The stricter curfew ordinance runs through Sunday, September 30, when it reverts back to the standard curfew of 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays for all minors under the age of 18. For each violation of the curfew, parents or guardians can be fined up to $500.
The two men who make up the police department in Lanagan, Missouri (three hours south of Kansas City), have been charged with forging traffic ticket documents. Police Chief Larry Marsh and officer Michael Gallhue were arrested last week by the Missouri Highway Patrol.
A Cole County judge ruled that the ballot language on a tobacco tax petition submitted to the secretary of state's office is fair, as is the cost estimate given in the summary. The petition is seeking to raise the cigarette tax from 17 cents to 90 cents. The national average for cigarette taxes per pack is $1.46, and Virginia has the second lowest tax rate at 30 cents.
The law doesn't include what Brownback termed a series of "pay fors." He had proposed sales-tax increases, elimination of the exemption on mortgage interest and the earned-income credit. Those "pay fors" were left on the floor of the Kansas Legislature. And now, according to the Kansas Legislative Research Department, Kansas will have an $800 million reduction in the revenue it collects in 2014. To put that in perspective, that's 12.8 percent of projected revenues.
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It's been nearly eight months since Lisa Irwin was last seen. The 1-year-old girl's parents, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, say their daughter was abducted on October 3. The parents have made several national television appearances since the girl's disappearance. The latest came Monday when the couple appeared on NBC's Today show.
In the interview, Irwin says his debit card was stolen in November, and he claims that whoever took it attempted to charge $69 to a British website that offers to change the name of an adult or a child.
Bradley expressed frustration with authorities' search for their daughter.
"I am frustrated," Bradley told Today. "It has been almost eight months, and we're not getting any answers. We understand that the FBI and the KCPD have a job to do, but we need answers. We need Lisa. The answer to us that we are looking at is unacceptable."
Watch the interview above.
The United Way is moving its Quality Hill offices. I noticed the giant for-sale sign yesterday on the way to the mailbox.
Kim Romary, the United Way's vice president of marketing, tells The Pitch that the nonprofit organization is selling its three buildings at 1080 Washington. The buildings are listed with Copaken Brooks.
"We don't know yet where we're going to be moving," Romary says. "We're looking at hopefully moving around the end of the year. Primarily, it was a financial decision."
Romary says the United Way wants to lease space either downtown or in midtown, somewhere between the Missouri River and the Plaza. The search is on.
"Hopefully, we'll have something to announce in the next couple of months," Romary says.
On Monday, President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech for Joplin High School's class of 2012. Just a snip of his words: "But you are from Joplin. And you are from America. No matter how tough times get, you will be tougher. No matter what life throws at you, you will be ready. You will not be defined by the difficulties you face, but how you respond - with strength, and grace, and a commitment to others."
The president's speech came a day before the anniversary of the tornado that tore through the town, killing 161 people.
H/t: The White House's YouTube via Turner Report.
Google announced more than a year ago that KCK and KCMO would be the first cities to get Fiber. This is the second time they've delayed rolling out the network. As has been standard operating procedure since Google came to town, a spokeswoman wouldn't give the Star any information about the delay. "We'll have an announcement about Google Fiber this summer," she told the paper. (For our Tech Issue in April, we were given similar tight-lipped treatment.)
Google's Fiber Blog, which hasn't been updated since April 4, doesn't have any news on when the announcement will be made. If you're starting to get frustrated, just keep reminding yourself how great it will be when it finally arrives.
Despite support in both chambers, the bill stalled in the House as Republican lawmakers sought to push through a second bill that would have tied teacher tenure to performance rather than years on the job. When the tenure bill was pulled from the floor in the Senate, the state takeover bill died along with it. As it stands now, the state could assume control over Kansas City public schools in January 2014 - two years after the loss of the district's accreditation.
Lawmakers voted 103-13 to pass the bill. The Wichita Eagle reports that a few representatives voiced concerns over law-enforcement agencies' new reach. Rep. Sean Gatewood (D-Topeka) argued that the bill infringed on citizens' right to remain silent. "These are American citizens, and they have the right to remain silent, which this bill sort of tramples on, because if you just stand there silent … then you're a criminal," he said, according to the paper.
Bill supporters argued that DUI refusals slow court dockets and drain police resources. The bill now goes to Gov. Sam Brownback.
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The Gumball 3000 makes a pit stop in Kansas City tonight (Monday)
Fifty years ago this week, Continental Flight 11 fell out of the sky over Unionville
Guy Fieri, Henry Ford and Johnny Trigg to be inducted into the National Barbecue Hall of Fame
Johnson County boobaphobe wants Overland Park to disappear arboretum's Yu Chang sculpture
The Pitch Questionnaire with Historic Kansas City Foundation executive director Amanda Crawley
Clemson, rumored to be interested in the Big 12, opens up its relationship with the ACC
KC's bakeries turn up the flour power
New teen curfew goes into effect this weekend