Kansas City Week in Review – July 19, 2019

the race for president finally
winds through KC the mayor
says farewell with a candid new
book marking the tragedy one
year on the head of Lee’s
summit schools back in the
headlines this time for blasting
the president it’s our metros
most impactful stories
dissected next on your
week in review
week in review is made possible
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co trustees and by viewers like
you thank you
hello I’m Nick Haines glad you
could join us as we take a
journey together thru the news
of our week I was a little
worried part of our production
set
might have melted in what has
been a sweltering few days here
you know metroplex but calm
cool and totally unfazed are
this week’s news reviewers Mr
up to date on KCUR FM Steve
Kraske from the call newspaper
senior writer Eric Wesson from
forty one action news reporter
Cat Reid and columnist and
editorial writer Dave Helling
of your Kansas city star the
race for president has finally
come to Kansas city this week
mayor Pete in the metro for two
fund raisers and a stop to
witness the work of a
homeless veterans project

in
South Kansas city he’s joined
by some familiar faces
including former Missouri
secretary of state Jason Kander
and mayor elect Quinton Lucas
there are now more than twenty
candidates running for
president why is Mayor Pete the
first
to come here does he have a
tie to Kansas city cat well
there are a couple things he’s
leading the polls currently in
Iowa which is our neighbor and
also I think that like Jason
Kander he’s a democratic
darling he has that
relationship with Kander really
though Quintin Lucas the
mayor elect says it’s all about
the veterans community project
and he credited just the
mission of that project with
bringing mayor Pete a
military veteran here what did
we learn about this visit this
week Steve well that
politicians who are running for
president Nick love to be
associated with veterans issues
veterans housing I have a
prediction this won’t be the
last presidential candidate who
comes to Kansas city who makes
his way to the veterans
community project they love
those kinds of things it’s a
great issue for presidential
candidates so
we’re gonna see Elizabeth
Warren go to one of these in
Kansas city we gonna see Joe
Biden here yeah you might over
time and other candidates it’s
good place to raise money yeah
and money is the mother’s milk
of presidential politics at
this stage we should keep in
mind a couple things first of
all to me the more interesting
development this week was the
re emergence of Jason Kander
who who you know had
circumstances been different
might be getting ready to take
the oath is the next mayor in
Kansas city instead he had a
very well publicized a
problem that he is now
addressing and he can still be
a force I think in Missouri
politics and maybe national
politics his reemergence is
probably as important for us
around here as maybe mayor Pete
is he really talking though
about any campaigns Eric no I
was surprised to see him out
too I thought I would’ve saw him
out in Jolie Justuss campaign
supporting her since she
supported him but I and I that
was the first time I saw him
this week cat one other thing
I’ll point out about Buttigieg
visiting VCP that
that really sets up the
distinction of him from the
rest of the field in that he
talks a lot about being a
veteran and his military
service that being part of his
broader public service so I
think that that kind of tees
him up also that would be his
distinction from president
trump Can i just throw in
quickly sort of a corollary
issue
Nick Missouri is thinking about
cancelling its presidential
primary next year which would
be very interesting Republicans
are in essence saying we don’t
need a primary Donald Trump is
going to be our nominee why
should we spend public money to
help the Democrats pick a
presidential candidate and of
course the Kansas Democrats are
moving away from caucuses are
going to do a sort of a
different kind of polling
mechanism so how much attention
we get presidentially may
narrow as we get closer to the
two choices you know politics
is a relationship game Nick and
just reminder Jason
Kander was running for
president at one point in his
life just a couple of years ago
and he knows all these people
he has a relationship with mayor
Peter a relationship with
virtually every other
presidential candidate who’s
running on the democratic side
you know it’s not hard to
imagine that all as much
attention as mayor Pete is
getting these days that could
have been Jason Kander under
different set of scenarios
but but back to your first
question I don’t know if a lot
of the candidates in the
democratic side will be parading
through Kansas city is
basically a Republican state
and I think a lot of them I
know Cory Booker is like well I
don’t know if I’m going to come
there because is basically a
Republican state now
With just days before he heads
out of office mayor sly James
is out with a new book he’s
calling it passion for purpose
and it’s being released just as
he presides over his final
council meeting this week and
holds a farewell picnic at the
urban youth academy what did we
learn from the book that we
didn’t already know
he can carry a grudge Nick He
doesn’t
like Dave Helling
Dave is one of the very few
people the mayor singles out
for his animus as he heads out
the door the two of them got
into it over the bidding
process for the airport or the
lack of the bidding process and
that says something about mayor
James that he’s going out of
office feeling he needs to
settle some scores as he leaves
the scene I’m not sure it was
necessary in in that way having
said that the book is a really
interesting look at his life an
