The Kansas City Star

A sales tax plan to fund light rail in Kansas City has failed.

In metropolitan Kansas City, two sales tax initiatives on the ballot in efforts to raise money for the region's long-planned light rail system.

Elvira's Cakes is a home business that outgrew the kitchen and settled into Kansas City's ailing downtown. The city is looking to small business people like Elvira to breathe new life into Kansas City's struggling districts.

With few local job opportunities, residents in small towns have grown accustomed to long commutes to cities. But with high gas prices making those commutes unaffordable, some economists wonder how much longer small towns can retain their populations.

Streetcars and rail in place of bus rapid transit said to jeopardize federal funding.

Columnist E. Thomas McClanahan reviews a new public space in Kansas City, and finds a lot to like in the urban design.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser's new proposal calls for a regional transit system spanning 119 miles, though it relies on much less light rail than some transit advocates had hoped for.

This editorial argues that Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser's plans for a regional light rail system are ambitious and not likely to succeed, but they are a powerful example of the froward-thinking mindset more cities need.

This editorial from The Kansas City Star argues that Mayor Mark Funkhouser's plan to create a regional light rail system may be too ambitious, and efforts should be focused on building a smaller system.

Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser has introduces a plan for a regional light rail transit system. Now he just needs his neighbors get on board.

Libertarian groups Cato Institute and Show-Me Institute are scrambling to convince Kansas City to end talks to consider building a light rail system in the city.

The long-awaited report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has finally been released and it's sure to create a stir as it calls for annual increases in the gas tax of 5 to 8 cents for 5 years, and then some.

Johnson County's rural residents fear the expansion of nearby Overland Park is a land grab that will perpetuate suburban sprawl, thereby diminishing their quality of life.

The city may consider a heavy rail subway system after overturning a light rail ballot initiative.

The public library system in Jackson County, Oregon, is part of a growing trend: outsourcing and privatizing public services.

This column criticizes the recently-passed Kansas City ordinance that restricts billboard advertising within the city, claiming it will disproportionately harm local small businesses that are already having trouble getting noticed.

The Kansas City Council has passed an ordinance that will tightly restrict outdoor billboard advertising within the city. The ordinance effectively bans new billboards from all city streets.

In Kansas City, plans for a new light rail line connecting the city to the nearby international airport will need about $500 million more than originally expected to complete construction and maintain operations.

Contemporary architecture needs to reacquaint itself with the creation of beautiful and people-friendly spaces, argues columnist E. Thomas McClanahan.

Even with a voter approved plan, the Kansas City metro region is only beginning to talk about light rail construction -- to its determent, argues one columnist.