George Brett's Disgusting Tirade

In case you missed it during last night's newscasts- K.C. baseball icon George Brett went-off on Kansas City's electronic media sports reporters.

Never mind the string of profanities Brett utters- or the fact that Kansas City taxpayers shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars to keep crappy "major league" baseball here.

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Raytown-MO Free "Movie Nights" Schedule

The following movies are free to the public- and will be shown starting at sundown on the dates indicated at Raytown's Coleman Park- 59th Street and Lane (about 1/2-mile east of Blue Ridge Cutoff):

Movie Nights

Friday- May 29, 2009 - "The Princess Bride" rated PG.
Friday- June 26, 2009 - "The Last Mimzy" rated PG.
Friday- July 31, 2009 - "Vertigo" rated PG.
Saturday- August 15, 2009 - (Movie not selected yet).

All movies will be shown at Colman(sp) Park, 5912 Lane starting at dusk.
Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, etc. Concessions will be sold. No alcohol please.



Thanx to Greg Walters' Raytown Report blog for the heads-up.

Jackson County-MO Pollys Include Themselves In Ethics Code

For it seems like eternity- Dan over at the Gone Mild blog has almost daily railed against Jackson County legislators who wouldn't include themselves in a county ethics code.

According to The Kansas City STAR- the same pollys backed-off- and "allowed" themselves to be included in the ethics legislation.

In fact- county executive Mike Sanders said the code would probably go to the voters for their approval in 2010.

Good thing- for many voters were quietly taking note of the exclusion when the same pollys (re) elections come up....

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KC-MO Needs To Open Streets Around Bankrupt Plaza Project

The good news: Kansas City- MO taxpayers ARE NOT on the hook for the more than $31-million in TIF incentives granted to this project.

The bad news: Streets around the stalled- bankrupt "West Edge" development on Belleview at West 48th Street remain restricted to traffic.

Until construction resumes on this project- all streets in the area should be re-opened.

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Independence-MO Seeks Sales Tax Increase

Like Raytown- Independence too is seeking a "public safety" sales tax increase.

The worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930's apparently didn't faze Raytown voters- who approved their sales tax increase.

According to the INDEPENDENCE EXAMINER- the City Council approved placing a 3/8th-cent police services sales tax on the Aug. 4 ballot.

So says the EXAMINER article- the increased sales tax revenue "could possibly add to the city’s police department 42 sworn officers – including six sergeants – and 18 civilian support staff employees."

We haven't had an Independence police chase into KC-MO for some time- 42 more officers should take care of this oversight- like the added tax will relieve Indy residents of whatever spare change they still have.

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KCTV-5 Crime Reporter Ticketed For DUI

The STAR reports it was about 2:40 am last Friday morning when Betsy Webster struck the rear of a Lincoln Town Car on 39th Street near Baltimore in midtown KC-MO..

The driver of the Lincoln and a man standing next to the car suffered "minor" injuries- The STAR reported.

As an officer talked to Ms. Webster- he noted a "strong" odor of alcohol coming from Ms. Webster.

The 38-year-old Kansas City television reporter was said to have "failed several field sobriety tests" and Betsy Webster also "refused to take a breath test.

The STAR article did not state if Ms. Webster was arrested- since after all she was intoxicated- caused an injury accident and refused a breathalyzer.

I was told there was "no one here" when I called KCTV-5 for a comment.

Well- at least someone was making sure the station was on-the-air....

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Central States WEATHER: Excellent

Finally- most of a spring week the populace and their weather forecasters don't have to worry about tornadoes or any other severe weather.

There should NOT be any bad weather through this weekend- area-wide.

Temperatures will reach early-summer levels tomorrow and generally stay there through this weekend.

A weak cool front may enter northern parts of the Central Sates mid-week- Iowa and Nebraska- but very little adverse weather will be associated with the front as Gulf of Mexico moisture will be slow to return.

Enjoy!!

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Raw Video Of Oil Tank Fire - Explosion In West Texas

This was shot by a fellow storm chaser/video photog in Lamesa-TX last Friday (May 15).

Lightning had reportedly stuck this small tank farm and started the fire- then during the firefight- one then a 2nd tank BLEVEs (explodes) and sends debris everywhere.
Notice the handline water stream behind the aerial water stream during the explosions. It appeared firefighters dropped that line and ran.

Thankfully- the photographer was about 200 yards away. Tank debris hit the back of his news van- damaging it.

Here is a slow-motion video of the same shot.

Reportedly- no one was injured in this spectacular blast.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: KC-MO Police Officer Injured During Traffic Stop

A Kansas City- MO police officer had stopped a vehicle at 63rd Street and Manchester- just east of I-435- around 7:15 am this Sunday morning.

As usual- the officer walks up to the driver's side of the vehicle- but this time the driver takes off- and the accelerating car flings the policeman off into some brush by the road.

Police are tracking down the vehicle and driver.

The officer's injuries were not life-threatening paramedics say.

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Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: Fatality Crash On KC-MO's East Side

One person is reported dead- and the Fire Department had to mechanically extricate the driver of a car that was travelling on Topping Avenue at 19th Terrace around 6:35 am this morning- left the road and crashed into a tree.

The deceased person was ejected from the vehicle and was dead-on-arrival of emergency crews.

That driver- a "33-year-old Hispanic male" with a fractured leg and possibly other life-threatening injuries- was transported by MAST-139 to a local medical trauma center.

More on NBC-41 News at 8am and 5 and 10pm today.

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Alleged Passenger On Diverted K.C.I. Flight Says Plane Nearly Crashed

Hey- this is the Internet.


Even with a reputable news organization- one can't be sure they're getting the whole story.


Here's what appears was a LOT bigger story than what was reported...


The story as posted Saturday (click on images for full size) on The KANSAS CITY STAR "Breaking News" site was about a U.S. Airways jet with 86 passengers from Washington D.C.- diverted from landing at it's K.C.I. Airport destination Friday due to the severe storms.

According to The STAR's story- the plane "had been in the air for about 6 hours"- lands first at New Century- then heads back to K.C.I. airport when the storms cleared.



However- a person who claimed to be a passenger on the flight comments on The STAR'S story down the same page about what that alleged passenger observed on Flight 3209:

The alleged passenger says the jet was low on fuel and that the pilot attempted to land the plane at Topeka's Forbes Field- nearly crashing due to extreme wind conditions- aborting that landing and being forced to land at fairly-nearby New Century airport (who has a runway long enough for large jets but no other facilities).


You can bet if that pilot of Flight 3209 hadn't been "good" as the alleged passenger states- there would have been more than 3 paragraphs in the local newspaper....

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