Saturday, October 13, 2007

Latest K.C. Metro Radar-Indicated Rainfall Map

Indian Creek is within 3 feet of it's 14-foot flood stage at 103rd Street west of Metcalf. Turkey Creek is near bankfull at I-35 & I-635/Metcalf.

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METRO KANSAS CITY BREAKING WEATHER: FLASH FLOODING THREAT HIGH

This especially applies in a general west-northwest to east-southeast band from southern Jefferson- northern Douglas - southern Leavenworth and northern Johnson counties in Kansas- and the southern 2/3 of Jackson into northern Cass counties Missouri.

Even the radar-indicated precip totals image underestimates actual rainfall amounts- now near - 2.95 inches here in S.E. KC-MO- to exceeding 3 inches- Johnson Drive and K-7 3.05 inches. Turkey and Indian Creeks were running full and rising in Johnson County Kansas.

With soils in these areas now at satuation from this event and rains over the past 2 weeks- the worry is more- possible heavy rain-producing storms moving in.

At this time- radar loops indicate light to occasional heavy rains will continue for at least the next 2 hours.

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MetroRegion WEATHER UPDATE: Severe Storms Near Topeka

The Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory continues in effect until 9:30am. A severe thunderstorm warning just expired for northern Osage County KS- but another warning continues in effect for counties further west.

All this activity continues to move generally eastward- toward Metro K.C..

No great rainfall totals seen on any Metro sites- one-half to an inch generally- and it will be seen if the storms near Topeka hold together as they move east.

Also- no major news overnight. That report coming in about an hour....
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KANSAS CITY'S BREAKING WEATHER: FLOOD ADVISORY FOR METRO COUNTIES

The NWS in Pleasant Hill has put out an "Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory" until 9:30 am this Saturday morning for: "EASTERN LEAVENWORTH ... WYANDOTTE ... NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTIES IN KANSAS - WESTERN JACKSON ... SOUTHERN PLATTE ... SOUTHERN CLAY COUNTIES IN MISSOURI."

"AT 337 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING INTO THE ADVISORY AREA.
DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED SOME AREAS HAVE RECEIVED UPWARD OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF RAIN ALREADY TONIGHT WITH ADDITIONAL RAINFALL EXPECTED.

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE MINOR FLOODING TO OCCUR- ESPECIALLY ALONG SMALL STREAMS AND NEAR LOW WATER CROSSINGS. SOME LOCATIONS THAT MAY EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE: BASEHOR- BONNER SPRINGS- CLAYCOMO- COURTNEY- DE SOTO- EDWARDSVILLE- FAIRWAY- GLADSTONE- GRANDVIEW- GREENWOOD- INDEPENDENCE- KANSAS CITY- KANSAS CITY KANSAS- LAKE QUIVIRA AND LANSING."


No reports of any flooding at this posting in a 17-county bi-state area.
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Latest Weather Radar Image

A large area of showers and thunderstorms- some heavy in intensity- continue to develop and move across northern Kansas and southern and southeastern Nebraska.

Click to enlarge the image- the white crossed lines indicate storm movement- the green triangles indicate various sizes of hail indicated.

Showers and storms will move into and across the mainly northern half of the K.C. MetroRegion during the early morning hours. The main threat is cloud to ground lightning- heavy rain and possibly some moderate-sized hail.
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Friday, October 12, 2007

Here's A Deal For La Raza: Go Away

Hey La Raza- I don't WANT extortionists here.

Call it whatever YOU want in trying to get rid of Frances Semler from the Parks Board- what your organization is doing is a form of extortion.

Go hold your gathering of illegal-immigrant-loving conventioners someplace else.

PROVE WITH HARD IRREFUTABLE FACTS that the Minutemen are a group of racists or just leave us in Kansas City the hell alone.

Maybe some pamphlets explaining what the word 'illegal' means would help those who don't seem to have a good working grasp of ENGLISH....
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Thursday, October 11, 2007

KANSAS CITY'S BREAKING NEWS: Aircraft Emergency Declared At K.C.I.