interesting man an interesting
upbringing and I think people
get something out of it I
thought he removed all of the
names from the book to protect
the innocent or perhaps the
guilty Cat
well there is a mention just
by last name of mayor elect
Quinton Lucas in which he
criticizes the hiring of
outside law firms outside
counsel so there is just one
little dig he says that it
wasn’t intentional Dave Helling
given what Steve just said
how you doing a rebuttal book
that’s going to come out in the
next few weeks no I I’m
lamenting my loss of a key to
the city I was hoping I would
get a key to the city here at
the end and it doesn’t look
like that’s going to happen
it’s no secret that the mayor
and I have had discussions for
his entire term about my views
on how government should be
open to the people in his views
which are different and that
may be reflected in the book I
do think it’s interesting at
some point he says paraphrasing
here that I’m not a politician
I’m not interested in legacies
which is an interesting
statement
put in a book about your legacy
when he says he’s not
interested in legacies then
Eric Wesson what is he going to
be best remembered for you know
he has the glitzy projects you
know the airport the downtown
hotel but I think he wants to
be remembered for trying to do
something with education with
young people I think he’s he
spent a lot of time focusing on
you know the young people the
situations that he had at the
plaza and then he started the
youth program there so I think
it’s going to be youth a lot of
people said at his farewell
cook out that he’s kind of the
mayor that made Kansas city
believe in itself again that
kind
of put us more on a national
stage and so that’s what I
heard from the people who I
interviewed that on that Sunday
Steve you know I think what a
lot of Kansas citian
think about mayor James they’ll
think about him getting the
airport terminal off the ground
they’ll think about the
downtown convention hotel and
it’s interesting because one of
my theories is that Kansas
citians demand to some degree
that
their mayors provides some
major capital improvement
projects to improve their lives
here now it’s interesting
because mayor elect Quinton
Lucas is thinking just the
opposite he’s sort of spurning
that idea of the need to
provide a major project instead
he wants to focus on important
things like crime and
infrastructure going forward
we’ll see how that plays Dave
well I would say that I would
agree with all my colleagues
that the mayor’s legacy will
be a good one he’ll be
remembered for some real
progress he did work on school
issues he has done some brick
and mortar things he did fall
short on crime but other mayors
have done so that’s a very high
bar for for any mayor and
certainly sly James is part of
that but I do think he also
leaves a legacy that Quinton
Lucas can learn from and that
is that top down only I can do
it go away leadership is just
not workable in Kansas city and
I think Quinton Lucas
understands that that any mayor
has to be more collaborative
more transparent more
communicative then mayor James
was during his eight years and
certainly in his last term and
that’s a legacy that he’ll
leave as well just as mayor sly
James was preparing to leave
office the Kansas city star
takes him to task for spending
one of his loss weeks on the
job in Hawaii the mayor just
returned from the US conference
of mayors meeting in Honolulu
the mayor they were
discussing important issues
including the impact of climate
change on cities cat Reid will
the star of cared if he was
going to Cleveland I think any
travel for someone this late in
their term about to leave
office is kind of strange and
it’s harder to justify the use
of taxpayer dollars on that one
thing that is interesting is
Christa Dubill when she sat
down with the mayor she said he
wouldn’t really divulge future
plans but several sources said
he was headed into consulting
so was this trip used to
perhaps build more
relationships I think that’s a
question that some people have
what was the problem the star
had with that Dave when climate
change is
such an important issue
cat of course summarizes our
concern which is your only in
office for another two or three
weeks if you learned everything
you could possibly learn about
climate change how could you
then translate that into
information the taxpayers would
benefit from seems problematic
and let’s face it the location
in Hawaii does make a
difference three weeks out so
that was our concern it wasn’t
a major thing but but it was
something we needed to note a
year ago this week seventeen
people died as a duck boat
capsizes on table rock lake
near Branson these were the
scenes we were witnessing this
time last year the tragedy
prompted calls for changes in
the law someone did duck boats
banned altogether for
all the talk did any laws
actually change Steve Kraske
they did not in fairness
Missouri
Senator Josh Hawley has followed
up his predecessor Claire
McCaskill in filing bills in
the U. S. Senate to do a number
of things including requiring
the use of life jackets on duck
boats that kind of thing that
bill is in committee the last
time I looked it hasn’t gotten
anywhere we’re a year out and
that needs to change the actual
duck boats have gone from
Branson it’s now being turned
into a laser tag activity
this time last year you were on
the program Eric you would just
returned from Branson and had
been on the ride the ducks
would you go on those
boats again absolutely not
and it’s more than just the life
jackets it’s the canopy on the
top that’s an issue and of
course the weather
would be an issue as well
because if you remember mine
now six year old son was one of
the people that they lake come
