Editorial: Clean it up
Kansas City taxpayers rightly expect their municipal government’s public works department to build and maintain streets, sidewalks, bridges and parking infrastructure and to regularly remove solid waste (trash and recycling). That isn’t happening equivalently across Kansas City neighborhoods as evidenced in random cruises through various parts of the city. Taxpayers there aren’t getting their money’s […]
Editorial: Mayor Lucas & the World CupEditorial:
Quentin Lucas celebrated his June 20 win over Clay Chastain last Friday at an event hosted by the Guadalupe Centers, Greater KC’s Hispanic Chamber and the Mattie Rhodes Center. Lucas begins his final term as Kansas City’s mayor in August with a governing mandate; voters overwhelmingly reelected him.He deserves reelection; he’s experienced in calamity, having […]
Editorial: Driving while intoxicated
A 19-year-old recent high school graduate was buried yesterday (June 21) in Lenexa. Just a week ago, the young man was planning with his fiancée to see a movie later that day. Somewhere else in the metro, a 24-year-old Grain Valley man was getting drunk. Their two lives intersected that night with tragic consequences. Benjamin […]
Editorial: A good father is: to be celebrated
What is a father; what does it mean to be a father? Does it matter? After all, mothers are the focal figures in the household – the lifegiver, nurturer, caretaker, activity director, teacher, booster, chef, nurse, financial planner, relationship and spiritual coach – the breadth of her responsibilities is stunning. And more and more, mom’s […]
Editorial: Summer reading: small investment, big returns
Welcome, summer break. The annual occurrence is happily anticipated by students, teachers and parents.For kids, it means freedom – to sleep in, log more screen time, play more and just chill out, unencumbered by scholastic deadlines and obligations. Typically, for younger students summer break offers a uniquely carefree, fuss-free existence peculiar to the youngest among […]
Editorial: Shame on Washington
Millions of Americans watched the nail-biting drama in Washington. For some of the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable, it’s personally alarming. As high-profile negotiations and political posturing persist in the nation’s capital, many of the 66-plus million retirees, disabled workers, eligible dependents and others covered by Social Security worry that their monthly payments could be […]
Editorial: Honoring our war dead
The U.S. is among fewer than a dozen countries worldwide that celebrate a Memorial Day honoring their fallen fighters. In Australia and New Zealand, it’s known as Anzac Day, observed on April 25. Germany observes Volkstrauertag, German for Memorial Day, on the Sunday closest to November 16.Israel’s Memorial Day or Remembrance Day (Yom Hazikaron) is […]
Editorial: Mothers, bless ‘em
The stories of Tomasa Quintanilla, Celina Báez, Doña Donaciana Corral de Larrazolo and Rosanne Deardorff illustrate how motherhood charmed history.Tomasa bore five children and raised them during the Great Depression. The eldest, Lauro Jr. went on to serve as U.S. Education Secretary, the first Hispanic to hold a cabinet post. He was an author and […]
Editorial: Mexico’s Independence Day: Sept. 16
Mexico celebrates Independence Day Sept. 16. On that day in 1810, Roman Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo set off a decade-long Mexican struggle for freedom from Spain. An impassioned utterance from his moving speech, Grito de Dolores (the cry of Dolores) is known as the battle cry for independence. Here in America, Mexico’s Independence Day is […]
Editorial: Rx for ruin: political indifferenceEditorial:
Crime. Gang activity. Drug and human trafficking. Broken sidewalks and crumbling curbs. Blighted properties. Lack of affordable housing. All are problems bedeviling Kansas Citians. All are the city council’s responsibility to address. And yet, only 14% of Kansas Citians turned out to vote in the April 4 primary election.Democracy works best when residents make their […]