The weekly missive from Gloria and Mayor Mark Funkhouser discusses the day that Cauthen fell, calling it "dramatic and difficult."
Funkhouser predicts a seamless transition with Troy Schulte at the helm. And he notes that he and KC Councilman John Sharp stood side by side for the city's benefit less than 24 [...]
The political fallout from Thursday’s blood-letting at City Hall?
A whole host of possibilities loom. Let’s rack ‘em up:
1. The City Council gets a rare shot at a fresh start. Could be good.
2. Council members are at each other’s throats again. Councilman Ed Ford is saying publicly that he’s [...]
U.S. Senate candidate Todd Tiahrt said today it's time to halt TARP, otherwise known as the Wall Street bailout program.
All unobligated TARP funds remaining after Dec. 31 would be applied toward reducing the national debt, Tiahrt, a Republican, said. It is estimated that $200 billion in unspent TARP funds could be returned to [...]
TOPEKA | Kansas unemployment rate went DOWN in October to 6.4 percent. Down?
Yes, but don’t get too excited. The state’s Department of Labor says the dip (September’s jobless number was 6.8 percent) is mostly due to seasonal factors.
The monthly job data was released this morning by the Department of Labor.
Kansas [...]
From Talking Points Memo:
The new national poll from Public Policy Polling (D) has an astonishing number about paranoia among the GOP base: Republicans do not think President Obama actually won the 2008 election -- instead, ACORN stole it.
Behind the scenes of the Cauthen suspension
Blogging the divide between U.S. and Cuba
A blogger contends that if we stop offering fair trials in the United States, then we have become terrorized, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill offers up a hand-drawn map of Missouri for [...]
Sen. Claire McCaskill yesterday twittered this:
"If we printed the health care bill in regular size font it would be same legnth as Sarah Palin's book, but with more meat on the bone."
Snappp!
from washingtonpost.com
Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.
Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment [...]
Updated to include email exchange with Stigall and mayor's office *.
For more years than he can remember, Bill Grigsby was the master of ceremonies at the Mayor’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Crown Center.
Good ol’ Grigs. Smiling. Jovial. Kansas City’s biggest booster, and entirely non-controversial.
“I did it for a lot of [...]
Gov. Jay Nixon is at 42 percent approve, 25 percent disapprove.
Sen. Kit Bond: 41-34 percent.
Sen. Claire McCaskill: 42-45.
Don’t panic yet, Democrats. The 2010 elections are still a year away.
But the respected, nonpartisan Cook Political Report just lowered - slightly - the chances of Rep. Ike Skelton winning re-election for the 17th straight time.
Its latest assessment of the race shifted Missouri’s 4th Congressional District from a “likely” [...]
Barry GrissomCongressman Dennis Moore's office has confirmed that it will submit the name of Overland Park attorney Barry Grissom to be the next U.S. attorney for Kansas.
Lawrence lawyer Dan Watkins had been in the running for the state's highest law enforcement position, but withdrew [...]
The Power & Light District just announced the makeup of a new board designed to quell the dress-code controversy in the Downtown Entertainment District.
From a District news release:
In follow-up to Monday’s announcement and invitation, Zed Smith, the Managing Partner of the Power & Light District and Kansas City Live!, and [...]
Mayor Mark Funkhouser has apparently suspended city manager Wayne Cauthen.
Details to follow.
The letter:
Dear City Council Members:
As you know, I believe we need new leadership for the city. As of today, I am exercising the authority given to me as the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, [...]
Democratic Senate candidate Charles Schollenberger says he wants a federally-created "wind authority" to oversee and promote construction of wind power in Kansas and other states.
In a speech Thursday -- and a news release -- the Kansas Senate hopeful said:
"We need a new government authority like the Tennessee [...]
A Kansas City political club, the Citizens Association, has sent an "open letter to the citizens of Kansas City, Missouri," blasting the calibre of leadership in city government. Among the highlights:
_ "The public interest of Kansas City is not being represented at City Hall. The lack of leadership exhibited by [...]
TOPEKA | Former Kansas State University President Jon Wefald gave too much power to deputies who operated with too little oversight, according to a final review of financial irregularities identified in a recent audit.
“It was clear there was an awful lot of power invested in too few people,” current President [...]
It looks like Rep. Todd Tiahrt's campaign for the Senate in Kansas is borrowing strategy from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, of all places.
Specifically, the song, "Let's Do the Time Warp Again."
The Wichita Republican made a not-so-veiled allusion to fellow congressman Jerry Moran, who's also seeking the GOP nod for the 2010 [...]