up front and steer the dive
boat so now when go on I was
amazed though in the store this
weekend Dave Helling there was
a story about how this the
community was split and many
people in that community action
didn’t want them to return Reid
and there are doc boat up
operations in other parts of
the country I do think the
insurance industry is paying a
lot of attention to some of
these rules and regulations
and raising insurance premiums
for duck boat operations that
may be a private sector way of
approaching this but that we
should know Nick that the
federal government seems
particularly reluctant to
involve itself on the
congressional level with
regulating amusement parks you
know when this little Bon
tragedy took place we did some
research on how the federal
government might respond to
inspection and design and a
musical parts are specifically
exempted from front federal
control by the consumer product
safety commission they just
don’t like to touch the stuff
I’m not sure why it may be that
the amusement industry has a a
pretty powerful lobby but that
may be one explanation for the
delay in this the store while
we don’t like to repeat the
same story over and over and
over again on this program some
stories do linger week after
week one of those is the
ongoing saga of the property
appraisals and Jackson County
is it really is disastrous and
devastating as some people are
now claiming this week Preston
Smith swung by KCPT to share
horrific portrait of what’s
happening Smith represents the
blue springs school district on
the county’s board of
equalization he says before all
is said and done that could be
close to forty thousand appeals
in the ten minutes per appeal
hearing that would take four
point six years to wrap up now
let’s do a quick round if we
cat separating fact from
fiction could that be right
please say one thing I would
point out twenty thousand
informal appeal already and
then they said to the board of
equalization which is a
separate process six thousand
there so some of it enough
people had to go ahead and file
formal appeals before they
heard back from those informal
so I think when you tally the
numbers that I think that we
could be seeing something close
to thirty thousand I don’t know
about forty another of Smith’s
contentions thirty thousand
people could lose their homes
really Eric yes with the if
they don’t put the cap on it
and now is a discussion on
whether the cap is legal but it
does if they’re not then the
you could have a lot of people
lose their homes can’t we just
briefly the tracks in
jurisdictions could roll their
levees back and lessen the
impact on some of those
homeowners so it isn’t clear
that thirty thousand people
will lose their homes and the
legality of a sort of any type
of cap is quite questionable I
in the state law seems pretty
clear you need to evaluate
properties residential and
commercial based on their value
and a so I think the legal
battle will continue to play
out well in Jackson County had
been you know in some trouble I
would say with the state the
state told them you were
undervaluing these properties
and that was back in for a
twenty seventeen assessment so
there isn’t a ton of sympathy I
don’t think on the state level
because they were told you need
to bring these I opted to value
we talk about this for a moment
that you know Gail mackenzie’s
getting all manner of rap for
the way this is being handled
some of it justified some of it
not but cat is so right what
the problem here is what’s pre
seeded this issue Jackson
County has been undervaluing of
properties for a long time the
state has noticed that has
pointed out there wasn’t a
response from the County that’s
the big issue here because
that’s led to this all very
quick rise in a lot of these
assessments Kansas city public
schools have lost a hundred and
forty seven million dollars in
revenue that they should have
gotten with accurate tax basis
so that’s a lot of money and
that lets you know that there’s
been going on for awhile and
it’s not just to Holmes you
know the plaza was undervalued
by hundreds of millions of
dollars for many many years
that sat on publicize tax break
everybody thinks it’s you know
the homeowner in a fifty or
sixty thousand dollar house
commercial properties were
undervalued I think the goal
expanding Lowry that’s right
the goal is to accurately and
fairly reflect the property
values of every parcel in in
Jackson County if they they may
be in perfectly getting there
it may cause some problems for
some folks but that has to be
the goal at least as I
understand stable some issues
are big in the news for awhile
and then you never hear about
them again how about police
body cameras he was a hot issue
at one time but seems to be
relegated in public
consciousness now over and talk
this week investing nearly
three quarters of a million
dollars on equipping all of its
two hundred offices with the
technology that puts the
spotlight back on Kansas city
Missouri police which despite
years of study has still not
adopted the cameras department
wide at issue apparently is the
cost six million dollars at the
police department had six
million dollars to spend Eric
Wesson is body cameras the best
use of that money yes
public trust people can see
what’s going on when a police
officer oppose you over and for
a lot of these police involved
shootings you know the police
have a perfect record with that
out of all the homicides
somebody probably did something
wrong so the body cameras would
eliminate that dial what we
just heard the mayoral race
Tivoli cameras actually even
coming up in that was not an
issue that the public can about
them I personally did not hear
body here specifically come up
if anything it in terms of use
