DowntownKC.net

(Press Release) Kansas City, MO - Hot off the heels of the very successful Big 12 Basketball Tournament celebration, the exciting new Kansas City Power & Light District is poised to welcome throngs of St. Patrick’s Day revelers.

While not affiliated with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Kansas City Power & Light District is situated on Grand Boulevard, adjacent to the end-point of the parade route. The KC Live! Stage and courtyard will be abuzz with activity throughout the day as the restaurants welcome Kansas Citians to celebrate downtown. Raglan Road, the newest addition to the KC Irish scene, will play host to all Irish, and Irish-for-a-Day, with live music, food and beverage, all inside the authentic pub constructed in Ireland. McFadden’s Sports Saloon, is another of the 13 total restaurants and clubs that will celebrate with Kansas City as the town turns green. McFadden’s will feature breakfast beginning at 8:00am.

The KC Live! Stage will light up the scene when Halfway to Hazard takes the stage at 5:30pm. The nationally celebrated band from Kentucky will bring their "little bit country, little bit rock and roll" attitude to the celebration with a free concert.

Date: Monday, March 17th, 2008
Activities begin 8:00 a.m.

Location:  The Kansas City Live! Block of the Kansas City Power & Light District located between 13th Street and 14th Street and between Grand Blvd. and Walnut St.

The MyFOXKC Power & Light blog answers a question I’ve had about scalping tickets at the Sprint Center (or anywhere else in the city for that matter).

If you’re heading down to the Sprint Center, you’re likely to see a bunch of scalpers. Scalping is legal if you just have a pair of tickets you need to sell off. But, professional scalpers have to make their way to City Hall to get a business license. Four professional sellers did get cited Thursday for not having a license.

StubHub.com is still the best way to get rid of any extra tickets you may have in my opinion.

• March 13-16, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Basketball Fan Fest, in partnership with the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission; 14th Street between Grand Boulevard and Walnut Street, plus Basketball Oasis tent at Grand and Truman Road; spirit rallies, games and activities; basketball shown on the outdoor video screen in the Live block directly across from Sprint Center. Also Road to Glory event on 14th Street featuring live jazz and images of Kansas City’s college basketball history.
• March 13, 4 p.m., concert in Live block by Jeff Jenkins & the International Band of Leisure
• March 14, 8:30 p.m., concert in Live block by Sister Hazel
• March 15, 6 p.m., concert in Live block by DJ Review
• March 16, 4 p.m., concert in Live block by Live Bracketology: Selection Sunday
• March 17, St. Patrick’s Day Fun Fest, 14th Street between Grand and Walnut plus tent at Grand and Truman; 5:30 p.m. concert in Live block by Halfway to Hazard
• May 14-18, daily and nightly, Spring Music Extravaganza, four days with multiple major acts and unique art and entertainment
• May 24-Aug. 30, Saturdays, Family Fun Series free games, education and activities under the clock tower near 14th and Walnut streets
• May 29-Aug. 28, Thursdays, Hot Country Nights, 15 shows, including Craig Morgan
• June 4-July 30, Wednesdays, Rock the Block, 10 shows, including Shiny Toy Guns
• June 28-29, Downtown Art Annual, juried art fair featuring more than 100 artists on the district’s streets
• Aug. 3-Aug. 31, Sundays, Blues Concert Series, five shows
• Aug. 7-Oct. 8, Wednesdays, Homegrown Music Series, eight shows
• First Friday events after the galleries close, 9 p.m. and later, live music, DJs and special events
• Live jazz and blues music will be played on the streets on select Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with the schedule to be announced.

More dates & announcements will come later.

Here are some links to recent articles that I thought I’d share.

• KC Star video preview of the Gorden Biersch opening
• Bowling alley, brewery restaurant added to Power & Light District
• Map of 113 restaurants downtown (pdf)
• KC prepares for onslaught of fans for Big 12 basketball tournaments
• AS I SEE IT: Big 12 Basketball championships offer exciting time for Kansas City and our new downtown
• Fireworks, concert kick off Power & Light lineup

Sorry for the lack of stories. I finally finished moving the last couple boxes from my old place last night and am settling into my loft in the River Market. I’ve been pretty out of touch with all the happenings in these parts over the last couple weeks, but am going to spend the next few days getting caught up and will post the stories as I come across them.

The first bit of news that caught my eye is a new Cordish & Co. project that was recently approved which allows them to build a 35 story condo / luxury hotel at 13th & Main. This project still has a few more hurdles to jump through, including approval from the mayor, but it appears to be on the right track.

Story: Cordish plan for condo-hotel OK’d

Looks like KC managed to convince a high-profile national charter school to open its doors in the downtown area in the near future.

Links
- Discussion thread
- High-profile charter school poised for KC (KC Star)
- Union Station High School? (KC Star)
- KIPP.org

Quick rundown…
- Founded & managed by the KIPP Foundation (Knowledge Is Power Program)
- It would be a charter school, meaning public and tax-payer funded, but run by a local, independent board.
- KIPP currently educates 12,000 students in 52 schools around the country.
- The state has already approved the school, so the next step is to find a location. Everything from Downtown at 9th & Grand, to the crossroads, Midtown, 18th & Vine, and Union Station have been discussed as possible sites.
- A KIPP school is far different from the education environment that most public schools have. Students are given the teachers phone number and home visits are encouraged. School days are longer, and have more days in session per year than traditional public schools.
- 80% of KIPP graduates attend college, which is rather remarkable for schools that primarily educate urban youth.

My thoughts?
While I am thrilled KC has been given the opportunity to have a school such as this, one reason publicly stated for getting this school is to try and convince young families to stay in the downtown area and personally, and I don’t think that is a very realistic vision for this project. I am a 20-something resident of Downtown KC, and once I have children of schooling age, I’m not sending them into the KCMO school district as it currently is, and I’m in the majority with that line of thinking too. In 5-10 years it might be in better shape than it currently is, but still… it’s going to take a lot to convince me not to move to the suburbs or send my children to private school so they can have a quality education. Living downtown is cool, but I’m not going to sacrifice my children for that luxury.