The Kansas City Post

• City Council to Consider Campaign Finance Reform

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Chris Hernandez at NBC Action News reports that the City Council is considering enacting campaign contribution limits. The news conference was complete with all the usual platitudes about accountability and "restoring integrity to the political" [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• Citizens Assoctiation: Glass Houses

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Recently the Citizens Association released a strongly worded letter directed at the Mayor and City Council. While I agree with the sentiments, I just can't take a call for ethics seriously from an organization so' [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 11:50am EST
  

• Convention Hotel Committee Should Avoid Confirmation Bias

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Yes I oppose using taxpayer resources to build a 1000 room convention hotel downtown. I'm not against progress; far from it. I would love to see a thriving convention industry in Kansas City. I just think the "build it and they'" [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:00am EDT
  

• Jackson County: Time To Step Up

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  What exactly is it that Jackson County government does? This is a question I hear more often than you would think. Aside from maintaining a few parks, providing law enforcement for unincorporated areas and assessing property values, most people can't really' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• The West Edge Project: Our Monument to TIF

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Hindsight is indeed always 20/20, but reading the original TIF Plan for the West Edge Plaza Development reminds me of how easy it is to baffle people with... well let's just say how easy it is to baffle people.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 8:10am EDT
  

• Can 2011 Get Here Soon Enough?

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Much has been written about the Squitiro-Funkhouser administration. Fortunately, not much has been said lately about their hollow victory in court striking down the volunteer ordinance. I still have no doubt however that this has given the co-mayors new hope that [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 9:15am EDT
  

• San Francisco Values? Yes Please!

  Props to political operative Jeff Roe for coining a phrase that will remain in the Kansas City lexicon for some time; "San Francisco Values". Meant as a scare tactic to stir up homophobic fears among conservative voters, the phrase has become something of an inside joke amongst liberal Kansas City [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• Street Lights Can Do More Than Just Light The Streets

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  In 1997, voters approved General Obligation Bonds to upgrade and expand the street light system in Kansas City. The idea was to brighten streets and sidewalks to improve safety. It seemed logical at the time. I [...]
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  Posted: July 09, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
  

• Downtown Convention Hotel: Not Now, Not With Our Money

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Build it and they will come. Makes for a catchy baseball movie theme but lousy economic development policy. The Sprint Center sits as a shining example of how not to go about public-private partnered development. Not [...]
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  Posted: June 23, 2009, 9:00am EDT
  

• Sidewalks Aren't Free

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Recently a Resolution was forwarded out of committee for the full council's consideration. Considering "Resolutions" are only useful if they're printed out and the backs can be used as scratch paper, I normally don't pay much' [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 9:30am EDT
  

• Our Insular Leadership

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Years ago while serving on an advisory committee at City Hall I found myself interacting with many levels of our government bureaucracy. Our committee charter was to analyze different department procedures, and help them formulate a pseudo-business [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• I'm still here...

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Apathy. Boredom. Being busy with my day job (thank goodness!). I haven't had the motivation to write much as of late. By doing so I have ignored my own blogging credo; "Write every day". Someone from the "mainstream media" asked me' [...]
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  Posted: June 05, 2009, 8:35am EDT
  

• False Alarms: Abusers Should Pay Their Fair Share

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Every day in Kansas City the police have to respond to automatic alarm alerts. The majority of those calls turn out to be false alarms. How much of a majority? Try 97%. Factor that number into [...]
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  Posted: May 14, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• A Midwesterner’s observations on “San Francisco values”

  By Kevin Klinkenberg
  The Kansas City Post
  
  We’ve had some elections around here recently, and even more nationally where people like to express their distaste for “San Francisco values”. God forbid, they suggest, that we allow our area/city to become like San Francisco – [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 8:23am EDT
  

• Funkhouser: This Recall Looks Real

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  "It's political." That was the accusation former councilman George Blackwood made about the Funkhouser Recall movement on Steve Kraske's "Up To Date" program on KCUR yesterday. Of course it's political. By definition the recall of an elected official is always' [...]
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  Posted: May 06, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  

