Kansas City Star: News

Mercury unlikely to land in KC

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Uncle Sam must have it in for us. First, there was talk that terror detainees might be moved to Fort Leavenworth.

Despite the recession, jazz museum isn't singing the blues

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

During these tough economic times, attendance at the American Jazz Museum has been down. That's just one of the challenges the museum has faced over the past year. But as a result of steady foundation support and a slight increase in the cost of admission, the museum has managed to survive.

Shifting movement stings for anti-abortion leader

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

For many, Operation Rescue are words forever linked with the fanatical violence that left George Tiller dead. Randall Terry and Troy Newman denounced the violence, but it’s far from clear how the slaying will affect their support.

Describing a desecrater is difficult

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Ours is a wonderfully rich, supple and nuanced language. It permits us to communicate complex ideas and feelings, physical sensations, hopes, disappointments — the whole range of human experience.

Bob Dole maintains a busy, bipartisan workload

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

The other day, I asked Bob Dole how he was doing. His first two words: “I’m busy.”

Upper Room program provides good summer fun: learning

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

“Gazelle,” “wildebeest” and “broad plains.” All were words Julian Cuevas learned about Friday morning while devouring books with the help of volunteer Michael Massman and the Swope Corridor Renaissance Upper Room program.

Tractor trailer lands on car near Ottawa; big hail in Wichita

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:01 CDT

Missouri Town 1855

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:04 CDT

Schlitterbahn could open within a week

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:18 CDT

The business of water is everywhere in Kansas City

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:23 CDT

Lake of the Ozarks mansion auction July 18

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:37 CDT

State says KC School District's turnaround plan shows improvement

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

After the Kansas City School District’s second quarterly report to the state Thursday, this much can be said about its critical turnaround plan: The setup is good.

City withdrawing its support from Bartle Hall spiritual conference

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City officials said Thursday that they would pull city support from a large spiritual conference planned at Bartle Hall this month. The action came after Kansas City Council members expressed concern about a scheduled preacher who has condemned homosexuals.

Wyandotte County faces $15 million shortfall in 2009

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Wyandotte County’s Unified Government is facing a more than $15 million revenue shortfall this calendar year, the product of cuts in state funding and dwindling tax revenues in a poor economy. Unified Government administrators delivered that grim news Thursday night before a public hearing on the 2010 budget and just days before they unveil the details of that budget Monday.

12th Street Viaduct repaired ahead of schedule

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City has completed 12th Street Viaduct repairs several weeks ahead of schedule, and crews have reopened the bridge and Beardsley Road. In May, Missouri Department of Transportation inspectors found extensive deterioration on the bridge during a routine inspection. The 12th Street Viaduct was closed, and Beardsley Road was closed between Bluff and 17th streets to provide a staging area for the repairs.

Swope Park party will celebrate National Recreation and Parks month

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City usually has a monthlong calendar of events for National Recreation and Parks month, but this year’s activities will be packed into a single day in Swope Park. It’s Party in the Park, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Police cars taken home against policy, audit finds

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

An internal audit by Kansas City police released Thursday identified at least 16 police cars that were being used as take-home cars against department policy. Auditors reviewed fuel consumption for various cars and found some used more than twice the average amount of gas. Some had legitimate reasons for excess mileage, but others did not, police said.

MAST hosts free CPR training Saturday

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

You can learn how to save a life — for free — on Saturday at Swope Park Mall. Save a Life Saturday will provide training in an innovative approach to CPR that can dramatically increase survival rates for victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Health screenings and other health information will be available.

The Watchdog | Reader right about this right

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

A lot of people growl at the Dog about being stuck at red lights when it’s safe to turn.

Public Safety | Solvents blamed for Shawnee fire, inmate admits another rape

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

SHAWNEE | Solvents blamed for fire in skate shop Firefighters went to Addict Skate Supply, 6471 Quivira Road, shortly before noon Thursday and found heavy fire in the rear of the business that caused $75,000 in damage.

