safety. The reason we got rid of permanent Daylight Saving Time in 1974 was that some kids got hit by a bus in Florida waiting for the bus in the morning in the dark. Parents in Florida advocated for an end of national daylight saving time — so it didn’t even last for a year.

Yet many people would rather deal with the inconvenience of the time changes then have to give up afternoon sun. What’s your best argument of why it’s worth it to sacrifice those precious hours?

Living on Standard Time doesn’t take away afternoon sunlight. It’s still there. It’s just a matter of recognizing that people associate Daylight Saving Time with summer’s long days, right? Well, you still have long days in the summer when you observe Standard Time. You still have light after work in the summertime. It’s not like your afternoons go dark when you live on Standard Time. Most of us work ‘til 5 p.m., and so you can do the math and you start to realize, “Oh, there are 150 days a year with light after 5 p.m. when you’re on Standard Time.” And if we were on permanent Daylight Saving Time, we would have 180 more days of dark commutes at 8 a.m. than if we were on Standard Time.

It felt like there was this growing consensus that these seasonal switches were a problem and then we lost that momentum. Do you think we’re stuck with seasonal time changes for years to come?

I think we are seeing movement in the opposite direction now, with more and more politicians being interested in permanent Standard Time, and that’s because of the way the Sunshine Act was passed, by what’s called unanimous consent — nobody voted for it, it just got slipped in when nobody was looking. When it did suddenly pass, there was a huge uproar.

I’ve been very surprised at the senators who call me. People who I think of as Marco Rubio’s allies politically are very upset, and they say their contingencies are much more interested in permanent Standard Time.

Senators call you? Like, they do their homework and call up an expert in circadian rhythms?

Well, their staff call me. I’m happy to take those calls.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

9 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

9 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

9 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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