Ollie Gates Complains to Mayor About Kansas City Police

Wednesday night Kansas City Police set a Command Center in the parking lot of a Gates Bar-B-Q on Emanuel Cleaver Blvd (I can't believe we named a street after him). Five blocks away, police were trying to get an armed suspect out of a house in the 4400 block of Wayne Ave (nice hood). For a couple of hours, Ollie claims, Police scared off customers and basically make a mess of his parking lot costing him $3300 in business in his estimation. He called Mayor Funkhouser who promptly came down to have a look, and probably a complimentary Mixed Plate. How cool would it be to make a call to the Mayor of a major City, probably on his cell phone, and have him rush down to your restaurant on a cold Wednesday night. That is how much influence Ollie Gates has in Kansas City. And rightly so, he has successful businesses in the inner city, something the City desperately needs more of.

Though the cops were doing their jobs, and I'm sure they never gave a thought to it, they could have found a better place to set up their command post. They were five blocks away form the scene, so it's not like they had to set up there, it could have been any number of parking lots of closed businesses. With the influence Ollie wields, I'm sure they won't set up in the Gates Parking Lot again.

In that neighborhood, no doubt business was lost. I'm sure a good percentage of the population down there wouldn't come within a half mile of a Police cruiser if they can help it.

Latest NCAA Bracket Updates

Joe Lunardi's latest Braketology has KU, KState and Missouri all in the big dance. While Kansas continues to build momentum towards a one seed, KState and Missouri's struggles have planted them on the bubble for the time being.

Kansas' success this season puts them in a favorable position. Barring an epic collapse, the Jayhawks cannot do worse than a two seed, and will likely be a one seed yet again in the tournament. The only question remaining is if Kansas can avoid another Northern Iowa type upset and make a deep run in the postseason. Lunardi currently has KU as a one seed.

Missouri is currently a six seed in Lunardi's projections, but falling fast. The Tigers haven't won a Big 12 road contest this season, and is fresh off a beatdown in Lawrence at the hands of KU. Missouri should make the tournament, but it will likely be a much lower seed than many predicted before the season.

Finally showing signs of life are the KState Wildcats. KSU has emerged as a 10 seed in Lunardi's mock bracket and has an opportunity to cement its status in its next two games: a road trip to Colorado and a home contest against KU. A win in each would put the cats in the tourny, but that is a huge if given the opponents.

KCMO Police Commanders and Chief in Hot Water Over Dinners

An investigation has revealed that some inappropriate charges were made to Kansas City Police Department credit cards for expensive dinners and alcoholic drinks. The charges in question were for dinners at the Capital Grille and included the Police Commanders and a lobbyist. One of the dinners also included Chief Jim Corwin. There were three meals in all at Capital Grille totaling almost $2000.

Chief Corwin says he takes responsibility for the inappropriate charges and that the Capital Grille was a poor choice of restaurant. The money for those meals will be reimbursed (because they were caught, of course). The Department policy against alcohol purchased at these dinners will be reviewed.

Really the problem here is how business in done in our political system. The Police Department was simply trying to schmooze lobbyists like everyone else does if you want to get anything done in Jefferson City. The amount of money spent to grease the wheels of democracy is stunning. This is really not a big deal, they got caught, reimbursed the money, and will be more careful in the future. The real damage is on a Public Relations front - it just looks bad to be spending taxpayer money on expensive meals and booze, but really we are all just jealous.

NFL Ticket Scandal Has A New Twist

The Super Bowl Ticket Scandal has taken a new twist, as the NFL has made a more enticing offer to the fans that lost their seats due to an obstructed view. The fans can now choose between two options:

1) $2,400 cash and a free "transferable" ticket to next year's game.

2): A free ticket to ANY future Super Bowl of their choosing, plus hotel and airfare for the week of the game. This option would NOT be transferable.

Recent reports are indicating that many of the fans will sue Jerry Jones for up to $5 million a seat. While I can understand that many fans are furious over not being able to see the game, hasn't the NFL done enough? No one was hurt, and many fans will benefit greatly from missing out on the super bowl.

Lets say a fan takes the first option, and sells the transferable ticket to next year's game. A super bowl ticket usually goes for at least a couple thousand, so these guests are getting likely over $5,000. Or a fan gets an all-expenses paid trip to any future game, and what die-hard NFL fan wouldn't love an all-expenses paid trip to the super bowl?

These fans have a right to be upset, but asking for $5 million per seat seems a bit ridiculous. The NFL has taken the necessary steps to make up for the fans' experience, but it will remain to be seen if these steps will be enough to hold off angry football fans - and their lawyers.

Lees Summit Voters Reject School District Levy Increase

Voters in the Lee's Summit School District rejected a new levy proposed by the district. The district claims they will have to make $6 million more in cuts without the new levy. The reasons cited by the district for the shortfall include reduced State and Local funding, and a general economic downturn that has resulted in lower tax revenues. If the levy had passed, it would have made Lee's Summit School District the highest levy rate in the State of Missouri!

The new levy would have added approximately $300/year to the average home owner's property taxes. That's no small potatoes for home owner's who already pay some of the highest taxes in the area. Property taxes on automobiles (personal property) is also incredibly high. I personally paid $521 last year for two VERY modest automobiles. The district needs to tighten their belt like the rest of us have.

According to the District website, Programs that would be affected include Parents as Teachers, general instructional positions decreased by 20 over the next two years (probably through attrition, small class size increase, small fees for some extracurricular activities. These are all cuts we can live with. Citizens have had to deal with cuts in their lives, and asking for more money from taxpayers is not an option at this time. By the way, this is the first time since 1995 that a levy increase has been rejected in Lee's Summit - the District has been given everything they asked for for 15 years.