It's chaos is this name is evil.

It stands for evil.

This was the day of denial.

But that doesn't mean that we're not going to continue to fight.

People are going to leave.

That's it.

Buckle up.

We're bringing you all the week's top local stories and newsmakers on both sides of state line, and all in less time than it takes to deliver a pizza.

I didn't think it'd be this long.

Weekend review is next week in review is made possible through the generous support of Dave and Jamie Cummings.

Bob and Marlese Gourley, the Courtney S Turner Charitable Trust, John H. Mize, and Bank of America Na Co trustees, the Francis Family Foundation through the discretionary fund of David and Janice Francis and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello, I'm Nick Haines, glad to have you with us on our weekly journey through the most impactful, confusing and downright head scratching local news stories.

Hopping on board the Weekend Review bus with us this week.

One of the Kansas City Stars sharpest riders, local government reporter Mike Hendricks, presiding over our Metro's newest newspaper.

Next page Casey Eric Wesson on the local politics beat for KCUR News Savannah Hawley-Bates Hallie Bates and former star, reporter and editorial writer Dave Helling.

I have a question for you.

What do you think about changing the name of Troost Avenue?

It was one of the biggest issues on the agenda at City Hall this week, as the Kansas City Council resurrected a plan to rename it Truth Avenue.

Backers including the head of Ruby Jean's Juicery claimed the city shouldn't be honoring a slave owner.

This name is evil.

It stands for evil, heinous acts evil.

I want to say up front that I'm 100% against the renaming of Troost.

A truth renaming Troost is a superficial way to address racial inequality.

Well, this got people really fired up this week.

Mike, are the true signs coming down?

no, they are not.

They will be up for, generations, I would think.

What what happen now?

We've been told for so long.

I mean, racial justice was such an important issue.

Remember, we had a man who ignited the Reparations Commission, went on in front of cameras to say that was so important.

And we had a parks board that was told that they had to look at every single statue in monument to see any racial connections to those and whether they should be taken down.

What changed?

There's a feeling by some folks who live along the street do not feel they've been included enough.

I think there's also a reluctance just, to change any kind of street name because it's a it's a controversial issue, given what we saw, what happened with the Paseo renaming a few years ago, I thought they would do it.

But here's the reality.

Just from my perspective, whenever they want to kill something, they send it to legal redress, and it pretty much dies by the wayside.

There.

There has been more community outreach in this street name than anything I can think of outside of the airport.

They have zoom meetings, they had public meetings, they sent out fliers.

And from the information that I received and being a part of the process, the the overwhelming majority of people in that area want to see the name change.

Now, the people in High Park might be a different conversation, and I don't know who's driving it from behind the scenes, but I thought that this time it would go, it would pass, but then it goes to legal redress to the.

But wasn't it wasn't it the mayor who blocked it?

Savannah.

Yeah.

I mean, and like Eric said, this has been like a three year long process of of community meetings and talking to people along the corridor.

I do think, the city's a little scared to change any more street signs after, the failure of the Paseo renaming and the expenses that come with that, is it part of this sort of big diversity walk back we're seeing I see that next month's Kansas City Pride Fest, for instance, is now in trouble after losing some of its biggest corporate sponsors.

They're down $200,000 on what is supposed to be a year of celebration.

This is their 50th year.

We're seeing a lot of people not engaging this year.

People are scared.

They seen some memos come down or executive orders and they don't know what to do.

So they're hiding.

So even local companies, Dave, no longer want to be publicly connected with these kinds of causes.

perhaps.

I mean, first of all, let's separate this issue completely from the Truist renaming there.

The dynamics are completely different.

The trust renaming.

I think there was a fear that, petitioners would go back to the ballot if the name was changed, and then you would go through another divisive campaign about what to do with that street.

And if you lose, if Troost is retained as the name, then you've lost twice.

And that that sends a message that maybe you don't want to send.

So I think that was a dynamic there with the pride fest.

I do think there is pressure on private companies to avoid, appearances in terms of, anything related to DTI or for that matter, the gay and lesbian community.

And I do think that played a role in all of this.

Now, whether it will cancel the, pride fest or not, it's not clear to me, but that was definitely involved.

They said they still going to have the parade was going to be much more challenging.

Yeah, they may have to raise ticket prices, have a few fewer performers.

And they've had in years past.

I think you know, if you've gone in the past few years, it's been very, corporately sponsored.

