Illogical Corporate Thinking in the 21st Century

There was a time- long- long ago and apparently in a place far- far away where if a company had an employee who provided their own tools- faithfully showed up for their shift on-time and every time and often gave their employer a leg-up on the competition- that company REWARDED that employee- not ask them to take a pay cut...

Please Dr. Brown- give me a ride in your DeLorean....

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Longtime Subscriber Says Goodbye to K.C. STAR

Yesterday morning- our KANSAS CITY STAR came to us with half of the front page missing.


We didn't call (again) to complain because it really didn't matter- I read the paper online and since Dad got home from the hospital- he hasn't wanted to read The STAR at all.

Being subscribers as we have been for more than 50 years has become way too tedious:

Papers missed- thrown where it's hard to access them (under our vehicles- in a snow-covered yard- etc)- getting nickle and dimed for STAR features that once came with the ever-increasing price of the subscription and advertisement often partially-covering or plastered all over the newspaper's front page.

Stories from 2-3 days earlier that were already old news and the newspaper's editorial content had taken on much of the tone one might expect from a whiney- petulant child.


So yesterday- we decided not to renew The STAR when our present subscription runs out.


Nobody wants to pay more for less- so in that regard and the problems stated above- The STAR will not be missed.

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Central States News: Sedgwick County KS Commissioners Approve Taxpayer-Provided Subsidy To Airline

Virtually every Kansas Jayhawk game I listened to this season on 'Lazer 105.9' had a commercial for Wichita's Mid-Continent airport.


Kind of odd I thought- like all the hospital commercials I see on TV.


Not to be outdone giving away taxpayer dollars with municipal layoffs and the like- The WICHITA EAGLE on-line reports that the Sedgwick County Commissioners- the county where Wichita is located- recently approved taxpayer-money in the form of a "$333,750" subsidy to Frontier Airlines to keep Frontier flying 2 daily flights to Denver "through June 30.


This reminds me of a mother who used to tie a meaty bone around one of her children's neck so the family dog would play with him.

No bone- no play....

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CSW Wonders How Much Corporate Welfare Accompanies "Big Announcement" Today in KC-KS

According to media sources- Kansas Republicrat Governor Brownback has scheduled a "big announcement" at noon in KC-KS's Wyandotte High school.


This "announcement" reportedly involved a large California company whose "services are used worldwide."

I'm already wondering how much in "incentives" i.e. taxpayer monies/corporate welfare was used to lure the company to this area.


After all- corporations don't build anywhere anymore without welfare..


UPDATE: GOOGLE has announced that Kansas City KANSAS will be the city that will inaugerate GOOGLE's ultra high-speed Internet service.

Don't appear to be any taxpayer monetary exchange- so THAT'S a damn good thing.


The only setback here is that it's too bad GOOGLE didn't come to KC-MO- and I could have ditched Time-Warner-LooneyTune's broadband....

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Smithville MO Gives Out Corporate Welfare For Retail Area

If you think area cities give out TIFs to wealthy developers and corporations like candy- you are not far from the literal truth.


Raytown- Independence- Blue Springs- KC-MO- the list goes on and on and on...


In a cheerleader-type story in McClatchy's The SMITHVILLE HERALD- the writer tells of the possibilities of all these corporate retail giants POSSIBLY building a site at the proposed "Smithville Commons" shopping center.

What is NOT mentioned in all the cheerleading is the fact that Smithville Commons' developer- "J.D. Nelson-" received Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build there- that fact was found on GOOGLE via the City of Smithville's Web site.


We'd like to improve our house before selling it- but we're hardly wealthy- could WE get a TIF too?

Heh- RIGHT!

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Will Japan's Quake/Tsunami/Nuclear Disaster Bring Another American Corporate Bailout?

England's Reuter's news service reports that one reinsurance company- "Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings- " will face claim losses upwards of $130-million due to Japan's historic earthquake and tsunami.

Reuter's also reports the following corporations "most exposed" to Japan disaster claims: "AFLAC, AIG , MetLife , Munich Re and Swiss Re."


Dollar estimates of insured damage in Japan is already said to be in excess of $300-BILLION.


In a unrelated but related sidebar- the head of Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)- owner-operator of the failed Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant- reportedly has been hospitalized with what is reported as "hyper-tension."


One HAS to wonder how many Japanese affected by this series of disasters- one man-made- are on the verge of similar medical issues.... 

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Good News: Blue Ridge Cutoff Bridge Over I-70 Opens Today...

