Re: My last post about McClatchy (it's own by a hedge fund).

Fred from Scooby-Doo unmasking the bad guy at the end of a mystery, in two frames. First frame: Left side: a tied up man in a white featureless mask with eye holes. The caption over him in impact font reads, "SOMETHING I USED TO LOVE SUCKS NOW" Right side of frame, Fred has his hand on the mask, about to pull it off. The caption on him reads, "LET'S SEE WHO'S BEHIND THIS." Second frame: The unmasked bad guy has a pencil thin curling mustache, a pointy nose, and dark hair, with a widow's peak. The caption on him reads, "PRIVATE EQUITY"

Evergreen

Of course, the "more stories, more inventory" line is also laughable. If McClatchy hadn't laid off so many journalists, they'd have more stories.

McClatchy, which has proven repeatedly it's disinterested in local news despite owning storied papers like the Kansas City Star, is going all in on AI-generated slop.
This line is particularly horrifying. Using a byline on AI-written content is essentially lying.
www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...

yiiiikes

KC Streetcar will open Riverfront extension this May, in time for World Cup festivities Connecting River Market with the Berkley Riverfront, the 0.7-mile extension will start service on May 18 after two years of construction.

Connecting River Market with the Berkley Riverfront, the 0.7-mile extension will start service on May 18 after two years of construction.

www.kcur.org/housing-deve...

Florida Opens Criminal Inquiry Into ChatGPT Tied to Fatal School Shooting

Florida’s attorney general said on Tuesday that the state had opened a criminal investigation into ChatGPT and its parent company, OpenAI, based on a review of messages between the chatbot and the man accused of killing two people at Florida State University last year www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/u...

Saint Luke’s wants a new parking lot in Westport. KC officials aren’t thrilled KC wants the hospital to think bigger than parking lots as the city strives to be more walkable — and hospital officials say they will.

It’s probably been a decade since my name was last in the KC Star. That was a byline. Now I’m “city planner Luke Ranker.”
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

Utah Becomes the New Center of U.S. Measles Cases

Nearly 600 people have been sickened across the state, which has seen an increase in vaccine exemptions among children in recent years. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/w...

China’s G.D.P. Stronger Than Expected, Led by Infrastructure Spending

China’s economy continued to grow despite weak housing and consumer markets in large part because the government has invested heavily infrastructure like rail.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/b...

I don’t know who he is, but there’s a @kcstreetcar.org driver who always waves at folks at the station. It’s really delightful!

Are we thinking BIG enough? If KC is going to help finance a new ball park downtown, Why not look at developing a subway, rapid bus & metro systems with State & Federal help. Let's really go for it. Let's think big.

I saw @stbikeskc.bsky.social dragged up one of Josh’s most infuriating posts (because we didn’t build it, not because Josh is infuriating).

Think of how much different and better our development pattern would be if we had this:

Jury Finds Live Nation Acts as a Monopoly in a Victory for States

A federal jury found that Live Nation, the concert giant that owns Ticketmaster, has operated as a monopoly in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, ending a closely watched trial in New York that could have far-reaching consequences in the music industry. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/a...

“Who Cares?” Gave Us Trump On a very bad liberal habit that just won’t quit.

“Who cares?” has become a default reply from liberals to a whole host of criticisms. Voters in poor neighborhoods concerned about crime? Who cares. A spike in drug overdoses? Who cares. Rise in public disorder? The escalating price of eggs? Who cares.

jacobin.com/2026/04/who-...

Data Centers in Land-Scarce Cities: Who Decides, Who Benefits and Who Pays? Opened in 2016 as part of Telehouse’s London Dockland Campus, Telehouse North Two is an 11-story windowless data center equipped with its own grid substation. Photo: Images George Rex/Flickr  Cities…

As data centers proliferate with little public oversight, cities must confront a critical question: who decides how scarce land, power, and resources are allocated, and whether the benefits truly serve local communities? Read more in @wrirosscities.bsky.social's TheCityFix:

Exclusive | Rivian’s Illinois Factory Will Run on Recycled EV Batteries The project highlights how battery energy is increasingly being used to power businesses and industrial facilities in the U.S.

Electric-vehicle startup Rivian has found an unusual power source for its Illinois car factory: old batteries from its own cars.

www.wsj.com/business/aut...

