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Paving the Way to the Superhighway: Time Warner Cable’s Low Income Plan

Time Warner Cable unveiled a new low cost internet plan for low income families. Parents of children in certain school districts will be eligible in this alternative to Google Fiber. The Local Show was at the press conference where Mayors Sly James and Joe Reardon helped make the announcement.

Much has been made in the news lately about Google Fiber finally hooking up Kansas City homes to its hotly-anticipated high speed network, but there are still lingering concerns about who will be left behind.

A survey this summer found that a quarter of Kansas Citians don’t have broadband Internet access at home. While Google is offering free internet service for a $300 hook-up fee in those neighborhoods that are lucky enough to be part of its roll-out area, that still leaves huge swaths of the metro area without affordable service.

Now Time Warner Cable is getting in on the act by announcing, at a big press conference with both Kansas City Mayor’s, a less than 10 dollar-a-month internet service intended for low income families living in nine area school districts.

Time Warner’s $9.95-a-month plan will allow anyone with a child enrolled in any of these school districts and who’s currently not a Time Warner customer to take advantage of the discount program.

You have until the end of January to apply. We’ll acknowledge that if you don’t have a computer, you won’t be able to check there. Here’s the telephone number in case you want to take advantage of this service: 1-855-746-8704.

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Reimagining the Public Library: Woodneath Branch of Mid-Continent Public Library

Nick Haines gets an inside look at the Mid-Continent Public Library's Woodneath Branch which seeks to reinvent what a library has to offer.

How much thought do you give to the design of your local library? When is the last time you even went to your local library? Worried about declining attendance, the Mid-Continent Public Library system is reinventing what your neighborhood library looks like and offers.

At its newest branch called Woodneath, near fast growing Liberty, an 1850′s historic home is being re-purposed as a writing lab and self publishing center for the future JK Rowlings. The house is just part of the new project. Library director Steve Potter took Nick Haines on a hard hat tour of the library which is scheduled to open this summer.

Computer rendering of the new Woodneath Library

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Reinventing the Community College: Terry Calaway

Nick Haines talks to Dr. Terry Calaway about his five year tenure as the President of Johnson County Community College and about his plans for his approaching retirement.

We begin this week with a question: Which is the largest institution of higher education in our bi-state area? Is it KU or MU? You might be surprised to learn that it’s actually neither.

With more than 50,000 students enrolled in credit and continuing education classes each semester, Johnson County Community College is now the largest institution of higher education in either Kansas or Missouri.

And after 5 years at the helm, JCCC’s President Terry Calaway has announced he is retiring. Along with increased enrollment, Calaway is credited with bringing a lot of novel programs to JCCC which is consistently ranked as one of the best community colleges in the country.

People no doubt have heard about the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art which was added during his watch, but the college is also getting national attention for its culinary program which will open its own culinary academy and innovative demonstration kitchen next year. Dr Calaway sat down for a conversation with Nick Haines.

Wide aerial shot of the Johnson County Community College campus

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Science in Action: KU Med’s Clinical Research Center

Producer Rich Miller takes us inside KU Med's Clinical Research Center in Fairway, Kansas for a closer look at the cutting edge clinical trials that are attracting patients from all over the world.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce has made Growing Kansas City’s Medical Research, From Discovery to Cure one of its Big 5 Ideas for the metro. We’ve been tracking what that actually means on this program with chamber and civic leaders over the last several months. This week, we perhaps put the most human face on the issue as we show you how patients from as far away as New Zealand are now heading to Kansas City to take advantage of some of the cutting edge research and clinical trials now going on in our own backyard. Producer Rich Miller takes us inside KU Med’s Clinical Research Center in Fairway, Kansas for a closer look.

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Silicon Prairie Land Rush: The Tech Boom in the Crossroads

We take you inside three tech startups in the Crossroads to show you more of what “the scene” looks like these days.

There’s a lot of attention being paid right now, both locally and nationally, to building our economy through technology…Startup America for example. And with the arrival of Google Fiber, it’s been a particularly hot topic in Kansas City lately.

While tech companies have been popping up all across the metro, there’s a noticeable cluster developing in the vicinity of Downtown and the Crossroads. We take you inside three tech startups, to show you more of what “the scene” looks like these days.

Another indication of just how much is going in with Kansas City’s tech scene. Last week, the first “startup” crawl event was held…shuttling the curious to a number of startups in the Crossroads and beyond.

People gathered in lounge area of Sporting Park

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Smith Electric CEO Bryan Hansel Interview

Brian Hansel, CEO, Smith Electric

Nick Haines interviews Bryan Hansel, whose Kansas City-based company, Smith Electric, is a leading manufacturer of electric trucks.