• Petition Initiatives Must Be Feasible

  
  Recently a story was run by the Kansas City Star reporting that our Virginia based annoyance will once again return to Kansas City with a new petition drive for light rail, gondolas and electric buses. Why does the Star continue to give this person [...]
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  Posted: April 29, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation (Part 6 of 6): What's Next

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Transforming the KCMSD into a district that works to provide educational achievement for all scholars isn't a fantasy that well wishing and positive thinking will make appear. But it is a reality that we have the collective power to create.' [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2009, 6:56am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation (Part 5 of 6): Governance

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Finally, in the meetings and discussions of the school board, there are two competing conversations: "I am not to blame for what is not working in the district" and "We are fully responsible for everything that is working and not" [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation (Part 4 of 6): Faculty & Administration

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Within the faculty and administration discussions concerning the school district, there are two competing conversations: "I will teach those students that want to learn" and "We are responsible for the educational achievement of all of our scholars." One of these [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 8:53am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation (Part 3 of 6): Community Engagement

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Embedded in the community conversation about our school district, you can hear two competing conversations: "I see no hope for that district" and "We believe in what is possible for our district's scholars and we will act on that belief."' [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• Leave it to Cleaver: Raul Castro is "Amazing"!

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I try to keep the topics on The Kansas City Post specific to local issues. Normally a subject like the U.S. embargo on Cuba would not fall into that realm. But a recent visit to Havana [...]
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  Posted: April 14, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation (Part 2 of 6): Scholar Engagement

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  National research describing what is required to bridge significant gaps that exist between subgroups of scholars point to similar conclusion with a key one being this: scholar engagement. Without a highly motivated learner, the entire process of education begins to [...]
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  Posted: April 13, 2009, 6:55am EDT
  

• Cultural Transformation: Preamble (Part 1 of 6)

  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Listening to our scholars, our teachers, administrators, parents, union members, neighborhood leaders, community residents, businesswomen and men, civic leaders, titans of industry and more, you can hear the same thing: the precursors to wholesale cultural transformation. The cultural norms surrounding [...]
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  Posted: April 10, 2009, 7:05am EDT
  

• New Industry for KC: Next Up? Electric Buses

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Back when I first read about Smith Electric Vehicles potentially coming to the United States, I began researching its parent company, The Tanfield Group. Based in England the Tanfield Group is the parent company of Smith [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• MO Pub Service Commissioner "Doesn't See It"

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I was disappointed after reading Kevin Gunn's "As I See It" column in The Kansas City Star. See We Should Seek New Ways Of Making Power. Mr. Gunn identifies himself as a Commissioner with the Missouri Public' [...]
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  Posted: April 06, 2009, 8:15am EDT
  

• City Council: Request Attorney General Investigation Now

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The impasse continues. Mark Funkhouser is absolutely convinced he is correct. As he has shown with just about every controversial event in his administration, his attitude is that he is right and everyone else is wrong. There are no gray areas [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  

• Smith EV Comes To Kansas City: This time it's (almost) official.

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  A couple of weeks ago I posted the news that Smith Electric Vehicles - US had signed a lease with Kansas City to put an assembly plant at KCI Airport. I was acting under the [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 3:55pm EDT
  

• Economic Development Reform: Just Campaign Rhetoric?

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  There has been no shortage of internet commentary on the proposed elimination of the City Finance function that oversees economic development plans. It does seem counter intuitive to eliminate any part of a system of checks [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 7:55am EDT
  

• Hotel Savoy: Another Taxpayer Money Grab?

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Years ago in 1998, the owner of the Hotel Savoy approached the TIF Commission hat in hand asking for millions of dollars to renovate his investment. He had the high-powered development attorneys, he had the foam [...]
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  Posted: March 18, 2009, 7:40am EDT
  

• We Got 'Em! Smith Electric Vehicles Is Coming To Kansas City.

