BlogKC

Northland suburbs looking to follow KC’s lead on smoking ban

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:24:21 +0000

It looks like several Northland suburbs are starting to think about following Kansas City’s lead on enacting a smoking ban. With several suburbs almost completey surrounded by KCMO, they don’t have much choice in at least considering it. Parkville and North Kansas City have started talking about it, and Liberty is starting to gauge public opinion. And it may be public pressure that forces the issue, with cities scrambling make sure they aren’t the last one to get on board.

“If only one municipality lacked a smoking ban in the Northland… Jokes would ensue and nicknames like “The Ashtray of the Northland” would likely stick”

Northland Sun Gazette: KC smoking ban puts neighbors in quandry

ShareThis

Rents on the way up

William Rockhill Nelson — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:16:26 +0000

The Business Journal hints that the mortgage meltdown will lead to higher rents on apartments. People who have been foreclosed on or who are unable to get mortgages are creating more demand for apartments. At the same time, higher construction costs mean fewer apartments are being built. So while the Biz Journal didn’t say, the twin forces of high demand and low supply will likely result in higher rents.

ShareThis

Rental inspections begin

William Rockhill Nelson — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:40:23 +0000

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.

ShareThis

Deb Hermann proposes museum tax increase

William Rockhill Nelson — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:02:30 +0000

City Councilmember Deb Hermann (1st District) is proposing a plan to boost funding for city museums by asking voters to increase the city’s museum property tax. The city currently has a very small 2 cent museum tax that goes to the Kansas City Museum. Hermann want to raise it to 8 cents and include more museums. Union Station, Liberty Memorial, and the Zoo are all in need of more revenue to keep going.

While the idea is very worthwhile, we challenge the City Council to think bigger and revisit the idea of the regional cultural district. The original bi-state compact is still in effect and can be used without any additional work in Jeff City or Topeka. There are many museums in the suburbs that would also use a boost from regional cultural funding, and without the baggage of sports stadium subsisides, there is a good chance voters would agree.

Kansas City doesn’t have to look far for a great example. St. Louis has had a regional zoo/museum property tax for years, and it includes both city and suburbs. It not only supports the art museum, science center, and zoo, but it also allows those institutions offer free admission.

KC Star: KC Councilwoman proposes “big” boost in museum funding

KMBZ Radio: Council Member seeks more museum money

ShareThis

Missouri Amtrak improvements on the horizon

William Rockhill Nelson — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:37:18 +0000

Two bits of the new Missouri budget provide hope for Missouri’s beleagured Amtrak service between KC and St. Louis. First, the state’s $8 million rail budget survived an attempted cut, so the trains will keep running. Second, the General Assembly approved $5 million to improve capacity of the KC-STL line and hopefully reduce the delays and unreliabilty that have plagued the service in recent years as freight train congestion has increased.

Columbia Missourian: Lawmakers OK $140 million for construction projects.

Let’s Go KC: Amtrak funding saved.

ShareThis

Take the Car-Free Challenge

William Rockhill Nelson — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:18:27 +0000

For one week, how many solo car trips can you replace with walking, bicycling, carpooling, or riding the bus?

That is the Car-Free Challenge that Bike Week organizers are putting to the entire metro area May 10-16. Individuals and teams of co-workers and friends compete to see how many miles and how many trips they can go car-free. If you have one of those hellish suburban commutes where the car is your only option, then just think about trips to the store, library, or dinner that you could make car-free in your own neighborhood.

Some of the other Bike Week events include classes on bicycle commuting, group rides, mountain bike riding, and intro to the hipster fixed-gear scene. If you are first timer, on Monday you can join a convoy of experienced bike commuters riding to work.

ShareThis

Black Archives on the way back

William Rockhill Nelson — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:44:14 +0000

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 materials documenting the story of African-Americans in the Midwest. Hopefully some time next year the public will once again be able to take advantage of all that the Archives have to offer.

KC Star: Pact paves the way for Black Archives to re-open.

ShareThis

Problems with Missouri tax structure

William Rockhill Nelson — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:22:41 +0000

Show Me Progress has an interested post on the sad state of Missouri’s tax structure, where the wealthiest citizens have a lower tax rate than the everyone else and the poorest have the highest tax rate. But it’s not all income tax, a big chunk of the imbalance is in propety tax and sales tax.

Even though sales taxes are regressive by nature (meaning they impact the poorest the most), they are increasingly popular. Politicians seem to see new sales taxes as an easier sell than raising property or income taxes. In Kansas City, sales pays for everything from streets and bridges to buses and someday light rail. With the total sales tax approaching 8%, just imagine how high it would be without the earnings tax.

ShareThis

Blogosphere does not equal Internet

William Rockhill Nelson — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:16:37 +0000

There is an interesting mini-controversy over whether or not a KSHB-41 reporter got a story idea from the KCTalk.com discussion board and failed to credit the source. Regardless of the controversy itself, it is interesting how the legacy media like John Landsberg are using the terms blog and blogosphere. At best it is an example of lazy reporting. At worst it is an xample of people struggling to report on something they don’t really understand

KCTalk.com is not a blog. It is a discussion board. Calling it a blog would be like calling a sitcom a newscast. Blogs and discussion boards are two very different types of web sites that happen to use the same medium, the Internet.

ShareThis

Weekend

William Rockhill Nelson — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:59:26 +0000

Some hightlights of this weekend’s entertainment…

The stroller brigade and dog folks will battle for space in the always over-crowded Brookside Art Fair.

Yuppies will be fighting blue hairs for the best condo deals at the Urban Tour of lofts, condos, and apartments Downtown.

A wide assortment of geeks and nerds will be battling it out in Midtown for a special Star Wars vs. Star Trek edition of Comicon. It promsies to be almost as entertaining as a bum fight.

ShareThis