So what's been going on in Kansas City this week?

We'll leave that colorful language to others.

But in the next half hour, we take you inside the latest stadium, town hall.

It's kind of eye opening that there is a potential that they could leave.

I think that's the biggest mystery.

We don't know what's happening.

We track a new spat over housing.

I think you should be just simply allowed because somebody has a history of eviction.

Do not report to that.

I want a fair chance.

I want it to the fair chance.

To give my children.

The opportunity I didn't have.

Plus, forget about the border war in sports.

Get ready for a new border showdown over hospitals.

And did you vote this week?

The snap election to decide a new Kansas license plate.

That's what they come up with.

Wow.

I really can't put into words.

Here what I think of that.

We can review is made possible through the generous support of AARP, Kansas City RSM Dave and Jamie Cummings, Bob and Marlese Gourley, the Courteney S Turner Charitable Trust, John H. Mize and Bank of America and a co trustees.

The restaurant at 1900.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello.

I'm Nick Haines.

It is great to be back with you and thanks for supporting us during our winter membership drive.

We've got so much to discuss this week to make up for lost time.

We're asking our panelists to be twice as insightful this week.

Former star news man Dave Helling has been rolling up his sleeves to offer pithy insights on our week's top local headlines.

Also with us from KCUR News Lisa Rodriguez and Brian Ellison.

And from the helm of our metro's newest newspaper.

Next page, KC Eric Wesson.

It's been more than ten months since the Royals last hosted a town hall to discuss their new stadium plans.

This week, the public got a chance to weigh in again, but this time it was a prominent member of the Jackson County legislator doing the convening amid reports of faltering negotiations.

Manny Abarca claims Jackson County could lose the royals and the chiefs if no long term agreements can be reached soon with both teams.

It's kind of eye opening that there is that potential that they could leave.

I think that's the biggest mystery.

We don't know what's happening.

And it's kind of frustrating to see the royals put out these dates and, you know, push them back and not really have any movement on it.

Eric Wesson, what did we learn this week that we didn't know before as a result of that town hall?

Well, there were several different scenarios that Manny, the Jackson County legislator, presented to people.

There was a scenario in which the royals stayed or the Chiefs stayed and the royals left.

And then there were some other scenarios with that as well.

But what we didn't learn during all of this is what the royals are going to do.

I think the biggest issue that people have with this is the royals haven't made a decision.

So everybody's up in limbo.

But before the election comes out, they need to come up with we're going to be in Kansas City or we're not, because having everybody saying, well, we might be up north, we might be here.

That's a bad sale.

What's true for the Chiefs, too?

We're a hundred and roughly 110 days away from an election.

If they go in April, not the deadline to put something on the ballot, but the actual election 100 days.

Does anyone around this table know what the chiefs want at all?

I mean, we've heard renovation at Arrowhead.

We don't know what that means.

We don't know the state participation.

We don't know the length of time for construction, how the World Cup fits in.

We don't know from the royals, you know, what their stadium would look like, what they'll put in.

So, you know, there's a there's a tendency to blame the county for this sort of stalemate.

And there is plenty of blame to go around.

But the teams to have to be a little bit more forthcoming about what they want before I think voters in April will agree to any tax extension at all.

Hold the presses, by the way.

Could a deal, though, finally be on the way?

As we recording this program, Matt Lucas tweeted a photo of himself this week eating ribs and smoked sausage with Jackson County executive Frank White said Gates barbecue Melissa was a deal struck over burnt ends and a basket of French fries.

If it were that simple, wouldn't that be great?

I doubt a deal was reached.

You know, we have seen complications here, and I think what we saw in the town hall is is a legislature, Jackson County legislator who clearly wants the royals to stay in Jackson County.

So those scenarios that we saw are all kind of designed to scare people into thinking they're going to leave and to try to kind of build a public campaign.

But but Manny Abarca, as good as his intentions are, as as involved as he has been in some of these negotiations, doesn't ultimately have the power to make this deal happen or not.

And and like Dave said, we didn't see the teams at this town hall.

So.

Yeah.

So was it odd that he was the one who was convening the public on this issue, not one of the more major powerbrokers?

Well, it may be a little bit odd.

I will say that it's a reflectio car crash that has seems to have developed between what the royals are trying to have the public know about this.

Announcing one date for when they when their decision would be announced, then another date and now still no decision.