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Just received the news that Smith Electric Vehicles - US has signed a lease with Kansas City to put an assembly plant at KCI Airport. Preliminary details are not available but I'm told they will' [...]
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  Posted: March 10, 2009, 12:11pm EDT
  

• Bus Shelters Beat Little Blue Signs

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Riding the bus in Kansas City can be downright difficult. Sure the KCATA has a website, there have been marketing campaigns in both print and broadcast media, and we're even on Google Transit. But is internet' [...]
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  Posted: March 10, 2009, 7:00am EDT
  

• L.A. Consequential: It ain't over till it's over

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Yesterday I talked about a "failed" initiative in Los Angeles to compel their public utility to provide 400MW of solar power on public buildings by 2014. Stop the presses! Or at least stop hitting the "Publish Post" [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 7:47am EST
  

• L.A. Consequential: How 'not' to create new jobs in the energy sector

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The Los Angeles City Council let the voters decide yesterday if they want to move forward into the 21st Century and begin demanding that their electricity come from something other than digging rocks out of the [...]
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  Posted: March 04, 2009, 8:20am EST
  

• Use Cameras To Enforce Parking Laws

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I support the red light cameras. I have no Orwellian fears of "the state" tracking my movements. Are any of us really that important that we warrant tracking? I have no issues with "chain of custody" [...]
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  Posted: February 26, 2009, 6:38am EST
  

• It's The Economy Stupid...

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It's pander time at City Hall. The jockeying has begun. Who will run for mayor? Who will run for re-election? And who will (we wish) just run? Pandering season is marked by the emergence of do nothing' [...]
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  Posted: February 24, 2009, 8:51am EST
  

• MBE Contractor Policies: Helping or Hurting?

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I've been grappling with the issue of MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) policies for a long time. I knew the current policies weren't working, I just didn't know why. I had my suspicions. Corruption, cronyism and incompetence.' [...]
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  Posted: February 18, 2009, 7:55am EST
  

• Uncommon Sense: City-wide tree planting program

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It's always pleasant to write about something the City is doing right. Sometimes motivated individuals and departments manage to slip programs under the radar of hapless politicos who would bastardize the whole thing in an attempt' [...]
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  Posted: February 16, 2009, 8:05am EST
  

• KC Campaign Finance: Government to the Highest Bidder

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Very quietly a few weeks ago the City Council passed an ordinance pertaining to campaign finance rules. On the surface it seemed fairly innocuous. It's sponsor, Bill Skaggs characterized it as an administrative necessity to' [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• Economic Development: Don't forget to play defense

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  A few weeks ago there was a very quiet article in the Kansas City Business Journal announcing the closure of the Ball Corp. canning plant in the East Bottoms. The plant employed about 180 people and produced [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 9:51am EST
  

• It's Called "Going" Green, Not "Glowing" Green!

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  St. Louis-based utility AmerenUE has decided that they think this whole solar, wind, geothermal thing is just a fad. Apparently coal isn't dangerous enough for them either. No, AmerenUE is going old-school. In the spirit of' [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2009, 9:00am EST
  

• Is a bus to the airport too much to ask?

  
  By Kevin Klinkenberg
  The Kansas City Post
  
  One of the more maddening aspects of the recent light-rail debate was the insistence by so many people that “rail must go to the airport – that’s common sense.” Of course, common sense isn’t quite that [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• Looking For The Next Big Score

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  We need a major franchise in Kansas City. Not an NHL or NBA franchise but something drastically different with a much more positive effect on the community. I understand the need to be a "major league" [...]
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  Posted: February 02, 2009, 7:02am EST
  

• Making Kansas City A Testbed For New Technology

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Years ago when I was in college, new technology consisted of a Unix-based network machine that you could enter coordinates (0,0,0) and (1,1,1) and draw a line! That was cutting edge stuff. My how far we've come.' [...]
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  Posted: January 30, 2009, 7:15am EST
  

• I'm walkin' here!

