Selected JoCo-KS-KC-MO Rainfall Totals For August 2009 So Far

General rainfalls of .30 to .60 Metro-wide were reported this morning with isolated reports of up to 1-inch rainfalls in scattered areas.




More rain is forecast by Wednesday morning and there's a risk of some severe thunderstorms too.

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U.S. Postal Service Proposes Closing All Northeast KC-MO Stations

Okay- so it's probably true that Western Union is probably used far more than U.S. Postal money orders in old Northeast- but to close ALL the post offices there?


This is an area of affordable rents and has a large number of elderly residents without vehicles.


To close all 3 Northeast stations- leaving the closest remaining station at Truman Road and Brooklyn is- in a word- idiotic.

Longtime Northeast resident Phillip Wall is against closing all 3 U.S. Postal branches there.

"Northeast is like a forgotten step-child when it comes to (government services)" Wall lamented.

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Independence-MO Residents Vote Today To Increase Their Tax Load

Independence-MO police say they need an increase in sales tax to put more officers on the street.


The federal government just gave Independence a grant for more police officers- so the IPD says the money will go for 3 more DETECTIVES- not patrol officers.


Indy residents- YOU make the call here and vote until 7 pm this evening.

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Metro Kansas City BREAKING WEATHER: Severe Tstrm Warning Until 7 AM- NW Platte County-MO

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Kansas City MetroRegion WEATHER: Severe Storm Watches Continue North

Severe Thunderstorm watches Numbers 653 and 654 continue unitl 7 am and 10 am respectively for areas just northwest to northeast and east of Metro Kansas City.

Metro Kansas City is NOT included in either watch.

Thunderstorms continue moving east-southeast out of northeastern Kansas- the only severe-warned storms are in far northwestern Missouri.

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Prettier Roadways? How About Roads That Don't Jar Your Teeth Loose?

Never at loss to editoralize on anything- The KANSAS CITY STAR today ran the editorial: "Picture This: Prettier Roadways in Kansas City."



My reply? How about SMOOTHER roadways?


I-70 east from downtown- I-435 northbound from 87th Street to Blue Parkway- I-35 northbound at Santa Fe in Olathe- these are just a few stretches of freeways that need MORE ASPHALT- not flowers!


Okay- I love beautiful flowers as much as the next person.

I guess the flowers and shrubs reduce the boredom from sitting in a traffic jam- because public transportation in the Metro area is in such sorry shape.

So then maybe- MAYBE- the STAR's bored editorial board is right:

The pritty flowers and shrubs are calming devices: while you sit IN the road in a traffic jam or you sit BY the road waiting to have the tire you flattened and the wheel you bent on substandard road surfaces repaired.


Wondering- how many irises does it take to fill a pothole?

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Kansas City Ties A Record Low Temperature Sunday Morning

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
732 AM CDT SUN AUG 2 2009

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE TIED AT THE KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...

THE RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE OF 57 DEGREES...WAS TIED AT THE KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TODAY. THIS TIES THE RECORD OF 57 PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1986.

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Major Johnson County Intersection Closed This Week

For maybe a week this heavily-travelled intersection at College Boulevard and Quivira will be closed for re-construction.

Among institutions affected will be the huge Johnson County Community College- behind this Overland Park traffic camera's view.

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MetroRegion Kansas City WEATHER: Severe Storm Chance on Monday

Virtually the entire kansas City MetroRegion is outlooked by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center to be in an area for possible severe thunderstorm development from 7 am Monday to 7 am Tuesday.


Thunderstorms developing now over northwestern Kansas will continue to grow and march eastward toward our area Monday morning.


How those early Monday morning storms affects our atmosphere will determine the strength and extent of severe storms developing in or near the Metroregion later Monday.





As usual CSW- your non-commercial alternative- will be on it- so feel free to join in the fun here tomorrow!

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"Bite Me- It's Sunday Morning" Injury In Wellsville-KS

The summer darkness had given way to a quiet- cool and calm- dew-covered Sunday morning when the call came in just after 6 am:

There was the victim of "numerous human bites" reported by Franklin County-KS EMS dispatch in the 300 block of Douglas Street in Wellsville- the bites reportedly the result of a domestic disturbance.


The victim of the bites refused to be transported by to the hospital and no word if any arrest was made by the sheriff.


No other reports of injuries MetroRegion-wide on this- the first annual "Bite Me- It's Sunday Morning" observance.

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KC-MO Police Helicopter Witnesses Fatal Crash

Shortly after 1:30 am Sunday morning- KC-MO police observed a vehicle driving erratically on the city's east side so ground officers summonded Helicopter 690 to track it.

KC-MO PD-690 followed from well above that erratic vehicle- now going northbound on Cleaver II Boulevard- speed reported by the chopper's observer to be "90 to 100 MPH."

At 1:41 am- the police helicopter's crew witnessed the vehicle crash into another containing 3 people and "demolish" a light pole at 39th Street.

One person- believed to be a female- was thrown from the struck vehicle and died at the scene.

Another male passenger in the struck vehicle was critically injured- a 3rd male had fairly minor injuries.

The driver and a passenger in the speeding vehicle ran after the crash.

Helicopter 690 kept track of the driver from the air. Both suspects were apprehended after about 20 minutes and one of the men was bitten by a police dog.

Police in their cars had stayed well behind the erratic vehicle before the crash and were not chasing it.

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