The county has one line.

There were leaked documents, then reinterpretations of those documents and clarifications later.

I think the fact that a Jackson County legislator who alone, as Lisa said, cannot make this decision is the one convening town halls is only reflective of the the broader catastrophe that is the communication around.

And, by the way, for full transparency.

Am I right in saying, Eric Wesson, when we saw that photograph of Frank White and now Quinton Lucas at Gates Barbecue, you were the photographer?

I was the photographer.

And I actually got them both together.

We were talking about something different.

But while I had them there, I was taking the picture for an editorial that I'm going to be writing.

And you're bringing more people together than Dr. Phil?

Eric Yeah, one of the things that, you know, David talked about is what the Chiefs want.

The Chiefs really don't want a lot.

They want at least for the 25 years they want that, you know, extend it to extend it.

But the Royals allegedly want a 40 year lease, which would mean that in 20 years.

We would be right back to renovating our building in another stadium.

And I think that's where one of the disconnects is as well.

First of all, to say the chiefs don't want a lot.

3/8 of a cent over 25 years is still a lot of money.

And really, when you talk about the county's decision making process and the city, which I want to talk about a little bit, you have to realize that the ultimate say is with voters and you have to get a package passed the legislature that voters will approve it.

All of that has to take place by the third week of January.

Now, that's politically true, Nick, but not legally true.

You could put something on the ballot and continue contract negotiations, but you would never want to go to voters politically and say, hey, you extend this tax.

We still don't know what either team really wants, but go extend this tax based on faith that will never happen.

One quick thing which I'll also throw in there is currently this dates back to 1990.

The county would contribute three and a half million dollars a year from its parks levy to maintenance at the stadium.

So they want out from under that burden.

I'm told that the city, Quinton Lucas has stepped forward and said, Hey, we'll pay that three and a half million dollars to go with the 2 million that the city already contributes to the same fund.

That kind of coordination, if you will, between the city and the county may become critical as we get closer to January 23.

I'm told that many of our viewers are having fatigue over the stadium issue, just like they did over.

We remember we did all the negotiations over KC Airport.

They're getting fed up of hearing about it because we actually have a lot of other topics for consideration this week.

Alarm bells are ringing on both sides of state line about another big issue, housing increasing homelessness in the suburbs is prompting Johnson County leaders to act.

This week, the Johnson County Commission debated buying the $6 million hotel to turn it into a homeless shelter.

There's no 24 seven 365 shelter, so we saw it as a definite need within our community.

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, a new landlord tenant battle is underway, this time over a proposed ordinance that would fine landlords if they refuse to rent to people with poor credit history player evictions, criminal backgrounds or what to pay using government housing vouchers, if any.

Landlords believe also stereotypes about people using vouchers.

I say the word lazy that we're violent or destructive.

They say that we're moochers.

I think you should be just simply allowed.

If somebody has a history of evictions, do not read to them all.

I am confident there are landlords who don't rent to people who have poor credit, who have been evicted before because they didn't pay their rent.

But is this an unprecedented move, Brian, by City Hall to expect private business to assume that financial risk?

Well, certainly source of income.

Legislation like this is not unprecedented across America.

17 states, 21 counties, more than 80 cities have adopted legislation, at least with regard to this source of income.

That is, people who are using federal housing vouchers will have the right to to be considered fully and cannot be systematically excluded on that basis.

Having said that, there are some additional pieces of this proposed legislation that that have given some folks pause.

Those are the parts you mentioned about prior convictions or poor credit history that goes further than some of those laws across the country do.

And that might be where there needs to be further negotiation before this comes to pass.

And it's more than just fines here.

They're looking at having audits that they will have inspectors going out four times a year to make sure that the landlords, they will be posing as tenants to see that they're following the rules.

I think I think the enforcement mechanism here is is something that will continue to be debated by the council.

Certainly something that landlords are worried about.

But we have found that some enforcement, especially in other cities, St Louis being a prime example, some enforcement measure needs to be in place.

Otherwise ordinances and measures like this are meaningless because landlords can continue to, in practice, deny anyone who comes in with a housing voucher.

And so whether or not having someone go in and pose as a tenant is the right way to do it.

There does need to be some sort of enforcement.

The landlord adds, though, say, Eric, that they will just pull out.

We won't be in the business.

We're not actually going to be increasing the amount of housing available.