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It seems like some Kansas Citians view walking as the necessary evil they must endure in order to get from their front door to their car. In a sprawled metro like Kansas City with a severely inadequate [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• A Full-Time City Deserves Full-Time Leaders

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The mayor and council positions in Kansas City, MO are part-time positions. As a councilperson you're only required to be at City Hall for the general council meeting every Thursday as well as your various committee meetings.' [...]
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  Posted: January 26, 2009, 7:00am EST
  

• NHL or NBA? How about neither?

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  NBA and NHL franchises are great. If you're into either sport, having the opportunity to see the games live is a real treat. I remember fondly the days of Phil Ford and Sam Lacey. Even when' [...]
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  Posted: January 22, 2009, 8:13am EST
  

• Firing City Workers Only Compounds The Problem

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  We've all seen the figures. $80-90 million. That's the projected budget shortfall Kansas City is facing. Of course that means closer to $120-150 million when you consider the fact that these budgetary projections are just uneducated [...]
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  Posted: January 19, 2009, 11:53am EST
  

• Chief of the Bureau of Bureaucracy

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  City Manager Wayne Cauthen has hired former city councilman Chuck Eddy as his Chief of Staff. It seems the city council encouraged the hiring of someone to "help smooth office operations". Of course City Hall [...]
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  Posted: January 13, 2009, 7:37am EST
  

• Taking Task Forces To Task

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Task forces are a great way for under qualified politicians to avoid having to do any of the real work for which they were elected. They also provide political cover for those same politicians in the event [...]
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  Posted: January 06, 2009, 10:04am EST
  

• ¡Bienvenidos a Kansas City!

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I was a child of the 70's. Okay, part of the 60's too but that's not my point. I remember what a big deal it was when President Nixon visited China. Until that point, the only' [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2008, 6:30am EST
  

• Quit your whining and do your job.

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I've resisted writing anything about our dysfunctional co-mayors until now. I figured why write about the obvious? Besides, there is so much to write about! I wouldn't know where to begin. But two consecutive mornings of [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 12:48pm EST
  

• Light Rail in Kansas City: Go Big or Go Home?

  
  By Kevin Klinkenberg
  The Kansas City Post
  
  
  Now that light rail has failed handily in KC once again, the question is what next? For those of us who remain in the camp that rail transit is important to the city’s future, what [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2008, 7:40am EST
  

• Mayor One and Done

  
  From the lawsuit to be filed this morning:
  
  Gloria Squitiro considered (and believes with equal conviction today) that her consultation and assistance at City Hall constituted a highly valuable contribution both to her husband and to her City.
  
  I don't have anything to' [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2008, 8:32am EST
  

• To Lobby, Or Not To Lobby? That Is The Question.

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  For the past few years Kansas City has had to deal with a shrinking budget. Because only a very small percentage of the city budget is actually discretionary there is very little flexibility as far as [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2008, 10:01am EDT
  

• Subverting Democracy On A Technicality

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Love it or hate it, everybody seems to have a strong opinion about light rail in Kansas City. Until today that debate has been waged on blogs, letters to the editor and the ubiquitous yard sign wars [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 11:19am EDT
  

• Westport: No Loitering, No cruising, Curfews or All of the Above?

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  There has been a growing problem in Westport that is reaching critical mass and needs to be addressed. Most Saturday nights after midnight, the streets and sidewalks get clogged with people who have no business being in [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2008, 6:32am EDT
  

• Do nothing ordinances: Review, revamp or repeal

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Kansas City's Municipal Code grows every year. If it's one thing City Council members know how to do it's create new ordinances. Unfortunately, with every addition to the municipal code our system of laws, policies and procedures [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2008, 8:30am EDT
  

• A vote of "No Confidence"

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Mark Funkhouser has made it very clear that he is incapable of performing his duties as mayor without his wife's presence. Agree or disagree, the mayor has drawn his line in the sand. The City Council will move today to pass [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2008, 8:30am EDT
  

• Cordish stance on light rail: Allow me to retort

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Beggars can't be choosers. It's a simple lesson, spanning most cultures that is taught to us at a young age. The idea is that anyone receiving charity should be contrite. You're not carrying your weight in society [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2008, 7:54am EDT
  

