Eleventh Ward Committee race heats up at city park and recreation board meeting - really?

It was a celebration that brought together two political adversaries for a brisk handshake and a chuckle-chocked conversation.

11th Ward Democratic Committee candidates Will Royster and John "JJ" Rizzo shared a brief moment in the lobby of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.

What could bring the offspring of two political dynasties together? Well, it was definitley not their shared vision for who should fill the Northeast's house seat. No, Rizzo was there to show his support for Royster's plan to make Cliff Drive car free on the weekends this summer.

The Parks board on Tuesday approved the plan, which Royster has been working on with parks staff since the fall.

Rizzo is currently running against incumbent John Burnett for a third time for Northeast's house seat. Royster dropped out of that race last month to focus on the committee race where he will also face Rizzo.

Before the meeting started Rizzo dropped in and sat near the back while Royster presented his plan. Afterward Rizzo sought out Royster and congratulated him and said that even he, an avid cyclist, looked forward to using Cliff Drive on the weekends.

The parks board unanimously approved the Cliff Drive plan. The Scenic byway is expected to be closed to vehicle traffic starting May 16.

For more on this check The Northeast News on Wedneday

Cliff Drive to go car free

According to documents obtained by The Northeast News, Cliff Drive, the state's only urban Scenic Byway, could go car-free on weekends as soon as this June if the current proposal being considered by the Parks Board is adopted.

Sources indicate that the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association has been working with Parks Department officials as well as members of the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway Corridor Management Committee to develop Cliff Drive in to an area that caters to joggers, cyclists and walkers throughout Kansas City.

“This is all part of making Historic Northeast a destination. We want to open Cliff Drive on weekends to those who enjoy cycling and walking in a safe environment and at the same time, showcase the natural beauty of the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway,” the proposal said

The plan’s partners include the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee, Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood, the Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall, the Major Taylor Foundation, Westside Housing Organization, the city’s Bicycle Coordinator Deb Ridgway, the Parks and Recreation and the Kansas City Police Department.

If adopted, no motorized traffic would be allowed on Cliff Drive from essentially sundown on Friday, through Monday morning, creating a “pedestrian friendly” environment in a naturally rugged and beautiful setting.

The official proposal is in its final stages of planning and is due to be heard by the Parks Board sometime next Tuesday. Be sure to watch The Northeast News for all the details on this breaking story in Historic Northeast.

The budget passes

There were plaudits, congratulations and well wishes as the City Council passed the budget for the next year.

But even with all the warm fuzzy's coming from the council and the mayor Thursday afternoon in the council chambers, Northeast residents are left with a budget that seems to leave them out in the cold. No big surprise there - we've been here before, right? 

In the city's 2008-09 budget, Old Northeast Inc. will receive no funding at all. Also, conspicuously absent from this budget are any new police officers. Community Action Network(CAN)  offices in the area will also not receive funding under the newly adopted budget.

Additionally, the new, much heralded landlord registration program will be slashed and looks as if it could be shelved. 

Councilman John Sharp attempted to allocate an additional $1.6 million to the police department to hire new officers, but fellow council members did not buy on to the last second amendment. Sharp was the only negative vote against the budget when it was finally presented for a final vote.

In a statement released by the Mayor's office after the council proceeding, the Mayor praised the council and the city manager for working together for the good of the citizens of the city. 

For more on the unfolding budget check The Northeast News on Wednesday.

Can you hear me now?

Mayor Mark Funkhouser has heard the pleas of Northeast residents but still seems to be offering little help to the area in the budget that he and the council are set to approve on Thursday.

In his most recent town hall meeting, Funkhouser said he has heard the concerns and seen the letters from residents showing their support for Old Northeast Inc and his mission, but fell short of offering any kind clue as to whether the council would make a place for the organizations in the prodigious budget it has to finish by tomorrow.

"I hear you," Funkhouser said to Lee Lambert, vice president of Independence Plaza Neighborhood Association. "But right now (when it comes to neighborhood funds) it is like sharks in a feeding frenzy with everyone fighting for less and less."

Lambert pointed out that many of the neighborhood programs to the North of the river and south of Northeast were getting funding while ONE Inc seemed to be one of the few neighborhood programs being left out.

Funkhouser said the process was not over and still needed to go though more debate at Thursday's council meeting.