At 7:26pm- five companies of the KC-MO and South Platte Fire Departments and airport crash-fire-rescue units were sent to standby at Kansas City International (MCI) on an aircraft in trouble coming in.

It's reported to be "an Airbus-320- with 188" people on board with one of it's two engines out. The airline was not given.

The aircraft was due in the next 5-10 minutes and an update will be posted here.
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UPDATE - 7:50 PM: The aircraft with the engine out reportedly got that engine restarted before landing without incident at MCI just seconds ago.
Further- the airport fire chief said that the stricken Airbus-320 "used a lot of runway" length upon landing and that rescue unit infrared devices had indicated the aircraft's "brakes (got) very hot" stopping the plane. - 2015c.
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Marshall-MO ConAgra Pot-Pie Plant Production Halted


At least temporarily- while the plant is completely inspected by government and company inspectors- according to The MARSHALL DEMOCRAT-NEWS.

This because of an outbreak of food poisoning- salmonella- that's been reported in 139 patients in 30 states- and Banquet brand pot pies- which are made at the ConAgra Marshall plant- are considered by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) one possible link to the outbreak.

The Marshall-MO ConAgra Plant during a 1994 fire.

(Courtesy of www.marshallfire.com/events.htm.)

ConAgra is also the producer of the Peter Pan brand of peanut butter- also not long ago recalled and production halted because of another salmonella outbreak. That brand has just recently re-appeared on store shelves.

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Jimmy Carter Rips Dubya Administration

Some think I just diss Dubya because I don't like him and those people are correct. I get horrible "waves" off the man and I won't even get into the things he's done to America.

If anybody would know how the Beltway Bozos work it would be an ex-president- and in this case that man is Jimmy Carter.

President Carter- according to this AP article- has blasted the present Administration's use of torture in "The War on Terror." Mr. Carter- as I have felt in my own bones- says Dubya defines what "torture" is- and that definition still stands in the treatment of alleged terrorist suspects.

To those of you who agree with Dubya's tactics- I should only remind you what a wise parent SHOULD have told you: "When YOU start doing the same things as those who do wrong- you are no better than those folks."

THIS is what Dubya has and is continuing to do to- destroy the very moral fiber of America and all this country ONCE stood for.
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Coldest Morning Since April In K.C. MetroRegion

As you can see by the accompanying weather map image (click for max size- see also the weather map key to read the map)- temperatures in the Kansas City Metro- and most of the MetroRegion- are in the upper 30's to near 40-degrees this morning. These are the coldest temperatures since the late-April cold wave.

Moderation in temperatures expected over the next several days with another storm system in here by late weekend. There are- however- no freezes in sight for at least the next week to 10 days.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

BREAKING NEWS: School Shooting In Cleveland-OH - 3 Victims


The shooting was reported to be at a "small"- downtown Cleveland alternative high school and Cleveland's mayor reported 3 shot- according to the Associated Press. One mother reported her son said he'd been "shot in the arm."

CNN is reporting the "student gunman is dead."
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UPDATE 1:59PM: The AP now says there were 5 people taken to hospitals from the shooting scene.

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Take A Daytrip To See Missouri's Fall Colors

With the ever-shortening warm days and lengthening cool nights- Missouri's many forested areas will soon be awash in the technicolor hues of autumn.

The map (click for max size) shows some driving routes for those wanting to view the fall foliage- while most routes cover the more heavily forested lands of southern Missouri- there are a few routes right in the K.C. MetroRegion. In addition- there is other useful information on fall colors on the Missouri Department of Conservation's Web site HERE.

This is a great family activity. Gas is cheaper right now- and there's really no good reason to punish ones' self by staying home on Sundays to watch the Chiefs.

So pack the family into the car- take a picnic lunch and a camera. Enjoy and find peace & solitude (no kids g) in what is always one of the most beautiful times of the year in our lovely state.
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HEY- The Taxpayers Help Build ALL Of Sprint Arena

I was going to go down to the fancy-assed ribbon cutting and all this morning- until I read our late-delivered STAR and found out many of the areas in the new taxpayer-subsidized arena will be off-limits to the tour.

