Month: September 2020

Several blood drives scheduled

With blood in short supply, several Community Blood Center blood drives are scheduled in the next few weeks.

Donors are asked to make online appointments at esavealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.

• Christ the King Catholic Church will hold a Community Blood Center blood drive from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at 3024 N. 53rd St., Kansas City, Kansas, in Davern Hall (church basement).

• Providence Medical Center, 8929 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a Community Blood Center blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, in the auditorium.

• The University of Kansas Medical Center will hold a Community Blood Center blood drive from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Health Education Building, 2146 W. 39th Ave., Ad Astra, fifth floor.

• The Legends Outlets, 1843 Village West Parkway, Suite C-113, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a blood drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9.

• Bonner Springs United Methodist Church, 425 W. Morse Ave., Bonner Springs, will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the basement.

• Frontier Justice will hold a blood drive from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at 10000 France Family Drive, in the special event room.

Blood donations also are accepted at one of the CBC’s seven donor centers. For more information, see esavealifenow.org.

Congresswoman makes case for bipartisan cooperation

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Despite what you may see and hear from the news media, there are bipartisan cooperative efforts to get things done in Congress.

This was the message from U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., who was the featured speaker at a meeting of the Congressional Forum via Zoom Friday, Sept. 18. She cited the progress on legislation that would provide funding for flood control. The Congressional Forum is a committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.

Rep. Davids said she favors emergency federal help for state and local governments; they cannot be expected to address these challenges on their own because of the coronavirus pandemic. She said more legislation also needs to help workers and small businesses.

Rep. Davids serves on the House Committee on Transportation that recently released its final report on the Boeing 737 MAX. Two of this aircraft crashed and killed 346 victims. She said that investigations indicated that the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing put profit over safety. She said that aviation safety must be strengthened.

Steve Shondell, a longtime member of the Congressional Forum, asked about federal spending that would encumber debt for future generations.

Rep. Davids said that she is part of a bipartisan effort that supports a triggering mechanism that would warn Congress of excessive spending.

Rep. Davids said she expects a continuing resolution to be passed soon so that the federal government does not run out of money. She said she does not want to experience what she suffered through last year when there was disagreement on Congressional spending.

Rep. Davids is seeking re-election; her Republican opponent is Amanda Adkins. Both are residents of Johnson County.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.

Weather: Hazy with high near 80

Today’s high will be near 80, with the low tonight around 58. (National Weather Service graphic)

Mild temperatures in the 80s with hazy skies are in today’s forecast from the National Weather Service.

Elevated smoke from wildfires out west will remain across the region, causing some hazier conditions and possible minor effects to air quality, the weather service said.

Temperatures will be in the high 70s and low 80s for the next week, according to the forecast.

There is no rain in the forecast until Saturday night, when there is a 30 percent chance of showers, the weather service said.

Those who have asthma, allergies, lung or heart conditions are advised to stay inside in air conditioning while there is haze from the wildfires, and to reduce exertion, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

More air quality information is at https://airquality.weather.gov/probe_aq_data.php?latitude=39.1149&longitude=-94.7708.

Today, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 80 and a south wind of 5 to 8 mph, the weather service sid.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 58 and a south southeast wind of 3 to 7 mph, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 78 and a south wind of 5 to 7 mph, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 57 and a south wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 77 and a calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 56, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny with a high near 81, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be clear, with a low of 59, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be sunny, with a high near 83, the weather service said.

Friday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 62, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be sunny, with a high near 82, the weather service said.

Saturday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers, with a low of 57, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be sunny, with a high near 75, the weather service said.