There's been, you know, cell phone companies, energy companies there on the parade.

I think that'll look a lot different this year.

Can I go back to the truce for a second?

One of the things that I thought was interested in watching the testimonies was a gentleman had a business there, and he said he'd have to change.

I always letterhead and his information.

And when we go back to talk about MLK from, Blue Parkway, those doctors and Swope Health, they had to change all of their information on their license.

Swope health had to change a lot of things.

And that shopping center was branded as the Shops on Blue Parkway.

Now, that street is Martin Luther King Boulevard.

So I, I understand what there was saying, but for him to be the only business there complaining about that, I was wondering why they would go ahead and not and not change the name.

One other issue I think that's the plays into this is the, the notion that who decided to call it truth.

Chris.

Good did you're right.

But there's there were at the hearing, at the committee meeting on Tuesday, there were a number of other names that were put forth, like Lincoln-Douglas and Douglas.

Yes.

Yeah.

There were there are a number of names.

And I think this is, just shows you how problematic it is to name any street after anyone should all be, apparently.

the Dave Helling, highway was also potentially happy to have my name put on Troost.

Okay.

All righty.

Now all, we finally got to know this week, whether there'll be a Frank white recall election.

The Jackson County Election Board said it would take two weeks to verify signatures.

We've now hit that deadline.

Has it hit an unexpected snag?

Mike, do not think they've collected enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

There is no real deadline that they have to have it done.

by the, deadline to put it on the August ballot.

It could run into next year because once you sign the petition, your your signature will stand for, a year or two before or more.

So I think they still could get it on the, on the ballot, but maybe not until next April.

but I thought everybody was so upset with Frank white and yet they can't get the signatures, to actually recall him from office.

Well, there is they used a professional company to get signatures.

You had one set of people that turned in the signatures.

They were turned in.

Think they turned in, like 4000 signatures even though they said it was, 30,000.

Then you got another group that are paid that has 27,000 signatures or 37,000 signatures.

They're waiting to pay those people to get those those signatures released.

But according to them, on my way in today, they have the necessary signatures and they've all been certified.

So we'll see.

And, you know, they've been saying that since sort of the beginning of this process.

I think it goes to show how hard it is to recall an official like this.

and whether that's true that the private company has enough signatures.

I think it also, comes to the other challenge of, like, how are they going to pay them?

do those just die with the company because they're not getting paid?

They're allegedly holding them in lieu of payment.

But even though people were upset about the property assessments, even if the Frank of white recall, the Jackson County Executive does, does not take place, they will still be an election in Jackson County because Missouri lawmakers just passed a constitutional amendment to place on the ballot next year, a measure that would require an elected Jackson County assessor.

Right now, that person is appointed.

But really, what difference does that make?

If you're really upset about your property assessment?

Well, it might have some long term effect, Nick, in terms of how a property is appraised and certainly the appraiser would be answerable to voters at that process.

somehow fell short of the ideal.

But that's, you know, that won't fix your problem now.

And like Dave said, is accountability.

And I think right now people want to, accountability.

And and even in somebody you can blame somebody they can call and talk to rather than trying to reach the county executive and go through that chain of command.

Well, electing the assessor might make people feel like they have a sort of accountability.

And now they can, you know, maybe tangibly reach the government a little easier.

It won't change the fact that property values are skyrocketing nationwide, and they will have to deal with these rising property values again and again as these reassessments occur.

and, you know, at the same time that Jackson County still isn't having an operating budget, it isn't that particularly true if you if you if you cap at 15% of someone if you cap assessments now two years down the road, you're looking at an explosion of values.

If it they're in right.

And they're still talking about they don't want to capita 15%.

So it's been quite a mess for a long time now.

There's been an acrimonious relationship between Kansas City leaders and state lawmakers in Jefferson City.

But now that Quinton Lucas wants their help, he's asking for state cash to pay off millions in legal bills.

After the Kansas City Police Department settles yet another big lawsuit.

A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned the eye popping amount of money Kansas City is now spending in legal settlements.

How about 19 million in the last four years, $14,000 a day.

Now it's skyrocketing upwards.

In addition to the recent 4 million paid out to the family killed by former police detective Eric Dvorkin here, the Kcpd has just paid out a record $14 million to Ricky Kid, a Kansas City and who served more than 20 years in prison for a double homicide he did not commit.

Well, how is that request really going to go down with state lawmakers when they've been so angry at each other?