Specifically- taxpayers won't get to tour the new press box- the locker and dressing rooms for a phantom pro sports team- nor the luxury suites that the management company says we have no business knowing who rents.

Neither will the new basketball hall of fame be open as well as the over-hyped entertainment district.

In other words- why go at all?

I wish nothing but success for the new- barely-bigger-than-Kemper arena- but I still think and will continue to do so- what a bill of goods we taxpayers were sold.

Hell at least Robert Preston in "The Music Man" was a more entertaining snake-oil salesman...
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One More For The Road For Oral Roberts' Son

In the news these days- Richard Roberts- son of famous TV evangelist Oral Roberts- under fire for living an extravagant lifestyle on poor widows donations to his father's university.

Way back in the day before gasoline lines- the first wife and myself often went to Northeast Oklahoma to visit her family's "summer home" on Spavinaw Creek and nearby Tulsa where her cousin- about our age- lived.

Mrs. Marx #1's cousin was in the "upper-crust" of Tulsa society and knew intimately about the shenanigans of Richard- they went to the same high school in the Southern Hills area of Tulsa.

According to Mrs. Upper-Crust Cousin in 1972- Richard Roberts was a partyer. To hear her tell the story- Richard had to be bailed out of trouble with the law on at least 2 occasions.

In other words- Richard Roberts felt- and acted- as if he were a Child of Privilege. Like Mrs. Upper Crusts's family- Roberts' family never went without- according to the cousin.

I realize this is nothing but so much heresy- but the source was in the perfect position to observe the goings-on by my own observation and who was I to call my first wife's cousin a liar?
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Another Chinese Toy Recall


I dunno- this MAY take some of the flab off some of these young couch vegetables....


(Tip 'o the topper to Brother John)

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Skull Found In Little Blue River That Of Summer Shipp

The Jackson County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that the skull found by fisherman Sunday in the Little Blue River near Missouri-78 was that of Summer Shipp- missing since 2004.

Ms. Shipp went missing during her job conducting door to door surveys in western Independence.
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Worker Injured In Nevada-MO Plant Boiler Explosion

The NEVADA DAILY MAIL is reporting an explosion of a boiler at the 3-M plant late Tuesday morning.

The NDM reports the blast happened around 11 a.m.- and one man- a plant maintenance worker- received minor injuries.

Damage was said to be restricted to the affected boiler. The plant reportedly employs 640 people and has been in Nevada for the past 35 years.
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Kansas Governmental Agency Gives Nod To West Kansas Coal-Fired Power Plants

As many of you know from high school or Environmental Sciences 101- burning of certain fossil fuels produce certain undesirable atmospheric effects.

Examples include petrol: ozone and coal: acid rains among other enviromental disclaimers.

Nuclear energy is great- but no totally safe way to get rid of the lethal by-products.
Wind- solar and geothermal have always looked promising- but Big Business Utility can't have you cleanly producing your own power and possibly selling some of it back to THEM.

Which leads me- after making a short story long- to tell you what the Kansas Department of Health and Environment- in total contradiction of terms it seems- has just decided to allow 2- 700-megawatt- coal-fired power plants to be built near Holcomb in Western Kansas.

According to THE LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD article- "KDHE Secretary Roderick Bremby said he has yet to make a decision on the issue." Governor Sebelius is against the project.

I refer you back to the the CSW post earlier today- about how a bunch of U.N. scientists say the greenhouse gasses are already at the "critical level."

YOU make the call....
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New Implications In Iraq Folly

Realizing I've already stated no more Bush's Folly coverage on this site- new and sinister info has come down...

I would have loved to had what this Administration's planners smoked before invading Iraq. It totally and completely detaches you from reality- intelligence and common sense.

The coming down is a bitch I hear though- now add a possibility of Turkey's military coming across the northern border to take on some Kurd militants.

Support your war and your military-industrial America!
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A Telling Statistic Regarding Bush Administration Secrecy

I was reading an AP article about the Supreme Court throwing out the lawsuit of a man who claimed to be abducted & tortured by the American C.I.A..