The bad news: Don't ask George Brett for his autograph.

Seriously tho folks- the bridge will open later today- JUST in time for tomorrow's opening of the AAA vs. pro baseball season at Kauffman Stadium.


Royals baseball you know- a team so bad that the publicity hounds are pushing the stadium's sandwiches- NOT the team.

Looks like it could rain Thursday too- so head-out to Opening Day and get soaked literally as well as figuratively.


Oh- the bridge's namesake- George Brett- will be on hand to cut the ribbon for the new bridge and MAYBE he'll be in the mood to sign a few autographs if you don't LOOK like an autograph dealer....

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Kansas 'City of Fountains' Meets City of Thugs- Thieves

The KANSAS CITY STAR is reporting that thieves/vandals have damaged two Kansas City MO fountains- one a city landmark and the other just restored 2 years ago.


Thugs removed lighting from both the J.C. Nichols Memorial fountain at 47th Street between Main and J.C. Nichols Parkway on the Plaza- and the Women's Leadership fountain at 9th Street and The Paseo.

The latter fountain had just undergone a complete renovation in 2009- and was the most extensively damaged reports The STAR.


Reportedly- $85000 will be required to repair the 2 fountains and the Women's Leadership fountain won't be operational by April 12th's "Fountain Day" when the city's decorative water displays will be turned on for the season.

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Metro Killa City: 2nd Police-Involved Shooting in 10 Hours Fatal To Olathe KS Man

A 2nd Metro Kansas City resident has died by police gunfire in less than 10 hours...


Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday night- Olathe Police were called to a reported stabbing in the 400 block of North Logan.

Reports are that the officers were confronted by a man with a firearm inside the residence at that address- and police opened fire on the armed man- killing him.


The person who had been stabbed reportedly had serious injuries- but little else is known about this victim- or the man police killed.



Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon- an Independence MO police officer shot and killed a man during a traffic stop on eastbound I-70 west of I-470.

There has been no other information issued on that incident yet.

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CSW BREAKING: Police Officer-Involved Crash in Claycomo- Aircraft's Landing Gear Collapses in KC-MO

Reportedly- a Claycomo police officer was involved in an injury crash on U.S. 69 and Emerson Street at 2:21 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

EMS and the Missouri Highway Patrol were sent to the scene.


Don't know the number or extent of injuries yet...

A single-engine airplane's landing gear collapsed just after the aircraft landed at Kansas City MO's Downtown Airport around the same time.



A full complement of KC-MO Fire companies along with FD-EMS were sent to the scene- but there was no fire nor reported injuries.

Now there's a crash and a traffic slowdown on westbound I-70 near Sterling- and Wbnd traffic is backed up for about a mile.

Eastbound I-70 east of Blue Ridge Boulevard all the way to M-291/I-470 is a virtual parking lot.


The freeway is restricted to one lane at the earlier officer-involved shooting scene.


I-70 fully-reopened around 3:50 p.m...

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CSW BREAKING: Police Officer-Involved Shooting on I-70 in Independence MO

There's been a reported shooting with a fatality involved on eastbound I-70 just west of I-470 near the Independence Center.

It has been reported that an officer stopped a car thought to be a suspect vehicle in a bank robbery at the location just after 1 p.m.- and that a suspect in the stopped car got out and fired a gun at the patrol car.


The officer shot that person- who died at the scene.

The Independence police officer wasn't hit.

I-70 is restricted to one lane at the scene- and traffic is backing up almost to Blue Ridge Boulevard- USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE for at least the next hour!

Eastbound I-70 was still restricted to one lane at the shooting scene as of 3:25 p.m.- with traffic backed up past Noland Road.

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CSW BREAKING: One Dead After Truck Crashes Off Bridge- Explodes in KC-KS

A fatality crash and fire has closed I-435 at Kansas or "K-32" and the rail line that runs below it.

The incident was reported around 2:10 p.m. as "a truck has (crashed) over the bridge" and reportedly exploded on railroad tracks below.


The tractor-trailer was reportedly "carrying orange juice-"  according to FOX-4 News who is surprisingly quick with the Web story.



One deceased person is reported by KC-KS FD communications- with a 2nd seriously-injured person at the scene.


Edwardsville EMS transported a critically-injured and 3rd-degree-burned ("on his feet") "47-year-old male" to K.U. Medical Center.

Tuesday- the victims of this crash were identified by the Kansas State Patrol.

Dead is the driver of the rig- "57-year-old John Douglas McNeal of Pomona Park Florida.