Tribute | Ernst Ulmer of Bonner Springs was 2006 Kansas Artist of the Year

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Who: Ernst Ulmer, 86, of Bonner Springs. When and how he died: June 9 of congestive heart disease.

Correction

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

2009

Closed M-291 bridge was on list to be inspected

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

The Missouri River bridge that closed Tuesday for safety reasons was among those ordered inspected last year because it was structurally similar to the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed.

Phase-in of new Kansas license plate put on hold because of falling state revenue

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Falling state revenue has put on hold a phase-in of the new Kansas license plate.

Leavenworth police warning public of illegal tattoo operators

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Leavenworth police are warning the public about unlicensed tattoo operators in the city. Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens said the illegal operators allegedly tattooed at least four juveniles without parental consent.

KCK man dies in scaffold accident in West Bottoms

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

A 54-year-old man died Wednesday morning when an 80-pound scaffold bracket fell from a five-story building in Kansas City and hit him in the head. Kim D. McKinley of Kansas City, Kan., owned a company called Design Studio that performed remodeling work. He had been hired to replace old mortar on a building that houses apartments and businesses at 12th and Liberty streets in the West Bottoms.

UMKC names School of Education dean

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

A year after directing its School of Education to prepare teachers for urban schools, the University of Missouri-Kansas City has picked a Colorado woman to lead that effort.

Kansan nominated for federal education leadership post

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

President Barack Obama has nominated Kansas' education commissioner for a key job in the U.S. Department of Education.

Tribute | Rose Stechmann had strong faith, many friends

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Who: Rose Stechmann, 80, of Shawnee. When and how she died: June 24, of complications from several surgeries.

Chastain files with Missouri Supreme Court in case against light-rail repeal

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Clay Chastain has asked the Missouri Supreme Court to take up his case against the City Council and its repeal of his 2006 light-rail initiative.

Gas explosion injures garbage worker in Kansas

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

A gas explosion in this southern Kansas town injured one person Wednesday afternoon, damaged several buildings and forced the evacuation of two downtown blocks.

Red Cross honors three who aided man who suffered electrical shock

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

The quick action last year by two members of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School staff and a campus police officer to save a contractor's life was recognized Tuesday by the American Red Cross.

New Bonner Springs library opens Sunday with reading

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

How do you break in a new library? You read a book of course.

State using bugs to fight noxious weed in southwest Missouri

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

State officials are taking a new approach — bugs — to fight a noxious weed in southwest Missouri.

Recession forces more older workers to put off retiring

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

The recession is keeping some older workers on the job beyond the time they intended to retire. In some industries, such as nursing, that's a good thing — it's helping ease worker shortages. In other workplaces, the lack of turnover is keeping younger workers from landing jobs.

Truck-only lanes for I-70? Missouri says it's possible

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

All the asphalt in the world can’t repair a heart. Three years ago, James Garrett lost his mother and grandmother in a fiery crash on Interstate 70 when a tractor-trailer rammed a line of cars from behind.

Tour of Missouri may lose state funding, which may cancel this year's race

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

JEFFERSON CITY | Responding to a request from Gov. Jay Nixon for budget cuts, the Department of Economic Development this week moved to freeze $1.5 million in state funding for the Tour of Missouri, a weeklong bicycle race scheduled to spin through Kansas City.

Sprint contracts Ericsson to handle networking operations

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Sprint Nextel is transferring the day-to-day operations and maintenance of its networks — along with 6,000 Sprint employees and up to $5 billion — to a Swedish telecom company.

Raids take aim at dogfighting network

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Authorities seized more than 400 dogs early Wednesday in a multistate raid that animal welfare groups said dismantled the “largest dogfighting operation in U.S. history.”

KC is a candidate to store nation's waste mercury

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City is on the short list to become the Yucca Mountain for mercury. And that’s not a list some officials want to be on.

There's no recession in the hearts of Kansas Citians

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Smack in the middle of the worst recession in decades, Kansas Citians are giving to others. But that’s the Kansas City way, according to a study being released today through the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

Cyber enemies difficult to pin down

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

In cyber warfare, it’s possible to lose the first battle before you know the fight is on. Or know for sure who just hit you.