• Light Rail: Let's stop following and start leading

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Only once in a generation do we get a chance to do something truly significant. The thing is, it's difficult to determine what that "something" is until history has had its opportunity to pass judgment. That is [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2008, 7:25am EDT
  

• Curbside Recycling: We can do better

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Yesterday I threw away a glass bottle. I'm sure a large percentage of Kansas Citians do this every day without a second thought but to an ardent recycler like myself it borders on the sacrilegious. The [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2008, 8:00am EDT
  

• Plan for the future because it's already here

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Coming soon to a yard or rooftop near you. Solar panels. A windmill perhaps? Even a stationary hydrogen fuel cell generator. While the fossil fuel-based world continues blindly down the path they've followed for over a century, [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2008, 6:00am EDT
  

• Commercial Handbills: Communication or Irritation?

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Recently I found a flyer taped to my front door. It had a very formal looking header "Neighborhood Enhancement Program." Since the flyer was stark and formal looking I read further. Perhaps it was from my [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2008, 6:00am EDT
  

• Some temp tags aren't so temporary

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Sales tax. Insurance. Personal property tax. Purchasing a vehicle, even an inexpensive one can lead to a substantial outlay of cash. With our ever climbing sales tax rate in Kansas City, the purchase of a vehicle [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2008, 6:00am EDT
  

• After Oil - The rest of the story

  
  By Kevin Klinkenberg
  The Kansas City Post
  
  For several years now I’ve been making a living somehow by extolling the virtues of walkable urbanism. I give countless presentations on how much of a pleasure it is to live in a neighborhood where one [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2008, 7:52am EDT
  

• 2008. Year one of AO – After Oil

  
  By Kevin Klinkenberg
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I’m sitting outside on a beautiful night in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and here I am thinking about oil. The phrase – “get a life” comes to mind. But, it’s on my mind as I watch cars roar by [...]
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  Posted: July 14, 2008, 7:39am EDT
  

• Let Citizen Committees Do Their Job

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The citizen committee culture in Kansas City is something of which I've long been critical. On the surface it sounds like a solid idea. Appoint qualified, civic-minded individuals to study a problem and recommend a [...]
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  Posted: July 07, 2008, 8:31am EDT
  

• Green sewers, or just a green bandwagon?

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It seems every politician is jumping on the green bandwagon these days. And why not? Who wants to be on record as being against helping the environment? But in their fervor to be on the side [...]
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  Posted: June 16, 2008, 1:05pm EDT
  

• Regional Transit Needs A Regional Leader

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  A few weeks ago I attended a Mayor's Town Hall meeting in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The Mayor made some opening remarks during which he talked about his campaign rhetoric that "the first TIF plan that comes [...]
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  Posted: June 11, 2008, 7:35am EDT
  

• Downtown parking is not the problem

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It's difficult to revive an urban center with people who are suburban minded. Kansas City wants to compete with Dallas, Minneapolis, and even Chicago, but we're trying to do so with leaders who seemed convinced that acres [...]
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  Posted: May 08, 2008, 7:23am EDT
  

• Make sure you read that contract...

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  On April 11th the City Attorney received a letter from Cordish's attorneys regarding the status of what they feel should be an exclusive festival liquor license for the Power & Light District. Tony Botello at TonysKansasCity.com [...]
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  Posted: April 30, 2008, 10:08am EDT
  

• Why all the outrage? Really???

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Years ago my first job at King Radio was a dream come true. I was able to stay in Kansas City and work in the high tech field of avionics. Then the 90's hit and the economy [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2008, 1:13pm EDT
  

• Payday Loans Ordinance: Right idea, wrong implementation

  
  By Nicole Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  On April 8th we will be asked to vote on a new ordinance restricting the operations of so-called “payday loan” offices in Kansas City.
  
