Jan

18

Candidates turn attention to Missouri

January 18, 2008 | 2 Comments

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that Democratic presidential candidates are turning up their campaigns in Missouri in preparation for our February 5th primary.  Hillary Clinton and John Edwards will be making campaign appearances in St. Louis this weekend.  Barack Obama has yet to schedule a return to the Show Me state, but his campaign [...]

Jan

18

Sprint sinking?

January 18, 2008 | 5 Comments

News broke today that Sprint is shedding 4,000 jobs and the stock is tanking. No word on how many will be local.
If your new year’s resolution was to get a new job, you might want to wait a few months until the local job market absorbs all of the new refugees. But if you [...]

Jan

17

Convention business takes a big hit

January 17, 2008 | 7 Comments

Yesterday news broke that we are losing our biggest convention to Louisville. The SkillsUSA group is following the FFA to Louisville, citing a lack of space and a lack of hotel rooms near the convention center.
This loss appears to be unrelated to the Francis Semler controversy and the loss of the La Raza and [...]

Jan

11

Fixing Amtrak in Missouri

January 11, 2008 | 13 Comments

Across the country Amtrak is experiencing record gains in ridership as people switch passenger rail as more affordable, less stressful, and more sustainable for of transportation.  That is, everywhere but in Missouri.  Our Amtrak route between KC and St. Louis is one of the few train routes losing passengers.  The problem is really poor on-time [...]

Jan

9

Missouri Poet Laureate Announced

January 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday Governor Blunt and the Missouri Center for the Book announced the appointment Walter Bargen as the state’s first Poet Laureate.  Bargen is from the Columbia suburb of Ashland and will travel the state for the next two years visiting schools, libraries, and such.  He will also write a new poem honoring Missouri.

Governor’s press release
Walter [...]

Jan

9

TIF + OP = WTF?

January 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Overland Park, KS is facing the prospect granting its first-ever Tax Increment Financing subsidy to renovate an obsolete strip mall in the northern half of Kansas City’s marquee suburb.  The location is across the street from one of KC’s two premier shopping malls. To date, this suburb has generally stuck with rare property tax abatements [...]

Jan

8

Airick West for School Board

January 8, 2008 | 11 Comments

Too often in Kansas City it seems like we are sitting around waiting for the old guard to die off so that younger leaders can finally take the city in a more progressive direction. Whether it’s public transportation, neighborhood revitalization, sustainability, livability, or a host of other issues - much of the entrenched leadership is [...]

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