News .

THIS WEEK: Friday, June 14th 2013 @ 7:30 pm
(Rebroadcast Sunday @ 11 am )

“After a two week absence for our KCPT membership drive we are back bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with Kansas City 3 Weeks in Review.” – Nick!

MISSION, KS – TRAFFIC TICKET CAPITAL: Is Mission Kansas on a mission to ticket everybody? A front page story in the Kansas City Star this week calls Mission, KS the ticket capital of Kansas. With police issuing more tickets than there are residents. That amounts to almost two tickets an hour, twenty four hours a day. That means you are nine times more likely to be ticketed in Mission than in Overland Park. Eighteen times more likely than if you happened to be driving through Lee’s Summit.

BROWNBACK SIGNS INCOME TAX PHASE OUT BILL IN OP: The Kansas Governor also uses his bill signing ceremony in Overland Park to lash out at at Missouri Governor Jay Nixon over the cross-border business battle.

TAX VETO OVERRIDE PLANNED IN MISSOURI: Missouri Republican lawmakers say they will seek to overturn Governor Jay Nixon’s recent veto of a massive tax cutting package that include Missouri’s first income tax reductions in 90 years.

POWER & LIGHT 5TH ANNIVERSARY: Opened in 2008 the downtown entertainment district is still being subsidized by city taxpayers to the tune of $14.3 million this year.

HALLS DEPARTING PLAZA: After almost a half a century on the Country Club Plaza, Halls is closing its doors. The department store is consolidating its operations at its Crown Center location leaving the Plaza for the first time without a department store. Who will fill Hall’s space on the Plaza?

SCHLITTERBAHN GROWTH STUNTED: There’s still a lot of barren land instead of shops and tree houses around the perimeter of the Schlitterbahn water park in Wyandotte County, a project that by now was supposed to be a $750 million vacation village.

MU CHANCELLOR DEPARTS: Its front page news this week as Brady Deaton the head of the University of Missouri steps down after 9 years on the job.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Kevin Collison
Kansas City Star

Bill Grady
Newsradio 98.1 FM KMBZ

Mary Sanchez
Kansas City Star

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

THIS WEEK: Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
(Rebroadcast Sunday @ 11 am )

OKLAHOMA TORNADO & KC MEDIA: A devastating tornado rips through an Oklahoma town causing destruction and the loss of more than two dozen lives. It’s a major national story. But is it also the most important local news story of the week? Every single TV station in town sent reporters to the scene, so did the Kansas City Star. Are Kansas City reporters necessary in Oklahoma? It was a question being asked this week by the metro’s leading media watch site Bottomline Communications. Is this being done because of the May TV sweeps period that concludes this week, the site asks? After all, Moore, OK is 360 miles from Kansas City and far outside the viewing area for any TV or radio stations?

MISSOURI LEGISLATURE ENDS: Some people’s eyes glaze over when they hear the two words “state” and “legislature” put together in the same sentence. But the work of our state lawmakers on both sides of state line can often be more important than anything that happens in Washington. Legislators just wrapped up their session in Missouri and are feverishly trying to close their doors for the year in Topeka as we record this program. But what have they done for you?

WILL IT EVER END? Kansas legislative leaders promised to complete the 2013 session in 80 days. It’s now past day 90 and lawmakers are still in a stalemate over tax cuts. So far this session, Kansas legislators have approved drug testing for unemployment recipients, allowed the governor to now pick Court of Appeals judges, approved a sweeping anti-abortion law that declares life begins “at fertilization” and permitted teachers to carry guns in the classroom.

THE MURKY WORLD OF HOSPITAL PRICING: The federal government recently released what, up until now, has been a pretty closely guarded secret, what hospitals charge for some common medical and surgical procedures. But what does it mean locally? We sent KCPT special correspondent Sam Zeff out to find out what all the data means to you.

MAYOR JAMES @ 2 YEARS: This month marks the half way mark for Kansas City Mayor Sly James. Yep, it’s been two years since he officially took over from Mark Funkhouser as leader of our metro’s largest city. We haven’t reported much on the Mayor for quite awhile now on this program. In fact, not since he made national news during a stage rushing incident at the Gem Theater in March. Two years is a good jumping off point for a report card on his performance thus far.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Stacey Cameron
KCTV5

Steve Kraske
KC Star/KCUR

Dana Wright
Newsradio 98.1 KMBZ

Sam Zeff
KCPT Special Correspondent