  I fully support parts of this legislation such as the [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2008, 8:16am EDT
  

• Attract new industry, not old ideas

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Kansas City has long sought to become a leader in industry. In the 60's it was defense manufacturing with Bendix. In the 70's Armco Steel was the hope for many to maintain a strong base of [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2008, 12:05pm EDT
  

• Finding new sources of revenue

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  
  In the current round of budgeting there appears to be a serious shortfall. Most estimates I've seen come in around $78 million. It's obvious that when you're short on revenue you have to spend less. The [...]
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  Posted: March 11, 2008, 11:22am EDT
  

• Buyer's remorse doesn't pay the bills

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Most of us have had the experience. You find out after the fact that you've paid too much for something. Maybe it was something as small as an MP3 player. Maybe it was something bigger, like [...]
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  Posted: February 19, 2008, 1:10pm EST
  

• The best transit plans start in the streets

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The mayor and council are badly in need of a win. Nobody seems to be capable of performing the actual work they were elected to do. Forming citizen committees to make decisions for them is the [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2008, 8:30am EST
  

• Statement to the Citizens Task Force on Light Rail

  The following is a statement read to the members of the Citizens Light Rail Task Force by Fred Buckley at the January 21st meeting. It is published here in its entirety.
  
  Members of the Task Force,
  
  I would like to speak this evening about a few things, and [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2008, 8:21am EST
  

• Breaking up is hard to do

  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Another Kansas City School District Superintendent has come and gone. The revolving door continues and it's now time to bring in the next administrator for his or her 18 month stint. When does it end?
  
  [...]
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  Posted: January 24, 2008, 8:37am EST
  

• Bring sanity to the petition process

  Number of comments: 2
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  No form of government puts more responsibility on its citizens than a democracy. We are supposed to remain informed, vote intelligently and provide feedback to our elected representatives so that they can more accurately reflect our [...]
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  Posted: January 17, 2008, 10:51am EST
  by Mark

• What are these guys smoking?

  Number of comments: 14
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Emotions run high whenever government tries to restrict what some perceive to be personal freedoms. In the case of smoking we're talking about modifying freedoms that have existed since... Well, since forever. Change is never easy and [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2008, 2:31pm EST
  by Mark

• Who's in charge of this train wreck?

  Number of comments: 11
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Wayne Cauthen has one foot out the door of City Hall. It's the worst kept secret in Kansas City that his "vacation" is time off while he goes through final interviews for the Austin City Manager position. [...]
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  Posted: January 07, 2008, 1:19pm EST
  by Mark

• Incentives should require signoff

  Number of comments: 5
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  We've read the stories so many times it fails to register with even the most ardent economic incentive critics. Some small to medium firm receives tax breaks to move from an adjoining municipality like Lenexa or Independence [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2007, 9:13am EST
  by Mark

• City Manager: A different perspective

  Number of comments: 21
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The most talked about topic for the last 48 hours has been the apparent firing of City Manager Wayne Cauthen. I say apparent because by charter all the mayor can really do is refuse to introduce an [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2007, 8:57am EST
  by Mark

• Keep On Truckin?

  Number of comments: 1
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Reported months ago by The Pitch, Kansas City has purchased the midwest's first EV (Electric Vehicle) to be put into full-time service for a municipality. Our own ZAP! truck can be seen running errands around [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 12:40am EST
  by Mark

• The No-TIF District

  Number of comments: 14
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  It seems there isn't a week that goes by in Kansas City without some sort of announcement about tax incentives being asked for or awarded. Whether it be a small tax credit to move the [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2007, 8:10am EST
  by Mark

• Passenger Rail: The Northern Flyer Alliance

  Number of comments: 2
  
  By Mark Corriston
  Kansas City Director
  Northern Flyer Alliance
  
  
  Everyone has an opinion regarding rail travel. Most people express strong enthusiasm, commenting that they desire trains similar to what operates today in Europe and Japan. When these people open to deeper beliefs [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2007, 9:24am EST
  by Mark

• Animal Control: It's Just That Simple

  Number of comments: 11
  
  By Brent Toellner
  The Kansas City Post
  
  In 2006, Kansas City Animal Control Services answered only 20% of incoming requests for service. KCACS is underfunded, under-staffed and some employees lack the skills, or the desire to properly prosecute animal cruelty cases. The few [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2007, 7:37am EST
  by Mark

• Thanks Frank

  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  41 years is a long time to do anything. 41 years in service to the city of Kansas City is an amazing accomplishment.
  
