KCUR Finally Confronts the Reality of Fare-Free Transit
On Monday, KCUR carried a piece by NPR’s Joel Rose exploring fare-free buses in New York City, using Kansas City’s...
Correction: PortKC Ignoring Its Own Audits for Five Years, Not Four
In a recent column for The Kansas City Star, I pointed out that the port authority of Kansas City, PortKC,...
St. Louis’s Improving Crime Data
If you were to guess that St. Louis was the most dangerous city in Missouri, you would be correct. You...
Why Is PortKC Keeping Secrets?
PortKC has become Kansas City’s go-to agency for economic development incentives—but with a troubling condition. Applicants must sign a non-disclosure...
Is Kansas City a Public Safety Charity Case?
In a recent column for The Kansas City Star, I detailed international media stories about crime here in the City...
A Sweet Deal for Sugar Creek
The following letter appeared in the Kansas City Star. There is a proposal to sell the Sugar Creek water and...
Reporting on Housing Fails to Ask Basic Question
The Kansas City Star recently published a piece on investor-owned housing that seeks to raise the alarm on corporate landlords,...
An Update on Land Banks in Missouri: From Bad to Worse
What do you do with a program that has failed repeatedly and led to corruption and cronyism? Well, if you...
Platte County Children’s Services Fund Tax
A version of the following letter was published in the Kansas City Star. On November 5, voters in Platte County will...
Jackson County COMBAT Is Still a Failure
It’s been a few years since we’ve checked in with COMBAT, Jackson County, Missouri’s Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax. Back in...
Yes, Mr. Mayor, There Are Fewer Flights from KCI
At the March 19 panel discussion of the new stadium sales tax hosted by Kansas City PBS and the Kansas...
A New Ballpark Could Cost KC Taxpayers Billions with Patrick Tuohey
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Patrick Tuohey about the stadium funding debate in Kansas City. The Royals want a sales tax...
John Sherman’s Proposed Entertainment District Is Bad for Everyone Else
John Sherman, the owner of the Kansas City Royals, said in an announcement the other day: I believe in my...
Free Bus Fare, Still a Bad Idea
Almost exactly four years ago, I wrote in this space that the move in Kansas City to reduce bus fare...
Prudent Pundit Ponders Independence Power Privatization Proposal
The Kansas City suburb of Independence—although it is weird to call the fifth-largest city in Missouri a ”suburb”—is considering privatizing...
How Easy Is It to Commute KC without a Car?
The Kansas City Star has an interesting article out today that looks at something called the “Green Commute Challenge,” a...
St. Louis County Needs a Land Bank Like I Need a Hole in My Head
In truly unwelcome news for people who care about good government, a coalition has been put together to create a...
As Kansas City’s Streetcar Expands, Its Buses Suffer
On Wednesday morning, The Kansas City Star published a detailed report on the city’s suffering bus system. Riders complain about...
Death on the Vine in Jeff City
Every legislative session, there is plenty of bad legislation introduced. But each year, there often seems to be a few...
Springfield Does Not Need a Land Bank
A version of this commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. In government, nothing succeeds like failure. How else to explain...