The injured man was  an Ava Missouri resident- said by the KHP to be "in serious condition" early Tuesday.

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CSW BREAKING: Shooting Reported in MO State Office Building in Downtown KC-MO

A call went out to KC-MO emergency services (fire & EMS) at 12:53 p.m. Monday afternoon for a "shooting" victim at "615 East 13th Street-" where the Missouri State Office building is located- along with government assistance agencies and an office of the DMV.

There wasn't any further information on this call....

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Owning a Profitable Corporation- Why Does David Glass Need Taxpayer Welfare?

The KANSAS CITY BUSINESS JOURNAL recently published a story about the worth and profits of the Kansas City Royals (pro?) baseball team.


Glass' team makes him money- more so this year since the team let some high-priced talent go.


Glass also benefits from the $2-million that the KC-MO City Clowncil recently gave the county for "stadium upkeep-" although taxpayers are footing the nearly half-BILLION dollar bill for recently-completed renovations to Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums.


Please vote to KEEP the KC-MO Earnings Tax April 5- in order for the city to keep providing welfare to million/billionaires (sports team owners- corporations- builders- developers- etc.) while YOU scrap to afford your utilities and nutritious dinner of peanut butter and crackers- etc..

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CSW BREAKING: KC-MO Fire- Haz-Mat Crews Investigate "Suspicious Package" at I.R.S. Building

At 8:21 a.m.- several KC-MO Fire companies as well as Haz-Mat were sent to the Downtown I.R.S. building at 2600 Broadway on the report of an "unknown substance leaking from a package" at a receiving unit there.

Employees deep inside the I.R.S. center were unaware of anything going on when called by CSW about 8:30 a.m..

The emergency responder crews put the "wet" package and an envelope inside a baggie and removed it from the building and there were evacuations of employees in the immediate area where the suspicious mail was found.

As of 8:51 a.m.- the situation was under control- with fire and Haz-Mat crews returning to service with no injuries reported.

An investigation of the incident is underway.

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Monday Morning Potpourri

It's a cloudy and cool late March morning as some Kansas Jayhawk fans rise fitfully to face a Blue Monday.

It's like anything in life though- you REALLY have to want it to get it....


The 3 homicides locally this weekend didn't occur on my watch.

Still- the 2 murders in KC-MO and the one killing in KC-KS is too much- maybe this will start a little political lip-service but even that's doubtful.

If it don't affect people- they really don't care all that much.


Got a Tweet over the weekend from our favorite council candidate Tracy Ward- lamenting why people aren't upset over America's involvement in Libya's "civil war." 

I replied that people won't get upset until today- tonight specifically- when President Obama addresses the nation on the matter.

Why- people will miss some or all of their Monday night TV fare is what's upsetting.

Americans don't care enough to vote mostly- so a little air-action against a dictator is far from most folk's radar screens.

See above: If it don't affect people- they really don't care all that much.

Libya's uprising has caused fuel prices to rise- THAT'S what's more upsetting to Americans when their wallet is raided.


Japan continues to suffer the aftershocks and math of their historic earthquake and tsunami.

That Japanese corporation TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power COmpany) is a poster child for anything that can go wrong for a corporation and the citizens that rely upon it will go wrong.

TEPCO has mismanaged the damaged nuclear power plant issue from Day 1- their officials REALLY ought to consider Hari-Kiri as the only honorable issue left.


In America- corporate giant Walmart faces off on a possibly expensive sex discrimination lawsuit poised to go before America's Supreme Court.

I think the Supremes will favor Walmart- since as with election contributions the court favors Corporate America.

But- like I've said here before- If it don't affect people- they really don't care all that much.

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Fire Guts Building in Warrensburg MO

It took more than an hour for Warrensburg firefighters to get a fire in a Central Missouri University residence building under control Sunday morning.



The initial fire alarm came in at 3:34 a.m. for a fire in "the Greenwood Community building" in the 900 block of South Washington.

When a police officer arrived at 3:46 a.m.- flames were showing from the 2-story structure.


By 3:55 a.m.- there's reportedly "a working fire in the basement" there- with "evacuations underway" of nearby apartments.


At least 1 outside fire company from a Johnson county MO department was called to the scene- with other units standing by in empty Warrensburg stations.


It wasn't until 5:05 a.m. when the fire was reportedly "knocked down" and under control.


There haven't been any reports of injuries- and the state fire marshall was called to the scene to investigate a cause of the fire.

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