  Frank Pogge has put in a lot of hours (and after hours) of [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2007, 3:58pm EST
  by Mark

• You'll have your coal plant, and like it!

  Number of comments: 2
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Governor Sebelius has demanded an apology from the group Kansans For Affordable Energy for taking out full-page ads in major newspapers equating opposition of coal-burning power plants to supporters of Iran, Venezuela and Russia. While I agree [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2007, 2:06pm EST
  by Mark

• Light Rail: Please don't muddy the waters

  Number of comments: 14
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Everybody has an opinion about light rail in Kansas City. Today's As I See It editorial in the Kansas City Star is just one more. In what I perceive to be an attempt to inject themselves into [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2007, 6:35am EDT
  by Mark

• The Trolley Trail does not belong to you

  Number of comments: 14
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The Harry Wiggins Trolley Trail is by all accounts a wonderful amenity for Brookside and Waldo. Spanning the length from Brush Creek all the way down to 85th Street and turning East to Prospect, it is used [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2007, 10:27am EDT
  by Mark

• When all else fails, baffle them with... bureaucracy?

  Number of comments: 10
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  Mayor Funkhouser has seemingly decided that rather than focus on his campaign promises; efficient government, basic city services and fiscal responsibility he will instead try and create useless layers of bureaucracy. The mayor recently claimed he "heard [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2007, 4:21pm EDT
  by Mark

• Shed some light on the Power & Light District

  Number of comments: 4
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  The Kansas City Business Journal reports that Kansas City Power & Light has signed on with Cordish & Co. to be the primary sponsor of the Power & Light District. Financial terms of the deal [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2007, 1:29pm EDT
  by Mark

• Just Say Anything

  Number of comments: 12
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I was surprised yesterday when an early morning press release from the Mayor's Office arrived announcing a press conference at 11AM regarding light rail. I say surprised because I have not seen the mayor nor any representative [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2007, 7:39am EDT
  by Mark

• Kansas City Performing Arts. A Little Help Please.

  Number of comments: 9
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  While most of us are familiar with cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland because of the Steelers and the Browns, did you know these cities also have world class symphonies, thriving opera houses and highly acclaimed ballet [...]
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  Posted: October 10, 2007, 1:42pm EDT
  by Mark

• SoHo? East Village? I don't think we're in Kansas City anymore...

  Number of comments: 18
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  J.J. Maloney once wrote that like every city, Kansas City dreams of greatness. We're known as a cowtown. Our biggest annual event still is the American Royal, during which journalists shake cow patties from their shoes. [...]
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  Posted: October 04, 2007, 8:06am EDT
  by Mark

• Viable Light Rail For The Viable Third

  Number of comments: 13
  
  By Airick Leonard West
  The Kansas City Post
  
  For economic development, transit, safety and funding reasons, Kansas City should place lightrail along the Chouteau/Prospect Corridor. This is the corridor starting north of the river at Antioch Mall near Chouteau & I-35 and proceeding [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2007, 9:25am EDT
  by Mark

• It isn't easy being GreenKC

  Number of comments: 10
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  With every passing generation, there is always a "gap" when it comes to knowledge, opinion and even social norms. We live in a city where I know two-person households who claim they can't possibly make it under [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2007, 10:46am EDT
  by Mark

• I guess little sewage is "good enough?"

  Number of comments: 51
  
  By Mark Forsythe
  The Kansas City Post
  
  I campaigned for city council talking about how we could fix our sewer problems. Even though everybody told me "you can't win with sewers" (and they were obviously right). I talked about the impending multi-billion dollar [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2007, 7:42am EDT
  by Mark