Kansas City Metro Weather Radar Pix

Some scattered showers and thunderstorms have moved into the southwestern Kansas Metro area of Johnson County and now crossing the state line into Jackson County Missouri. Movement is north-northeast at around 30 m.p.h..

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Westbound I-70 Still 1-Lane In The "Benton Curve"

As depicted by the K.C. Scout pix- traffic is still down to the one- far inside lane coming out of the Benton curve on westbound I-70 east of Downtown KC-MO.

The 18-wheeler now seen against the large tow truck- uprighted and being unloaded into another semi and trailer- overturned several hours ago- ruining Monday morning drive on one of K.C.'s busiest stretch of highway.

It's hoped the Interstate will be fully opened before noon say the latest statements from police.

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The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Sunday, September 23, 2008

*** TWO FOUND DEAD IN TRUNK OF BURNING CAR IN KC-MO ***

*** Two bodies- police say are of 2 black males- were found in the trunk of a burning car on Kansas City- MO's East Side around 5:15am Sunday morning.

A Fire department pumper company got the call at 5:11am for a car fire in the 4900 block of East 22nd Street or near 22nd Street and Chelsea.

That pumper- No. 24's- reported the car fully-involved in flames when they arrived 2 minutes later and orders police to respond on "a possible stolen" car. At 5:16am- the captain of 24's then reports they found "2 bodies in the trunk."

Crime scene investigators are processing the scene on the reported blue Ford Thunderbird- possibly a 1994 model- and there's no other info yet.

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** SHOTS FIRED IN KC-MO'S WESTPORT AREA AGAIN **

... At 3am- police on 'party-patrol' in Westport heard shots fired- see people "hitting the deck"- then there's the report to MAST-EMS & Fire that there's a shooting victim down in the parking lot of the Sun Fresh grocery store at Westport & Mill.

Officers never found any victim or evidence someone had been struck- reporting a possible suspect who's said to have fired shots- but was never apprehended.

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* PERHAPS YELLOW RIBBONS WOULD HELP... *

*** Around 12:30am Sunday morning- KC-MO's MAST-EMS sent a mutual-aid paramedic unit to neighboring Blue Summit- where a patient is reported at a structure fire near 18Th Street and Hayes.

Who the MAST unit transported to a hospital was "a 46-year-old male" who- quoting the MAST paramedic- "struck a tree head-on while running at full" speed.

The anonymous MAST paramedic told an E-R physician "the man thought his house was on fire and was running to check."

Turns out "it was the house next door to" their patient's house. The man's injuries were not serious.

Didn't hear anything further about the fire in "Dogpatch."

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<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><> <>

Skies remained clear to mostly clear over the Kansas City MetroRegion overnight. Rising moisture being shunted northwest from the Gulf states disturbance kept temperatures warm through the autumnal equinox at 4:51am: Metro temperatures were near or in the lower-70's..

It'll be a warm- humid and increasingly-windy Sunday with a slight chance of showers overnight.

The weather pattern is changing- and more needed precipitation brought by two- cooling frontal systems is the coming week's forecast- one system Monday and the other toward next weekend.

Some severe weather and heavy rains are possible over parts of the MetroRegion late Monday into Tuesday- then temperatures should return to a more seasonable range for the first week of fall.

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Kansas City's Breaking News Leader - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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Congrats To "Professional Gamer" Leland 'Bubba' Jones

Yeah- that's the pix of my youngest brother's step-son- Leland or "Bubba" Jones sitting absorbed at the video monitor on page A-4 of Saturday's KANSAS CITY STAR.

Actually- the nickname Bubba is a misnomer. Lee was always the quiet- intense one of the 3 kids. I think Bubba first got into video games at the maternity ward PacMan.

A public congrats Bubba- for the Halo article interview & pix.

You're lucky too. This jester had to share his news media debut with two other clowns....

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America's Lawmakers On Hallucinogens

Has to be!

Elected officials diss an editorial piece submitted by a political action outfit- apparently without reading/absorbing it- but yet lets the REAL crime continue unfettered and unabashed:
Bush's Folly.

Seems to me that sane folks would be wanting OUT of this country instead trying to sneak in....

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The Last Day Of Summer- 2007 In Vancouver B.C. Canada

From the ever-present- effervescent- KatCam.

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September 22- 2007- Early Saturday Morning News

I'm feeling like I've been run amid-ships by a load of whoop-ass- so here's the significant overnight happenings quick- in raw overnight report form:

0135 - IN207003068 - KC-KS - FIRE- EMS & POLICE-CENTRAL PATROL- "UNKNOWN MEDICAL- 18TH ST. & MINNESOTA." AT 0137C- THIS IS CALLED "A SHOOTING" AND A CAR CRASH- "CAR RAN INTO A BUILDING" HERE. POLICE REPORT 2 VICTIMS HERE- AND "A 3RD VICTIM WHO LEFT THE SCENE." ANOTHER CRIME SCENE RELATED TO THIS IS REPORTED AS "18TH & WASHINGTON BLVD.." AND "A WHITE MONTE CARLO IS INVOLVED" AS WELL. BOTH VICTIMS ARE MALE- ONE "SHOT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD" AND IN CRITICAL CONDITION- THE OTHER MODERATE INJURIES- BOTH TAKEN TO (A LOCAL TRAUMA CENTER).


