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MASSIVE JOBS ANNOUNCEMENT: Ford adds 1,600 new jobs and promises $1.1 billion investment in KC assembly plant

PROSPECT AVE NAME CHANGE: More on the City Council member effort to erase Prospect Ave and rename it Martin Luther King Avenue. But is that the best way to de-stigmatize its connection with a rash of homicides?

PICKING KC’S NEXT TOP COP: Darryl Forté is selected to become the next KCMO Police Chief. What strengths does he bring to the job? Why not a candidate from outside KC?

ABDUCTION: A KCMO Police spokesman says he’s never seen so much national media attention centered on Kansas City for a single crime story. The disappearance of 10 month-old Northland infant Lisa Irwin is leading to wall-to-wall local and national TV news coverage.

POLITICAL POTPOURRI: The first political ad of the 2012 campaign has begun running in Kansas City. Which local candidate is running the ad? Who’s got the money to be running commercials 13 months before the election? Plus, why a soccer ball may be changing the political ambitions of Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders.

BIG 12: What’s the big deal about the Big 12, MU and all sorts of sports conference wheeling-and-dealing this week? And if you don’t follow sports, why should you care?

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS

Eric Wesson
The Call
Fred Logan
The Business Journal, Columnist
Mary Sanchez
Kansas City Star

COVINGTON: A school district back in turmoil as John Covington resigns as superintendent of KCMO schools. The latest on this unfolding drama…

KINDER: Will Peter Kinder’s “Penthouse” connection cost him the Governor’s Mansion?

ZOO: Would you dig deeper into your pocketbook to pay for an expanded Kansas City Zoo? Signatures are verified this week to place a sales tax hike on the ballot this November.

BIG TAX SWAP: Wouldn’t you love to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars every year by not having to pay your income taxes? It doesn’t matter if you live in Kansas or Missouri, momentum is building in both states to eliminate state income taxes altogether. But there’s a catch…

FACEBOOK: Missouri’s controversial new Facebook law goes into effect Sunday. Should student-teacher Facebook chats be banned?

PLAZA: A 9:00 pm curfew and $500 fines – what the city is now doing to curb hordes of teens on the Country Club Plaza.

BROWNBACK: The Kansas Governor is making national news. Why Sam Brownback’s administration is returning $32 million dollars in federal money to help the state enact health care reform.

HIGHWOODS DROPS OFFICE BUILDING PLAN: After pretty much an entire year of controversy and debate that included protests, and petition drives, hundreds of yards signs and an aggressive Facebook campaign the Plaza office controversy is over.

NO TO LIGHT RAIL: Despite collecting more than 3,600 signatures, far more than required by the city’s election rules, a city council committee this week holds up an effort by maverick activist Clay Chastain to put a new light rail initiative on the November ballot.

JOHNSON COUNTY SUN SHUTS DOWN: After more than 50 years, one of the metro’s most prominent suburban newspapers shuts down. The Johnson County Sun lays off all of its staffers and ceases production.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Kris Ketz
KMBC 9 News

Chris Hernandez
NBC Action News

Eric Wesson
The Call

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

SATAN SANDWICH: Why is Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Congressman Emanuel Cleaver getting indigestion over a sandwich?

IS NIXON A DEMOCRAT?: Why are some questioning the Missouri governor’s party credentials?

CRUMBLING PIPES: More than 170 water main breaks in a month. Is it just the heat? Or a symptom of larger problems ahead?

FOOT PATROLS: For the first time in more than 30 years, police officers are again walking the streets on regular foot patrols of Kansas City neighborhoods. But what effect will they have on crime in some of the city’s toughest blocks?

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Eric Wesson
KC Call Newspaper

Lynn Horsley
Kansas City Star

Chris Hernandez
NBC Action News

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

PLASTIC ONLY: The latest controversy at the Power and Light District.

CHECKING THE QUALIFICATIONS: Who checks whether a candidate is qualified for office? The surprising story of an area elected official who allegedly lied about everything.

KANSAS GOP BROKE: Despite holding almost every powerful position in the state, why is the Kansas Republican Party flat busted broke?

WYANDOTTE COUNTY MOVES WEST: It may sound bizarre but Congressional redistricting efforts are underway in Kansas and one plan would put Wyandotte Kansas in the same congressional seat as Western Kansas.

