BCCP 4743 Troost Suite 200 Kansas City, MO 64110-1727 Ph: 816-523-2991 Fax: 816-523-2281     ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS                                 TOP                                                                                                                         TOP                                                   TOP

THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN Volume 10, Issue 1 January/February/March 2008   COMMUNITY RAINGARDEN ENTERS ITS SECOND YEAR Last April, a group of students attracted a team of community volunteers, including several businesses, to execute a very visible class project. The KCAI Brush Creek Community Raingarden enters its second year this spring. Built by the Kansas City Art Institute’s Persuasive Ecology: Community as Client class students, faculty and staff are planning for further development of the rain garden this year to meet more of its educational goals. The community is invited to be part of these special activities: Saturday, April 12, 2 to 4 p.m., Community Casting Day. Help make small “message stones” for visitors to the garden. Tools and instructions provided. KCAI Ceramics Extension Classroom (look for signs). Call 816-802-3539 to reserve your participation. Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., WeedX 3. Help prepare the garden for a new year of growth. In addition to some needed weeding, text stones and other educational materials will be installed. Brian Collier, founder and president of the Society for a Re-Natural Environment will lead a couple brief workshops on how to make native plant seedballs. Bring gloves and tools. WeedX3 will occur at the garden along Oak Street just north of Brush Creek. Friday, May 2, 3 to 4 p.m., Garden Party Grand Opening and Dedication. A brief ceremony, music and light refreshments in a celebration or hard work, creative vision and community commitment. The event will be at the garden along Oak Street just north of Brush Creek. For more information about the raingarden, check out the link: www.kcai.edu/raingarden. “ROAD TO THE FESTIVAL” ACTIVITIES BRING LITERARY FOCUS TO THE CORRIDOR Second Literary Festival Scheduled May 17 The second Kansas City Literary Festival (KCLF) scheduled Saturday, May 17, on the Country Club Plaza promises to be bigger and better this year. More than 100 authors and exhibitors and a crowd of more than 13,000, including many families, participated in its 2007 launch. Festival hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The 2008 festival will feature a number of highly acclaimed national authors in addition to quality local and regional authors. Once again there will be the popular kids’ stage, a poetry stage, a specialty authors' stage, a culinary stage and the festival’s focus – the main stage. New to the festival will be special events and a stage devoted to panels and workshops. The stage will feature authors discussing aspects of writing, reading, getting published plus a wide variety of other topics. Immediately following each session, there will time for questions and answers. This year, the festival and a number of Brush Creek Community Partner members will be sponsoring several literary focused events in advance of the festival to which the public is invited. Corridor activities include: Exhibition: Deb Sokolow creates diagrammatic drawings that read like graphic novels Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Through June 15 Book Sale UMKC Friends of the Library, Miller Nichols Library, 800 51st St. Friday, April 4, 10:00 am to 12:00 noon Performance: Zak Morgan - Live! Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Tuesday, April 8, 6:30 pm Display: Books written by Kansas City Art Institute faculty members Kansas City Art Institute, Jannes Library, 4538 Warwick Blvd. April 15 through May 13 43rd Annual UMKC Friends of the Library Meeting featuring the UMKC Concert Jazz Band Blue Room, 1616 E. 18th St. Wednesday, April 16, 5:30 to 7:30 pm; call 816-235-6222 for tickets Author Talk: Scott Heim discusses his book We Disappear Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Tuesday, April 22, 7:30 pm Plays in Progress Workshop: A reading of American Made by Kansas City playwright Frank Higgins Rockhurst University, Sedgwick Hall, Rm. 115, 1100 Rockhurst Rd. Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 pm El Dia De Los Ninos/El Dia De Los Libros - a celebration of children, family and literacy Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Friday, April 25, 7:30 pm Exhibition: Ice: A Victorian Romance - an exhibition of rare books from the History of Science Collection Linda Hall Library Exhibition Gallery, 5109 Cherry May 1 through September 13 Lecture about the exhibition Thursday, May 1, 5:30 pm Reading: Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea Children can explore the gallery and write their own fairy tale books Toy & Miniature Museum, 5235 Oak Dr. Saturday, May 3, 11:00 am Adults - $6, seniors/students - $5, children (5-12) - $4 Book Discussion: Books on sustainable design Symbiosis and Nuture will be discussed