Polls close without incident

The polls are now officially closed.

Election board officials said they had a much lighter turnout than they had expected. Rain, low interest and only a handful of items on the ballot did not have the kind of draw that most other elections might.

For example, in the Northland voters only had three items to decide. The rest of the city had several low-profile and uncontested school board races to decide from.

Results should be up soon and as soon as they break we will bring them to you here.

Smoking Ban supporters call it early — really early.

Way before the polls closed and any of the exit data could truly be looked over — if any was being collected at all — The Breathe Easy Campaign was already announcing its victory party.

Breath Easy, the group that has pushed for the new smoking ban on Tuesday's ballot, sent out invitations to media and supporters at 4 p.m. today reminding them of the time and location of their celebration venue.

And where will the anti-smoking group be cheering on the returns? A bar, of course.

Booze Fish Wine Bar to be more exact.

BREAKING NEW: Mid-day shooting at Lawndale and St. John

Police are investigating a mid-day shooting at the corner of St. John and Lawndale avenues.

Witnesses say a car pulled up to the corner and began firing at two juveniles across the street. After firing roughly half a dozen shots, the car left the scene. The two juveniles, who were unhurt during the shooting fled on foot north on Topping.

Several .45 shell casings were found in the gutter near were witnesses said the car stopped before suspects began firing, which is directly across the street from The Northeast News offices.

Police are asking for help and if anyone has information to call the TIPS hotline at 474-TIPS.

Rain hampers early election day voting

The parking lot of the Don Bosco Senior Center looked fairly full, but inside the lobby and voting booths stood mostly empty.

Poll officials had already planned for a low turn out — despite two hot-button issues of smoking and bus taxes — but the rain was not exactly helping get bodies into booths.

Being that it is a spring, municipal election the slow pace has not necessarily stunned many involved in the election.

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If you did not get a chance to see light rail advocate Clay Chastain on KCPT's Kansas City Week in Review, its worth a viewing here . At one point Chastain seems to blame KC voters for approving his plan even though it was so, well, flawed.

He, despite his public transportation support, is against the bus tax. His claim is that the city has already wasted too much money on city buses.

BREAKING NEWS: Man charged in connection to Wednesday's shooting

Jackson County Prosecutors today announced they were filing charges against Taqwa Thompson, 18, for the murder of a man near the corner of Scarritt and North Mersington.

Police say Thompson and another man walked up to 55-year-old Ricardo Jimenez as he was standing in the doorway of his apartment building and shot him.

Thompson then fled. Police caught up with him near the corner of Lexington and Lebelle — just to the west of Concourse Park — where police say they also found clothing belonging to Thompson and a handgun.

Police say the two men arrested Wednesday afternoon were the only two invovled, despite earlier reports that three men had been seen fleeing the scene.

Prosecutors are requesting a $250,000 cash bond.

BREAKING NEWS: Police searching for man invovled in shooting at North Mersington and Scarritt

Police continue to search for suspects involved in a shooting at an apartment building near the corner of North Mersington and Scarritt.

Around 11 a.m. today police were called to an apartment building at 209 Mersington where they found a man in his 50s dead on the front steps of the building.

Immediately, police began their search and tracked two of the three suspects to the St. John Market just down the street from the apartment building. When police caught up to them they fled. There were shortly arrested on the bridge just to the west of Concourse Park.

A third suspect is still at large. if you have any information, police are asking that you call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS

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