urbanSTL

^ We can only hope the Trump Administration doesn’t attempt to do what they did with these USDA agencies by splitting them up at the last minute and moving employees halfway across the country on a few months notice.

From the Star:
“This administration willingly and knowingly fired hundreds of highly qualified staff by creating an unnecessary and malicious relocation. The agency has suffered the loss of thousands of staff years of expertise that will ultimately harm the very people this relocation was supposed to benefit, the American people,” said Laura Dodson, the steward for the union which represents ERS employees. “It will not be easy to restaff ERS, especially when the agency still remains in the cross-hairs of this administration.”

Then this fun little nugget lol:
“Additionally, the state-funded Port of Authority of Kansas City has already moved forward with a plan to provide $19.7 million in incentives to the USDA’s landlord over a 15-year period. Those incentives helped drive down the cost of renting space in Kansas City. The General Services Administration (GSA), the agency which oversees the federal government’s real estate decisions, said the USDA will spend $25,663,808.97 over 17 years to lease 120,000 square feet. That comes to about $12.58 per square feet annually—well below the $22.50 per-square-foot advertised lease rate at 805 Pennsylvania.’”

https://www.kansascity.com/news/politic ... rylink=cpy

Anyone who thinks the Trump Administration has any real interest in hiring scientific researchers and filling these jobs with the talent that they will require has their head in the sand.

^^ I live in KC and it's not really clickbait.  It isn't a good look, at least that's how most of us are taking it over here.  Our last mayor Sly James held a taskforce trying to get the community to come to a consensus on either the Paseo, 63rd Street or renaming the new terminal at MCI after him.  That taskforce recommended renaming the terminal for him but the city's Aviation department shot them down.  So after a few months the Council took action because no one could make up their minds.

Yes, there may be a little bit of nuance here (not that most people will get that anyway) but the entire situation, even before this vote, has been a mess and a little bit of criticism is warranted.  It isn't a good look for the city.  It should have never gotten to this point in the first place.

^ I really don't agree with this.  While don't get me wrong living in KC comes with a fair amount of STL bashing...but I haven't noticed much of that here on UrbanSTL.  Our KC friends around here seem perfectly fine, even if we disagree on some things.  Granted this is the only "urban issues" blog I'm a member of so maybe there are others that I'm not aware of.  I also don't think anyone here is being overly hateful or toxic, not on this particular thread or any others on UrbanSTL in my opinion.  People will disagree, maybe get a little heated sometimes, but I wouldn't say anyone here has delved into downright hatefulness.  I still think the discussion here is outstanding, especially compared with your average social media site.

Anyway, getting back on track...here is a rendering of the lobby of the 46 Penn Centre currently under construction next door to my building.  I'll have to snag a few photos later when I run out...it's rising quickly.

framer wrote: ↑

Nov 13, 2019

Has there been any real security issues with the KC streetcar? Here in STL the Metro seems to be a magnet for troublemakers. Since KC is free, you'd think they would have at least as many ne'er-do-wells hanging out on the trains as we do. 

If not, why not? 

Probably because it’s only two miles long and only serves the mostly wealthy and redeveloped downtown area. MetroLink is 46 miles and runs though not only the high-rent districts like Clayton and the Central West End, but also some of the region’s hardest hit areas in terms of crime, neglect and poverty.