There'll be less of it if this passes.

You're absolutely correct.

And I talked to a landlord during that meeting.

He was fuming.

He said it was like an overreach for the city to tell them what to do with their property unless the city is going to subsidize them for their money.

Two of the landlords that I talked to said that the biggest problem that they have is that it takes a long time for those vouchers to be paid.

They say they might make wait three or four months, some time to get payment on the voucher.

Another guy was saying, okay, well, we can let child molesters come in and properties next door to people and see how they feel about that.

So it's kind of it does.

I understand the point where they're saying that it's an overreach, but I also understand the part where people say that they're being discriminated against.

The application process.

Landlords collect 100, $150 per application and then deny the tenant as five or six of those a week or a month.

That's pretty good.

Disposable income to pull up for that process.

The road to the White House would wound through Kansas City this week, sort of Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Junior brought his campaign to town with a voter rally at the Uptown Theater.

Outside, people lined up from all over the metro Kansas City, Overland Park, Lawrence Warrensburg.

Ready to hear out Robert Kennedy.

An experiment in telling the truth to people.

Even when you're running for political office.

It's incredibly important to us that our kids understand the privilege it is to live in the United States of America, and that this, though it is a disheartening place, we find ourselves in a two party system that doesn't seem to be working.

I feel like every day we're slipping in different areas in health care and finance and in the economy.

And, you know, everything just seems to be crumbling around us.

And I see him as this brilliant man who can help our country.

I need an army.

And you're meeting.

With political analysts saying the race for the presidency will be decided in no more than ten states, Brian, none of which are Kansas or Missouri.

Why did Kennedy bring his campaign roadshow here?

That is a fair question and a lot of people are asking it.

I think part of it, though, is that if you don't really expect to win, which I don't think Robert F Kennedy, in his heart of hearts probably does believe you make an impact by having as wide a reach as you can.

They have said they want to be on the ballot in all 50 states, and that means getting in Missouri, at least 10,000 signatures for the ballot.

So they have to hold some rallies just to get on the ballot, much less to get anyone's vote.

Big poll just recently puts Kennedy with 7% of the vote.

If Biden and Trump are the nominees of their respective parties in a very close election, that could be a deciding factor.

Could be.

And of course, we'll all debate whether robert f kennedy jr takes more votes from trump or biden.

If those are the nominees.

That's an interesting question because Kennedy support comes in large part from the anti-vax community, which he's been a member of for many, many years.

And, you know, sort of this libertarian conspiratorial approach to politics, which may have some appeal for Trump voters.

But he's a vocal advocate for climate change.

He wants a single payer health system.

He wants to have loan forgiveness for students so he doesn't fit into a neat box.

He does not.

And that's what makes it interesting and would make it interesting.

I do think, as is often the case with independent candidates, America, third party candidates, they poll pretty well.

And then as voters get closer to Election Day, they say to themselves, in essence, I've got one choice to make this guy or that guy.

And that may happen again.

Now, speaking of politics, after nearly two decades in Congress, as Emanuel Cleaver finally met his match, Jackson County legislator Shawn Smith announces this week he is running against the longtime Kansas City Democrat.

Should Cleaver be worried, Eric?

No, not really.

The only thing there might be, you know, he's got a great political team around him at all times that help him navigate through political races is if you have a large voter turnout for Trump, if he is the Republican nominee.

And in that part of Eastern Jackson County that Smith is in is pretty Republican.

So if he got a large voter turnout, could Cleaver get his base out?

Because I'm not sure if Biden being at the top of the ticket, if he's the nominee, will inspire people to come out and vote.

And that also decides whether even Emanuel Cleaver will be on the ballot.

He's going to turn 80 next year.

We have more than 40 members of Congress in the House and Senate of already resigning, retiring from office.

We haven't we haven't seen any indication yet from Cleaver that he plans to to sit this one out.

Now, people are people are certainly watching, certainly Democrats who would like to fill that seat in the future may be lining up.

But I think at this point, if Cleaver weren't going to run, we'd have some indication of that.

Someone who was who was rising to to fill that seat.

Look, Nick Cleaver versus Smith matchup is likely to result in a Cleaver victory.

But but we should learn something from this.

John Smith is, in fact, an elected officeholder running for that seat, which is something the Republicans have not been able to to bring over the last several elections with Emanuel Cleaver.

That district is not as safely democratic as it once was after the last redistricting.

