This week: vet candidates to thin the ranks of crooked officials in Wyandotte County, vent about KCP&L jacking up your electric rates, get involved in an East Side beautification effort that continues to flourish without city handouts and toss a pair of old shoes for your under-shod neighbors in Africa.
Amy Gottlieb, a 1987 alumni of Shawnee Mission East High School, snapped a photo of a local running race in Malawi and sent it back to her alma mater. The picture of a man wearing ripped and tattered shoes with disintegrating soles inspired the school's Environmental Club to reduce the amount of footwear going into local landfills by recycling them for citizens around the world. Their Shoe Collection Drive runs until April 11 with drop-offs at a number of locations.
Did I mention it's Women's History Month? Get some perspective from a political hard-hitter who was the first African American to lead a major presidential bid when she managed Al Gore's 2000 campaign. You know Donna Brazile already: She's a frequent political contributor to NPR and CNN. See her in person Monday at 7 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium on the University of Kansas campus.
If any area of the metro needs an energized electorate to ensure qualified political officials, it's Wyandotte County. Elections are fast approaching and, making it easy to get educated, Kansas City Kansas Community College has bundled all the candidates into a pair of forums in its Performing Arts Center. Starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, hear from the candidates for KCKCC's Board of Trustees and the Board of Public Utilities. Wednesday night, from 6 to 9, check out the candidates for the Unified Government and County Sheriff.
Kansas City Power and Light can apparently afford to take all its employees to Worlds of Fun but needs to raise your electric rates by an average of $150 per year to make it through these tough economic times. First, though, the company needs to get the increase approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission. On Thursday, the PSC wants to hear residents' reactions during public hearings at the Plaza Library starting at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The agonizing process of setting your clock forward to lose an hour sleep means it's nearly spring. It also means a rainbow of flowers popping up along Troost Avenue. But those blooms don't magically appear on their own. Get involved in the Tulips on Troost project by dropping by one of their weekly Friday meetings starting at 7:30 a.m. at The Coffee Break.
Brooke Salvaggio's Bad Seed market on McGee Street is a hive of activity for locavores and eco foodies. On Sunday, she kicks off the first of her Urban Homesteading courses with a session from 3 to 5 p.m. on Organic Transplants. For $25, get lessons on how and when to seed plants indoors and leave with a tray of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and herbs.
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