Mike, I think, once again, does bring up the whole notion of state control of the police department.

I mean, not to be an apologist for the mayor, but it it really is, city being the Kansas City taxpayer, is being held responsible for these damage awards for a police department that they have no direct control over.

But is it a bad look for the man when he has been so negative about, events in Jefferson City that he's now coming up in hand asking for some some financial help?

I don't think it's the mayor maybe apologizing to the state or wanting to to form an ally ship with the state.

I think it's the mayor making it yet another statement that if if you're going to continue to control the Kansas City Police Department, then the onus is on you to pay for these damages that the police department has caused.

you know, we've seen that in previous years.

They've they've racked up, you know, a significant amount of fees and to only budget 1 million in this year's police budget for for lawsuits.

They knew that the onus would be on the city instead of the police department.

I thought it was humorous because these settlements are being settled on the same board that he sits on.

So I'm trying to figure out worst.

what's the bottom line to this?

We can certainly say that we pay a lot to not have control.

But who's going to give him control?

Really?

Donald Trump came back from an election loss to return to the white House.

Could former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer be as equally successful?

Did you see the story?

Several news reports this week claiming Colyer is about to jump into the race for governor.

As Laura Kelly prepares to leave office.

Boy, it's becoming a crowded field.

Dave, does he have a shot?

He lost, bid for a full, full term against Kris Kobach in the primary.

Right.

And, but, we'll see.

you don't want to discount any candidate at this point because the dynamics are still unfolding.

Having said that, Jeff Colyer has been around for a long time and, there are other faces that Republicans could turn to.

and by the way, I'm not convinced that Kris Kobach won't get back in the race.

You know, he even though there's already 1001 Republicans already in the race are looking at Chris Cody from the Royals manager, Dayton Moore.

And, some people in the legislature are interested.

Some of that will shake itself out.

Nick, as we get closer to the election, because some people will be able to raise money and others will not, and money, particularly in Kansas primaries is very important.

And so the first test for Jeff Colyer or anyone is can I raise enough money to be competitive?

And we'll know that pretty soon early next year.

So we'll see.

Again, you can't count anyone out, but, you know, his name is a little stale, but there may be, even though there are so many Republicans wanting in the race already or, looking to get in the race.

And yet no one, has declared their interest, are waiting for Greg Orman to run again, you know.

Are you kidding?

I am very much kidding, actually.

no.

I ran into his father.

By the way, who owns the furniture store?

Oh, sure.

I'll hear about that.

Well, maybe I'll hear from you.

I don't know, maybe he won't sell me any furniture.

I don't know, but the Democrats don't have much of a bench.

Okay.

All right.

Just don't.

In Kansas, they've never had that.

They'll find some candidate, and in Missouri even.

Correct?

Correct.

And the these two states, I think Kathleen Sebelius might be involved in trying to recruit a viable Democrat to run for governor.

And so will Laura Kelly.

Again, as I've said on this show, I think the pressure on Kelly to run against Roger Marshall will still be there.

Well, after 20 years of extending deadlines, you now need a real ID to fly domestically.

Now, it's a national story, but what puzzled me locally was a report that said around 60% of Missourians still don't have one.

Could that help explain the massively long lines at driver's license offices this week?

It's chaos.

I said real ID and they said closed for the day, capacity overloaded.

And there a lot of us put it off and put it off and then we're paying the price.

I just got a job offer, they said, but you got to get a real I.D..

I said, okay, I come down here.

I had no idea.

I just got a ticket.

I'm 135th in line now.

I find it interesting.

One of your colleagues, by the way, Mike Hendricks over at The Star, Joe Hernandez wrote a story.

He said it took him over five hours to try and get his real ID.

So this is a real issue?

yeah, I guess I guess it is.

I, I, I was really, stunned, I guess, by the difference, in the participation rate from Kansas and Missouri.

But then again, they Kansas had a few more years to get started.

They start I think they started 2017.

Yeah.

But still, it's it's quite surprising that it's taken so that explains why only 14% of Kansans don't have one.

And around 60% of Missourians still don't have the real ID.

I think it didn't.

I mean, not to to be punny here.

I don't think it felt real to people because the deadline kept getting pushed back and until suddenly we actually have to have it.

And even yesterday at the airport, people weren't necessarily getting turned away and refused to fly.

They just had to go through extra security.

And so it's a sort of push and pull of like, do I actually have to spend my day at the DMV if I don't really need to?

