Kobach wants to make Kansas redistricting a federal case
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is asking the federal courts to take over the Kansas redistricting process.
He’s right. (I know, it’s that once-in-a-blue-moon moment when I actually think that.) But the Kansas Legislature is at war over the redistricting issue, and the prospects for a truce and …
Mayor James kills $500 million bond election this year
In a positive move, Mayor Sly James is telling City Council members and others Wednesday morning that he won’t move ahead with a $500 million bond election this August. It would have required a property tax increase, but the mayor told me in an interview in his office that he … Read More ⇒
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Killer of Raytown jogger needs to be caught now
The random slaying of Harry M. Stone should concern every person in the Kansas City area. The 60-year-old Raytown man was shot Sunday morning while jogging less than a mile from his home. The Metro Squad is investigating the homicide. This slaying should concern every person who walks, bikes, waits … Read More ⇒
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Momma Please Let Your Kids Grow Up to Be Programmers
Ask any first-grader what they want to be when they grow up, and of course they’ll tell you fireman, or ballerina, or computer programmer. Okay, maybe I’m kidding. Most kids don’t dream of being computer programmers. But apparently big kids don’t want to do it either. As much as we … Read More ⇒
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UMKC’s Morton lashes out after NCAA investigation
UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton didn’t mince words Tuesday in attacking a former instructor for making public charges that the university had improperly changed the grade of a student athlete. Here’s The Star’s earlier story on the matter, involving allegations made by instructor Henry Lyons. At the time, UMKC officials said … Read More ⇒
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The courage to become an artist
Sitting in a darkened auditorium at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on a blazing August morning back in 2008, I listened, enchanted by the speaker at the podium, whose words etched themselves in my memory. The occasion was new-student orientation, and my son, about to begin his … Read More ⇒
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KC voters deserve clear choices on key tax plans
Kansas City plans to put at least one sure-fire winner on the Aug. 7 ballot. Called Question 1, it would allow voters to eliminate the $12.50 annual vehicle license fee and stop the city from collecting some property taxes used to repair streets. All told, average taxpayers could cut their … Read More ⇒
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There’s a good reason that Limbaugh made it
It was back in the late ‘80s when I heard about a new radio program coming to a station in Kansas City. As I was driving in my car I heard the station’s announcer say it was the fastest-growing program in the history of radio: The Rush Limbaugh Show. I … Read More ⇒
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Costly Teva deal moves ahead in Overland Park
Overland Park resident Earl Long spoke last week for a lot of taxpayers who are weary of the rampant public subsidies given to relocate businesses from one part of the Kansas City area to another. Long questioned the Overland Park City Council’s plan to give Teva Neuroscience a multimillion-dollar tax … Read More ⇒
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Notes from the final days of the GST Steel plant
Kansas City’s GST Steel plant closing is back in the news, thanks to an Obama campaign ad featuring the role of Mitt Romney and his company, Bain Capital, in the plant’s demise. (Romney had left the company when the plant closed, but was with Bain during the acquisition of GST … Read More ⇒
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Diversity group of letter writers meets tonight at The Star
A diversity group of letter writers will meet at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 15) at The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd. Parking is in The Star lot just north of 18th Street. Enter from McGee Street. Anyone can attend. The topics generally focus on what has been in … Read More ⇒
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Alzheimer’s cure is man-on-moon goal for Obama
It doesn’t sound as sexy as President John Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon safely within 10 years, but President Barack Obama’s objective to try to cure or slow Alzheimer’s disease will have far greater ramifications worldwide. The administration today announced the initiative setting a deadline of … Read More ⇒
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Harry Stone murder an act of evil
Another random killing in the Kansas City area and we truck out the usual inadequate words to describe how we feel about it. An outrage. Preposterous. An utter, complete waste. What possessed a person, described by police as “a gunman in a passing sedan,” to lean out of the passenger-side … Read More ⇒
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America’s children hurt most by housing recession
Middle class families have traditionally depended on their homes as their store of wealth. Local municipalities, in turn, have traditionally derived their revenues from property taxes. This recession has been different from past recessions in that families and communities have been more directly and immediately affected, due to the dramatic … Read More ⇒
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Four legacies of Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley
Steve Tilley won’t go into the books as one of the great speakers of the Missouri House. After two years in that post, he’ll be remembered for: 1) Getting Rush Limbaugh added to the Hall of Famous Missourians. Tilley slipped the controversial “Rush Bust” into a locked chamber on Monday, … Read More ⇒
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James’ huge tax and bond plan keeps evolving
The huge tax and bond plan unveiled last week by Mayor Sly James continues to evolve this week. The work being done behind the scenes by James, City Council members, the city staff and a few others is aimed at keeping the sales tax and property tax increases on the … Read More ⇒
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The unprofessional Sensation Seeking of Time Magazine
Time’s recent issue shows a mother nursing a toddler almost four-year-old. Though I don’t have anything against the practice of nursing a big child, I do find Time’s method of seeking sensation a bit distasteful and demeaning to nursing mothers. The private practice of nursing is meant to be between … Read More ⇒
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Missing Funkhouser yet?
Former Mayor Funkhouser is long gone, and Kansas City is once more “open for business.” The TIF commission has recommended a proposal for tax-increment financing of $33.4 million for a retail development at Shoal Creek. The city council will soon vote whether to approve. Nothing has changed from the pre-Funkhouser … Read More ⇒
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University of Kansas City has a great ring to it
As names go, the University of Missouri-Kansas City doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. It’s clunky, and the “Kansas City” part comes across as an afterthought. The University of Kansas City, on the other hand, has a nice, clean ring. It conveys a sense of place. And a sense of … Read More ⇒
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Rein in spending by Boilermakers’ leaders
Millions of union members throughout America are fighting hard to keep their jobs during these tough economic times. But that pain isn’t shared by the leaders of an international union based in Kansas City, Kan. Their jobs are well compensated. And, steeped in nepotism, many family members have climbed into … Read More ⇒
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Speaker Tilley embarrasses Rush Limbaugh
It’s tough to defend Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley’s embarrassing treatment of radio host Rush Limbaugh today at the state Capitol. Tilley refused to let the general public see Limbaugh be inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians. That was a slap in the face to Limbaugh, who has made … Read More ⇒
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Mayor James’ tax/bond plan in big trouble
The tax and bond plan proposed last week by Mayor Sly James is in big trouble if it stays in the original form it was introduced. The mayor last Friday told me the ballot issue was still in flux. Good. It needs some changing before the City Council makes a … Read More ⇒
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A Mother’s Day message for women of Afghanistan
Security. It’s something we all want and need. Especially mothers. It is also something that I, as many Americans, often take for granted. It is different elsewhere in the world. In Afghanistan, women and girls are caught in the crossfire of war. A recent article from CNN said, “At least … Read More ⇒
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Fiesty neighborhood holds its own in the core
Eddie Tapper stood at 34th Street and Forest Avenue and showed me a 1976 copy of a Kansas City Plan Commission report for the area. It could’ve been written today. It spoke of the highly mobile, lower-income population and the old, poor condition of the housing. “For the well-being of … Read More ⇒
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Expand work visas for top foreign talent
Each year, Washington awards visas to immigrants who bring skills and qualifications prized by high-tech companies. This is an eminently sensible policy, since highly trained immigrants add greatly to the nation’s stock of human capital and as a group, they have a high propensity to start companies of their own. … Read More ⇒