OTHER WRITERS DISCUSS . . . 
If they can do this, what can they not do? BY THOMAS McCLANAHAN OF THE KANSAS CITY STAR

It’s always fascinating when people on either side of a partisan divide give each other gifts.

Case in point: President Obama’s approval of a rule ordering Catholic institutions to offer insurance policies covering birth control, sterilization procedures and the morning after pill — all contrary to church teachings.

No one has fully explained why Obama took this step. It was always assumed that under the conscience protections enacted after Roe vs. Wade, church-run facilities would not be forced to provide such services.

After all, Obama signed an executive order following passage of the health care act stating that the “longstanding federal laws to protect conscience” remained intact. And yet we woke up one day to read that the government was ordering Catholic institutions — hospitals, charities and schools — to provide coverage for birth control and the rest. Churches themselves remained exempt. READ MORE

READ MORE

GREG WALTERS

Evidence of Tampering on Recent Poll

Regular readers of this weblog often participate in poll questions posted on the weekly edition of the Raytown Report. Last week’s question asked if the City of Raytown should broadcast city council meetings on U-Verse. The question was prompted by a story posted on the Raytown Report which asked why Lee’s Summit and Grandview broadcast there council meetings on U-Verse, but Raytown did not.

The number of hits on the question was 50% higher than usual. Upon investigation of those hits we found that a large number of the “no” votes were posted in clumps  repeatedly from the same source. (we cannot tell “who” cast the votes, but we can tell if they are from the same source).

It was also noted the frequency of those “votes” were often in time periods of just a few minutes. It is an indication of someone logging on to the site, voting, logging off, and then repeating the process.

What puzzled us was why anyone would entertain themselves this way. We came up with the following theories to explain why.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES:

1.       LONE GUNMAN THEORY: In this scenario there is a nutcase who gains some sort of satisfaction in causing mischief. Probably had a disturbed childhood and  even sadder adulthood. Home is likely a small house atop a grassy knoll.                   

2.      AT&T IS THE DEVIL THEORY: This theory supports the belief that the person voting multiple times on the poll does not like AT&T. In their mind repeatedly voting no on the poll is a rite of exorcism against what they view as the great Satan, AT&T.

3.      COMCAST THEORY: The large number of “no” votes were electronically created by AT&T’s corporate rival, Comcast, in an effort to win more television viewers to their service.

4.      PUBLIC SERVANT THEORY: Un-named individuals from City Hall, opposed to transparency in government, are secretly planning to pull the plug on public broadcasting of city council meetings in order to clamp down on information “leaks” from Raytown City Hall.

5.     ELITE MEDIA THEORY: (with apologies to Newt Gingrich) . . . this theory suggests that intolerant liberal-leaning activists within the Raytown Community are jealous of the Raytown Report. Desperate to slow down the popularity and growth to the site, they resort to middle school high jinks to bolster their opinion of themselves.

6.     CONSTITUTIONALIST THEORY: This theory suggests that those double, triple and quadruple voting on the poll are opposed to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteeing the right of Free Speech.

So, there you have it. Our personal favorites are combination of Number 1 and Number 5.

So, what do you think? 

We thought it would be and excellent idea to find out. Take a look at this week’s poll question and choose your favorite conspiracy theory. Better yet, why not weigh in on what you think it is REALLY going on.

PAUL LIVIUS

The Paul Livius Report

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – March 6, 2012

Jay Grimwood, of Graceway Church gave the invocation.

• Steve Gunther asked the Board to approve Resolution R-2500-12.  He said the money will be vital for the Downtown Revitalization Project.  Rock Island Railroad Corridor is working to secure a corridor for long term pedestrian, bicycle, and possibly commuter uses.  This trail will go right through the Downtown area of Raytown.
• Pam Clark and Phyllis Goforth reported they are planning the 3^rd annual Easter Egg Hunt.  This year they have added REAP and Socks for Blair to their list of charities.  The event will be visited by Mr. and Ms. Bunny.  It will be held on April 7 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Greenspace.

Mayor Bower said the Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church will be holding a Pancake Breakfast to benefit REAP on Saturday, March 10 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.  The church is across the street from Blue Ridge Elementary School.