LITTON TRIBUTE: Remembering the charismatic area congressman who some say could have been president. Jerry Litton’s life was cut short in a tragic plane crash thirty-five years ago on Wednesday.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS

Steve Kraske
KC STAR/ KCUR

Scott Parks
Newsradio 980 KMBZ

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

CHRISTMAS IN JULY: They say it will create 20,000 jobs in our region. KC Chamber leaders call it “Christmas in July.” It’s so big, the Missouri Governor is calling lawmakers back into session to pass it. What’s the big deal? And why should you care?

SHOE IN MOUTH: Deciding the fate of a long controversial piece of Kansas City public art

1000% INTEREST: Local storefront loan shops are back under scrutiny. Operation Breakthrough volunteers work with KCTV5 to uncover a problem thats destroying the lives of low-income Kansas Citians….

KCK SUES OVER EPA MOVE: Wyandotte County officials go to federal court to block the EPA from moving its regional office and its 500 employees from downtown KCK to the Johnson County suburbs. They say moving the EPA’s offices 20 miles down the road to Lenexa is an ill- fit for an agency tasked with protecting the environment.

HYATT DISAPPEARS: Just as Kansas City marks the 30th anniversary of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Disaster, a name change is announced. The Hyatt becomes the Sheraton Crown Center.

WHO SAYS NO TO FREE CASH?: Which metro area government tells President Obama to keep his money, they don’t want the federal government’s cash?

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Dana Wright
KCTV5

Chris Hernandez
NBC Action News

Patrick Tuohey
The Monitor, KC’s new monthly newspaper

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

AMERICAN ROYAL MOVES RODEO TO SPRINT CENTER: For the first time since it was built in 1975, Kemper Arena will not host the American Royal Rodeo. Instead. the annual fall event is heading to Sprint Center. Does this move spell the end for Kemper arena?

ALL-STAR GAME FROM ARIZONA TO KC: Mayor Sly James and Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders are in Phoneix for the All-Star Game. Next year, it will be in KC. It will be the biggest national sporting event in Kansas City in 23 years. We take a closer look.

BIG MANAGEMENT SHAKE-UP: Some massive departures in the agency responsible for retaining and recruiting businesses in Kansas City

HYATT DISASTER: Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the Kansas City Hyatt Hotel Disaster. 114 people were killed and more than 200 injured when the hotel’s skywalks collapsed during a tea dance on the evening of July 17th, 1981.

Watch original archival footage from the disaster as compiled by the Kansas City Star and KCTV5

A public commemoration ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hyatt tragedy will be held on the north grounds of Children’s Mercy Hospital, 22nd & Gillham at 12:30 pm. The event will be followed at 2pm with a panel discussion at the KC Downtown library that will examine the lessions learned.

TRADER JOE’S OPENS: What’s the big deal?

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Dana Wright
KCTV5

Kevin Collison
Kansas City Star

Steve Kraske
KC Star/KCUR Radio

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

TORNADO: Total devastation in Joplin. The lessons for Kansas City…

CATHOLIC PORN: A child pornography scandal escalates. Some call for the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to step down.

MCCASKILL UNDER FIRE: Missouri U-S Senator Claire McCaskill tells the New York Times she’s “shocked” by a new TV ad campaign from the League of Women Voters attacking her as a polluter.

DECLINE TO SIGN: The latest twist in the never-ending Plaza office tower saga

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS

Kris Ketz
KMBC 9 News

Chris Hernandez
NBC Action News

DeAnn Smith
Freelance Reporter

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

LEGO: Another massive catch for Crown Center. Why is Lego picking Kansas City for its new mega play palace?

AMBULANCE: The metro’s largest ambulance service is feeling the heat. And it’s not just over response times. A KCTV5 investigation documents how one area man died in the back of a of a Kansas City ambulance. But his death went unnoticed.

POPSICLE STICK: Why Sly James say’s he fighting Kansas with a popsicle stick.

PHOTO ID: If you live in Missouri, prepare to go to the ballot box again to decide yet another constitutional amendment

BROWNBACK: Why some members of the Kansas Governor’s own party are ringing alarm bells over his style of leadership

FARM AID 2011: The new LiveStrong Stadium in Wyandotte County has been picked for the annual benefit concert featuring Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews

CHOPPERS: From princesses to motorcycles. Union Station announces its new exhibit, “The Art of the Chopper,” more than 30 of the most original and fantastical motorcycles ever built. If DIANA was more geared to women, is this the comparable counter-exhibit for men?

THIS WEEK’S NEWS REVIEWERS:

Krista Klaus
The Business Journal

Dana Wright
KCTV5

Dave Helling
Kansas City Star

Fred Logan
Business Journal Columnist