Channel 9 Reports Mayor Funkhouser Recall Effort Has Failed

Not so "exclusive" now- KMBC Channel 9 News is reporting that the effort to recall KC-MO Mayor Funkhouser has failed.

The recall petitions failed to reach the mark of 16500 registered KC-MO voters needed to set a recall election in motion.

An "official press conference by the City clerk is scheduled for 3 o'clock today"- the Nine News story stated.

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Man Jumps From Freeway Bridge After KC-MO Chase

A pursuit of a pickup truck with 2 males that reportedly tried to avoid a KC-MO police sobriety checkpoint resulted in serious injuries to the passenger and very critical injuries to the driver.

The chase began shortly before 2:30 am in the East Bottoms area when an officer reported the suspect vehicle "made a U-turn a block away" from a police sobriety checkpoint. Officers managed to pierce 2 of the suspect vehicle's tires before the chase went south out of the East Bottoms toward Northeast KC-MO and Interstate-70.

At 2:35am- the pursuit is westbound on I-70 from Prospect. Two minutes later- the suspect vehicle crashes into a concrete divider in the northeast Downtown loop at Charlotte.

As a police officer watches and reports- the suspect driver gets out of the crashed pickup- runs to and jumps over the bridge spanning Charlotte.

The "approximately 23-year-old" man suffered very critical head injuries and a fractured leg in the jump. The driver and his "56-year-old" passenger were both taken to a nearby medical trauma center.

Police shut down I-70 and all access points at the scene of the incident.

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K.C. MetroRegion WEATHER: "Slight Risk" Of Severe Storms Later North

The area generally along and north of a Hiawatha-KS- St. Joseph- Carrollton to Boonville-MO line will be under a "slight risk" of possible severe thunderstorms (t-stms) later today and overnight into Saturday morning.

The primary risk will be hail one-inch or larger in diameter and winds of 58 mph or greater.

Most of the weekend should remain dry in Metro Kansas City- with any late-day/nighttime storms generally moving east-southeastward to our north- northeast and east.

There IS a risk of severe storms locally on Monday- according to the latest longer-range forecast by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman-OK..

If there is ANY nearby severe weather overnight this weekend- it will be covered here at CSW....

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CSW's New Author: "Ms. Rittenhouse"

Look out world- I'm not the ONLY one posing here anymore.

Effective immediately- my lady who as known to the blog world as "Ms. Rittenhouse" will be authorized to post anything she wants on this blog.

Ms. Rittenhouse (right-where else?) with your Captain on a recent night out at Mc Donald's before we skipped out without paying.

To give you some idea of HER philosophy- Ms. Rittenhouse voted for George W. Bush TWICE!

I could only de-program her to the extent that she at least DID vote for Mr. Obama- but I (and her) have no plans for further "de-programming."

Wouldn't work anyway (HeHe).

So my fellow citizens- here's introducing CSW's newest blogger-reporter and I hope you look forward to seeing her postings as much as I like seeing her....

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High-Tech Monitoring

When I first started listening to public safety radio in the late 1960's the procedures and equipment were simple- an agency had dedicated dispatch channels and dedicated auxiliary channels as needed for the agency.

The radios were dial-tuned or crystal-controlled to those dedicated channels.

By the early 1980's the agencies' radio systems were unchanged- but the radios had become programmable: you could manually enter whatever channel or frequency you wanted to scan or monitor.

Then came the 1990's and 800-megahertz "trunked" radio systems.

A new type of radio altogether was needed to monitor these systems- as they used multiple radio frequencies whose use was dictated by that systems' "control channel" or computer.

No problem- the new radios- after a bit of study- could be programmed by the user and worked well.

Now in 2009 it's a new ballgame.

The Federal government has re-allocated frequencies and this means most public safety agencies have to invest in new- computer-controlled radio systems.

They're radio systems "on steroids" and all the old trunked radio receivers can't receive them. Independence-MO agencies are already on the new system and Johnson County-KS is soon to follow.

So news organizations like mine have to purchase all new radios and the new radios require a computer to program them.

The new rigs aren't cheap- a little over $500 apiece.

Shown is one of my new Uniden BCD-396T radios- the actual scanner and an image of it's computer program- this facet of which looks like and controls the actual scanner.

I use the portables for that very reason and for the fact they can be operated on ordinary AA batteries in case of power failure.

So most everything is up-to-date here at CSW- so I can continue to inform you- the reader- of breaking news wherever in the Metro or MetroRegion Kansas City it happens.



POST-SCRIPT: If you've bought one of these new scanners and don't have a clue on how to or what to program into it- I'll be willing to perform this task for you CHEAPER than other local businesses.
Email me at: doctor_mulcahy@yahoo.com for more information.