Democrats should not grow just too comfortable.

They're probably safe with Emanuel Cleaver this time, but they should pay attention.

You know, Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the House, was here.

We were at Gates.

That's where we took that picture at.

And they were singing Cleaver's praises about some of the things that he's done that people don't know, the affordable housing bill that he's trying to push through with bipartisan.

You know, Cleaver said, hey, when you get on a bus, you can thank me and Joe Biden for that because you got electric busses and free bus fares.

And those are some of the things that he'll campaign on.

I'll speak.

Speaking of the Biden administration, they were blasting Missouri this week after two state lawmakers filed legislation allowing murder charges to be brought against women who choose to have an abortion.

One of those bills has now been withdrawn after intense public outcry, but a Senate version is still slated to be considered when lawmakers return to Jefferson City in January.

The story has certainly inflamed lots of people, Brian, but does anyone reasonably believe that such a measure could pass in Missouri?

No.

Even the Republican leadership has said this isn't where our party is.

This isn't where our state is.

Representative John Patterson of Lee's Summit, who is the House majority leader, says it won't even it won't come to the floor.

Having said that, though, these kinds of bills get attention, they get publicity, and they set a tone that, as you point out, is not helping Republicans in Missouri.

And I think even though one of the bills apparently has been withdrawn in the House, the one offered by Senator Mike Moon in the Senate has not been.

And so we'll be hearing about it, even if it doesn't come up.

So what is the motivation for this, then, Lisa, when we are hearing from Republican strategists saying downplay the abortion issue, concentrate on areas where Republicans do better, immigration, inflation, the economy.

It certainly goes against what the Republican Party as a whole has has informed its members in terms of what's going to win, especially when Democrats can really capitalize on something like this to really get people angry and to point at what the Republicans are doing.

Now, Senator Mike Moon, who who's the sponsor of this bill in the in the Senate, has a history of of proposing these wild bills that go far beyond what many in his party would would consider reasonable.

And I will say, you know, for in a long term game, which which abortion historically has been a long kind of simmering issue that's always there.

You know, you introduce it one year, but if you introduce it six or seven sessions in a row, when does it start sounding less crazy?

The other thing to keep in mind is that abortion might be on the ballot in 2024.

And these types of bill introductions will remind voters, particularly in the suburbs, which is where Republicans have struggled a little bit in recent elections, are paying attention, and the turnout there might be up and would hurt the prospects, for example, in the Cleaver race.

So it's all sort of interwoven one to another, and abortion will be a huge thing.

But but several when we were gone for several weeks, there was one story after the other, Brian, about how many problems there are with trying to get a abortion amendment on the ballot the next year and no agreement and infighting over what that should look, which could kill it before it ever got to voters.

You're absolutely right, Nick.

And continued legal battles even even now.

I mean, I think the other possible consequence of what Lisa called a crazy bill is that the other bills, which may be very significant in restricting abortion access, seem less extreme when these kinds of bills are on the table.

That's a real barrier for for abortion rights advocates to have those bills seem less extreme.

There's always been a big rivalry between Kansas and Missouri sports teams now that by state, bad blood is spilling over into health care.

Did you see this?

A missouri lawmaker is now trying to block the University of Kansas health system from a merger deal with Liberty Hospital.

If you haven't noticed, CU has been gobbling up a lot of well-known medical facilities of late, including a recent deal to take over only the medical center.

But Kansas City Democratic Senator Gregg Razor says taking over a missouri hospital is a step too far and terribly wrong, he says.

I can't imagine the outrage if we opened the University of Missouri Health in a place that Kansas is, he rightly said.

Would Kansas side folks be just as outraged?

I don't know that that the kumu rivalry should fairly extend to health care to to health care for people who need it.

Now, now, some of Razer's arguments maybe have merit in terms of taxpayer dollars benefiting a private entity in Kansas on the Kansas side.

But I think at the core of this, if if if the University of Kansas health system can provide more comprehensive health care to the citizens of liberty, then that should be at the core of this argument.

He believes actually also, Senator Raiser, that this is actually a recruitment tool by the University of Kansas.

Liberty High School.

Students will be passing a Jayhawk next to Liberty Hospital, and that will encourage them to go to CU and they going to be losing students as a result of this.

That could very easily happen.

But I agree with what Lisa said.