The council is set to approve the budget at its 3 p.m. council meeting at City Hall.

Buzz for Wednesday, March 26

Aaaaaand they’re off!!

We here at The News must have missed the starting gun and the track announcer introducing the candidates but we sure didn’t miss the cheers and jeers as the candidates rounded turn number one in what promises to be one of the hottest tickets in local politics this season.

We are definitely off to the races.

The verdict? It’s going to be Politics as usual, Northeast style this summer.

Based on the mud that’s been thrown up thus far — we don’t think anyone will be immune as both the weather and the political scene heats up this summer.

When I got this gig about ten years back, former publisher Brock advised me: “Don’t do endorsements, you’ll make nobody happy and everybody angry.”

Well this little dog is livin’ by those sage words of advice and currently has no intention of throwing support behind someone or even taking a stand on who to vote for in this one — unless someone runs for dogcatcher, then we might howl a bit.

Kibble is a fine treat, but this dog lives off the truth.

We are not here to make friends and be popular. We are here to be a voice for Historic Northeast neighborhoods and be the voice of truth standing tall amid the din of political rhetoric.

We hear that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Well, this old pooch still has some young blood in her and she not going to “sit” or “ stay” during this primary election.
Bette Davis said it best: “fasten your seat belts fellas, its going to be a bumpy ride.”

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We would like to offer a personal wag of the tail to the find folks at the Kansas City Police Department for their crime lab and smart police work.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recognized the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab for their use of technology when matching weapons used by criminals in certain cases.

Since 2002, the lab had successfully made 100 matches of bullets recovered at crime scene with the weapon that was used. And, to add to the kudos, the labs in just the past two months has already made another 20 matches using the ATF database.

In one case police were left with no clues other than the spent shell casings from the crime scene. LAter that year a police officer was assaulted, the suspect was arrested and his weapon seized.

Police using the weapon and lab technology were able to match the weapon and the shells and made a case against the man.

Congrats and keep up the good work.

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Think you got a hot news tip or just want to talk with the Newshound, call 1-888-Newsdog.
The Northeast Buzz Blog: your neighborhoods, your blog.
www.nebuzz.blogspot.com

BREAKING NEWS: KC Museum Board seeks answers from CIMO on renovation project

The city's Capital Improvement Management Office already has several enemies in the Police Department for not fully reporting what it charging the boys in blue on several projects.

Now it looks like CIMO has also caught the ire of Kansas City Museum Advisory Board Members for doing the same thing.

On Tuesday Board chairman Gary Marsh tore into CIMO staffers for not offering any explanation on several invoices the city office has submitted to the the Museum Board for renovation work currently being done.

"If I got something like this on my desk in my business, I would mark it up with red ink and tell them they were not getting paid any money," Marsh said.

CIMO had submitted an invoice to the board with vague descriptions and a bill for $160,000. Marsh said that with out any explanation of those costs he, and the rest of the board, could not be expected to simply fork over the money.

Marsh said he tried to get some help from City Manager Wayne Cauthen but instead got a letter that "basically told us to go to hell," Marsh said.

But city sources say some of those mysterious and unnamed charges could be coming from past project that the museum has had completed though the CIMO office.

Last year when the museum had the roof repaired, city officials say that the project ended up costing the city more than they had planned — although they would not say by how much. Officials say CIMO staffer are charging extra items to the current museum project at Corinthian Hall to make up those costs.

Now Marsh and the museum advisory board is looking at options to get some of those descriptions and find out what is being purchased and where the money for the project is going. Marsh said if the city does not comply with the board's requests then they might have to take legal action — something the police board is currently considering as well.

"If the city is not looking this close at their invoices then it is no wonder that we are $48 million in the hole," Marsh said, referring to the city's ongoing struggle to balance its budget, which is due on Thursday.

For more on this, check here and The Northeast News on April 5.

You might be down...

...but you are never out.

On Thursday, March 13, Charles B. Wheeler threw his hat into the ring to vie for the Democratic spot as Missouri State Treasurer.

Yes, that same Wheeler who faced off against Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders and that same Wheeler whose name graced the downtown airport.

He will first have to square off against three other democrats in August before heading into the general election.

Wheeler is not from the Northeast nor does he have any significant current ties up this way, we just found it interesting.