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An Afghan soldier helped secure a street in Kabul last week.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, President Barack Obama is expected to announce the way forward for the United States in Afghanistan. There is no simple solution, but it is clear that a radical rethink of our effort is needed.
With a mixture of wit, charm and excellent advice, Michael Kaiser this week challenged Kansas City to improve its already vibrant arts scene. It’s a worthy challenge. Kaiser, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, spoke to several hundred regional arts supporters gathered at the Lyric Theatre. And Kaiser knows the local arts turf, having reversed the fortunes of the Kansas City Ballet in the 1980s.
When Hillary Clinton made her first visit to Beijing as secretary of state, she said human rights could not be permitted to “interfere” with larger concerns, such as global climate change and financial-market mayhem. It was an unfortunate way for the administration to begin its relationship with China. Sadly, this week President Obama only reinforced the message.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser awkwardly forced City Manager Wayne Cauthen out of office Thursday, and in the process opened another unnecessary rift on the City Council. The mayor’s action was secretive, abrupt and lacked an adequate public explanation. The move will likely cost Kansas City taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance payments at a time when the budget is already strained.
The new GOP talking points — expressing fear of justice working in an open courtroom, from a party that likes to wrap itself in the flag — are quite stunning.
The spirit of giving in the Kansas City area isn’t recession proof. But it’s pretty close. Despite a local unemployment rate of around 9 percent, the United Way of Greater Kansas City said Tuesday it had raised $35.1 million in its 2009 fundraising campaign.
Zack Greinke overcame some mighty big obstacles to easily win the 2009 Cy Young Award on Tuesday as the American League’s best pitcher.
The often-criticized Kansas City, Kan., police force has received another blow, and this one will cost taxpayers $500,000. The Unified Government has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by nine people who alleged that officers acted dishonorably during an incident at a teen’s birthday party in 2005.
Historically, government has a lousy record of running businesses. The interests of politicians don’t usually coincide with those of stockholders. That’s why Washington’s investment in General Motors, as well as other big enterprises saved during the credit panic, should be placed in an independent trust under rules that assure taxpayers that the bailout is temporary.
Given Kansas City’s tight budget, does it make sense to create a new, permanent agency at City Hall? Absolutely, because a proposed Capital Projects Management Department would benefit Kansas Citians in two important ways.
In 1987, two Rutgers’ University researchers ignited a prairie fire by suggesting much of the high plains, including a large swath of Kansas farmland, should be returned to its natural state — what they called a Buffalo Commons. The idea, which envisioned parts of 10 prairie states being transformed into a massive short-grass prairie national park, was derided as impractical, impossible and un-American. It was called city-logic. Farmers questioned why the Easterners hadn’t suggested returning New York City to its wild roots. “The idea offended me,” said former Kansas Governor Mike Hayden, once a harsh Buffalo Commons critic.
Oh boy, even Mickey Mouse needs ’tude these days. It shouldn’t be a surprise. When Winnie the Pooh books are being updated, complete with a new character, Mickey seems a natural next step.
Kansas Citians gave a big thumbs down to City Hall’s leadership in a recent citizen satisfaction report. With good reasons, people are disappointed not only with elected officials — whose satisfaction rating was a dismal 16 percent — but also with City Manager Wayne Cauthen and his staff, who registered only 19 percent approval.
The “Time to Get it Right” reports have provided a valuable blueprint for getting the region’s leaders focused on higher education and life sciences over the last five years. So it makes sense to pay attention to what the latest edition has to say. Written by former University of Michigan president James J. Duderstadt, it finds “very significant progress” toward making the region a hub for life sciences, with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the University of Kansas Medical Center leading the way.
The comprehensive health care bill passed by the U.S. House is momentous because it grants nearly all American citizens access to health care. But the House bill falls short of meeting a second essential goal of health reform — controlling the skyrocketing costs of medical care.
Kansas City deserves to be at the heart of activities in five years when America observes the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. Congress can make that happen.
Thanks, of course, doesn’t cover our nation’s gratitude to its millions of veterans. But those who have signed up or been shipped off to protect our country haven’t done it for the praise or gratitude. Men and women at arms created this country and have defended it from internal and external foes ever since.
Kansas Citians, it’s time to think big — bigger than World Series or Super Bowl status. Think World Cup soccer, here, in 2018 or 2022.
Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa notes that human nature demands two things from the world around us. One is a hero, someone we pray will solve our problems. The other is a villain, someone to blame for creating them. Without both, life lacks the clarity many crave.
Cathy and David Bryant never planned on needing help from the state of Kansas. They had good jobs, a home, a savings account, medical insurance and two healthy kids.
Kansas’ fiscal neglect of its mentally retarded and developmentally disabled citizens is a disgrace. More than 4,000 families are waiting for services. Some have been on hold for more than four years. Workers who help severely disabled Kansans live in the community receive a paltry average wage of $8.83 an hour.
Last April, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver began promoting an effort to use federal stimulus funds to upgrade 150 square blocks of inner Kansas City. He called it the Green Impact Zone. “I’m so excited, I’m trying to calm down,” Cleaver had said. “This is a perfect storm of opportunity.”
There were warning signs that U.S. Army Major Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was unstable long before he allegedly shouted “God is great” in Arabic and opened fire at Fort Hood Thursday. Press reports quickly found that Hasan — who is believed to have killed 13 and wounded 30 before he was shot, wounded and arrested — had drawn attention because of his behavior at Fort Hood and at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he worked previously.
The Missouri Housing Development Commission has been through a rocky period. In June, a state audit criticized it for incomplete record-keeping, conflict-of-interest problems and weak rules on contracting. And the panel’s executive director was interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into low-income housing projects.
Those extra coats and blankets in good condition can get a new home Saturday, during the annual Project Warmth drive to benefit people in need. This year, 14 locations metrowide will accept blankets, coats and financial donations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will receive the goods and help load them onto well-marked trucks. Go to projectwarmthkc.com to find a site nearest you.
Jackson County taxpayers missed out on a chance to save $56,000 — and probably much more — while holding Tuesday’s election that renewed an anti-drug sales tax. More vigilance by County Executive Mike Sanders and his staff could have helped shave the total bill for the election, now estimated at a staggering $847,000 for just the COMBAT tax issue.
It’s not often you find one federal agency criticizing another, but that’s what happened after the investigation of a 2008 motor coach crash in which 17 people from Texas died en route to a southwest Missouri music festival. The National Transportation Safety Board, which looks into crashes and recommends safety improvements, recently admonished the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for doing too little on motor coach safety.
Last year, a committee of experts published an alarming report on childhood obesity for a scholarly journal published by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The committee listed a litany of dietary habits that cause children to pack on the pounds. First on the list: “Frequently consuming fast food and large volumes of sweet beverages (e.g., fruit juices, soft drinks).”
The Parks and Recreation Department recently began seeking $168,000 in private funds to keep Kansas City’s glorious collection of public fountains turned on in 2010. But that’s the second best way to prevent the city’s 48 fountains from going dry and becoming an embarrassment for the self-proclaimed “City of Fountains.” The best option is for city officials to approve taxpayer funds for a key asset in Kansas City — paying for electricity to operate the ornamental fountains.
Two essential law enforcement taxes are on the short list of local ballot issues today. Jackson County voters will decide whether to renew a quarter-cent sales tax for the Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax (COMBAT) for seven more years.
