Applying stimulus checks to monthly bills

By now, many of you have received your second stimulus check. Mine arrived the other day, although it was far from the $600 the government approved for each qualifying adult and child; apparently the amounts were subject to adjustment based on adjusted gross income.

Still, it will cover the check on a nice dinner for two once we start frequenting restaurants more often. (Just to be clear, we order takeout and meal delivery quite often; we just aren't quite ready to dine in yet.)

According to a new study I found online, Cape Girardeau residents who received the full $600 stimulus payment this month can expect it to cover about two-thirds of their average monthly expenses, not counting their rent or mortgage.

The study, released last week by the online bill-paying service doxo (www.doxo.com), said residents of Cape Girardeau pay an average of $934 a month for the nine most common non-housing related bills — auto loans, auto insurance, utilities (water, gas, electric, trash), health insurance, life insurance, cable/internet, mobile phone, alarm/security, and dental insurance.

Cape Girardeau was one of 919 cities and towns included in the study, which found monthly bills for American households average $927, or about 0.8% less than people in Cape Girardeau pay.

Of the 25 Missouri cities and towns included in the doxoINSIGHTS study, average monthly expenses for Cape Girardeau residents were the sixth highest below Kennett and Poplar Bluff ($1,015), Rolla ($1,004), Marshall ($980) and Branson ($975).

Of the two other Southeast Missouri communities in the study, Sikeston ranked 10th at $903 and Farmington ranked 15th with residents there paying monthly bills that averaged $886.

Sedalia residents had the lowest bills of the 25 Missouri municipalities in the study, paying an average of $753 a month.

To see the full report, go to www.doxo.com and click on the doxoINSIGHTS link at the top of the page.

Finding something worth watching

Netflix has introduced new technology -- "shuffle play" -- to help subscribers find something they'd want to watch.Jay Wolz

If you're a Netflix subscriber like me (and more than 200 million others), there's a good chance you spend a lot of time scrolling through the streaming service's thousands of titles looking for something worth watching.

I've been known to spend the better part of an hour searching the Netflix library for something both my wife and I would enjoy and, more often than not, by the time I find something, it's too late to watch it.

Apparently I'm not the only Netflix customer who has this problem, because last week the company announced a new "shuffle play" feature using algorithms to serve up movies or TV shows similar to what you've already watched or are within the genres you frequently view.

The idea is to get people to watch more content by getting them to tune into something more quickly instead of spending half their evening scrolling through dozens of menus only to give up and start binge watching something on Hulu instead.

Cape Cut Rate Drug Store, 635 Good Hope St., as it appeared 60 years ago in March 1961. The two-story brick structure was torn down last week.G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian file

Our changing landscape

Decorative concrete and the remnants of a entryway pillar are all that's left of the Cape Cut Rate Drug Store building at the intersection of South Sprigg and Good Hope Streets in Cape Girardeau. The vacant building was demolished last week.Jay Wolz

There's something missing on the southeast corner of South Sprigg and Good Hope streets. The old Cape Cut Rate Drug Store building was demolished last week, leaving nothing but a vacant lot and chunks of concrete where the two-story brick building at the intersection once stood.

My sources at City Hall tell me they don't know whether there are any plans for the lot or whether it will remain vacant for now.

The southeast corner at the intersection of South Sprigg and Good Hope streets, once occupied by Cape Cut Rate Drug Store, is now an empty lot. The Salvation Army building is seen in the background.Jay Wolz

Dispensary opens

Cape Girardeau's first medical marijuana dispensary, Greenlight at 1001 Broadway, will open at 10 a.m. Monday.

Under state regulations, only people holding medical marijuana patient cards, along with one guest per patient, are allowed in the building.

Greenlight will be opening dispensaries in Sikeston and Poplar Bluff in the coming weeks, as well as a fourth dispensary in Hayti sometime after that.

Restaurant updates

Sandy's Place, the restaurant in the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport terminal, will be moving off the airport property soon into a new location on Nash Road.

According to the restaurant's Facebook page, the restaurant's new location will open around the end of next week.

Meanwhile, in Jackson, I'm told the new Tokyo Sushi Hibachi restaurant, 1815 E. Jackson Blvd., is set to open Wednesday.

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