Now, in the category of stories we keep reporting on but never seem to ever learn anything new.

The Business Journal has an interesting new report out this week about how the royals may end up just staying at the K. After all, they claim owner John Sherman can simply extend the team's leases for two additional five year terms, something that some current and former officials think he may end up doing.

What?

After three years of John Sherman saying they're moving?

Mike.

Well, I think that's the feeling is, in City Hall is that they're not seeing a sense of urgency, from the Royals.

They, they I think they believe they're still seeing the same sort of, dithering that they've seen out of the team over the last several years, which they really have not been sitting down with folks to get into the brass tacks of how to put a stadium in in downtown.

Well, are you surprised by that story, Dave?

The Royals have been pretty adamant that they want to leave.

you can always extend a leave.

So you could go down there and say, hey, give me six months.

You know, I still have work to do.

and if there is visible progress on a new stadium and the Royals need an extra year or two at Kauffman, they could certainly get it.

I don't think anything long term is is in the future, but I think Mike is right.

The team and for that matter, the Chiefs continue to dither, in part because I believe they now realize how damn expensive it is to build stadiums.

It's very, very expensive and there is no magic pill that will provide public money for either club to meet the demands of building stadiums, which means that each team is looking at $1 billion minimum out of their own pocket, to build new facilities.

And, that's a very heavy lift for people who are paying the kinds of salaries that major League sports franchises.

And there is the expectation that there'll be state cash involved with this.

But Missouri lawmakers end next week, and the only bill they passed is to pass a Clay County Sports Authority would let them try and lure a team.

And yet they didn't give one dime towards that project either.

Yeah, I think a lot of these public officials are waiting for the teams to make a move.

I think, you know, this news that came out that they may renew their lease, either while they build a stadium because they're past that deadline, they would have needed originally to open their stadium when they wanted to, or just to stay there, if nothing else works out.

well, it's something different.

I think it's right in line with the communications from the Royals.

The whole time, which has been we don't know what's going on.

And and as long as that continues, why would these politicians provide, you know, packages, and it's hard enough to get something passed in the Missouri State House, when they don't have a plan on where they're going to go, for that matter, anybody who thinks that the Missouri legislature is anxious to fund stadium is in Kansas City, isn't paying attention.

When the Saint Louis Rams were threatening to leave Saint Louis, Jay Nixon proposed a whole package of improvements to the what was then called the TWA dome in downtown Saint Louis, and the legislature said, thanks, but no thanks.

They're not interested in helping in any significant way.

and they could have passed a bond program like Kansas.

They haven't done that.

So it's really on the local folks and the teams.

And I think the teams are really getting that right between the eyes right now, which is why they did the well, the town created, Coffman last for another five years because remember now, that was the first.

And yeah, you know, there's cancer in the concrete.

So will it last another five years or ten years?

Now we just going to have to wait and see, and they're going to have to come up with a decisive plan to present to the longer this goes on, the longer the public is exhausted with the team.

Well, our viewers are already exhausted and I'll be hearing many complaints just because we even talked about it on this program.

By the way, we are a prerecorded program, which puts us at a little bit of a disadvantage because today, apparently the City Hall will announce a new city manager.

While we don't know who the final candidate will be, one thing we do know is how much the finalists are concerned about how we're going to handle the World Cup, our city's biggest event ever, which is just a year away, Mario Vasquez told members of the council.

We seemed somewhat unprepared.

That declined, says he, too, worries whether the city is ready.

That's a rare moment of honesty.

What are they worried about?

Mike?

Well, they didn't get into a whole lot of specifics about what they were worried about or what they thought the lack of preparation was.

I think it was just a general sense overall, everywhere in the city that they don't feel like that.

Not just Kansas City government, but Kansas City is ready for this.

Yeah.

I mean, I think there's so many different facets of things that the city has to prepare for.

I mean, transportation, having enough places to stay for people who are coming in for however long they want to in between the games, the teams and lodging with that and and getting Arrowhead ready.

I mean, there was hours and hours of traffic for Beyoncé and a Taylor Swift concert, and you can only imagine when that's multiplied for a World Cup game.

these anxiety, like Kansas City is not necessarily, the densest or most transportation heavy, host city that the World Cup has ever had.

Certainly not.

And so, I think, you know, making that change and also seeing if it will have a longevity to also help people with the city.

but the new city manager is going to have to focus on not just preparing the city for the World Cup, but also all of these other big development projects like, the lid over the South Loop, Roy Blunt, Luminary Park, convincing the Royals maybe to move downtown, or at least stay in the city, and jail new jail.

