Kansas City Star

Last April, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver began promoting an effort to use federal stimulus funds to upgrade 150 square blocks of inner Kansas City. He called it the Green Impact Zone. “I'm so excited, I'm trying to calm down,” Cleaver had said. “This is a perfect storm of opportunity.”

There were warning signs that U.S. Army Major Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was unstable long before he allegedly shouted “God is great” in Arabic and opened fire at Fort Hood Thursday. Press reports quickly found that Hasan — who is believed to have killed 13 and wounded 30 before he was shot, wounded and arrested — had drawn attention because of his behavior at Fort Hood and at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he worked previously.

The Missouri Housing Development Commission has been through a rocky period. In June, a state audit criticized it for incomplete record-keeping, conflict-of-interest problems and weak rules on contracting. And the panel's executive director was interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into low-income housing projects.

Those extra coats and blankets in good condition can get a new home Saturday, during the annual Project Warmth drive to benefit people in need. This year, 14 locations metrowide will accept blankets, coats and financial donations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will receive the goods and help load them onto well-marked trucks. Go to projectwarmthkc.com to find a site nearest you.

Jackson County taxpayers missed out on a chance to save $56,000 — and probably much more — while holding Tuesday’s election that renewed an anti-drug sales tax. More vigilance by County Executive Mike Sanders and his staff could have helped shave the total bill for the election, now estimated at a staggering $847,000 for just the COMBAT tax issue.

It’s not often you find one federal agency criticizing another, but that’s what happened after the investigation of a 2008 motor coach crash in which 17 people from Texas died en route to a southwest Missouri music festival. The National Transportation Safety Board, which looks into crashes and recommends safety improvements, recently admonished the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for doing too little on motor coach safety.