Letters from the week of March 22

Web Exclusive, March 1Contempt of Court
The Executive Board of the Taxpayers League of Wyandotte County is dismayed that the BPU leadership has failed to rein in the old-line political crowd that has controlled the BPU for decades.

To think the BPU board would authorize suppression of facts through a Jackson County Circuit Judge is unthinkable.

We would like to see a federal audit of the BPU activities and their denials present through the press. We also believe extravagant food and alcohol expenditures continued following an approximately $600,000 golden parachute given to the last manager. And continuing rate increases as a result of these and similar costs plus potential fines for noncompliance with the EPA rules continue to burden our ratepayers and utility users. Paul Barker, Charlie Walje, Les Snodgrass, Sylvestor Byrd, Taxpayers League, Kansas City, KansasJanovy, "Color Lines," March 15The Fray
Thanks for an objective look at the candidacy of Alvin Brooks. As an enthusiastic supporter of Emanuel Cleaver, I'm a tad jaded about Mr. Brooks. How can he claim to be "above the fray" of negative campaigning when recently, right before his eyes, the "gang of four" mayoral losers decided to attack Mark Funkhouser's personality? Not his ability — just his personality. Brooks was there. Couldn't he have pointed out that he disapproves of such negativity — if, indeed, he does?

More significantly, Alvin Brooks never voted against a single TIF in his eight years as councilman and mayor pro tem. Evidently Brooks has seen TIF-worthy blight on the Plaza and in Briarcliff, while Council Districts 3 and 5, where the poorest one-third of Kansas City's people live, received a paltry 12 percent of blight-alleviating TIF.

At the March 4 forum at All Souls, Brooks said he thinks the city's infrastructure has improved steadily in recent years. And yet I walk by Brooks' campaign headquarters at 75th Street and Holmes every day. For several months there has been a water leak on Holmes that appears to be beyond the ability of the Water Department to repair. (Privatization, anyone?) And it's not because the leak has not been reported. Frequently.

If voters want more of the same, Alvin Brooks, who has been on the City Council for eight years and has much of the Kansas City establishment behind him, is sure to give us that. It's up to voters to ignore race and decide whether they want change or the same ol' same ol'. Larry Roth, Kansas City, MissouriLooks Deceive
"Color Lines" was a good column! I, too, am tired of hearing people assume that most members of the electorate will vote for the candidate of the same color as they. I was at the candidates' forum that Janovy referred to, and afterward some of us were discussing the candidates. Most of us felt Alvin Brooks and Mark Funkhouser were the best two candidates, but the ones favored by each member of the group did not necessarily follow color lines. A couple of the more vocal critics of Brooks made comments similar to the minority persons quoted in Janovy's column.

Carolyn MacDonald, Kansas City, MissouriEcon 101
It has amazed me how many people confuse race with economic class. Poor white people will never figure it out.

John Albertson, Kansas City, MissouriVarious storiesPoll Position
I just wanted to let you guys know what a great job you are doing with the political stories you've been writing lately: Alvin Brooks and the MoveUP conflict ("Pick One," February 15); Connie Morris and her taxpayer-funded travel (Burnt Ends, March 15) and the mayoral "race" (Janovy, March 15). Many of the stories have brought up issues that, of course, have not been covered — nor will they be — by the corporate media.

I also appreciated the story of Jack Harry and his ethical conflict of taking money from a company, promoting that company, then doing a story about how good the product worked (Burnt Ends, March 15). And this is NOT an ethical problem, Jack? Hello!

So, keep doing what you're doing. My one critique: "fuck-you" (as in "Connie Morris' farewell fuck-you to Kansans ended with the state paying the outgoing Board of Education member more than $2,300") isn't a a great journalistic term; it also lessens the impact of a good, hard-hitting story.

Keep up the good work. Vicki Walker, Kansas City, MissouriFeature: "The Power of Half a Brain," March 1Mind Gains
Carolyn Szczepanski's feature on Olivia Johnson and hemispherectomies was one of the most inspiring stories I have read in your publication! My daughter and I read the Pitch on a regular basis, and I have to tell you that Szczepanski did an excellent job.

I commend Olivia's parents for making such a difficult decision and only hope that Olivia grows and flowers into the beautiful young woman that she already is. Well done. Nikki Williams, Parkville Correction: Nickel & Dimed playwright Joan Holden's name was incorrect in last week's Stage column.