Month: December 2022

Mayor Garner calls for community-wide effort to address key issues in Wyandotte County

Mayor Garner delivers annual message

Mayor Tyrone Garner in his annual message about the Unified Government, Dec. 1 at the UG Commission meeting. (Screenshot from the UG Commission meeting)

Mayor Tyrone Garner, in his annual message about the Unified Government, called for a community-wide effort to address key issues in Wyandotte County.

Garner delivered the annual message at the Thursday, Dec. 1, UG Commission meeting. Often in the past, similar speeches have been delivered at a “State of the UG” address at the Reardon Convention Center. According to the mayor, an annual message is required by the UG charter.

Among the key issues Garner touched upon in his speech:

  • Tax relief for residents;
  • Equitable development throughout the county;
  • Stabilizing the Unified Government, including selection of a county administrator and addressing issues such as debt and financing;
  • Investing in critical infrastructure; and
  • Promoting county-wide unity.

Mayor Garner said Wyandotte County has faced a triple pandemic in the past few years and has had to deal with the health, economic and social justice effects of COVID-19 across the community. It has brought attention to racial and economic disparities to be faced, he said.

Mayor Garner also said the UG has started early on next year’s budget process.

“As highlighted throughout our recent budget process, we are not operating in a way that sets up for success in the future. We must address the deficit in our city general fund, look closely at property taxes and the BPU Pilot, and ensure that the benefits of our services and programs reach all neighborhoods, whether you live in the Historic Northeast, Rosedale, Piper, or Bonner Springs,” Mayor Garner said. “By taking a collaborative approach, we will be able to usher the changes needed for our long-term resiliency and sustainability as a community.”

Realignment of the UG organizational structure also was one of the topics he discussed. Other topics included repairing infrastructure, such as bridges and roads, along with economic development throughout the county.

A link to a video of Mayor Garner’s speech and the commission meeting is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbv7D6kykSg.

To see a text with more information from this speech, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Engage-With-Us/News-articles/2022-Mayors-Annual-Update.

Two free concerts planned Sunday, Dec. 4, and Tuesday, Dec. 13, by KCKCC music department

Two upcoming concerts will celebrate the end of the semester at KCKCC.

The KCKCC Chamber Choir will perform the Winter Choral Concert, “Don’t Give Up,” at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, Community Christian Church, 4601 Main St. in Kansas City, Missouri. The church is on the Country Club Plaza.

The concert is a vocal showcase of a variety of music expressing the palette of the human condition, joy, sorrow, hope, laughter and beauty.

The concert will feature two guest artists, who both serve on the voice faculty at KCKCC, Lauren Auge, soprano, and Julia Scozzafava, mezzo-soprano. The choir will perform works by Whitacre, Pedersen, Esenvalds, Parker-Shaw, Mealor and a new commission by Michael Engelhardt and Robert T. Gibson.

The second concert is the KCKCC Jazz Showcase at The Blue Room, which is in the American Jazz Museum, 1616 E. 18th St. in Kansas City, Missouri. It is from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Dec. 13. The concert will feature the four student ensembles attending and performing at the National Conference of the Jazz Education Network in Orlando, Florida, Jan. 4-7.

The showcase will feature the Blue Devil Funk Band, Advanced Jazz Combo and two student vocal jazz ensembles – Fusion and The Standard. The event is sponsored by the KCKCC Student Chapter of the Jazz Education Network.

Both concerts are free and open to the public, but donations will be taken for the department’s upcoming travel this spring.

  • Story from KCKCC

Rep. Davids elected vice chair of New Democrat Coalition

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist. (File photo)

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., has been elected vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition.

The New Democrat Coalition, one of the largest Democratic caucuses in the House, represents 96 members of Congress who have set a goal of bridging the gap between parties, passing pro-economic growth, pro-innovation and fiscally responsible policies.

“A commitment to finding common ground and addressing everyday issues is how we got so much done this session, from the bipartisan infrastructure law to lowering health care costs to boosting domestic manufacturing. New Dems have been at the table and leading the charge on all of those efforts,” Rep. Davids said in a news release. “I’m honored to have the support of this pragmatic group of lawmakers, and I look forward to continuing that progress in the next session.”

It is her second term in the NDC, where she was vice chair of member services last year.

She worked with the NDC to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law and the major, bipartisan manufacturing law. The caucus has also addressed inflation, releasing an action plan that was praised as the “best plan yet” to lower costs for American families.