Kansas City's Northeast Newscast

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson talks with 5th District Councilwoman and 2019 mayoral candidate Alissia Canady about attending Northeast High School, her accomplishments on the Neighborhoods and Public Safety committee, why incentive reform is an issue that resonates with her, how she would work to curb gun violence in Kansas City if elected Mayor, and how the KCMO City Council continues to function despite the its collective mayoral ambitions.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, 2019 Kansas City, Missouri Mayoral candidate Jason Kander sits down for an interview with managing editor Paul Thompson. Kander talks about the 2018 primary elections, his priorities for curbing violent crime in Kansas City, how he handles political celebrity, and the time he was being tear gassed while the Kansas City Royals were trading star center fielder Carlos Beltran.

In this episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with KCPD officials Jason Cooley and Chato Villalobos, who reply to questions and comments provided by readers on social media in the wake of the department's unsuccessful Hispanic Citizen's Academy last month. While the Northeast News news has already printed the Q&A in both English and Spanish, we're now presenting the discussion in an audio format to provide some additional context.

This week on Kansas City’s Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sat down with representatives from Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph about their ambitious housing plans for the Historic Northeast. The conversation included Jarrod Sanderson, Executive Director of Housing Development; Kevin Murphy, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications; and Carl DiCapo, the former KC Parks and Recreation commissioner who is helping Catholic Charities raise funds for their housing endeavor.The organization already owns two lots in the Indian Mound neighborhood, where they are planning to construct energy-efficient, 1,120 square-foot, three-bedroom, one bathroom homes.“The lots are purchased, we’re waiting on permits to get approved to start building the first two; and that’s proof of concept,” Sanderson said. “We want to do 20 more after that, and then hopefully, scale up to 100 a year for 10 years.”

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, East Patrol's new commander, Major Greg Volker, sits down with Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson to talk about his previous experience within KCPD; his strengths as a police officer; what lessons he learned from his previous position at the Law Enforcement Resource Center; the benefits of security camera footage in KCPD investigations; how he's fitting in with officers at East Patrol; his relationship with Chief of Police Rick Smith and thoughts on Smith-led initiatives like the expansion of the Community Interaction Officer (CIO) position and the decision to embed social workers at each of the department's six patrol divisions; and the major issues facing East Patrol as he begins his tenure there.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson meets Sheffield Neighborhood Association President Mark Morales to talk about his engagement in the community, what businesses he'd like to see in the neighborhood, the ideal Sheffield neighbor, what the neighborhood association has going on this summer, and what Sheffield can improve upon moving forward.

2019 KCMO Mayoral candidate Phil Glynn - one of two candidates from outside of City Council - joins Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson for the latest episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast. Glynn discusses his experiences as a business owner in Kansas City, talks about his motivations for running for Mayor, and speaks passionately and eloquently about a plethora of issues: including the expenditure of $800 million in General Obligation bond dollars, the ongoing saga of the American Jazz Museum board, and the proper way to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Glynn also discusses his ties to the Historic Northeast through his time serving as the Board President of Northeast Community Center, displaying a surprising understanding of the makeup of the area.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with former Kansas State basketball player Luis Colon about his new job in the Historic Northeast. Colon is serving as a youth case manager at Sheffield Place, a transitional living center that focuses exclusively on providing treatment and life skills for homeless mothers.In the interview, Colon is candid about his own life experiences: moving to Florida from Puerto Rico at 14 to pursue a basketball career, the pitfalls of the youth basketball circuit in the U.S., how he came to be interested in social work, the ups and downs of his post-basketball career, and more.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson trekked through the woods with more than two dozen law enforcement officers as they attempted to recover stolen property from a rash of recent burglaries. Though the operation didn't go exactly as planned - no stolen property was ultimately recovered - it was an enlightening look at the life of a police officer, and the empathy required to put on the uniform every day.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Kris Wade of Justice Project Kansas City to talk about the impact of human trafficking on the Historic Northeast community.Wade spoke about her experiences working in the Northeast, the great needs of victims of human trafficking, how traffickers recruit their victims; the role of poverty in the cottage industry of human trafficking, Wade's thoughts about KCPD's decision to install social workers at all patrol divisions, and what compels Wade to continue with her important work.

