The Star's Wednesday editorial

True, caveats came attached to the good news that arrived in driveways and on computer screens Wednesday. But after the year this city has just been through, we’ll take good news in whatever form it arrives.

So, the good news:

Kansas City’s beautiful new Sprint Center is doing so well the city will pick up an unexpected $1.8 million in shared profits this year. OK, so part of the reason the city will reap this pleasant harvest is that the building isn’t home to a professional basketball or hockey team. A professional team would likely demand much of the revenue from luxury suites, concessions and sponsorships, and make it more difficult to schedule the concerts that are now making the arena a success. So maybe bringing in another pro sports franchise isn’t a top priority. (For now, we yearn for a winning season from the teams we have.)

The General Motors Fairfax plant will be adding a third shift, and 945 jobs, in January. Now, true, those jobs will be cannibalized from idled or closing plants elsewhere in the sorry American automotive landscape. But, if there’s going to be cannibalization going on, better to be dining than on the menu. The addition of almost a thousand new automotive jobs in this economy speaks highly of the work now being done at the plant, and it’s a huge boost, both to the economy and to our civic psychology.

Even on our dismal local sports front, phenom Zack Greinke continues to pitch well and give sports fans something to cheer about, and even to dream about a possible local Cy Young award. Granted, it’s been a horrible season for the Royals, but hey, they’ve been winning lately.

While getting excited because a team probably won’t finish in last place might seem like a bit of a stretch, well, as noted, we’ll take what we can get these days.