Friday, February 3, 2012

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten's plan to curb crime: ban hoodies and baseball hats

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Bill Bunten is so old-fashioned, his official portrait is black and white.
  • Bill Bunten is so old-fashioned, his official portrait is black and white.
Here is an epically stupid idea. Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten has told the City Council that he thinks it should ban baseball hats and hoodies. Topeka's law enforcement officers, like they do in every city, rely on surveillance cameras to help nab criminals. But sometimes, people wear clothing that makes it difficult to identify them on camera. So, Bunten argues, the city should just ban them altogether when security cameras are present.

Bunten told the council that Police Chief Ron Miller suggested the idea. The mayor says other cities have reduced crime with similar bans and outlawing the clothing would be good for Topeka. "Anything we can do to lower crime and make it safer for people who work in businesses, I think that's a positive," he told the Council.

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Have you seen these dumpers?

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 9:59 AM

Illegal_Dumpers1.jpg


Illegal_Dumpers2.jpg
Kansas City officials are asking for the public's help this week in identifying two men who illegally dumped a crap-ton of picket fencing in the middle of the 8100 block of Wabash Avenue. A city camera photographed two men in a Dodge Ram pickup unload the giant pile of wood on January 24 at 2:34 in the afternoon.

As you can see in the photo on the right, these jerks didn't even have the decency to dump it on the side of the road. Come on, buttheads, if you're going to ugly up our city, the least you could do is not block traffic. They could be fined $1,000 and face jail time. The Neighborhood and Community Services Department asks anybody with information about these dumpers to call either 311 or code enforcement Officer Ryan Kasper-Cushman at 816-719-0637, or contact him by e-mail at ryan.cushman@kcmo.org.

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Are you going to gamble at the Hollywood Casino?

Posted by Jonathan Bender on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 8:14 AM

The newest casino in Kansas premieres today.
  • Facebook: Hollywood Casino
  • The newest casino in Kansas premieres today.
The roulette wheels will be spinning, the slots will be jangling, the change cups will be in hand — and for the first time it will all count. The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway is set to open its doors for a grand opening at 11 a.m. today. And after that, they'll always be open — this is a 24-hour, seven-day operation.

Last week, Fat City's Charles Ferruzza had the chance to tour the state-of-the-art kitchens and restaurant concepts inside the Kansas City, Kansas, casino next to the Legends. Today, they're open to the public along with the 2,000 slot machines, 40 game tables and a poker room. Are you going to try your luck at the Hollywood Casino?

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Local cab drivers sue over permit regulations

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 3:15 PM

Attorney Mark Goodman says that cab drivers arent being treated fairly.
  • Lawyer Mark Goodman, right, says cab drivers aren't being treated fairly.
Kansas City’s taxi drivers say they’re being screwed by the companies that own city-issued cab permits. This week, the Kansas City Taxi Cab Drivers Association LLC, a group representing 250 cab drivers, sued the city over the way it issues permits. The suit states that nine Kansas City, Missouri, cab companies own all 547 permits that have been issued, which gives them “fiefdom-like control on the Kansas City taxicab market.”

Dozens of drivers rallied today near the federal courthouse downtown to draw attention to their case and what they say is an unfair business model. The permit owners lease their cars and permits to the drivers, who act as independent contractors with no benefits or stability. Furthermore, the drivers say, they have to buy their own gas and cover the costs of operating the taxi. The drivers say the fees end up costing most of their income. Mark Goodman, the drivers’ St. Louis-based attorney, told reporters today that the arrangement makes Kansas City’s taxi drivers "subsistence workers."

City ordinance caps the number of permits issued at 500. In order to get down to that number from 547, forfeited and surrendered permits will not be renewed. The suit says the nine cab companies pay the city $164,000 each year to renew the permits, and the drivers then pay the companies $6.4 million in leasing fees.

The drivers’ lawsuit seeks a court order blocking the ordinance from being enforced. If the drivers are successful, the local taxi industry could more closely resemble St. Louis’, which allows independent taxi operators and distinguishes between airport-exclusive taxis and on-call services that pick up customers at other locations.

After the jump, see a table that Goodman says breaks down how much companies earn by leasing their permits.

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Without a snowstorm, Kansas City is getting 'Weather Fever'

Posted by Jonathan Bender on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 11:09 AM

Our weathermen are going a bit batty without snow.
  • Our weather forecasters are going a bit batty without snow.
The beat-up pickup brakes sharply as the twister comes into focus at the end of a dirt road. The driver briefly touches a creased picture of two dogs, takes a deep breath, and prepares to gun the engine and aim for the very eye of the storm.