That the Supreme Court threw out the lawsuit didn't bother me (the Dubya Admin claims of "state secrets" could be revealed in a trial)- but this statement in the article certainly did:

"At the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the former Soviet Union, U.S. presidents used the state secrets privilege six times from 1953 to 1976, according to OpenTheGovernment.org. Since 2001, it has been used 39 times, enabling the government to unilaterally withhold documents from the court system, the group said." (Italics Mine- gkm)

Boy- the Dubya Group SURE has a LOT of secrets they don't want out!
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U.N. Scientist Panel To Say Greenhouse Gas Level Already "Critical"

Australian scientist Tim Flannery says an upcoming report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will show that greenhouse gasses are worse than thought- now at critical levels.

"We are already at great risk of dangerous climate change, that's what these figures say. It's not next year or next decade, it's now"- said Flannery in an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Company- according to this AP article.

Well- it's been fun folks....

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Monday, October 08, 2007

Live Eye Overland Park (Weather) Traffic Cam

This is a shot from a camera atop the Overland Park Sheraton hotel- looking west-northwest over the interchange of Metcalf and I-435.
Note the dark nimbostratus clouds accompanying the last band of rainshowers to come through the City.
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An October Monday Weather

Finally- the temperature has cooled to more seasonable levels- and some beneficial rains to boot -more than an inch and three-quarters here since early Sunday.

A visible satellite picture (click on images to enlarge) of the cold front coming through the MetroRegion:

A map of radar-indicated precipitation since Sunday over the K.C. Metro:

Radar picture of the present precip- the rain will be out of here in about 4 hours:
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Forsee Change In Sprint/Nextel's Future

Heh- couldn't resist that one.
Nearly an inch and a half of rain out here in the Southland since yesterday and it sounds so good Monday morning coming down....
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Running Yourself To Death

Running is all well and good for exercise- and an addiction is an addiction.

As one dead man won't tell- and hundreds others who were sickened- the Chicago Marathon went on as scheduled yesterday but ended sooner than planned because of the excruciating heat and humidity.

Frankly- you can have this "healthful" activity. I'd sooner die with a drink in one hand- a lovely lady in the other and an A&C between my lips but Hey!- to each their own....
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Wisconsin Cop Murders Six

Cops are people too. Since the general populace is going off the deep end of an empty pool- why not cops?

One such cop- a young Wisconsin man- did go off the deep end- and took 6 other young people who were celebrating their homecoming with him.
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Sunday, October 07, 2007

The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, October 07, 2007

** KC-MO POLICE INVESTIGATING SUSPICIOUS DEATH **

A medical call turned C.P.R. turned death has police investigating Sunday morning.
The incident was in the 5700 block of Norton and the call came in around 6am.. There is yet no further information.

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** STRUCTURE FIRES IN KC-MO AND PAOLA-KS **

*** There were no reported injuries in any of the 3 fires...

... The first fire was just after 1am- a house found fully-involved in flames in the 100 block of Miami in Paola-KS.. The flames were out about an hour later with no occupancy status given.

... The KC-MO fires were: At 3:18am in the 5400 block of Park in South-Midtown. A 1-1/2-story house burned- determined to be a vacant house.
At 5:50am- a 2-story vacant house burned in the 300 block of Gladstone Boulevard.
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* SERIOUS INJURY WRECK IN LAWRENCE-KS *

*** An EMS crew from another part of Douglas County came upon this "head-on" accident on Clinton Parkway just west of Iowa Street just after 12:30am Sunday morning.

One 19-year-old male driver was flown by medical helicopter to a Kansas City trauma center in serious to critical condition.
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<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><> <>

Overnight low temperatures in the Kansas City MetroRegion were as warm or warmer that the normal daytime high temperatures this time of year. Skies varied in cloudiness while south winds from 10 to 20 m.p.h. pumped Gulf moisture into the area.

Another summer-like day in store today- with a chance of showers and storms later today through late Monday with temperatures returning to more seasonable values by mid-week.

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Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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Tornado Strikes Monroe LA With Confirmed Injuries

The tornado struck around noon on Easter Sunday. There is considerable damage repo rted in that northeastern Louisiana city of around 5000...