of money they talked a lot
about permanent funding for
social workers at KCPT they
talked about community policing
which in some ways that does
tie in body cameras tie in with
trust with the community but
this issue I never heard
specifically discussed Steve
nice one underscore what Erica
said this lack of trust between
the residents on the east side
and the police department is a
profound issue in this
community it’s led to clearance
raise rates that are too low
for homicides in this in this
community this lack of trust
just isn’t if you just dia
haunts the police department’s
needs of its ability to move
forward and and do the right
thing a lot of people I think
would I react to the five
million dollars is they need to
hire more police officers I
think Eric Wesson is exactly
right this matter of trust
needs to be addressed body
cameras will go a long way
toward it and that would help
us solve some of these crimes
are crimes he sighed crime
issues cast your mind back two
years and the superintendent of
the Shawnee mission school
district was hitting the
headlines for blocking teachers
and staff from wearing safety
pins in support of refugees he
claimed it was a political
statement which had no place in
a public school district so
what are we to make this week
when the superintendent of one
of America’s largest school
districts and is what some say
is the political arena and
starts blasting the president
of the United States on his
Twitter account Dennis
carpenter who leads Lee’s
summit schools calls trump
racist in chief while he’s
getting support from some
patrons others claim he should
stick to educating kids and
they contend he’s abusing the
Lee’s summit put a platform to
express political beliefs the
school districts and it’s his
own personal account does not
make a difference Eric this is
parson or County as freedom of
speech just like president us a
lot of people say the president
needs to focus on running the
country is there a special
obligation on a school district
superintendent we expect people
like Emanuel cleaver initially
Stevens to be engaged in this
arena is the is this something
that the school district
superintendent should be
involved in I think in normal
times the answer to that
question is yes Nick that
school district superintendents
might be in a different
category you know but with this
president of the United States
saying what this president is
saying I think a lot of the
rules as this president has
changed so many rules our
politics today I think a lot of
those rules are out the window
and I don’t begrudge any leader
from as saying what he or she
thinks about our leader of the
free world right now what the
reaction be different out old
cat Reid if this was the head
of Saint Luke’s hospital the
head coach of the Kansas City
Chiefs of the general manager
of worlds of fun for instance
well it definitely isn’t a
different position but the
point I want to bring up some
people said well it was his
personal account not
professional if people are held
accountable the time for things
that they say on their personal
Twitter pages you’re still
representative of the school
district and so I think that
people who say it it was
personal nothing is personal
Eric with the Lee’s summit
climb it now especially dealing
with the situation that they
have with the racial issues
that they have going on I think
it was a good time for him to
say something about it to let
people know that Hey this is
still going on here and this is
the climate this in the country
is what people are saying and
put people Dave I don’t
disagree with that I would say
it is a bit provocative given
what’s going on in the Lee’s
summit action is not in
isolation or a one off there’s
other things going on and you
do have to wonder what the
reaction would be if a
superintendent or a public
figure tweeted supporter
president problem I mean people
would sort of go in a way to
manage is that appropriate for
someone to in essence Reid and
what the president said so I
there are some nuances to this
the I like action but but he
does have a all right to say
what he think so if he was
supporting the price and the
superintendent is doing that
would that be okay who’s on
their personal account Eric yes
the those women got on the news
the other day in support of the
president and they have high
profile positions as well
briefly he Lee’s are
extraordinary times when it
comes to the president of the
United States and what he’s
saying about people and again
to underscore the point I don’t
begrudge superintendents
superintendents saying anything
in response to that
as weeks ago on the
program we showed you these
scenes from our nation’s
capital Lee’s on department of
agriculture employees turning
their backs on their bosses he
announces the USDA is moving
its research units out of
Washington and we relocating
them to Kansas city this week
we learned that most of them
have now decided to quit the
agriculture department rather
than come here at all only
thirty six percent of affected
workers have accepted that
transfer over Simon’s should we
be offended all should we be
relieved that they’ll be
hundreds of new good paying
jobs but Kansas Indians as
result of this cat well listen
I don’t think that they’re
turning our backs because
Kansas city is an awful place
to live or they think it’s a
bad city because obviously it
is an amazing place to live but
they are upset because they
feel like moving it to Kansas
city would maybe Adam could
kind of push them into the
shadows little bit more and
maybe at could put them at risk
for their research not really
being how old and you know in
in the public eye HYVEE that it
could just kind of relegate
them a little bit there is a