That's the plan is also being this is for small projects.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just easy things and much less, you know, neighborhood development, reinvesting in corridors that have had, you know, has had blight, taken over.

I think, you know, there's a lot that the city manager has to come into knowing that it also will only be a couple of years before they're probably replaced with the new mayor and city council.

And you forgot one thing.

Restaurants.

You mentioned hotels, transportations, restaurants.

You got restaurants closing once a week now and having five star restaurants as, attraction for a lot of those people that are travel around with the World Cup briefly, I think you're going to hear chatter.

And at least I'm hearing some of it already that the, demand for services will be less than Kansas City expects because of the immigration posture of the current administration.

And, if there's a feeling abroad that you risk your freedom or some intervention from the government, if you come to Kansas City or any of the venues for the World Cup, and you get in trouble and you, you know, get shipped off to some prison in El Salvador, that they're just not going to come.

And, already there, I think there is low level chatter that maybe this won't be the great boon that everyone expects, in part because we are so apparently unwelcoming to visitors.

Now, when you put a program like this together every week, you can't get to every story grabbing the headlines.

What was the big local story we missed seven home runs in a single game.

The Royals break a franchise record a week for powerful women.

Katy Perry and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in town.

Downtown business owners ringing the alarm bells on crime.

They say they've been abandoned by the city and police.

The owner of Manny's feeling the pain.

People are going to leave at 8:00 on a Saturday night.

We used to be getting our third term, our third term.

It's a great night.

Now, at 8:00, I cut three servers.

I cut a bartender, and I cut three kitchen staff.

And it must be officially summer once a fan is back open.

And what will Kansas City's most iconic symbol be for the World Cup?

How about the big broadcast tower right above our heads?

The Kansas City Council approving an agreement this week to relight the iconic tower as an art installation in time for the World Cup.

The Eiffel Tower had the Olympic rings when the games were in Paris last summer.

Could this be awesome?

All righty, Mike, I'm not sure you convinced.

Did you pick one of those stories or something completely different?

No, I like the I like the, the, the deal about the, the lighting.

One thing, one thing the mayor mentioned at the at the meeting the other day about the funding for the KC TV tower, is he wants to get the Bond Bridge relit.

At least one side of it.

The side.

The side that faces the KC current stadium.

Okay.

That's it.

Yeah.

Dave.

Personal privilege.

Nick.

a week from, this weekend, next weekend, Jacqueline Johnson will be awarded a master's of Business Administration degree from Pittsburg State University with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

She has a full time job, a mother of two wonderful kids, a wife.

She got this degree in her, spare time.

She's my daughter and I'm very proud of her for that accomplishment.

So, a tip of the cap.

Well, congratulations all around Savannah.

I don't think I can top of that, but I do think transportation in the city continues to be, an ever looming story.

And and, well, you know, Iris and Kcat service remains the same for now.

The city will continue to spend down its budget for Casey at all.

Well, this funding cliff inches nearer and nearer and and whether or not they'll get enough regional participation or more money from city council remains unknown.

So maybe just be pushing off all of these cuts to the fall.

Eric to groundbreaking east of Troost in the same week, 18th and vine, groundbreaking for the new, complex is going on down there.

And the cultural trail sooner that is going to be by the freedom fountain.

brush Creek or Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard.

So both of them had groundbreaking this week, and now they have been acknowledged thanks to you.

And on that, we will say a week has been reviewed courtesy of Casey.

While Savannah Holly Bates and the stars Mike Hendricks, he is the best dressed man in local media.

Eric Wesson from next page Casey and Kansas City news icon Dave Helling with lots to celebrate this week.

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

Be well, keep calm and carry on.

PBS is bringing Star Power to its next big project.

Bradley Cooper is known for his movies.

Less known is his role as full time caregiver for his father.

Dad was somebody who I idolized.

I used to dress up like him when I was a kid in kindergarten and get made fun of because I wanted to wear, like a suit and a tie, and then to go from that to giving him a bath.

Now, Cooper is partnering with PBS on a new film that tracks the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of caregivers across America.

Join us for a sneak peek in a town hall on Kansas City's Invisible Army of caregivers.

Tuesday, June 10th at six at the Plaza Library.

Sorry, Brad Cooper won't be there, but great news.

I will.

Would you join me?