Spring is in full swing and there is no shortage of celebration in May’s first weekend. In the West Bottoms, there’s the American Royal, a massive plant sale and Maria The Mexican at The Ship. Over on 18th & Vine, pick from Saturday’s Monarch Walk or Hip-Hop & Hot Wings at Vine Street Brewing Co. Friday, May 3 5 – 9 p.m. Get down for a good cause Friday night at The Don Bosco Centers’ Bosco Block Party Don Bosco Community Center, 526 Campbell St. The third-annual all-ages event will kick off the summer with food, a cash bar, live music games and more. Admission is free. Food and drin ..read more

LAWRENCE — This college town opened the 50-unit Pallet Shelter Village on March 18 to address a burgeoning number of unhoused people.  Six weeks later, the village is already nearing capacity. There’s also, according to Pallet Village Shelter Manager Juniper Gapetz, “a very long waiting list.”  Chalk it up, in part, to the soaring number of unhoused people, both here in Kansas and across the country.  “(Homelessness) is growing more than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in this field for 30 years,” says Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition (KSHC) Executive Director Christy McMurph ..read more

Kansas City is about to bottle up its trash better. Bins will replace bags, keeping animals out of the garbage. But the convenience of a lidded trash bin may come at a cost for the environment. Every week, garbage bags get toted to curbs along Kansas City’s streets the night before trash day. To raccoons, birds and stray dogs, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Key Takeaways More trash is going to Kansas City’s landfills every year. And as the city distributes new lidded trash bins, residents could end up throwing away even more. To bring down waste levels, Kansas City is expanding its c ..read more

TOPEKA — Kansas House and Senate members worked Monday to consider whether to approve an economic development package designed to attract the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals or professional hockey or basketball franchises to Kansas. The legislation would specifically limit the state’s incentives to sports facility projects costing more than $1 billion and the state Department of Commerce would be authorized to negotiate and make offers to no more than two sports teams. The bonds issued for the projects could be used for all costs associated with stadiums and other infrastructure and w ..read more

Six development projects on Kansas City’s East Side are getting an additional $2.3 million from the Central City Economic Development Sales Tax.   The ⅛-cent sales tax is intended to support development in an area bounded by Ninth Street to the north, Gregory Boulevard to the south, The Paseo to the west, and Indiana Avenue to the east.   More funding for the six projects was granted based on recommendations from the new CCED Sales Tax Board. It is intended to help these ongoing projects cross the finish line, said Dion Lewis, deputy director of the Housing Community Deve ..read more

That month went fast.  May begins on Wednesday.  We celebrate Cinco De Mayo on Sunday.  And Saturday is the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, considered the nation’s longest-running continuously held sporting event. Given the historic anniversary, you have permission to sip an extra-large mint julep this weekend.  Here are some important local stories we’re watching this week.  Deadline for Ballot Questions  This week marks the deadline for getting issue questions on the Missouri ballot this November.  Supporters of an abortion r ..read more

One recent cool but sunny day, I stood in the 1700 block of Belleview Avenue on Kansas City’s West Side to look at Fourth Presbyterian Church.  There was just one problem. I was at least a century too late.  That church isn’t there anymore. It merged in about 1906 with another church, and that merger eventually became Linwood Presbyterian Church at Linwood Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.  Today even Linwood Presbyterian doesn’t exist. In 1975 it merged with Linwood United Methodist Church to become Linwood United Church, and its former property now is home to the Linwood Area M ..read more

When George Chance caught a potential world-record fish in March, he didn’t do a lot of celebrating.  It wasn’t like he caught a highly sought-after bass, crappie or catfish. Instead, he landed a 97-pound bighead carp, an invasive species that is scorned by fisheries biologists in Missouri and surrounding states.  Yes, it was a gigantic catch, the biggest freshwater fish Chance had ever reeled in. But instead of rushing to the taxidermist, Chance buried his fish in his garden to serve as fertilizer.  “I didn’t want that big ugly thing hanging on my wall,” said Chance, 78, who ..read more

The schedule is full of art, beer and brunch this weekend. If you aren’t afraid of a little rain in the forecast, there’s a music crawl in Lawrence and the Great Wind Festival in Leawood. Friday, April 26 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Book your tee time for the Art Course at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St. Smack in the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, the artist-designed mini golf course’s uniquely challenging nine holes are inspired by pieces out of the museum collection. Reservations are required. Adult tickets are $18. Children ages 4 to 12 can play for $12. Refreshments are available at T ..read more

On her plot at the Juniper Gardens farm in northeast Kansas City, Kansas, Biak Par grows vegetables and herbs, including a variety of hot peppers and an herb called Chin Baung, which are commonly used in her home country of Myanmar.   She said it’s best to prepare them in a soup or with vegetables in a curry-like dish.  Biak Par is a graduate of the New Roots farmer training program, a four-year apprenticeship with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas and Cultivate KC.   The program provides refugees with an agricultural background a place to cultivate their farming ski ..read more