KMBC's Mike Mahoney reports that the Johnson County field coordinator for U.S. Senate hopeful Todd Tiahrt has resigned after he was confronted with a set of sex charges he's facing.
Jase D. Stanton was accused of the sex charges this summer for an incident that allegedly took place in July 2008.
From Missourinet:
Missouri’s two U.S. Senators have differing views about the Obama administration's decision to have some of the Guantanamo detainees tried for terrorism in the U.S.
Senator Kit Bond, a Republican, believes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others detained at Gitmo are not run of the mill criminals and should not [...]
Here's a thumbnail comparison of the three approaches to health care reform -- House Democrats (the bill that passed); House Republicans; Senate Democrats.
(Senate Republicans aren't offering a bill.)
Wonks can consult the CBO scores attached below (CBO later updated the score on the House Dems' bill; that [...]
TOPEKA | Where has Kansas’ money gone?
That was the question posed by Kansas Secretary of Revenue Joan Wagnon Wednesday night at a provocative – for state tax policy anyway – meeting at Washburn University.
Wagnon says the state has given too much away in the form of tax breaks and incentives, [...]
NEW ORLEANS - The federal government could be vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims after a judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval on Wednesday awarded seven plaintiffs [...]
Palin should face the media at College of the Ozarks
Several pols wrote to support Smith's quest for a lighter sentence
Purgason believes grass roots Senate campaign can succeed
What Kansas City can learn from the Harlem Children Zone -- a children's wellness program in New York City, a request [...]
By DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
The Jerry Moran campaign is seething over an e-mail from Senate rival Todd Tiahrt’s campaign that implies Moran is a fellow traveler of the Communist Party.
The e-mail subject line asserts — falsely — that Moran has been endorsed by the Communist Party USA.
“The assertion that Jerry [...]
Here's what Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had to say about the new - and controversial - recommendations about breast cancer screening:
“There has been debate in this country for years about the age at which routine screening mammograms should begin, and how often they should be [...]
Obama may not run in 2012? Power and Light District needing even more city subsidies? Another health care reform bill to be unveiled in the Senate today? Let the good times roll...
The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith
They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with.
"What time is it?" said the judge, to Joey when they met
"Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says, "That's exactly what you get."
- "Joey" by Bob Dylan.
JEFFERSON CITY | OK, [...]
President Obama in China
In an interview with CNN in China, President Obama opened the possibility to not running for re-election in 2012 -- something that no president has done since Lyndon Johnson.
Here's what he said:
"You know, if - if I feel [...]
Looking at urban farming in Kansas City
Class action suit against MO Dept. of Revenue is certified
A compromise leads to a tuition freeze but future cuts in the budget for higher education, debating whether former President Ronald Reagan could be looked at [...]
NEW YORK - Former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace says Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination."
In a statement to The [...]
Here's what Kansas GOP Chairwoman Amanda Adkins had to say today about the Democrat's new candidate for governor, Tom Wiggans:
"It is hard to imagine Kansas Democrats would actually nominate for Governor someone who has never voted in a Kansas election."
True? Yes. Wiggans left Kansas after he graduated from KU, enjoyed [...]
At the grade school musical, one kid appeared on stage a few shades darker than normal, which raises a question:
Is blackface ever acceptable in a society as racially charged as ours?
Ponder that as I report that the presentation bore no resemblance whatsoever to a minstrel show.In fact, last week’s performance [...]
If you didn't catch KMBZ's Shanin & Parks this afternoon, they had a little contest to see who could sound most like KC's favorite rail advocate Clay Chastain. Oh, if PrimeBuzz only had a tape.
Callers were asked to repeat a line from his impassioned light rail speech at Union Station a couple [...]
Judy Baker, who narrowly lost a race for Congress in mid-Missouri last year, is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' pick for regional HHS director.
Baker's Region VII includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.
"Judy Baker brings an extensive, working-level knowledge of our department’s most important issues, as well as a knowledge of [...]
Worried about Kansas City's emergency plans for tornados, floods, and other disasters?
The Mid-America Regional Council and the city of Kansas City will hold a public listening session tonight (Tuesday, Nov. 17) at the WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial to talk about the city's emergency preparedness plans.
The plans have [...]
Thousands of Kansas City residents will have a chance Wednesday night to hear and speak with Mayor Mark Funkhouser from the comfort of their own homes.
Funkhouser is hosting a “Tele-Town Hall” meeting beginning at 7 p.m., when people can discuss issues with the mayor by phone.
“This is sort of a [...]
David Plouffe hits the radio airways David PlouffeWednesday to talk about how he and Barack Obama pulled off one of the great election feats of all time -- the 2008 presidency.
