May

14

Rental inspections begin

May 14, 2008 | 3 Comments

WDAF-TV 4 reports that the city has started conducting inspections of rental housing, as part of its new rental registration and inspection program.  20 new inspectors have been hired to make sure that landlords in several target neighborhoods keep their rental units up to code.

May

6

Black Archives on the way back

May 6, 2008 | 1 Comment

After long struggling with financial and leadership problems, the Black Archives of Mid-America may finally be poised to re-open in its new building.  The KCMO Public Library has agreed to provide much-needed operational support. If you aren’t familiar with the Black Archives, it is a wonderful yet little known resource with an impressive collection of [...]

May

1

KCMO wants to hide its blight abuses

May 1, 2008 | 1 Comment

Prime Buzz has an interesting bit about how the City Council has killed the City Auditors plan to produce a map of the city showing TIF districts in relation to blighted neighborhoods. That is because they already know that the map will look pretty damning. An August 2007 series by the KC Star already tells [...]

Apr

28

Midwesterners are dying earlier

April 28, 2008 | 3 Comments

The NY Times reports on an astounding new public health study that says life expectancy for some Americans is decreasing, especially women. No where else in the developed world is this happening, and researchers think it’s due to increasingly unhealthy lifestyles.
This rise in mortality for chronic diseases runs counter to trends in other developed countries, [...]

Apr

18

Go to Earth Day, but buy a carbon offset

April 18, 2008 | 11 Comments

Today is Earth Day, and there are celebrations all over the metro area. The big regional event is not in a central location, but out in the far western suburbs. They have no bus service and difficult bicycle/pedestrian access, so you might want to buy some carbon offsets to mitigate the impact of driving there.  [...]

Apr

17

Update on KC Climate Protection Plan

April 17, 2008 | 3 Comments

Show Me Progress has an update on the progress of KCMO’s climate protection plan.  They also have audio of Dennis Murphy, the city’s Chief Environmental Officer, explaining the program at recent conference in St. Louis.
The city is actually doing a pretty decent job with things like alternative fuels, green roofs, etc.  Unfortunately there is little [...]

Apr

9

Election results

April 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

All of the big KCMO questions passed: Renewal of the bus tax, the smoking ban, and fees for payday loan sharks. In some other races, newcomer Airick Leanord West won a seat on the KCMO School Board and Carson Ross became Blue Springs’ first African-American mayor.  School levy increases passed in Hickman Mills and Raytown.  [...]

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