One success, one fail for the Mayor

Last week, I didn't get a chance to pat the mayor on the back, for once, so to speak, for helping slow down Wells Fargo on the sale of some foreclosed-on houses in town.

One "attaboy" from me--along with others--for doing something well and right in town, instead of complaining--more--about him.

From the Mayor's letter to the city::

On May 12, the Mayor held a press conference asking Kansas Citians to get involved in a planned huge auction of houses owned by Wells Fargo as the result of foreclosures.

The Mayor was concerned that the houses would be purchased by out-of-town investors who would do little with them until the housing market rebounds. The problem with this scenario is that the houses typically end up being an eyesore in the neighborhoods - with weed filled yards that the city is then burdened to clean-up until they can track down the investors to pony up and pay for the maintenance.

After his press conference, Wells Fargo canceled the auction.

Excellent. Instead of absentee landlords, from out of town, buying up and owning these properties, maybe more local investors can snap them up at bargain prices, fix them up a bit and take care of them, instead of letting them become, as said above, eyesores.

So good on ya', Mayor. If you'd do more good and positive things like this, maybe you won't be thought of so poorly when you're thrown out of office this Fall.

Here's the fail:

One man was dead and another had serious injuries after a shooting at 63rd Street and Swope Parkway in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday night.

Another shooting in town.

Another senseless killing.

At what point--I ask again--is this mayor going to stand up in front of local TV cameras with other civic, community, church and other leaders and say we are not/cannot any longer take these pointless, tragic shootings and killings and we are going to come together to fight them?

I know I've been asking this for the last year here.

It's nearly one more Summer upon us and the temperatures are rising, along with the humidity and we all know the likelihood these will increase is extremely strong.

I would contend--and I think a lot of other people would, too--that this issue of drive-by and other senseless homicides in town is the number one concern in the city at present and has been during this mayor's entire term in office, yet he hasn't addressed it, full-on, once.

It's way overdue.

I'm calling on this mayor once again, to address the issue of homicides, not because I'm a blogger, certainly, but because I'm a resident of the city and because this situation is ugly, stupid and desperately in need of attention and solutions.

Mayor? Your response?