Plouffe is the author of a new book, The Audacity to Win. Excerpt here.
He's [...]
If Clay Chastain thought his teleconference with regional transportation planners was "grim," apparently his meeting didn't go too well with the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce either.
In it's Nov. 13 Internet newsletter, "The City Haller," the chamber did some number crunching on the Chastain rail plan. The results weren't good.
First, [...]
It's officially a race.
Democrat Tom Wiggans filed paperwork with the state today to begin a campaign for Kansas Governor.
The political newcomer faces U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican, in next year's election.
Wiggans still hasn't spoken publicly about his interest in running for governor, or why he thinks he should lead [...]
Light rail advocate Clay Chastain reports that his hopes for "a harmonious solution" to the city's light-rail dillema are largely dashed.
Chastain met via teleconference last week with representatives of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the Mid-America Regional Council and TranSystems, which has helped Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders fashion a regional [...]
TOPEKA | Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson will announce a new round of budget cuts next week, he told reporters today.
He wouldn’t offer any hints about where he’s going to cut, but said his budget-balancing plan won’t include any tax increases.
Because of declines in revenue the state is now about a [...]
TOPEKA | Gov. Mark Parkinson today unveiled a new program that gives low-interest loans to help make homes and businesses more energy efficient.
Kansans regardless of income can participate in the program, which grants loans of up to $20,000 for homeowners and $30,000 for small business owners for eligible projects. The [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon is announcing a deal to cut higher education funding but freeze tuition for most students in a flyaround today.
Under the arrangement reached with university leaders, higher-ed funding for the 2010-11 budget year would be cut a relatively modest 5.2 percent -- about $42 million [...]
This week's Newsweek Sarah Palin reportedly is upset with the photograph that appears on the cover of this week's Newsweek.
And maybe with good reason.
The photo, of Palin in jogging togs, is an image that was apparently lifted from a Runner's World photo shoot months [...]
National Geographic asked all 100 U.S. senators to draw a map of their home state from memory and to label at least three important places.
Of good ol' KC, McCaskill wrote, "Where I came after law school and began my career in public service."
President Obama shouldn't take a bow
The idea of a KC aquarium is all wet
The argument why film tax credits aren't a good plan for spurring the economy in Missouri, a blogger asserts that we need the government to protect us from ourselves [...]
from stargazing
So much for Levi Johnston's "aspiring porn career" that Sarah Palin made a snide comment about to Oprah on Monday.
The word is out that Levi, father of Palin's grandson, did not, in fact, go full frontal in his Playgirl photo shoot.
Says Playgirl spokesman Daniel Nardicio: "He did not give [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to paying for a health care overhaul, Americans see just one way to go: Tax the rich.
That finding from a new Associated Press poll will be welcome news for House Democrats, who proposed doing just that in their sweeping remake of the U.S. medical [...]
Rampant rumors of committee chair changes on the Kansas City Council are finally confirmed tonight.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser has removed Russ Johnson as chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and replaced him with Terry Riley.
Johnson goes to Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee, which earlier had no Northland representation. But he's [...]
No Democrats filed to run for Kansas governor today.
Word on Friday was that Tom Wiggans would file paperwork with the Secretary of State to make a run at the governor's mansion. Wiggans is a bioscience executive who now lives in Olathe. If the political newcomer does enter the race for governor he'll [...]
This year, Johnson County started running motorcoaches on its popular K-10 route between Lawrence and Overland Park.
The buses were supposed to be more comfy and roomier to meet the exploding demand on one of the area's hottest bus routes, which averages 780 riders a day..
But today the Obama administration announced [...]
The League of Conservation Voters today launched a statewide radio ad in Missouri that takes Congressman (and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Blunt) to task for saying he didn't "know if it's true" if he had taken more than $1 million in campaign donations from oil companies and other energy interests.
The [...]
Rep. Sam Graves says he's against legislation requiring almost every business to provide paid sick leave to employees who get the swine flu or other contagious diseases.
"At a time when our nation is facing a 10.2% unemployment rate, the last thing our small businesses need is another mandate," Graves [...]
Former Gov. Sarah PalinFewer than three in 10 Americans think that former Gov. Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, a new poll concluded.
But two-thirds of the public thinks Hillary Clinton is qualified.
from Earth Times
Washington - President Barack Obama's deep bow to the Japanese emperor during a weekend visit in Tokyo has been met with sharp criticism from conservatives in the United States. Conservatives took to the airwaves and blogosphere Monday to rip Obama's gesture as subservient, inappropriate and a sign of [...]
