Toellner Tells it

The Power & Light District

Even though I'm not a fan of winter, one thing that I love is the early signs of spring when people are out enjoying 40 degree weather like its summer and there is a certain buzz that has been missing for several months.

Friday, to me, marked the first day of Spring...regardless of what calendar said.

So to enjoy the weather I took a short walk down to the Power & Light District for lunch. Apparently everyone had the same idea.  People were buzzing through the Power & Light District, some obviously checking it out for the first time, some checking out the changes that had occured since the last time they walked through.  Restaurants were buzzing.  People spilled out the door at Famous Daves BBQ and Ted's Montana Grill.  Chipotle had a line out the door.   Not the front door by the register mind you.  But a line all the way through the restaurant and out the back door. 

People were sitting on patios munching on their BBQ and their burritos.  The inside of the Bristol looked busy with people on business lunches.

If the first day of spring (for me) is any indication, the Power and Light District will do just fine.  They will do quite nicely with lunch business from the downtown businesses.  They will draw a lot of traffic on event nights.  They'll do well from the convention traffic in the evenings.

Within the next two weeks nearly a dozen more restaurants are going to open -- including two that I'm looking forward to, Golden Beirch Brewery and Chef Burger.  The Big 12 Tournament crowds will be funneling in and enjoying the area.  They're going to be in for quite a treat.  Nothing against the Golden Ox and Sutera (which both have great traditions and character for Kansas City), but this will be a way better environment for the Big 12 Tournament crowds.

My little prediction?  I think the P&L District will be just fine off of the current traffic.  I think having the clubing area near by will increase some demand for housing on the Southeastern Side of the loop -- so I can see more housing going up.  I also have a feeling that by the time the stadium renovations are completed at Kauffman that people are going to be wondering why Jackson County didn't give more consideration to building the baseball stadium downtown.  Tourists and locals alike will wonder when we can finally get to ride a direct route light rail line between this area, Westport and the Plaza. 

It's going to be pretty fun. I know I'm going to enjoy it...and from the looks of the crowds on Friday, I don't think I'm going to be the only one.

KCMO Animal Control Accidentally Kills man's dog

For at least the second time in the past month, the KCMO Animal Shelter "accidentally" killed someone's dog.

Oops.

In this story, the dog, named Ox, was removed from a kennel at 55th and Norton and taken to the city shelter because the dog had not been neutered (which violated the city's mandatory spay/neuter laws for "pit bulls").   

Animal Control was supposed to give the owner, Marlin Hatcher, five days to rescue Ox from the city shelter.  However, 2 days into his stay, Ox was killed.

Head of Animal Control Leslie Forsberg said, "I'll use this opportunity to express my deepest apologies to the owner. We never want something to happen to an animal while it's under our care."  It's great that you're sorry Leslie -- but this is AT LEAST the second time in the last 30 days this has happened.

It's beyond time to stop making excuses for the killings and start focusing on actually providing shelter for dogs.  It's time to stop pretending that the mandatory spay/neuter law is working when the net result of the law is that more dogs are dying in the animal shelter, not only dogs like Ox that never should have been in the shelter in the first place, but the city's euth rate went up nearly 10% in the first year of the Mandatory Spay/neuter law.  Wasn't it supposed to go the opposite direction?  Didn't authorities say that the mandatory spay/neuter law would REDUCE the killings?

The KCMO Animal Control is badly broken.  This is yet another example of its brokenness.  "Sorry" isn't enough. 

Ohio HB 366 -- Urgent Help Needed

Ohio HB 366 is in trouble. From the reports I've heard, there is really no one on the House Committe (the Infastructure, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs Committee) that seems willing to work to push this bill forward.  This bill is very much in danger of dying in committee.

If you live in Ohio, contact these state representatives and tell them that you support this bill.

If you know someone who lives in one of these state representatives' areas, have them call and tell them they support the bill.  They don't have to own a dog, call them anyway.  We need to show the support for the bill.

Here's who to call, and the areas they represent:

Rep. Steve Reinhard -- Bucyrus, Upper Sandusky

Rep. Diana Fesssler -- Miami and Darke Counties (Bethel Township, Troy, Greenville, Piqua)

Rep. Jim Aslanides -- Coshocton, Zanesville

Rep. Courtney Eric Combs -- Hamilton

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann -- Napoleon, Van Wert, Antwerp, Kalida, Continental, Holgate

Rep. John J. White - Kettering (a Dayton suburb)

Rep. John Widowfield -- Cuyahoga Falls

Dem. Allan Sayre -- Dover, New Philadephia, Uhrichsville, Cadiz, Holloway, Morristown

Dem. John Domenick - Jefferson County (Smithfield, Steubenville era)

Dem. Eugene Miller - Cleveland

Dem. John Otterman - Akron

Dem. Peter Ujvagi -- Toledo

This is important folks.  Don't delay.
And yes, by all means, crosspost.

Why the Democratic nomination may affect Kansas City

I haven't voted yet today.  I will, but I haven't.  I'm honestly still trying to figure out who I want to vote for. Heck, I'm not even sure what ballot I want to vote on.

The Libertarian in me wants to vote for Ron Paul. He has no chance of winning, and has some pretty extreme views on some things, but honestly, I like the idea of the federal government staying out of my business as much as possible.

The old-school Republican in me wants to vote for John McCain...I really wanted him to get the nomination 8 years ago....although I confess that the old guard Republicans haven't done a lot to inspire a lot of confidence from me lately.

The Democrat in me -- the one that doesn't like the super-Christian my values must be your values line -- wants to vote on the Democratic ballot. I honestly like most of Hilary's views on economic policy...but can't bring myself to vote for her.  Do I really want the possibility of having 28 years of Bush's and Clinton's in the White House defining the early part of my life? 

From a selfish standpoint, I'd like Obama to win. His foreign policy scares me a little, but I like his fire and passion...and leadership.  Leadership is certainly something that this country has lacked for a very long time.  However, there may be a bigger reason to vote for Obama. 

I've always criticized people for always voting in the Presidential elections, but not in their local elections.  My personal opinion is that a) my day-to-day life is dramatically more affected by local politics than national politics and b) my vote carries much more weight in local politics than national ones.  Plus, if I have a city administrator that I trust, I can call them on the phone, and they likely respond (unless it's Beth Gottstein, then I don't hear back).  I doubt any of these Presidential candidates would ever personally respond to an email.

Obama winning the democratic nomination would most likely have the greatest affect on my life here in KC.  In November, the City Council is planning on putting a light rail plan on the ballot. My overarching feeling is that if you divided the city into two groups -- those over, say 50, and those under 50, those over 50 would not vote for the light rail plan.  Those under 50 would most likely vote for it.

Obama has sparked political interest in the "under 40 crowd" as he is someone who -- whether correctly or incorrectly -- people under 40 identify well with. He seems like someone that is not part of the 'old guard". 

I think Obama running for President in November would drive a lot more young people to the polls -- these same young people that would prefer light rail, but tend to not represent themselves well at the polls for policy initiatives.  I think that Obama winning, would dramatically increase the chances of light rail passing in KC in November.  Hillary Clinton winning would likely not spark the younger voters to the polls....and that would likely doom the KC Light Rail vote.

So with that, I'm most likely going to vote for Obama today...and it has very little to do with who I want to be president.

As they say, all politics are local...