Hats off to Wyandotte County

Hats off to officials in Wyandotte County who have told Cracker Barrel that, after just closing a store in KCK off I70, they will not be allowed to move to the hot new Village West development because the state issued Star bonds do not allow a company to move from one area to another if the second area has state supported incentives, such as these STAR bonds.

Granted, the law says they can't relocate there, but still it took some balls by Wyandotte county to hold firm on the policy. I am okay with cities and counties using incentives to lure a business there, but when you are just stealing them from another city in the same metro area, there is not much gain there except some extra coin in the pocket for the company that benefits.

Here is the link from the KC Star if you want to read it:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/14580611.htm

Malls bite the dust

Two of the area's shopping malls are on the way out. Blue Ridge Mall, once a great mall, is completely gone. A shopping center anchored with a WalMart supercenter is replacing it, I think it will probably open early next year. They have the old mall down and cleared now.

Mission Mall is being torn down as well, to make room for what looks to be a nice combo of shopping, offices and condos/lofts/apartments.

There are a couple of other malls just hanging on by a thread- Bannister Mall, almost nothing is left there and the surrounding shopping centers are also about done for. Metro North mall is not a whole lot better. The surrounding area is still okay, but the mall has very little left in it. That basically leaves Indpendece Center and Oak Park Mall is the major malls left in the metro, along with the Great Plains mall. Most of the new shopping centers in the metro are open air shopping centers, not malls.

Thank you for voting yes

I am very pleased that the stadium vote her passed. Okay, so the rolling roof did not pass, at least not this time. But at least the first vote did, assuring the future of the Royals and Chiefs here in the KC area for at least the next two or three decades. I am sure the rolling roof will come up for a vote again, and it may actually have a better chance of passing the next time around. I think some people probably felt safe voting yes to question one (the stadium upgrades) and no to question 2 about the rolling roof.

I myself voted yes for both questions. I think having a Super Bowl, a Final Four, and possibly a MLB All Star game would make it worthwhile to the city. Also, we may get some concerts and other events that we would otherwise not be able to land. So if it comes up again, even though I could do without paying more in sales taxes, I will vote yes again. The funny part of this is that with only Jackson county voting, they voted to increase their own sales taxes (by voting yes on question 1), but not others (via use and other taxes that would have resulted from a yes vote on question 2.

New coach to be Herm Edwards?

Nothing official yet, but Herm Edwards may well be the Chiefs next head coach. The Chiefs and Jets are trying to hammer out compensation, and once that is worked out, I think Herm will become a Chief.

In the meantime, I think its at least even money that Al Saunders will be gone, even if he does not become a head coach I am not sure that he will be back.

Is Dick Vermeil done in KC?

He has not said one way or another, but he earlier had dropped hints that this might be his last year. I have a feeling he will hang it up after this year. Now if they somehow win their last 2 and make the playoffs or come within an eyelash of it, maybe he will stay, but with a rough season and retirements possibly looming for Shields and Roaf, and maybe even Priest, this could be Dick's last hurrah with the Chiefs.

Super Bowl in KC?

Wow, I was shocked to see the NFL offer Kansas City a Super Bowl in the next decade if they overhauled and updated the stadiums, complete with the rolling roof idea that was part of the original design. If it does happen, which is by no means a certainty, it will be very expensive, possibly north of $600 million dollars. The debate over the plan will be long and heated without a doubt. Stay tuned for more on this as things unfold. Myself, as long as we can find a way to pay for it that can be spread throughout the metro, including the Kansas side, I am for it. I think having a Super Bowl here in KC would be huge.

We need to keep the Chiefs and Royals

I am concerned that when the sales tax to support the KC Sports Authority comes up on the ballot, probably in the spring, it may not pass. I know that people are focusing on the fact that it seems they are going to pay to support billionaire owners and millionaire players, and that may be true, but I for one strongly feel that Kansas City is a better community for having the Chiefs and Royals. Yeah, Jackson County negotiated a bad lease, no way around admitting that one, but we have to live with that. Lets not make another mistake by letting them go elsewhere. Why not update the sports complex to make it a destination for the area and something that other cities envy. Lets also not forget that many new NFL stadiums have been awarded a superbowl, can you imagine what kind of economic impact having a Superbowl could do for KC? Or even if we had a new or remodeled Royals stadium and were lucky enough to host an all star game?

Be smart, vote for the tax and to keep the Royals and Chiefs.

Woohoo, the bridges are back open!

In a move that has literally hundreds of thousands, or at least tens of thousands breathing easier, the Paseo Bridge and the I635 bridge have both been reopened after being closed for reconstruction. The Broadway bridge was particularly hard hit with the extra traffic.

We should have a brand new Paseo Bridge in perhaps a decade or so! Then they will have to widen I35 between I35 and downtown, which will be a massive and expensive project for sure.