This week, we’re in the thick of end-of-year office parties and on Friday we celebrate “Ugly Holiday Sweater Day.” Meanwhile, Hanukkah continues through Friday.
Here are some other local and national news stories to keep an eye on as we start this brand-new week:
Stadium Town Hall
It has been more than 10 months since the Kansas City Royals last hosted a town hall to discuss their new stadium plans. Now, the public is being asked to weigh in again. This time it’s a prominent Jackson County legislator doing the convening.
Amid reports of faltering negotiations, Manny Abarca claims Jackson County could lose the Royals and the Chiefs if no long-term agreements can be reached soon with both teams.
Want to give your two cents about the future of the Royals and Chiefs stadiums?
You’re invited to attend the town hall on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Fowling Warehouse, 102 W. 103rd St., in Kansas City. To get your bearings, that’s just north of Jasper’s restaurant at 103rd Street and State Line Road.
Click here to find more details and to register for the meeting.
Johnson County Shelter
Increasing homelessness in the suburbs is prompting Johnson County leaders to act.
On Thursday, the Johnson County Commission is scheduled to vote on buying a $6 million hotel with plans to turn it into a homeless shelter. It would be the county’s first permanent year-round shelter for the unhoused.
County leaders want to use unspent federal COVID relief money to purchase a La Quinta Inn and Suites next to Interstate 35 in Lenexa. It would house 50 individuals or families in private rooms.
A study last year found more than 200 people in Johnson County living in tents, cars or on the streets.
Ending ‘Income Discrimination’
Another landlord-tenant battle is brewing in Kansas City this week.
On Tuesday, a City Council committee is expected to vote on a proposed ordinance that would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to people because of their poor credit history, prior evictions, criminal background or source of income.
Mayor Quinton Lucas calls it an end to “income discrimination.” But leaders of two local landlord associations say the measure won’t increase housing options for the people it’s intended to protect. They say the ordinance will instead convince mom-and-pop landlords to get out of the rental business, selling their houses and apartments to individual homeowners or to larger out-of-state companies that would likely raise rents.
A hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. on the 26th floor of City Hall.
Kennedy Rally
The road to the White House winds through Kansas City this week.
Sort of.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brings his campaign to Kansas City on Wednesday, with a voter rally at the Uptown Theater.
The event starts at 5:30 p.m.
Kansas License Plate
After public backlash over a proposed new Kansas license plate, Gov. Laura Kelly wants the public to decide on the new design.
Starting today, Kansans can go to KSPlates.kansas.gov to vote for their favorite plate among five designs created by Mammoth Creative Co., a Kansas-based marketing firm, in partnership with Kansas Tourism.
Voting will end at 5 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 15.
Other News of Note…
Ukraine Leader at the White House: Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington on Tuesday to lobby for billions of dollars for Ukraine’s war effort. Time is running out for Congress to secure the aid money before the end of the year. The House and Senate will begin an extended holiday break on Friday.
Swift Birthday: Taylor Swift turns 34 years old on Wednesday, leading to a new round of breathless coverage over whether the megastar plans to spend her special day in Kansas City with new boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs tight end recently moved into a $6 million home in Leawood.
Wonka: We are returning to the world of “golden tickets” and “Oompa-Loompas” this week asthe world’s most famous candymakermakes his big screen comeback.
More than 50 years after the release of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” this new film tells the origin story of the eccentric top-hatted chocolatier.
Timothée Chalamet plays the young Wonka. And you get extra brownie points if you spot Hugh Grant as a grouchy and extremely orange Oompa Loompa.
Wonka hits a movie theater near you on Friday.
Chiefs Turnaround? After back-to-back losses, the Chiefs travel to New England this week as they take on the Patriots. Game time is Sunday at Noon.
Nick Haines tracks the week’s most impactful local news stories on “Kansas City Week in Review,” Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Kansas City PBS.
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