Kansas City Star: Editorials

20th Street downtown desperately needs beautification

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

For decades, Kansas City has flagrantly neglected an important street running through the heart of the city's urban-revival gem, the Crossroads Arts District, just south of the freeway loop. With the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts expected to open next year, it's time to beautify the portion of 20th Street that runs through the Crossroads. Currently, this road stands as a glaring example of Kansas City's chronic inability to maintain its infrastructure. With a 100-foot right of way, 20th is the widest street in the downtown area.

Schools should leap at the chance for new federal grants

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

No school can take pride in being on the list, but neither should any school or district pass up an opportunity to compete for federal grants being made available to the nation’s poorest-performing schools.

Israel's expansion of settlements is a setback to peace efforts

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

Israel's expanding Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem can easily be seen as an effort to scuttle progress toward peace with the Palestinians. The Obama administration must become much more persuasive to counter such moves.

It's time right now to fix health care

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

Congress last tried and failed to pass health care reform in 1994. Bill Clinton was president. “Forrest Gump” was named best motion picture. Social networking was something you did at the corner bar. Sixteen years later, and health care cost growth has vastly outpaced inflation. More people go without insurance. Thousands have died for lack of it. Experts across the political spectrum agree that our system costs too much, delivers too little.

St. Patrick's Day is reason to celebrate

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

Top of the morning, and don't forget to wear a bit of the green. It's St. Patrick's Day, for anyone who'd forgotten. And, in Kansas City, that means it's a parade day. The Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade is a long-standing tradition that just keeps getting better. It's so good, in fact, that the city boasted several lead-ins last weekend.

Justice shouldn't require a miracle

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

Sentenced to 60 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Joshua Kezer figured only a miracle could get him freed. That miracle arrived in the form of a persistent church volunteer named Jane Cox Williams. Her crusade to free Kezer caught the eye of a top-flight St. Louis attorney, Charlie Weiss. Further help was provided by a rural Missouri sheriff, Rick Walter, who was more interested in the truth than in keeping a conviction on the books.

Get rid of the stink

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:15 CDT

Factory hog farms stink, but the jobs they create don’t. That’s the dilemma facing thousands of people in northern Missouri, plus state officials, as the debate over the future of hog farms intensifies.

Think hard before you sign the petition to repeal KC's earnings tax

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Supporters of Kansas City's earnings tax have good reasons to ramp up efforts to keep a proposal to repeal the tax off this fall’s statewide ballot.

Area Transportation Authority could save bus routes by contracting them out

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

The Area Transportation Authority is looking at another tough year financially. Its primary source of funding — sales taxes in Kansas City — are producing less revenue. The city also has been taking a larger cut of the local transportation sales tax for its own needs.

Ensuring that the public's business is conducted in public view

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

This region’s open records and open meetings laws could use more sunshine. While Kansas and Missouri continue to make strides toward ensuring the public’s business is more public, improvements are still needed.

Park area could use more friendly faces

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

The Ilus W. Davis Park north of City Hall was finished some years ago, but for a long time the east edge abutted an urban mishmash of declining structures and parking lots. Then the Federal Aviation Administration Building went up, and last year the J.E. Dunn Construction Co. headquarters, designed by BNIM and 360 Architecture, was finished. The vision of a “civic mall” downtown finally took concrete form.

Capitol Watch | Money headaches all around

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Getting his house in order? A month ago, Kansas legislators lopped 5 percent off their wages through June, as well as the wages of their staffs, judges, Cabinet secretaries and others. It was a move to save $1.5 million in a year when state revenues are off by more than $100 million.

KC school reforms need support

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

In the best scenario, the Kansas City school board’s unprecedented vote to close nearly half of the district’s 61 schools would have been unanimous. Instead, the vote was 5-4. It enables Superintendent John Covington to take the necessary steps to avoid financial disaster and begin to rebuild the district. But the narrow count also raises worries about the board’s willingness to cooperate as he moves forward.