16th and Broadway master plan tops $430M as luxury hotel, offices join apartment tower - Kansas City Business Journal Here's a fuller look at what's now a $430 million-plus master plan with apartments, a luxury hotel and offices in the Crossroads Arts District.

Kansas City developers unveiled the full scope of a $430 million-plus mixed-use master plan with three new Crossroads Arts District high-rises west of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces it has found a buyer to keep the newspaper open Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said they have found a buyer who had agreed to keep the newspaper open, less than a month before it was due to shut down.

Barely two weeks before it was due to shut down, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Tuesday it had found a last-minute buyer — a nonprofit journalism operation that has agreed to keep the struggling newspaper open.

apnews.com/article/pitt...

How do people judge where, when and how to cross a street?

The experts in walking are the walkers. Raida, Hosseini, Cárdenas, Mondschein, Heydarian, and Chen studied these experts’ street-crossing strategies, revealing inconsistencies between what authorities plan for and what pedestrians need.

Middle East War Will Slow Global Economic Growth, I.M.F. Warns

War in the Middle East has upended the world economy, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, warning in a report that disruptions to oil markets could slow growth, fuel inflation and raise the possibility of a global recession.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/b...

Kansas City woman suspected of killing KCUR reporter was sentenced to jail in a drug case Idella “Lupi” Gardner, 38, is believed to have fired the shot that killed Aviva Okeson-Haberman, a KCUR reporter, nearly five years ago, a federal judge said Monday. Aviva Okeson-Haberman’s murder was...

A 38-year-old Kansas City woman long suspected in the fatal shooting of KCUR reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison in a separate federal drug case.
www.kcur.org/news/2026-04...

Black text on white background “Happy Easter, New York!  Today, millions of New Yorkers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the victory of hope over despair and faith over fear.  As the air warms and cherry blossoms begin to bloom, this holy day is a sacred time to pause and reflect on a season of rebirth. Whether you spend this day singing in pews, parading on Fifth Avenue, joining a processional guided by the bamboo trumpets of Haitian Rara music, or hunting for painted eggs amidst the spring grass, I wish every New Yorker celebrating a joyous day.  Let us all embrace this holiday's spirit of hope and renewal as we build the City — and the world — that we deserve.”

Undergrad: "We're going to build a subway network!"

Grad student: "We can build light rail!"

Early career planner: "BRT is a cost saving service as good as rail!"

Grizzled planner: "What if we somewhat improved the existing bus service"

Hitler’s Edifice Complex He was obsessed with adding an expensive new wing to the Reich chancellery, part of his grandiose architectural ambitions for the nation’s capital.

Hitler’s Edifice Complex
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Another historic building in downtown KC is getting converted into new housing The proposed project will bring over 70 apartments and commercial space to a high-rise building in downtown Kansas City.

The city’s plan commission advanced plans last week to convert the 12-story George B. Peck Dry Goods building, 1044 Main St., into a mixed-use building with 74 apartments and over 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
www.kansascity.com/news/busines...

War Will Push U.S. Inflation Above 4% This Year, O.E.C.D. Says

Higher energy prices and uncertainty over the war in the Middle East will boost inflation and weigh on economic growth, a new forecast says.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/b...

Mayor Quinton Lucas proposes major rollback of Kansas City’s landmark affordable housing policy For five years, Kansas City has required developers to provide affordable housing if they get a tax break. The City Council is considering slashing the set-aside fee, effectively gutting that requirem...

The proposed change would slash the in-lieu fee by 95% — from $100,000 per unit to just $5,000. The proposed ordinance, introduced by Mayor Lucas, is part of an effort to bring developer requirements at city-run economic development agencies in line with Port KC.
thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026...

Unlearning the Myth of Red Texas From cowboys to labor leaders, David Griscom's debut book calls on Texans to reclaim their leftist roots—and examine who buried them in the first place.

From cowboys to labor leaders, David Griscom's debut book calls on Texans to reclaim their leftist roots—and examine who buried them in the first place.
www.currentaffairs.org/news/unlearn...

Brooklyn’s Watchtower Buildings Might Become Housing A slick office conversion didn’t take; now the developer is hoping nearly 700 units of housing will.

Brooklyn’s Watchtower Buildings Might Become Housing
www.curbed.com/article/broo...