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COMMENTARY: Abortions and "Gay" Marriages

Two controversial subjects to say the least and- of course- I have opinions on both.

First- the touchy subject of abortions.

Mom was from eastern Oklahoma- born and raised as a girl in the hills around the area now known as Tenkiller Lake.

In the 1930's- abortions were illegal- but Mom has told me over the years that didn't stop anyone who wanted an abortion from getting it.

They were performed in back rooms by people who usually had little medical training. If something went awry- the patient was usually whisked away so as not to implicate the provider.

In simple terms- abortions WERE available even though they were illegal (see the "drug war") and sometimes the people wanting/needing one died- or were often internally injured in the process.

Personally- I don't like abortions.
I think a person leaning toward having an abortion should be made aware of ALL other options before making a decision. ANY decision should include the father- if he is in the picture.

But- as an American- I feel in my heart of hearts that there MUST be a choice. Like drugs- just making abortions "illegal" will NOT stop them.

Like the times prior to Roe V. Wade- abortions WILL continue- they'll just be performed in secret by questionably qualified people and putting the patient at a multitude of risks.

What do those indignant about gay unions think about WAR? Huh? I don't see the same anti-abortionists attack WAR and KILLING with the same zeal.

Some of these same "anti" people approve of state-sanctioned death penalties for certain crimes. I SURE don't care for killing people in MY ("state") name. How do they reconcile that seeming discrepancy?


Now- these gay "marriages." That's simply a question of civil rights IMHO and I totally agree with the term to be used here: civil unions or partnerships.

Love is love- whether it's hetro or homosexual.

This is America- "Land of the Free." Gay partners should have the same benefits that hetro married couples have- period.


Personal desires and choices can be legislated to a point where freedom to do ANYTHING is questioned. THAT is socialism!

I think people like Rush Limbaugh are loud-mouthed- two-faced- hypocritical idiots. But I MUST fight for their right of FREEDOM (of speech- expression- etc.).

Judgement SHOULD be left to your favorite deity and America's "slogan" The "Land of the Free" maintained in reality-or our name should be changed to The UCSA (United Conservative or Corporate (your choice) States of America).


If the latter prevails- there's always Canada...

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North - To Alaska

In 2006- I had the opportunity to visit an Internet chat friend in Vancouver B.C. Canada.

Next month- my digital camera will take CSW's "Ms. Rittenhouse" up to Vancouver- to catch a ship to Alaska on a 7-day cruise.

Unfortunately- due to job obligations and the fact MY sister ain't paying my way (Heh)- I won't be along.

Ms. Rittenhouse will take a bus tour of beautiful Vancouver- home to next year's Winter Olympics- then board the ship for a tour of historic Alaskan cities and towns along the Pacific coast and a water tour of Alaska's breathtaking glaciers.

When she returns in early July- you can join me here on CSW for a virtual image tour of coastal northwestern North America while we steam and bake in another Kansas City summer.

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State of Kansas Gets Bids To Concrete Over Johnson County

...Or so it seems by the unending highway projects in Metro Kansas City's wealthiest suburban county.

This segment- U.S. 69 or the "Overland Parkway"- will get an additional traffic lane each direction from 103rd Street to Interstate 35.

Low bidder to make the highway six lanes wide was Clarkson Construction- who bid about $9-million LESS than the state's estimate of $91-million.

No word yet on the estimate to pave over THE REST of Johnson County....

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Darwinism In Action In KC-MO Crash

At 1:32 am this Sunday morning- KC-MO Center Zone officers told their dispatcher of "a large explosion" in the area of Linwood and Gillham in Midtown.

Within seconds- the officers found the source of that "explosion." A vehicle had sheared off a light pole with the broken pole coming to rest on top of the car on Gillham just south of Linwood.

The fire department arrived- and began an about 15 minute extrication of the male driver from the wreckage.

The driver was then transported by MAST-EMS to a nearby medical trauma center with what appeared to be only marginally life-threatening injuries (his condition nowhere near as bad as the hapless motorcyclist on I-435 in the prior CSW story).

Police discovered the cause of this wreck was that the driver had been racing at least one other vehicle- who left the scene.

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Motorcyclist Slams Into A Truck on KC-MO Freeway

An approximately 30-year-old male clings to life this morning after the motorcycle he was operating slammed into the rear trailer of a moving tanker truck.

The crash occurred about 2:50 am Sunday morning in the southbound lanes of I-435 at 87th Street in south KC-MO..

The first fire department pumper to arrive reported the wrecked cycle was on fire with it's driver found more than 50 feet away.

MAST-EMS reported the patient had numerous broken and fractured bones- severe facial and likely internal injuries and he was taken to a nearby medical trauma center.

The 18-wheeler driver was not hurt.

A witness stated high-speed was involved. Police were investigating the accident.

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