Aug

31

Star giving up on Prime Buzz

August 31, 2007 | 7 Comments

The Star is giving up on charging people $400/year for their political blog.  Starting Tuesday afternoon it will once again be free.

Aug

30

Is Kansas ready to go smoke free?

August 30, 2007 | 13 Comments

According to Kansas Public Radio’s Peter Hancock, some Kansas Legislators are considering a new statewide smoking ban for a future legislative session. The new interest is based on the 2004 Lawrence city ban passing muster with the Kansas Supreme Court earlier this year.
In a separate-but-related incident, scrappy ‘burb Shawnee saw some chamber drama this week [...]

Aug

28

New Neighbors

August 28, 2007 | 1 Comment

Fired Up Missouri mentions that Congressman Sam Grave’s henchman Jeff Roe has allegedly moved from Liberty to KC’s posh Briarcliff West subdivision. His new McMansion on Mulberry Court puts him less than a mile from Kay Barnes’ McMansion on Mulberry Drive.
This has to make for some awkward encounters at the local coffee house or [...]

Aug

27

Star sets its sights on TIF

August 27, 2007 | 3 Comments

Only about five years after the fact, The Star is finally calling bullshit on TIF abuses and doing the sort of due diligence it neglected to do throughout the Barnes administration.  A few of the interesting nuggets…

KC has granted six times more TIF subsidies than any other city in the country, up to $3 billion.
While [...]

Aug

24

More Plaza Blight?

August 24, 2007 | 2 Comments

Yesterday the Star reported on a plan to “redevelop” a block of 1920s-era apartments along 46th and 47th Streets (Cleaver II Blvd) just east of the Plaza. The plan is replace them with a hotel and some condos, of course using TIF.
It should be very interesting to see how the developers try to spin [...]

Aug

23

Screenland NKC

August 23, 2007 | 2 Comments

Butch Rigby, owner of the Screenland Theatres in the Crossroads and KCK, is adding a third.  The Star reports that Rigby is purchasing the Paradise Theatre in North Kansas City.  He plans to have it rehab and opened by May 2008.

Aug

22

Kansans push for stem cell ban in Missouri

August 22, 2007 | 3 Comments

Stem cells are likely going back on the ballot in Missouri. A group called Cures without Cloning has collected signatures for an initiative petition. The group is based in Johnson County and its board is comprised of a majority of Kansas residents. They are using “ban human cloning” language to mask their [...]

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