World bids farewell to musical megastar Michael Jackson

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Michael Jackson belonged to the world Tuesday. Then his daughter stood on the stage of the Staples Center at his memorial service and called him “Daddy.”

Ethical questions surround couple's EPA link

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

When the Environmental Protection Agency came after the leaky Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, officials in St. Louis went looking for an attorney. And they hired one — all the way across the state in Kansas City.

New lab-produced corn can easily convert into ethanol

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Corn Amylase is a genetically modified crop that offers a direct advantage to ethanol producers. And it creates skeptics among those typically eager to put biotechnology to work.

Students' sweat becomes part of KU's energy

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

A workout at a University of Kansas gym soon will be more than a workout. Cables running from the spinning wheels of elliptical exercise machines to a converter box will let students pump juice onto the grid.

Forget Harry and Louise: Today's health care debate waged through viral video

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

In 1994, before YouTube and “The Daily Show,” the kitchen-table conversations of a TV couple named Harry and Louise helped derail federal plans for universal health care. They were the suburban 40-somethings next door, wrought with worry, put off by paperwork, soft-spoken, serious …

Squabble among neighbors means no fireworks show at community lake

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

As usual for the Fourth of July, a few thousand people showed up Saturday at Raintree Lake for a fireworks display. But they didn't see any. Unless you count the yelling kind.

Documentary �Food, Inc' slices and dices what America puts into its mouth

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

In recent years, food writers and activists have increasingly questioned the consequences of how the typical American meal is produced. And now average Americans may begin to get the message in a bigger way.

Guess what? You can guess a Social Security number

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

WASHINGTON | Amid all the concern about identity theft, researchers say there's a surprisingly easy way to figure out Americans' Social Security numbers. “It's good that we found it before the bad guys,” Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh said of the method for predicting the numbers.

Progress on arms control may set the tone at Moscow summit

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

As President Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for meetings with Kremlin leadership, at the top of his agenda is reducing the number of strategic nuclear weapons capable of destroying life on Earth. And that might be the easy part.

For a baseball hero Palermo, one heartbreak, many joys

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Steve Palermo is well known as the major-league umpire who was shot when he and some friends saved two women from muggers, but there's a lot in that story that gets lost in 18 years, when life moves on.

Citadel Plaza remains an environmental mess

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

As the Kansas City Council prepares to debate the future of the Citadel Plaza development this week, the latest glitch shows just how little environmental cleanup has occurred in the last three years at the proposed shopping center property near 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue.

Agony reshapes the life of Renee Pernice's family

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

In the six months since Renee M. Pernice disappeared, the questions surrounding the case have consumed the lives of the 35-year-old Clay County woman's family.

Art of the Car Concurse winners named

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:19 CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 9, 2009) –– Five “People’s Choice” awards were presented to top vote-getters at the third annual Art of the Car Concours, held June 27 on the campus of the Kansas City Art Intitute. The winners: read more

A Night in Sports Honoring Outstanding Athletes

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:59 CDT

(July 2009) – The SportKC PROPS Award Show (Party Honoring Outstanding Athletes of Sports), hosted by the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation (KCSC&F), will be held this Thursday, July 16 at the Midland Theatre. read more

Swingin' blues FREE July 16th at the Tuileries

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:41 CDT

"Young Dancers" Courtesy of John PolzinCourtesy of John Polzin: Crowd Shot read more

Camp Guardian Media Day

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:58 CDT

EVENT: Camp Guardian Media Day DATE/TIME: Thursday, July 23, Noon to 9 p.m. LOCATION: Camp Farwesta 6091 SW Highway 36 Stewartsville, MO 64490 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Each summer, Missouri Guard members join dozens of children and adults with special needs are treated to a taste of the great outdoors, courtesy of a week-long, action-packed recreational camp. read more

Department of Justice to investigate KCPD hiring practices

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to investigate whether the Kansas City Police Department discriminates against blacks and Hispanics in hiring and promotions, according to a letter released Thursday.