The Senate Democrats’ campaign committee sent out a press release today that at first glance prompted this reaction:
“No way.”
It was about a poll of the 2010 Missouri Senate race that showed state Sen. Chuck Purgason, who’s running a shoestring campaign for the Republican nomination, possibly “polling in the double-digits” [...]
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas read a statement into the Congressional Record that was actually drafted by lobbyists for Genentech, a biotech company, during the health care debate.
(The Times said Missouri Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, also a Republican, also [...]
By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
The Star's Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON | Republican Rep. Sam Graves, a farmer from a rural northwest Missouri congressional district, was once a consistent supporter of easing trade and travel restrictions on Cuba.
But a campaign watchdog group said he began accepting campaign contributions from an anti-Castro, pro-trade embargo political action [...]
from TODAYshow.com
A lot of folks would pay good money to be a fly on the wall at this coffee klatch. In her upcoming memoir “Going Rogue,” former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she would welcome a sit-down with ex-Democratic presidential challenger Hillary Clinton.
NBC’s Mike Viqueira offered eye-opening, exclusive excerpts [...]
In April, Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver toured Cuba and came home saying good things about the island nation.
"To see all of these myths melt right in front of my eyes was something to behold," the Kansas City Democrat said then. "We’ve been led to believe that the Cuban people are not [...]
It’s out with the old paper notices and on with new digital notifications at the Johnson County and Olathe library systems.
In an effort to reduce costs and save taxpayers money, library patrons will receive notices by e-mail and telephone for overdue materials, materials on hold and bills. The end of [...]
Maybe the snow that's coming will stimulate the local economy. Or maybe not. Either way, enjoy...
Who knew the Kerry campaign was such a hotbed of romance? (Aside from John Edwards, that is.)
Edward Sebelius married Lisa Anderson Rockefeller Saturday in Boca Grande, Florida, according to The NYT.
She's a Princeton alum who earned an MBA at Dartmouth, and a descendent of the Standard Oil Rockefellers.
He's the [...]
from nyt
SHANGHAI - Politely but firmly pressing for greater freedoms on China's own turf, President Barack Obama spoke against censorship Monday, saying tough criticisms of political leaders should be allowed and the free flow of information on the Internet "should be encouraged."
Opening his first-ever visit to China, a critically [...]
The case against Section 8 housing
The plans and details for the new KC police hub
A solid work week and some key political victories for Gov. Jay Nixon, a suggestion that Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders needs to come up with some new arguments [...]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Sen. Gary Nodler is resigning as chairman of the Appropriations Committee to focus on his congressional campaign.
The Republican from Joplin has led the Senate budget-writing panel the past two legislative sessions and has served on it all seven years he has been in the [...]
TOPEKA | The Kansas Democrats have a candidate for governor who plans to file preliminary campaign paperwork Monday.
Speculation in the Statehouse is that the candidate is Tom Wiggans, a Kansas native and bioscience entrepreneur who recently returned to Kansas after living in California. An Olathe resident, Wiggans serves on the [...]
The former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer and was later convicted of federal bribery charges will soon learn his punishment.
William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon in Virginia.
Jefferson was convicted on charges including bribery and [...]
If you've got a copy of the new book and can give us a reaction, holler.
I'm at 816.234.4312.
The book
Why a small business owner isn't hiring right now
Discrimination protest at P&L District this Saturday
How gay marriage could help kickstart the economy in Missouri, an in-depth look at the system of health care insurance in Switzerland, and the difficulty in finding [...]
from AP
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin suggests she recognized quickly that she'd done badly in her interview with CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric.
In a written excerpt of an interview scheduled to air Monday on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Palin says that even as campaign advisers told her she'd done well, [...]
from msnbc
TOKYO - The White House's top lawyer is resigning, the administration said Friday.
White House Counsel Greg Craig has been the subject of questions about his future since late summer, dogged by talk that President Barack Obama's promise to close the controversial Guantanamo Bay military prison by January went awry [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | State Rep. Denny Hoskins reports he has paid off the $20,316-tax bill owed by his property management company. Ruthane Small, the Johnson County, Mo., collector, confirms that her office received his payment this afternoon.
Hoskins, a Warrensburg Republican and professional accountant, as recently as yesterday said [...]
Sen. Kit Bond wants to increase money to help homeless veterans.
The Missouri Republican and two Democratic colleagues from New Mexico hope to add an additional $6 million to the $144 million already allocated for a homeless grant program. It would increase the funding to what Congress had previously [...]
The situation at Mission Valley Middle School in Prairie Village is getting tense between the principal, Susie Ostmeyer, and students supporting fired science teacher Ryan Haraughty.