sense though that there is a
people don’t like the idea of
being what they call flyover
country though right Eric I I
wouldn’t one national newspaper
this week prominent newspaper
says these people would be
marooned because Kansas city
that might have a point they
are coming from Washington DC
here probably would be a
culture shock there’s a lot of
things to do in DC and here
pretty much roll up the
sidewalks at ten thirty eleven
o’clock so it would be allowed
to cost of living is a lot
cheaper Lotawana twenty years
ago the NC a a used to be here
in Kansas city the major
organization the controls
college sports and then they
decided to move to Indianapolis
I spoke to one of the employees
who was there back then who
told me only about thirty
percent of those folks in
Kansas city went to
Indianapolis should people in
Indianapolis be offended by
Kansas city and because no I
think when you have families
with kids in schools and all
those complications it’s asking
a lot for to ask employees to
uproot their lies a move
halfway across the country yeah
there’s a lot to kick back in
Washington about this whole
deal Nick it what’s really
going on here is a jab at the
USTA’s ability to do the
research that does and to
undermine that that that really
is what the trump
administrations after here a
foul ball traveling ninety one
miles per hour hits a young
girl in the stands at Kauffman
stadium on Sunday now this week
the Kansas City Royals making
it official they’re extending
the nets at the cave of fan
safety was this latest incident
the impetus behind the change
or is it totally coincidental
it’s totally coincidental
all major league teams are
talking about extending that’s
to protect patrons in the lower
deck the Royals might have
gotten to this point eventually
anyway but I think that the
accident or the incident at the
ballpark probably accelerated
that discussion and moved it
forward it’s a good idea to
something the team on not just
like a foul ball in a baseball
game something so totally out
of your control like the
weather Union Station finding
that out this week as it pulls
the plug on what they touted as
the most Instagram oblique
Sperry into so the year in KCP
aerial onto a cold reflecting
motion was damaged in last
week’s storms it’s now
considered too expensive to
repair and has been removed it
was to be on display until the
first week all of September not
many of our metros biggest
malls have gone out of business
in recent years as the retail
landscape changes now the
independent Center mall is
totally reinventing itself
how about along with shopping
going on an aerial Reid like
this whole scaling a climbing
wall forty three hundred
course it’s all coming this
winter to independence Senter
morals are not the only ones
trying to reinvent themselves
so what
all around the world in our
he’s a corrections free video
games movie theaters in
swimming pools these are scenes
from the new terminal that just
opened at Singapore airport
which brings us to KCI which
this week is asking the public
which features from schools to
restaurants they want he now
knew one billion dollar
terminal
okay cat Reid we often hear the
Wheeler will cost city and we
are building a world concept
airport so any swimming pools
movie theaters coming to our
new look KCI listen I don’t
think many movie theaters I
think we need more than one
Starbucks once you get through
security and I think that that
is what people are asking for
you know KCI their holding
all of these public outreach
sessions to get you know
feedback from the public but
also talk to some business
owners about how they can get
involved in the new terminal
and they talk about wanting
something that is truly Kansas
city that provides the sense of
place and I think for a lot of
Kansas citians that means a
lot more than barbecue we will
see barbecue other I thought
all this was already happening
is this really window dressing
or are they really interested in
the public’s view on this I
think they want to get some
idea what the public wants
they’re still early enough in
the design game to do that I’m
hoping they install one of
those zip lines so former mayor
sly James can be one of the
first to take a ride coming
down the new airport is there
any
feature that you would like to
see in this new airport Eric
some place to get your shoes
shined I think this is like one
of the only airports I’ve ever
been in there’s no place to get
your shoes shined
that’s interesting that used to
be such a staple Look how
quickly the
technology and the expectations
for airport terminals are
changing Nick what you do showed
from Singapore there that’s
what KCI needs to begin to
think about as it moves forward
I do see that can be nine
mothers rooms so that they can
breast feed that’s a big step
up too that is also they’re
including as a special sensory
sensory playground so that
children with autism they’re
keeping themn in mind as they’re
designing we do have a
playground at this what happened
to the fountain that they had
originally is that still going
to be
part of the Design I think that
the original fountain was deemed
that
was two stories was deemed to
just be kind of impossible
but fountains are still going to
be in there 10 seconds there
is a dispute over public art at
the airport involving the
municipal art commission and
who has the say and we’ll take
that up on another program and
that is our week in review our
thanks to
our news reviewers keeping you
up to date weekdays at eleven
on KCUR Steve Kraske and
from forty one action news cat
Reid
from the call newspaper Eric
Wesson from your Kansas city
star Dave Helling I’m Nick
Haines thanks for being with us

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