CSW Commentary: Leave Kansas City International Airport Alone!

One billion- two-hundred million dollars...

Probably enough money to re-surface virtually every major roadway in the city...

Enough money to put storm sewers- sidewalks and redo the many residential streets in this city without same...

Would make a HUGE dent in Kansas City's old infrastructure of century-old water and sewer lines...

Maybe sufficient funds to at least build a starter commuter transit line utilizing anything but vehicles that run on already congested and dilapidated city streets.


$1.2-billion dollars could be spent virtually any other way to greatly enhance the livability of my hometown other than a new airport terminal.

KCI airport is a local travellers' dream.

Probably at least ninety-percent (90%) of the time- one can arrive at KCI only 30 minutes before flight departure- go through the TSA-PITA security- and still have enough time to read half a chapter of a book before the boarding (cattle) call.

Arriving at KCI is even better- you're off the plane- got your luggage (if you spent that cost) and are on the road home in less than 15 minutes.

Have one of the very few connecting flights out of KCI and you're hungry or thirsty?  The short TSA-PITA lines don't make it difficult at all to leave the boarding area- patronize a bar or eatery at the airport- and return to the boarding area in sufficient time.


The pro-new terminal people say:

A) There are too many TSA-PITA security checkpoints.  

$1.2-billion could pay for this added security for hundreds of years WITHOUT a new terminal..


B) Present layout unfriendly to passengers with flight delays or layovers.  

The augument here is that those unfortunate few would have to leave the "secure" boarding area to access  food- drink or trinket-purchases. It's not that big of a deal!  See several paragraphs ago- you can be back inside of the secure boarding area in 15 minutes- often less than that.


This city has a lot of infrastructure needs- none of which- in my keen observations- include a single KCI airport terminal for $1.2-billion.


(For updates and commentary- log into Save KCI! here.)

All-Time Record May Snow - Pix Part 1

About 2-inches out south in the Loma Vista 'hood of KC-MO...


Radar trends show this stuff continuing through at least the next several hours...

Probably still doing it's non-seasonal thing into Friday midday according to recent weather model runs).

Yes- I know....

CSW WEATHER: Unprecedented Late-Spring "Winter Weather Advisory" for KC- St. Joseph Areas

Unprecedented as in this hasn't happened before in Kansas City's 125 years of weather records.


Oh yeah- we've had ONE accumulating May snowfall- a little more than an inch on May 3- 1907- but there was no NWS or 'Winter Weather Advisories' issued then.

The NWS forecast is "one to three inches of snow" overnight for the Metro areas of KC and St. Joseph.


Although most of that accumulation will be on areas with natural cover- vehicles and other elevated outdoor items- there could be slick spots on bridges and overpasses during the Friday morning drive.


The cold and precip (not all snow by any means) should continue- off and on- through at least early Sunday.


It looks like late next week before temperatures rebound to "seasonable" averages of highs around 70 and lows around 50.

Snow in St. Joe

This is a screen cap (scrap) of a live video camera in downtown St. Joseph MO..

Let's just hope that the old saying "The snow in MO falls mainly in St. Joe" holds true....

Independence MO Seeks New Revenue Source From Traffic Fatality Survivors (Poo-Poo on KC STAR)

The local Scandal Sheet (KC STAR) has run a story today about how the City of Independence MO is taking down people's homemade roadside memorials to those killed in vehicle crashes.


Indy doesn't want YOU to make and maintain those 'potentially dangerous (Indy officials' excuse)' memorials but for a FEE of $150- that City of Corporate Welfare (Bass Pro handouts) will put up a memorial FOR YOU.


I've heard of some really- REALLY screwball ways for cities to milk more revenue from their citizens- but this has to be one of the saddest excuses of all-time.

To add insult to injury- that local bastion of free speech The KANSAS CITY STAR has "disabled" reader comments on the story.

CSW WEATHER: Snow in MAY??

I know- bite my tongue (or in this case: fingers)...


The good news is that we will actually experience Spring for a few more days ... until Wednesday.


Then- this storm front moves in- see- and the party's over.


Of course since the concrete and asphalt has dried out- more rain.


As an added attraction- by Thursday another shipment of Canada's biggest export arrives.


Rather than stay in refrigerators where it belongs- this Frigidaire spills out over our Midland Empire.


There will probably be at least frost if not freeze warnings issued for our lands- flowers and plants by Thursday night for Friday morning- sheesh- maybe Saturday AM too.