Inside Smith Electric:

President Obama’s speech at Smith Electric on July 8, 2010

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Soaking Up Sun: Kauffman Stadium Goes Green

Solar panels were recently installed around the outfield of Kauffman Stadium that will generate enough electricity to power four average homes. The Kansas City Royals play their first home game of the season on April 13.

Friday marks the Royals season home opener. If you are heading over to Kauffman Stadium, you will notice something different at the K. With 120 newly installed large solar panels wrapping the back of the ballpark, the Royals are going green. It is apparently the largest in-stadium solar installation in major league baseball.

The panels will generate about 36,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy a year. That’s enough to power four average homes. The panels are non-reflective and tilted to keep any reflections from interfering with play. That was a concern of Major League Baseball, which had to approve the stadium change.

When the dog days of summer arrive and you are basking in the sun at the stadium, just remember that even your beer and soda are going to be cooled by the sun.

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Striking a Match: myEDmatch.com Founders Munro Richardson & Alicia Herald

Nick Haines sits down with myEDmatch.com founders Munro Richardson and Alicia Herald. Considered to be like an online dating site for education jobs, myEDmatch is a job-matching site that connects teachers with good-fit schools based on their common beliefs about education.

The school year is winding down for most students, but for school administrators it is prime time for hiring teachers for the fall.

Did you know that 30 percent of new teachers quit after three years on the job and half of them quit the classroom within five years? The biggest reason for leaving? According to the Gates Foundation, the answer is not pay, though I’m sure most teachers wouldn’t say no to a a salary increase, and it’s not because they don’t like teaching anymore. The biggest reason, the Gates Foundation claims, is they don’t like the school they’re teaching in because it is a bad fit. Enter: myEDmatch.com.

If online dating works so well for people looking for love and happiness, can it work to match teachers with schools? That is the premise being pioneered by two local leaders in education in Kansas City: former Kauffman Foundation Vice President Munro Richardson and Teach for America Kansas City head Alicia Herald, who both quit their jobs to launch this job matching start up.

Munro Richardson and Alicia Herald on the set of The Local Show

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Transforming Troost: We Are Superman

 On 31st and Troost, there is a community of people who have stopped waiting for a superhero to rescue the neighborhood. They have a vision to transform the dividing line of Troost Avenue into a gathering place.  They’ve even produced a film about their work called We Are Superman: The Transformation of 31st and Troost.

Another of the Chamber’s 5 Big Ideas is revitalizing the Troost Corridor. While the Chamber has ambitious goals for reinvigorating what has long been a blighted area of Kansas City, there are grassroots efforts already underway to transform parts of Troost. On 31st and Troost, there is a community of people who have stopped waiting for a superhero to rescue the neighborhood. They have a vision to transform the dividing line of Troost Avenue into a gathering place. They’ve even produced a film about their work. It’s called We Are Superman: The Transformation of 31st and Troost.

A screening of the new documentary We Are Superman: The Transformation of 31st and Troost, a film by Kevin Bryce will be presented Friday night at 7:30 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum Auditorium. A panel discussion follows the documentary. There is a five dollar admission charge. You can follow the progress of the film on the We Are Superman Facebook page.

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Under the Sea: Kansas City’s SEA LIFE Aquarium

KCPT partnered with the new SEA LIFE Aquarium on a journalism contest where we invited high school broadcasting students to cover the arrival of the fish to their new home in Kansas City. The Local Show proudly presents the winning entry from Park Hill South High School.

Five thousand sea creatures, including sharks and stingrays, are finding a new home in Kansas City, as the new $15 million SEA LIFE Aquarium finally opens its doors tomorrow at Crown Center. There are 30 display tanks including a massive ocean tank with a walk through underwater tunnel where visitors are surrounded by fish and sharks. A Legoland Discovery Center is being built next door, but that won’t open for a few more weeks.

KCPT partnered with the new SEA LIFE Aquarium on a journalism contest where we invited high school broadcasting students to cover the arrival of the fish to their new home in Kansas City. Using the theme “The Fish Are Coming,” ten high school teams put together a two minute news account about the sea creatures arriving at the aquarium.

The winning high school team would have their report featured on The Local Show and we are pleased to announce the winner is…Park Hill South High School.

Winners of the SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium and KCPT Video Journalism Contest: Park Hill South High School and the reporting team of Sung Huh, Jacob Orlowski and Raymond Hadlock. Congratulations!

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