Students are placing sticky-notes with the letter “H” on walls and in classrooms around the school and plan to keep it up for the rest [...]
from people.com
If Levi Johnston would like a piece of the Palin family turkey, Sarah Palin will save him a seat at her Thanksgiving table.
"It's lovely to think that he would ever even consider such a thing," the former Alaska governor, 45, tells Oprah Winfrey in an interview to [...]
From Sen. Kit Bond's office:
WASHINGTON – After months of warning his colleagues in Congress and Administration officials about the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) looming financial problems, an independent report released today on the agency’s cash reserves confirmed Bond’s warnings.
Kansas City civil rights activist Alvin Sykes has become a frequent visitor to Washington and he'll be back Friday.
He’ll be in town to attend the swearing in of the new Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Thomas Perez.
That’s because Perez will be tasked with implementing the new [...]
Somebody, somewhere in Kansas won last night's big Powerball drawing.
The state plans to unveil its newest millionaire tomorrow - Friday the 13th - at a news conference here in Topeka.
The lucky (for now) Kansan won $96.6 million, the largest Powerball jackpot in state history. He/She can either accept 30 [...]
The 2009 Tour of Missouri in Kansas City
It's no secret that state funding for the fourth annual Tour of Missouri bike race next year is in deep trouble.
That trouble only compounded this week when the state Tourism Commission [...]
A new CNN poll shows that more Americans would prefer to vote for the Republican candidate for Congress as opposed to the Democratic contender.
One solace for Ds: The finding is within the poll's margin of error.
The result appears [...]
Updated at 5:30 p.m.: Hoskins has paid the back taxes.
JEFFERSON CITY | State Rep. Denny Hoskins, a Warrensburg Republican, owes more than $20,000 in back taxes on rental property he owns with his brother.
Hoskins, a first-term lawmaker, acknowledged the tax bills in an interview with Prime Buzz on [...]
Obama dithering on Afghanistan? Off to the Far East to talk economics and human rights? Lou Dobbs running for office? So much to talk about. Enjoy...
The questions keep coming for former Missouri state Rep. "T.D." El-Amin.
The St. Louis Democrat already has pleaded guilty to bribery charges.
Now come new concerns over rent payments.
Missouri Sen. Luann Ridgeway, a Smithville Republican, is unhappy with a couple of Gov. Jay Nixon's appointments to the Clay County Election Board.
Ridgeway is questioning the procedure Nixon used to appoint Democrat Charlie Broomfield and Republican Angela Beshears.
Broomfield, meanwhile, thinks the appointments are valid.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama won’t accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him without changes, administration officials say, amid an argument by his own ambassador in Kabul that a significant U.S. troop increase would only prop up a weak, corruption-tainted government.
Obama’s ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, who is also [...]
Union Station helped anchor downtown revitalization
Blunt talking to Steelman about campaign?
Mistakes with government health care would be costly
A blogger wonders how much political capital was expended by the Democrats to pass a federal health care bill, Gov. Jay Nixon is set to go deer hunting, and when [...]
from washingtonpost.com
When President Obama arrives in Shanghai and Beijing next week, he will face a prickly question that has vexed presidents since Richard M. Nixon first visited Mao Zedong in 1972: How exactly does the United States define its relationship with China?
Over the decades, U.S. leaders have run [...]
from nyt
Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, said Wednesday that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.
Sitting before an image of an American flag on his television set, he said “some leaders in media, politics and business have [...]
Also at the Mike Burke fundraiser Wednesday:
Consultant Kim Carlos
Restauranteur and former state rep Jim Chappell
Former councilman John Fairfield
Developer Whitney Kerr, Sr.
Former TIF commissioner Bob Mayer
Mike Burke, a Northlander and the latest entrant in the 2011 KC mayoral sweepstakes, launched his campaign tonight at the Steamboat Arabia Museum in the River Market.
The ill-fated steamboat was a handy prop for the lawyer who used words like "snags" and "sinking" and "crew" to talk about why he's [...]
Kansas Lt. Gov. Troy Findley went to Emporia today to mark Veterans Day in Kansas (Gov. Mark Parkinson is on a trade mission to China).
Why Emporia, you ask? Well, the Kansas town played a key role in creating the federal holiday that honors the sacrifices and service of our veterans.
Originally, of course, Nov. 11 [...]
Dave Helling, Bill Dalton, Brad Cooper, Jonathan Bender, Steve Kraske, Jason Noble, David Goldstein, Jim Sullinger, Lynn Horsley, Mike Mansur, David Klepper, Mike Hendricks, Keith Chrostowski, Elaine Adams