On this week's episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson interviews Trena Miller, the new dedicated social worker for KCPD's East Patrol Division. Miller discusses the previous experience that led to her new position, the lessons she's learned during her first weeks on the job, her biggest challenges in the early going, and the single greatest need she's found for the individuals she's interacted with thus far.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell joins Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson to talk about his vision for the district and much more. In this interview, Bedell reflects on subjects like the difficulty of modern standardized testing, road bumps in the district's quest to raise its accreditation status, the district's role in student-led protests that have swept across the nation, and the importance of athletics in building a well-rounded student.

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with KCATA Transit Security Division Chief Hugh Mills to talk about his efforts to provide the safest possible experience for passengers and operators alike.Mills discusses how difficult the job of a bus operator truly is, touches on his own unique experience driving a bus as a teenager in Arkansas, describes the trips he took in plain clothes to prepare him for the position of KCATA security chief, and details his extensive work history - which includes more than two decades in the U.S. Army, along with time spent in private security and nearly a decade working at the Jackson County Sheriff's office.

This week on the 'Kansas City's Northeast Newscast' podcast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Northeast Library branch manager Claudia Visnich to talk about her upcoming retirement.Visnich, who has served the Northeast community for nearly two decades, talked about her decision to retire, reflects on her career, discusses her favorite programming offered by the branch during her careers, touches on the impact of technology on libraries during her tenure, and talks about what she plans to do after retirement.Listen to the full episode below, or subscribe to the Northeast Newscast on iTunes to have the latest episodes automatically downloaded to your device of choice.

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson talks with Independence Plaza Neighborhood Association President and local rehabber Tom Ribera. Topics of discussion include the apartment buildings at 11th and Paseo that he's currently renovating, the security measures he's taking to make sure potential tenants feel safe, his other rehab projects in the area, Ribera's vision for 12th St. revitalization, and his ideas for combating social and mental health problems in Kansas City.

In this week's episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with 3rd District Councilman Jermaine Reed to discuss a variety of subjects, including Reed's connections to the Historic Northeast and his thoughts about KCPS superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell; Marvel's Black Panther; the City's Ban the Box legislation, which Reed championed; the City's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Edgemoor for the construction of a new single terminal airport; the 1/8-cent sales tax for economic development on the Kansas City's east side, approved by voters in April 2017; the possibility of getting an Independence Avenue MAX line; the latest news regarding the Parks Department's organizational review of the American Jazz Museum; and finally, the economic development potential of Major League Baseball's new Urban Youth Academy.

KCFD firefighters John Mesh and Larry Leggio tragically died on October 12, 2015 while fighting a two-alarm blaze on Independence Avenue. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Mesh's brother Jim partnered with John's KCFD Pumper 10 colleague John Sirna to create the John V. Mesh Memorial Scholarship, a charitable organization dedicated to preserving John's legacy and honoring his love of the outdoors. Jim Mesh sat down for an interview last week to discuss his memories of his younger brother, the work that goes into the planning the charity's signature event - an annual clay shoot held at the Powder Creek Shooting Club in Lenexa, and his haunting memories from that fateful night of October 12, 2015.

On this week's episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Gunard Polite, founder of One Kansas City Radio, to talk about the genesis of the non-profit radio station, the partnerships he would like to forge in the Historic Northeast community, his own music influences (and DJ career) growing up in Chicago, and One Kansas City Radio's partnership with the Kansas City Museum.

On this week's episode of Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Abby Judah of Legal Aid of Western Missouri to talk about urban homesteading - a process by which individuals are encouraged to live in and rebuild vacant properties with outstanding codes violations. Judah works with Northeast Kansas City neighborhood associations to identify blighted properties that could be a fit for the program.In this conversation, Judah dives into the proverbial weeds to describe the process required to get these properties into the hands of individuals who can turn a property with open codes violations into a proper home.

On this week's edition of the Northeast Newscast, we sit down with District 19 State Representative Ingrid Burnett to talk about what she learned during her first year in Jefferson City, the process of filing her first bill, the Governor's use of the text-erasing Confide phone app, how a ban on lobbyist gifts is missing the real problem, and why the City of Kansas City, Missouri should be worried about having it's short term rental plans undermined.