But you know what I was thinking while you were talking about it and I we were looking at the notes on today's show.

I remember when Minor Medical Center was on trust when I was growing up, and now it's in Overland Park.

So how was that transition when that happened?

How was that accepted?

I don't really remember what happened during that time period, but that's something that we think about as well.

But when we think about the legislature, we have efforts to block, you know, China from owning any agricultural land.

Are we now in this in this next legislative session, looking at a major bills to block anybody from Kansas owning things in Missouri as a new part of this border war?

I think that would be quite an extreme response.

But but I do think you're right, Nick, that there is a a broad movement over time of the legislature wanting to control increasingly local decisions and and and and that's that's again, what might be at stake here.

You know, no one has ever accused Senator Razor of not being loyal to the University of Missouri.

And this may be an expression of that.

Did you go out and vote this week in the big Kansas snap election after public disgust over a proposed new Kansas license plate?

Governor Laura Kelly is now letting Kansans decide what rectangle a piece of metal they want attached to the back of their vehicles all week long.

Kansans have been able to vote for their favorite license plate among five designs.

The winner will be announced on Monday.

Can you remind us state why people were so outraged by the earlier design in the first place?

I think they thought it was ugly and not as representative perhaps of the state of Kansas as they would like it to be.

And it.

Had Missouri colors and more sunflower.

Color.

But, you know, our ability in this current age to spend hours ruminating over unimportant things is legendary.

And this maybe was one of them.

But is this a good example, Lisa, of turning lemons into lemonade from the governor, having got such a negative reaction now giving the public a chance to decide?

I think it was a smart pivot to to respond very quickly to public outrage, say, okay, we're backing off this.

We're going to give you some agency.

Now, the new proposals are still simple.

Many of them have kind of the same overall look, some different things, maybe wheat instead of instead of stars in some spots.

But they're all they're similar and a very similar version of that original plate with a slightly lighter shade of blue.

So it doesn't look like Mizzou Colors is still on the table.

Yeah.

And I will say that I think politically the governor has done about as well as she could in responding to this.

In fact, she even joked about how she's really brought the parties together because everyone hated the new license plate, equally so.

So perhaps she emerges from this without too much damage.

But we'll have new license plates one way or another.

You what you said, Dave, about how people you know what people get fed up about and what gets people get bent out of shape about.

But would it be a surprise if more people ended up voting for this license plate than voted in the last elections in Kansas?

See, I mean, you know, and I don't want to denigrate people's interest in this issue because they do care about what they carry on their car.

But Kansas needs to expand Medicaid.

They've got a tax challenge in the new year.

You know that water is running out in western Kansas.

It seems like those issues might draw a little more attention than what color the license plate.

Now, since we have been gone for the past several weeks due to our winter membership drive, we're not going to do our usual big story miss segment because that might take an hour and a half this week.

But I wanted to end by at least mentioning that it's finally open.

Forget about going to see The Nutcracker or a Christmas Carol in Kansas City.

There's a new ritual you can add to your holiday calendar.

Riding the KC wheel.

After lots of delays, it's now running.

In fact, it's open till 10 p.m. tonight.

So you can even go right after the show.

Are you going to be putting on your long johns to experience our newest attraction?

Eric No, I will let them work the bugs out on it first because I think they got that off kind of fast.

$17 an opportunity for you to enjoy something this holiday season and overlooking the entire skyline of Kansas City.

Brian Sure fun for the whole family.

No, I'd like to be high minded and say that I'll spend the $6 to go to the top of the Liberty Memorial, which is taller than the wheel, but I'll probably do that.

Lisa, are you going over there in the climate controlled gondolas that are going to be taking you around and around?

Well, we'll see.

I'm no fun hater.

So so I may try it out, but I'm not going to be first in love.

Yeah, I may exceed the weight restrictions on the wheel, so I have to be a little careful about that.

I mean.

There are a couple miniature golf.

Course.

Right next to it.

Now, that might be interesting.

In that part of the city.

And downtown is sort of on the upswing and it's nice to see that's an important part of the community on the south side of downtown.

We'll see how it works.

And on that, we will say our week has been reviewed courtesy of Eric Wesson.

From next page, KC and former star newsman Dave Helling.

And from KCUR News Lisa Rodriguez and Brian Ellison.

And I'm Nick Haines from all of us here at Kansas City, PBS.

Be well, keep calm and carry on.