Mar

26

Live-Tweeting the Willie Aames garage sale

March 26, 2009 | 3 Comments

In case you don’t know, Willie Aames of Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge, and Celebrity Fit Club lives in Olathe, KS in the southwest suburbs. Today he’s having a garage sale and attracting a huge crowd.  Someone is live-tweeting the sale, so we can all follow along voyeuristically.  It also looks like the whole [...]

Feb

6

Solution to suburbanite vs. wildlife struggle

February 6, 2009 | Comments Off

The Kansas suburbs are really struggling to deal with the wildlife whose habitat they are paving over.  First it was coyotes in southern Johnson County.  Now it’s deer in western JoCo. Fukced City has an awesome solution, complete with diagram: Move the coyotes to Shawnee Mission Park and let nature take its course.

Fukced City: Solution [...]

Jan

17

Housing meltdown hits hard in Downtown and the Kansas suburbs

January 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

The mortgage crisis and credit crunch have crippled the national housing industry, and new local numbers show how that is playing out in Kansas City.  The KC Home Builders Association 2008 report shows that the number of housing permits dropped by a third from 2007.  Single family houses dropped by half, while apartments actually increased [...]

Jan

13

Overland Park recruiting fur trappers

January 13, 2009 | 6 Comments

Last spring this blog mentioned the problems suburbanites in southern Johnson County were having with coyotes kiling the family dogs, and now it seems that the problem has resurfaced. Instead of putting a stop to house construction in areas where coyotes live or subdivision associations that prohibit fences, Overland Park has decided to legalize animal [...]

Dec

10

Grandview: One of America’s fastest dying towns?

December 10, 2008 | 6 Comments

The southern suburb of Grandview has the dubious distinction of being named the 8th fastest dying town in America, as ranked by Forbes Magazine.  Forbes cites a doubling of the poverty rate since 2000, falling incomes, and falling house prices.
Many of the towns on the list are similar to Grandview – older, inner ring suburbs [...]

Nov

12

Law-breaking JoCo Commissioner loses re-election

November 12, 2008 | Comments Off

John Toplikar, the Johnson County Commissioner caught on video stealing campaign signs, has lost his reelection bid to Calvin Hayden.  Although the margin is very slim and looks like Toplikdar could request a recount.

Oct

9

Old vs. New Buildings

October 9, 2008 | 1 Comment

This is an interesting juxtaposition on the Business Journal’s web site today.  One article features several companies that have chosen to renovate old historic buildings into contempory office space, helpling the company attract talented and creative employees while also making a difference in the local neighborhood.  The other article announces yet another beige office park [...]

keep looking »