I'm getting tired- but our brass monkeys seem to love being handled...

If the cold isn't tedious enough- we could see flakes (in addition to the ones running governments).


It's not going to necessitate snowplows- salt trucks or the kid up the street with a shovel (actually just a marketing ploy- crafty Shon-Tal actually uses a snowblower).


At least there doesn't appear to be much of any tornado threat during the transition from May back to March- on the worst-end of that maybe some hail- a sound-alike woid I may be using seeing snowflakes in May.


The Year of 2013 appears this edition's April showers that bring Mayflowers that bring pilgrims may also be applying for a possible case of frostbite....

PBS' 'Frontline' Examines "The Retirement Gamble"

Did you catch PBS's Frontline the other night?


The program dealt with the profits all those Wall Street wheeler-dealers make off of people's  retirement instruments like 401Ks.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

I would have been livid about it if I had a horse in that fixed race.

Texas EMS Director Says "As Many as 60 to 70 People Dead" in Massive Explosion

A fire in a fertilizer plant in West- Texas triggered a massive ammonium nitrate explosion around 7:53 pm Wednesday evening- damaging or destroying parts of the town of more than 2800 people.

As of midnight Thursday morning- general news media reports are saying "at least 3 dead with more than 100 injured."









(The following video is courtesy of Mr. Derrick Hurtt of West who- with his daughter Khloey- were videoing from a position several blocks away from the fertilizer company when the explosion occurred.)




(The next video is courtesy of Mr. David Schechter- also of West. The Schechters lived in the southern part of West- videoed the blast's mushroom cloud (Part 1)- then responded to the disaster scene minutes after the explosion.)




However- according to KWTX-10 TV in Waco- the EMS Director of West said "as many as 60 to 70 people were dead" in West.


By Thursday night- 24 hours after the explosion- people in command of the situation in West TX continue to refuse to issue any death count.


News media reports at that time were giving numbers of 10 to 15 fatalities.


By Friday evening- the "official" number was given as "14" died in the blast.


Around 40 people were still unaccounted for Thursday night.


The number of people injured in the blast was established Thursday night at 200- with several of those victims still in critical condition.


As many as 75 homes were destroyed- other structures devastated by the blast included an elderly care facility- an apartment building and a middle school.


The high school suffered wall- window- roof and probably structural damage as well by the explosion's massive shockwave.


West is about 25 miles north of Waco.

Firefighters and EMS crews were not able to access areas for blocks around the flattened plant for hours after the initial blast fearing a second explosion.


At least "6 to 7 firefighters" of the all-volunteer West Fire department who were fighting the fire were "unaccounted for-" according to WacoTrib.com.


Later Thursday- West Mayor Tommy Muska told CNN that "seven firefighters and two others" at the plant were killed.


One of those deaths was an off-duty Dallas Fire department Captain Kenny Harris- who lived in West and was helping at the fire.


Early Thursday- a Facebook page was established for condolences to West first responders and residents.

A pumper truck is shown at the fire just prior to the explosion in one of the images provided to KWTX-TV..


At least one West police officer was also reported unaccounted for early Thursday morning.


That officer was later found badly injured but alive at a hospital.

...

CSW WEATHER: Tornado Watch No. 117 Includes Lawrence- Topeka and the Rest of Eastern Kansas

This new Tornado Watch also runs until 10 pm tonight.

CSW WEATHER: Tornado Watch No. 114 for Metro Kansas City Until 10 PM

An unusual- long-term tornado watch is in effect for all of Metro Kansas City until 10 pm this Wednesday night...

In addition- a flash flood/flood watch is also in effect for Metro KC- as well as much of the Kansas City MetroRegion...

Tornado Watch No. 114 includes a large part of Missouri- and the extreme eastern tier of counties in Kansas.


So far- Lawrence and Topeka are NOT in any tornado watch.

CSW BREAKING: Unknown Fluid Spill Causes Evacuations at the University of Kansas Medical Center

A KC-KS Fire department crew announced at 3:34 pm that they had "some unidentified liquid spilled on the 4th-floor" of a building at the K.U. Medical Center at 39th Street and Rainbow.

That fire crew requested "Haz-Mat" and was "evacuating" that area where the spill was located.

In fact- at 3:39 pm- that FD crew said it was "evacuating the structure" where that spill of the yet "unknown" substance occurred..

This incident is reported to be in "Wahl Hall-" and does not appear to affect the main K.U. Med Center building(s).




More as received...