• The Board approved a resolution authorizing and approving the appointment of Pat Jackson to the Raytown park board.
• The Board approved a resolution amending resolution R-2456-11 to reflect the correct account destination regarding the budget amendment.  Andy Noll said this is to move the funds to a capital account in order to better track spending.
• The Board approved a resolution authorizing a contract with Infinity building services for mowing and nuisance abatement services in excess of $15,000.00.  John Benson said they received seven bids.  The lowest and best bid was from Infinity Building Services.
• The Board approved a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources land and water conservation fund in the amount of $74,501.00 to fund improvements at Colman-Livengood park, including renovations of tennis courts.
• The Board approved a resolution authorizing a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Raytown and the Raytown Park Board. 
• The Board approved a resolution authorizing a one-time expenditure in the amount of $10,085.00 for the Jackson County Regional Transit plan education program. 
• The Board approved an ordinance regarding soliciting in the right-of-way, amending chapter 12, licenses and miscellaneous business regulations, article v, miscellaneous business regulations and chapter 13, offenses and miscellaneous provisions, article ix, offenses relating to public health and safety and repealing ordinance no. 4793-02. Teresa Henry said this will allow the Police Department to conduct background checks on Solicitor License applicants.

Republican Presidential Caucuses Moved to March 24^th

The Missouri Republican Party has changed the date of the Jackson County Republican Caucuses to March 24^th. The original date, March 17^th was changed due to the large number of St. Patrick’s Day events that take place in Jackson County.

Following is a copy of the official notice of the Republican Caucus.

Jackson County Caucuses, March 24, 2012: Attendees will select delegates and alternates to the Congressional District Conventions and State Convention.  Delegates selected at the county level will not be bound to a specific candidate unless a rule is passed by participants of the caucus. 

Jackson County Republican Caucus
Date & Time: Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Registration begins at 9:00 a.m.

PARTICIPANTS ARE URGED TO ARRIVE EARLY AS A LARGE CROWD IS ANTICIPATED. THE CAUCUS WILL BEGIN AT 10:00 A.M.

LOCATION

The Bernard Campbell Performing Arts Center

400 SE Blue Parkway

Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 (map)

If I Could Fix One Thing BY KRISTEN FOR FIT BOTTOMED GIRLS

I was at a good friend’s wedding this weekend (actually, you guys basically know her—congrats, training buddy Jodi!), and I was hit with a realization. People crave vastly different things. Oh, hush. It’s not like this is big news to me or anything. But, this wedding brought the point home because there were a ton of different... Continue reading

From the City Administrator's Desk
Following is the portions of City Administrator Mahesh Sharma's Weekly Report (the bold face type is the Raytown Report's two cents worth)

• The Missouri Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health completed their annual inspection of the City of Raytown’s Animal Control this week. The inspection included a review of the city’s internal procedures, animal control vehicles, as well as the clinic facilities at Raytown Animal Hospital which provides veterinary services for the animals impounded by the city. At the conclusion of their inspection the City received approval of our animal control procedures and facilities. The report is no doubt in response to Michael Downing's complaints regarding the Raytown Animal Hospital. The inspection by the State of Missouri gave the Raytown Hospital and the City of Raytown a clean bill of health. My pet puppy, Wickett, says she is relieved that this chapter of false accusation by Downing has met its timely end.

• Building upon the efforts undertaken as part of the Jackson County Commuter Corridors Alternative Analysis Transit Study the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) has released a request for qualifications (RFQ) for consulting services to assist local governments and stakeholders with development and implementation of sustainable development strategies (sustainable development is characterized by a mix of uses, a mix of housing types and price points, walkable, transit-oriented, emphasizing environmental stewardship) along multiple corridors in the metropolitan area including the Rock Island corridor through Raytown. The next step in developing and identifying implementing strategies for sustainable development is to integrate these components by applying them to specific centers and corridors. In addition to the Rock Island corridor downtown Raytown is identified as a center along with other locations along the Rock Island corridor in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit. Responses to the RFQ are due to MARC on March 16th. It is anticipated that the contract with the selected consultant will be approved by MARC by June. Public engagement and full community participation is a very important element of this project. Therefore as this process moves forward there will be opportunities for community participation. Staff will continue to provide updates on these opportunities when they are announced. Please contact John Benson in the Community Development Department if you would like further information. We will be writing more on this subject at a later date. This is a great opportunity for Raytown that could improve economic conditions in its Downtown and re-define Raytown's image. If you have any interest in becoming active be sure to contact Mr. John Benson at Raytown City Hall. The telephone number to City Hall is 737-6000.

• The next CBD Streetscape Steering Committee meeting will be held next Tuesday, March 13th from 4:00 to 5:30 at Raytown City Hall. The consultant will also be giving a presentation on the Steering Committee’s proposed streetscape design at the Board of Aldermen Work Session on Tuesday, March 20th. We will repeat our position that these meetings would be much more effective if they were held in the evening so that working Raytowners could attend. City Hall's handling of the meeting time is high-handed and unfair to the taxpayers of Raytown.

 To post a comment on this blog click on the word comments on the line directly below this sentence.