February 2012
1 post
Let’s Get Back to Common Sense
It’s been quite discouraging for us here in Wyandotte County to see the pure partisan politics of Topeka play out with respect to Congressional redistricting. The latest map to emerge is one that Senator Hensley and others warned us about months ago: To move Wyandotte County out of the 3rd Congressional District and into the 1st Congressional District. Wyandotte County, more than ever, is...
September 2011
1 post
Day of Remembrance 9/11/2011
Trinity Community Church held a wonderful service today. It was a moving tribute to the victims of 9/11 as well as a call to all of us to be more supportive of one another. My whole family enjoyed it and I was honored to be able to present a Proclamation declaring today as a Day of Remembrance in Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte County.
August 2011
1 post
A Great Evening at Rockhurst University
It was great to be back on the campus of Rockhurst University and to join with Mayor Sly James in a dialogue about the region and how to move forward collectively. The turnout was fantastic and I enjoyed seeing Rockhurst friends. Sly and I also announced our co-chairs for the By-State Innovation Team. Dr. Ray Daniels will served as co-chair along with Mike Burke. Dr. Daniels brings a great...
May 2011
2 posts
An Exciting Week in KCK
It’s been an exciting week. Governor Sam Brownback was in attendance at Livestrong Sporting Park on Wednesday for the Farm Aid concert announcement. Farm Aid will take place on August 13th at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews will headline the event. The stadium looks fantastic. The opening game takes place on June...
Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed making a presentation to the KCKCC Economics Club, Campus Forum and Intercultural Center last week. We talked about economic development, the potential for more business development and learning with Google Fiber and the new jobs coming on line at Sporting KC, the Hollywood Casino and Cerner Corp.
I also had a chance to make a presentation the the...
March 2011
3 posts
Remarks on Google Fiber Announcement in Kansas...
I wanted to take a minute to share the remarks I gave today at the Google Fiber Announcement.
I want to thank everyone for attending today. March 30, 2011 is a momentous day for Kansas City, Kansas and our entire region. We are entering into a transformative partnership that will allow Kansas City, Kansas to deploy a next generation fiber optic system throughout our community – one that...
Today's big news: Google Selects Kansas City,...
I wanted to take a minute to share the official press release for today’s big announcement with all of you. This is a very exciting opportunity for our community!
Google announced today its selection of Kansas City, Kansas, as the location for its ultra high-speed fiber project.
“The wonderful diversity of our community, neighborhoods and industry make Kansas City, Kansas a microcosm...
3 tags
A moment with our City's youth
This winter, I had the privilege of speaking to four of our high schools about public service as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy giving his inaugural speech in Washington, DC. More than anything, Kennedy’s speech was an inspirational call to public service as he challenged us:
“Ask not what your country can do for you —- ask what you can do for your country.” That...
February 2011
1 post
1 tag
State of the UG reflection
I gave the state of the Unified Government speech on Tuesday, Feb. 8. We had wonderful turn out. About 350 people attended the speech and among other things we showcased the new Sporting KC soccer stadium and the opening of the Sara Lee deli meat processing facility in KCK. There never seems to be enough time to share all of what is happening in our community. So I thought this space would be...
July 2010
1 post
7 tags
State of the economy (part 2)
For this post I am continuing my discussion of the economy. As we approach our 2011 budget sessions this month the commission and administration will continue to struggle with declining revenue attributable to the recession and another year of falling property values and reduced retail sales. I will post more about our budget in future posts. Today, however, I want to focus on another piece of...
June 2010
1 post
8 tags
State of the economy
This is the start of a blog that I will update periodically with factual information about what is going on in our city and my take on current topics. I have wanted to start a blog for some time as the outlets for specific information concerning Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County are limited. As a result, I generally believe that we suffer from a lack of good information about what is...
March 2010
1 post
1 tag
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