Month: March 2017

Funnel clouds sighted in KC area

There have been several sightings of funnel clouds through the Kansas City area, according to the National Weather Service.

There was no specific location given for the exact area of the funnel cloud sighting.

Atmospheric conditions exist that favor the possible formation of weak circulations on a pre-existing boundary that extends from the Kansas City area into northeastern Missouri.

Some of these circulations are occurring underneath developing showers, where a funnel cloud may develop. Once the rain begins, the funnel cloud usually dissipates.

Low hanging clouds can also appear to dip up and down at times, but they will not show signs of any rapid rotation. An actual funnel cloud will exhibit spinning in a counter-clockwise direction.

In rare instances these funnels may briefly touch down, the weather service said. Stay alert and be prepared to move to a safe shelter if a funnel cloud approaches the ground.

Planning and zoning items on tonight’s UG Commission agenda

Several planning and zoning items are on tonight’s Unified Government Commission agenda.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

Also, at a special session at 5:30 p.m. tonight on the fifth floor of City Hall, the UG Commission will hear an update on the SOAR (Stabilization, Occupation and Revitalization) program.

The items that are listed on the UG’s 7 p.m. meeting agenda include:

• 410 Sandusky Ave., change of zone from single-family district to two-family district for the continuation of a duplex.

• 519 Sandusky Ave., change of zone from single-family district to two-family district for the continuation of a duplex, recommended for denial.

• 626 N. 47th St., special use permit for a fill site, BHC Rhodes.

• 1403 Fairfax Trafficway, Suite 500, special use permit for trucking and trailer sales, Union Fund Exchange Group.

• 3140 S. 28th St., special use permit for commercial truck tire center, Best Drive LLC.

• 16 N. James St., as well as 2, 4, 12 and 16 N. James St., renewal of a special use permit for a drinking establishment and live entertainment and off-site parking, Silvur Dolla Enterprise, recommended for denial.

• 941 N. 74th Drive, special use permit for live entertainment, Mason Jar LLC.

• 3136 S. 73rd Terrace, renewal of special use permit for in-home safety business, internet and in-person sales of firearms and supplies, and consulting services for safety, security and firearms training, Safe and Sound Consultants.

• 4141 Joyce Drive, special use permit for an organic you-pick blueberry operation, with small classes on sustainable, regenerative farming, soil building and native plant identification, cultivation and uses, Regina Compernolle.

• 641 N. 57th St., renewal of a special use permit for two modular classrooms, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, Lindbergh Elementary School.

• 4820 Oakland Ave., renewal of a special use permit for a modular classroom for Eugene Ware Elementary School, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools.

• 1610 N. 8th St., renewal of two special use permits for two modular classrooms at Sumner Academy, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools.

• 14 S. 7th St. Trafficway, vacation application for an alley, Bethel Neighborhood Center, Icon Architecture.

• 6925 Riverview Ave., preliminary and final plan review for a right-in and right-out along the Turner Diagonal, south of Riverview Avenue, Seefried Properties.

• 1935 S. 70th St., preliminary plan review for a manufacturing facility, Parkway Properties. The facility would manufacture concrete products on-site. In the past the site was used for mining and crushing. It is in the Inland Drive-Holliday Drive area.

• 14 S. 7th St. Trafficway, preliminary plan review for renovation and expansion of the Bethel Neighborhood Center, Icon Architecture.

• 616 S. 10th St., revocation of a special use permit for a rooming house that was approved on June 30, 2016, revocation requested by Department of Agriculture.

Brownback veto sets up Medicaid expansion battle with Legislature

by Meg Wingerter, Kansas News Service

Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday morning vetoed a bill to expand Medicaid eligibility in Kansas, spurring a veto override effort an hour later in the Kansas House.

House Bill 2044 earlier this month was approved three votes short of a veto-proof majority in the House and two short in the Senate. An estimated 300,000 Kansans would qualify for coverage under expansion, though only about half that number would enroll in the first year, according to estimates.

KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, doesn’t serve childless adults without disabilities, and only covers adults with children if they have incomes below 32 percent of the poverty line, or about $3,800 annually.

Brownback’s veto message echoed his previous objections to the bill, which he said prioritized the newly eligible adults over those with disabilities.

“I am vetoing this expansion of ObamaCare because it fails to serve the truly vulnerable before the able-bodied, lacks work requirements to help able-bodied Kansans escape poverty, and burdens the state budget with unrestrainable entitlement costs,” he said.

But Mike Oxford, executive director of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center, said Wednesday he was “pissed off” by Brownback’s statement that KanCare expansion would harm people with disabilities. He spoke at a TILRC event, where members celebrated the bill passing with plastic flutes of sparkling grape juice.

About 20 percent of people who would become eligible for insurance under KanCare expansion have a disability, Oxford said, and others may have chronic health conditions. While there are some exceptions that allow them to work and earn more money, the most straightforward way for a person with disabilities to qualify for KanCare is to show they aren’t able to work and have less than $2,000 in assets.

People with disabilities also would benefit from expansion if the workers providing personal care services to them became eligible for KanCare, Oxford said. Most personal care workers earn about $10 an hour and can’t afford health insurance, so they leave for better-paying jobs, he said.

“Maybe (expansion) would make it easier for people to find good health and keep good help,” he said.

In his veto message, Brownback also said he disliked that Planned Parenthood could receive more funding under Medicaid expansion. Federal law prohibits using taxpayer money to fund abortions, but the clinics could receive Medicaid reimbursements for services like gynecological cancer screenings.

“I will not support this legislation that continues to fund organizations that undermine a culture of life,” Brownback said.

Supporters of expansion said they thought they could persuade some lawmakers to change their votes, but the timeline for an override could make it difficult for either side to change legislators’ minds.

Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/brownback-veto-sets-medicaid-expansion-battle-legislature.