$1 million donation adds to prestige of cancer research in area

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

The drive to achieve a National Cancer Institute designation already has brought leading researchers to the Kansas City region. Civic leaders are correct to call the effort a top priority. The engineering firm Burns & McDonnell recently gave the project a boost with a $1 million donation that will help recruit scientists for a high-risk prostate cancer prevention program. Although the University of Kansas Cancer Center has received bigger contributions from foundations, the Burns & McDonnell gift is its biggest corporate donation.

Supreme Court must tread carefully, even in the Phelps case

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Restraint is necessary as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case involving Fred Phelps' protests at military funerals. Restrictions on speech, regardless of how reprehensible that speech may be, threaten a democracy.

More information for your health care is coming online

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Consumers in the Kansas City area are fortunate to have access to a pioneering Web site that provides valuable information on how well doctors and hospitals are performing in key areas.

Once again, Kansas City's mayor lowers the bar on leadership

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

By now, Kansas Citians don’t hold out much hope for meaningful leadership from Mayor Mark Funkhouser. Yet twice this week he’s failed to meet even those low expectations.

City is expecting an economic bounce from Big 12 basketball tournaments

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Kansas City will polish its reputation as a college hoops mecca during the Big 12 basketball tournaments this week.

Covington's sweeping plans need the support of KC school board

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Superintendent John Covington is seeking an up-or-down vote, with no amendments, by the Kansas City school board on his plan to close half the district's schools. It is important that the board go that route.

This is no time to let our commitment to Iraq waver

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Iraq has made huge progress in only a few years, but a strong government is not yet possible without American and international support.

Kansas City's budget process is smoother this year, but tough decisions still await

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

At this time last year, City Hall’s budget demolition derby was in full gear. But this March, even with a still-struggling local economy, the head-on crashes at City Hall have been largely avoided.

Government should keep picking the best bid in purchasing contracts

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Government purchasing should take quality and competence into account, but the main goal should be getting the best deal for the taxpayer. There’s no need to change that.

Kansas: The 'sweet spot' for wind power

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Is Kansas the new Texas of energy? The answer right now is a big “maybe” that has state officials and industry insiders salivating. And it’s a maybe that should have legislators and other leaders pushing forward.

Capitol Watch | Missouri lawmakers take a vacation, while in Kansas they debate a state grass

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Missouri legislators left for spring break knowing that a budget mess of near-historic proportions awaits upon their return. Not exactly a formula for rest and relaxation.

KC School District's Right Sizing plan is necessary

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Now is the time for the Kansas City school board to put parochial interests aside and support Superintendent John Covington’s plan for a smaller, better-performing school district. As Covington told the board Wednesday night, holding classes in half-full school buildings is irresponsible. It dilutes the financial and human resources that should be marshaled to provide students with a first-rate education.

Giveways are too costly: States need good plans to increase revenues

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

Lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri are refusing to confront the obvious: States must raise more money or let prisoners walk, close schools and courts, hope roads and bridges don’t fall apart, and cut more services for the disabled, poor and elderly.

Kansas is on shaky ground by owning and regulating a gambling operation

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

With the opening of its new casino in Dodge City, the state of Kansas is now in the gambling business and there’s no looking back.

Union Station turning a corner toward financial stability

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

With the right kind of focused leadership, Union Station’s centennial will be an occasion for area residents to congratulate themselves for saving an integral part of Kansas City’s past while creating a useful building for future generations to enjoy.

State audit of Kansas City School District is a welcome move

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

The finances of the Kansas City School District have long been shrouded in mystery. Even school board members have had difficulty figuring out how much money the district receives and how it is spent. Missouri Auditor Susan Montee’s planned audit of the district is a welcome move, and it is getting under way at an optimum moment.

The Waldo rapist causes widespread alarm, but we must use discretion to avoid unfounded suspicions

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:15 CST

The description of the suspect has been consistent ever since police said a serial rapist is attacking women in Kansas City’s Waldo area. The suspect has a pockmarked face. He is tall and heavy-set. He has bad breath and smells of smoke or exhaust fumes.