This evening the GOLD STANDARD of Kansas City political discourse talks taxes or lack thereof for local biz and developers.
Check the description:
Mike Shanin interviews Chairman of JOCO Board of Commissioners Ed Eilert & JOCO District Attorney Steve Howe about the effort to raise taxes for a new courthouse and coroner's facility. Mary Anne Murray Simons, Jim Heeter, Patrick Tuohey & Steve Mirakian discuss the delayed convention hotel, CIDs for the InterContinental & Marriott, the proposed Swope Park arts festival & the presidential debate.
Take a look:
You decide . . .
Kind of dry but an important discussion nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteWhat savvy KC viewers will note is that JoCo is having the same kind of problems as Downtown. A lot of development and promises with very little payoff. The people of Johnson County would like to think that corruption and graft aren't part of their civic culture but developers are preying upon their communities as well. The myriad of projects in Overland Park proves as much along with the failure of prairie fire. It's not so easy to turn a buck out there now that the tax loop holes for shopping malls have mostly been closed.
Entitled middle-class.
ReplyDeleteAll of them.
sales taxes are regressive vote it down. 2 or 3 judges can share a courtroom
ReplyDeleteOnto after the elections. The next four years will be challenging for all.
ReplyDeleteWELCOME TO COMMATUCKUS, that grammatically correct food for thought fight over the news of the day and the trends of the time. Kansas City's best television broadcast political commentary. PERIOD!
ReplyDeleteNewsmaker: Ed Eilert and Steve Howe, two outstanding public servants who make the case for a new Johnson County Courthouse. If Ed Eilert looks like your strict high school teacher, it's because he was one. Then a 35-year career as a financial advisor. Eilert was Mayor of Overland Park for 24 years, and part of the team which made it the jewel that it is.
Now on to the panel: Patrick Tuohey (L) --- Jim Heeter (D) --- Mary Anne Murray Simons says shorten your name (D) --- Stephen Jurisprudence Mirakian (R)
UNCONVENTIONAL HOTEL
Heeter dons rose-colored glasses and says no Plan B needed, as the hotel plan will not be aborted. He then goes on to talk about himself, sounding like a man looking for his next job. As Heeter "spins" the delay, Tuohey struggles to contain his laughter. When Shanin calls Heeter on his previous rosy statements regarding the hotel, not use to being called on his B.S., Heeter practically turns white! Tuohey cuts through the bluster, and plainly states that the development team has not been forthright in their dealings. Simons borrows Heeter's specs and parrots the talking points from City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce before belting out "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!....bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow..." Mirakian highlights the hypocrisy from some on the left, while summarizing, let's just quit whining and get it done! Shanin then asks Tuohey for a quick synopsis of the Marriott and InterContinental status. Tuohey reports that in KC, the priority is on serving the needs of big business and wealthy developers, and not the people who live in KC.
SLY'S BIG FAT ART FESTIVAL, down the slippery SWOPE?
Simons goes off on a marketing rant which rambles recklessly, though she admits it wasn't handled correctly. Shanin scores excellent points, and Heeter absolves himself of responsibility by reporting he was off the Council before this Neighborhood initiative was created. He then begins speaking about himself yet again, mentions his significant other (Greg Graves), and poses the question "What is a Big 5?" Whew! I don't like the sound of that, and fear we're on the verge of a Mary O'Halloran-type personal confession. Moving on.... Shanin ponders an editorial-less Editorial Page. Tuohey redirects us toward reality, and opines "the problem with this proposal is that it treats the Neighborhood Arts Fund as a slush fund. Another top-down approach. It would make Marie Antoinette blush." This even elicits laughter from Simons! Mirakian seconds the "curmudgeonly" motion that this is a bad idea, finding fault with not divvying up the funds to neighborhoods, conflicts with other events, and repeats the need for infrastructure, jobs, and development on the East-side. "All fluff and no substance." Shanin then cracks up Simons with the proposal for a 1/2 mile-long dining table!
(cont)
ReplyDeleteDEBASING DEBATE
Mirakian reports that while Hillary Clinton is an awful candidate and awful person, Trump is awful-er, Paul Ryan is a worm, and repeats his long-held prediction that Clinton will win and the U.S. Supreme Court is lost forever! Heeter talks more about himself....Surprise!.... this time it's his travels to England and how he met a Queen. Tuohey reflects that these two flawed candidates are merely a manifestation of our increasingly coarse public discourse and negative social mood. Simons delivers rare honesty when she replies to Shanin, "I don't know the answer to that question." Reminds me of Hillary under oath.
ROASTS and TOASTS (or beef on a bun)
Mirakian ROASTS the corrupt media, for attempting to suppress the WikiLeaks emails exposing Hillary as a corrupt 2-faced liar, who thinks Catholics are hate-filled and stupid, loves Wall Street and hates working people, dreams of open borders and supports TPP, and is depending upon the ignorance of voters to win. Yet, the media's focus? Donald Trump's foul language from 11 years ago! As me Irish friends would say: "The difference between bad words and bad acts, is the difference between the bull and the bull's feces, one only stinks, the other will kill you!"
LADIES and GENTLEMEN, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
You have just witnessed perhaps the BEST ROAST ever delivered on a Ruckus episode!! Drive a stake at the 23:30 mark, as we just made history!
Tuohey admits that's a tough act to follow! Tuohey ROASTS KC Mayor Sly James and other supporters of Mark VanLoh's dream $1.2 billion dollar single-terminal airport extravaganza. The Mayor asserted the other day that the airlines have agreed to pay $975 million toward the project, but that is an absolute fabrication, it's not true. There is nothing in the memorandum of understanding between the city and the airlines that states they'll pay for the airport or that they'll guarantee the bonds.
Simons TOASTS the vision of Congressman Cleaver. Oh my!! She is a real comedian isn't she? Maybe his vision is so bad, that he just could never read those pesky carwash loan documents and that's why he defaulted on the repayment, got sued and ordered to pay Bank of America a judgment of over a million dollars. Simons wins the Myopic Musings award.
Heeter TOASTS the KC Symphony Orchestra. This seems only fitting, as Heeter's been blowing his own horn all episode.
Shanin TOASTS K.P. duty!! (and please excuse my double exclamation)
Congratulations Tony. Your beloved Dodgers won their series. Now on to Chicago and get their butt kicked by the Cubs.
ReplyDeleteVery good show except Mike's comma comments. It should have been semicolon, however, comma.
ReplyDeleteFACT CHECK:
ReplyDeleteCatholics are stupid. Magic bead jiggling and statue worshiping are the hallmarks of unevolved savages.