"Have you got one more in you, Busby?" asks Gary Lezak.

"Let's finish what we started, Lezak," Bryan Busby snarls back.

The two top meteorologists in Kansas City have not yet decided to film the sequel to Twister, but the looniness of the weather coverage the past few days suggests that it's not outside the realm of possibility. And if a storm doesn't come soon (media reports are hopefully predicting snow for Saturday), there might not be anything that can cure the "Weather Fever," which has beset this weather-crazy town.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Police identify woman found in Cass County creek

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:32 PM

Perez was discovered last Sunday.
  • Perez was discovered last Sunday.
On Tuesday, Blue Springs police identified the woman, whose body was found in a Cass County creek on January 26, as Peggy Perez, 48. Perez was discovered wrapped in plastic in a creek near 315th Street and T Highway.

Lance Gross, 52, has been charged with abandoning a corpse, The Star reports. Gross' brother, Marlin Gross, 49, has been charged with the same crime.

Lance Gross told investigators that he had engaged in rough sex with Perez on January 20, put a dog collar around her neck to choke her and injected her with Valium. He told police that he passed out, and that when he awoke, Perez was dead. Authorities say Gross left Perez's body in his home for three days before enlisting his brother's help in dumping the body.

Perez's sister, Ada Perez, told Fox 4 that Lance Gross and Peggy Perez met about two months ago at the VFW Bar in Kansas City. They started dating, and Perez moved in with Gross a few weeks later.

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Kansas City Comets documentary debuts on Metro Sports Thursday night

Posted by Justin Kendall on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:00 PM

I haven't seen Metro Sports' documentary on the Kansas City Comets, Blazing Trails: The History of the Kansas City Comets, but I'm looking forward to its debut Thursday night at 7. Can't wait to hear the theme from the Midnight Express (the movie and the pro wrestling tag team).

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Dorial Green-Beckham, nation's top recruit, picks Missouri

Posted by Justin Kendall on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:03 AM

The Missouri Tigers kept the nation's No. 1 recruit (as rated by Rivals) in-state. Dorial Green-Beckham, a wide receiver from Springfield, announced that he'll be playing football at Mizzou.

Finally some good news for Mizzou on a week that saw this atrocity.

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The Pitch Questionnaire with KMBC's Kris Ketz

The KMBC anchor just wants to be in broadcast news.

Posted by Justin Kendall on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 6:00 AM

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Name: Kris Ketz

Occupation: First News anchor for KMBC Channel 9 and KCWE Channel 29

Hometown: Moline, Illinois

Current neighborhood: Northland

Who or what is your sidekick? Donna Pitman, Diane Cho, Joel Nichols, Johnny Rowlands, Kerri Stowell and company.

What career would you choose in an alternate reality? Thirty-plus years in broadcast journalism, and I still don’t know what else I would do.

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  • The KMBC anchor just wants to be in broadcast news.

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Joe Posnanski remembers the coach who should have blown the whistle one more time

Posted by Justin Kendall on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Joe Paterno: Nittany Lion in winter
  • Joe Paterno: Nittany Lion in winter
Joe Paterno died last week. The 85-year-old coaching legend, who headed Penn State’s football program for 46 years before his late-2011 firing, had lung cancer. His death prompted a waterfall of teary farewells, including one from former Kansas Citian Joe Posnanski.

Posnanski left KC last year, upgrading from Kansas City Star columnist to Sports Illustrated scribe. Also last year, Joe Po started working on a book about Joe Pa. So it was only fitting that Posnanski would have a few public words about Paterno, to whom he’d likely begun to feel close. But after the events of last year, Posnanski can no longer write a sunny look at a beloved coach in his twilight years. For this souring of narrative, the sportswriter can blame the allegations of child rape on Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant coach under Paterno.

In 2002, a graduate assistant reported to Paterno that he’d seen Sandusky raping a boy in the showers of the Penn State locker room. Paterno called his bosses but didn’t call the cops — and didn’t stop associating with Sandusky. When this came to light, in November 2011, the school’s board fired Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier.

Posnanski’s obituary for Paterno is short and flowery and gives the coach a pass. "I asked Paterno, at one point in that last month, if he hoped that people would come to see and measure his full life rather than a single, hazy event involving an alleged child molester,” he writes. “ ‘It doesn’t matter what people think of me,’ he said. ‘I’ve lived my life. I just hope the truth comes out. And I hope the victims find peace.’ ”

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