Letters: Readers discuss Kansas City International Airport, violence and Sondheim

No new KCI

It is not OK to spend $1.3 billion to destroy a very convenient, well-built airport. Vote no on Question 1 Tuesday.

Mike Casper

Kansas City

Yes to progress

I’ve lived in Kansas City since 1963, so I well remember when Kansas City International Airport opened in 1972.

Through the years, I’ve flown out of our current air terminals to New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas and St. Louis. Since day one of KCI’s three-building setup, I’ve never understood why people were so attached to that sprawling arrangement, nor have I ever experienced less convenience at any of the terminals in the cities to which I’ve flown.

Accordingly, I’ll vote yes to replace KCI’s three crumbling terminals with one gleaming new terminal that I truly believe will become a major asset to the heart of America. I urge all voters to join me in voting for progress.

Charles Ballew

Kansas City

The bigger picture

KCI planners should include provisions for a shuttle system that would transport travelers to and from downtown Kansas City.

Air travelers expect to deplane, collect their luggage, board a shuttle and arrive at their downtown destinations quickly and without stepping outdoors. Most cities provide this type of service, and others are planning to. Kansas City must do so to compete.

Hyperloop developers should be offered an opportunity to build such a link. They would be able to demonstrate that their creation has merit and will function in all kinds of weather in a dependable fashion. It would also serve as an attraction just for the sheer pleasure of demonstrating high-speed transportation in the world of tomorrow.

Make big plans and aim high in hope and work.

Kenneth Lee

Raytown

Parents needed

Steve Kraske’s column, “The question facing our city: Why are we so violent?” states that the Citizens Task Force on Violence that Mayor Sly James appointed in 2015 produced no answers. (Nov. 3, 13A) I’m a retired teacher. Educators who have worked in Title I schools can explain this without a task force.

In elementary school, many children come from single- or multiple-family situations including grandparents. Many of these children come to school to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. They come not only hungry, but angry and fearful of what they face at home at night.

An angry child finds learning is the last thing on his or her little mind. It pains me to say that a few students even asked if they could live with my family.

Don’t call out the school counselors for not doing their jobs, because there aren’t enough counselors to go around. These children’s anger extends into adulthood, and young adults play out their family lives.

Please start training the parents on how to be parents.

Kathleen Moorman

Peculiar

Theater magic

Stephen Sondheim takes no prisoners. He demands intelligence from artist and audience alike. And Musical Theatre Heritage, under executive director Chad Gerlt and director and musical director Sarah Crawford, gets it.

Crawford, after “Sweeney Todd,” “ Sunday in the Park with George” and now “Into the Woods,” should be named the Official Director of Sondheim. “Into the Woods,” which runs through Nov. 19, has as great a cast of incredible voices and virtuoso performances as I’ve seen in Kansas City (or any) theater.

Musical Theatre Heritage founder George Harter introduced “Into the Woods” as Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s effort to write “something clear — easy to understand.” But Sondheim must have forgotten he is Sondheim.

This production could easily be called “Mayhem in the Woods.” It’s hysterical and superlatively acted. So many in this cast are worth the price of admission: Val Fagan as the witch, John Cleary as the campy Prince Charming (and the wolf) and Zach Faust as Milky White the cow, who says little and gets all the sympathy.

Sondheim, whom Harter called “the grandfather of Broadway,” is also its godfather.

Bill Doty

Overland Park

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss Kansas City International Airport, violence and Sondheim."