0151 - IN207003074 - KC-KS - POLICE-CENTRAL- FIRE & EMS - "SHOOTING" VICTIM- "1603 EVERETT." POLICE REPORT VICTIM HERE IS "A MALE- SHOT IN THE LOWER BACK" AND THIS VICTIM "IS RELATED" TO THE 18TH & MINNESOTA SHOOTING. VICTIM TAKEN TO (A LOCAL TRAUMA CENTER).CONDITION UNKNOWN.


0221 - IN207003077 - PLATTE COUNTY (PLCO) MO- SHERIFF- CENTRAL PLCO FIRE & "N-RAD" EMS - "MOTORCYCLE" CRASH- '15800 INTERURBAN RD.." THIS IS REPORTED "AT THE PARTY HOUSE ACROSS FROM BASSWOOD RESORT." EMS TRANSPORTED "A MALE IN HIS 50'S" IN SERIOUS TO CRITICAL CONDITION TO (A LOCAL TRAUMA CENTER).NO OTHER DETAILS.


0516 - IN207003091 - JXCO-MO- PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP- LEE'S SUMMIT & LAKE LOTAWANA FIRE- HOUSE FIRE- 25551 E. MILTON THOMPSON ROAD." THIS IS A WORKING FIRE "IN THE BASEMENT UNDER THE KITCHEN" OF THE UNREPORTED-OCCUPANCY STRUCTURE. THE FLAMES WERE UNDER CONTROL BY AROUND 0610C WITH NO REPORTS OF ANYONE FOUND INSIDE NOR INJURIES.

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Citizen Letter From KC-MO's Mayor: "Notes From Funk's Front Porch" XV

Funk's Front Porch

07 September 2007

Dear Folks,

This week’s city news:

The big news this week is that the Economic Development policy passed 12-0. This is a monumental victory for Kansas Citians for many reasons. There has never been a policy in place before with clear directives concerning economic growth; more importantly, the policy ensures that the economically disadvantaged areas of the city will now get their fair share of the pie.

This was one of the major tenants that Funk campaigned on, getting TIF under control, especially for the benefit of the regular folks of our city. Funk was told many things by various “consultants” about developing this policy. First, the talk was that a diverse group of people would not be able to come to agreement regarding how a policy should be written. Then the talk was that he couldn’t appoint a diverse group of regular folks to come up with a policy that had any teeth to it. Finally, even if he could get a diverse group of people to realize that they had similar values, the Council would never approve the policy. It heartens us to know that if you work towards the good of the whole, good things will happen. Since all of those hurdles have been jumped successfully, we can begin to work on improving the areas of the city that need it the most.

Many thanks go to the Council as a whole for the long hours that they put in on this important project and for supporting the policy as written. Deep appreciation goes to Deb Hermann for her work in ensuring its passage. Your council members put in more hours in a week than you probably realize.

Funk went to Seattle earlier this week on a trip planned by the Chamber of Commerce to learn what makes that city hip and cool. The trip went very well, although I was a little distressed thinking about the plane ride. I’m Italian enough to have had my imagination working overtime about the “what ifs.” Mostly, what would happen to the city if the plane went down, as it was carrying 120 of our top officials? But it didn’t go down. Instead, a lot of reinforcement for Funk’s own beliefs came from the trip. The first being the benefit of light rail, especially regarding the economic boom that occurred in Seattle with the passage of light rail. And second, the role that having a top notch University plays in having a thriving city.

Funk continues to try to find a solution regarding Frances Semler’s appointment to the Parks Board. He’s gone so far as to offer to travel anywhere in the United States to meet with the National head of La Raza, Janet Muguira, and her board to try to resolve this issue. Funk feels that an open and ongoing dialogue is imperative toward finding solutions to problems. So this is what he is continuing to try to do.

On a more personal note:

Our son Andrew is recovering from his bout of mono. He is well enough now that his teenage maleness is getting on my nerves again. I know you Mother’s of teens will know what I speak of. Sadly for all of us though, is that he cannot finish this semester as his advisors say that he’s missed too much class time to be able to catch up. Such is life.

Until next week,

In faith,
Gloria & Mark

You can respond to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.

Please help us by forwarding this email to as many people as you think might want to be more informed about their city government. They can sign up to receive the newsletter at http://www.blogger.com/www.funksfrontporch.com.

The Mayor’s top ten priorities:

1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City’s finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services.

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NWS-CPC: Continental U.S. 30-Day Temperature And Precipitation Outlook

The forecasts- available HERE- covers the period until late October. Future temp & precip forecasts are also available on the URL.
(Click on all images on this blog for best size/resolution)

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NBC41's Star: Russ Ptasek

No pun intended considering a recent story of his- but Russ is one of- if not the most- arresting TV news reporters in America's 31st-ranked market I've seen thus far this century.

NBC41's Ptacek has some pretty impressive journalistic credentials- according to his bio on 41's Web site. Here's a guy that not only knows how to talk- but actually seems to know what he's talking about.

Russ Ptacek seems to have that delivery- that on-camera presense- that easily (to me- longtime news junkie anyway) has Top-15 market if not network potential.

No- I've never even met the fellow- having only talked briefly during an information disgorge.

I'd be his agent in a heartbeat. If I was the news director at 41- I'd be asking Russ Ptacek how he likes his coffee and if my chair was comfortable enough....

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Kansas City's Parks Board Flap Makes The National Associated Press Wire

HERE's the story- penned by AP writer "Maria Sudekum Fisher."

Nice to see a local tempest in a teapot go national on what MUST be a slow news day.

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