by the authors BNIM Architects Steve McDowell and Mark Shapiro Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Thursday, May 8, 7:00 pm BFA Exhibition Reading: Seniors read a compilation of work Kansas City Art Institute, 4415 Warwick Blvd. Friday, May 16, Noon; call 816-892-3426 after May 1 for exact location Check out www.kansascitylitfest.org for a complete list of Road to the Literary Festival activities that your family can enjoy. Visit our websites at www.bccp.org or www.kcartswalk.com for additional event information on these events. BRUSH CREEK CORRIDOR POST OFFICE RENAMED TO HONOR COMMUNITY LEADER Matilda Hartsfield examines the plaque designating the renaming the U.S. Postal Service Station at 4320 Blue Parkway the Rev. Dr. Wallace Hartsfield, Sr. Building as her husband Rev. Hartsfield (left), and several U.S. Postal Service officials (right) look on. The entire Missouri Congressional delegation supported U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s legislation to rename the post office in tribute to Hartsfield upon his retirement after more than three decades of service to the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church. PARTNER UPDATES BCCP's immediate Past President The Rev. Stan Archie, has been chosen by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) to serve on a task force to formulate state policies to reform middle schools. Archie, the president, chief executive officer and executive consultant of Christian Fellowship Ministries is a member of the Missouri Board of Education. As part of the 21-member national panel, he will examine several issues that have policy implications for state boards of education, such as curriculum, teacher preparation, assessment and evaluation, middle school organization, and high school integration. The task force will issue a comprehensive report in October. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research and Bio-Med Valley Discoveries, the institute's for-profit technology development arm, are undertaking a $25 million expansion in south Kansas City. Some of the storage and research support functions of the institute will be moved to a 15 acre site at 8333 Hickman Mills Road. The Stowers Institute has put its larger plans for creation of a second campus on hold while issues around stem cell research in Missouri are uncertain. Midwest Research Institute (MRI) will support and operate a National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases research lab, a contract worth about $15 million. Battelle Memorial Institute is the lead organization that will fulfill the contract at the High Containment Integrated Research Facility under construction at Fort Detrick's National Interagency Biodefense Campus in Frederick, MD. The contract includes options for additional biosafety-related work for MRI that could earn several million dollars in additional revenue. The law firm formerly known as Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP became Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP on February 29. The merger with Husch Eppenberger created a business services and litigation law firm with 630 attorneys in 14 offices around the United States, with more than 150 lawyers based in the firm's offices in the Plaza Colonnade. The Saint Luke's Hospital Foundation has received a $3.6 million estate gift for the Saint Luke's Cancer Institute. The bequest from the estate of Dorothea and Presley Pitts will allow the institute's oncologists to spend at least 20 percent of their time on research. The gift is the largest ever designated for the cancer institute and the second-largest in the foundation's history. Several members of Brush Creek Community Partners or people or organizations associated with them or their activities were recently recognized by the Kansas City Business Committee for the Arts of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City. This year's business honorees include H&R Block for its partnership with the Kansas City Repertory Theatre in using Block's new corporate headquarters for the Rep's second stage; and Embassy Landscape Group, Inc., for partnering with the Kansas City Art Institute in the creation of the KCAI Brush Creek Community Raingarden in Theis Park. Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block and honorary chairman of the Kansas City BCA, received the national BCA Leadership Award which recognizes a business executive who demonstrates exceptional vision, leadership and commitment in developing and encouraging business alliances with the arts throughout their career. Vanessa Vaughn, community relations and internal communication specialist in Marketing Communications with UMB Bank received the honor of 2008 Outstanding Cultural Concierge for her volunteer efforts in implementing Kansas City BCA programs at UMB. PASEO BRIDGE OVER BRUSH CREEK ENHANCED BY LIGHTING PROGRAM As part of Kansas City Power & Light's commitment to energy efficiency, KCP&L installed the second phase of a permanent lighting display, on the Paseo Bridge over Brush Creek near Gates Plaza. LED lights, which are 90% more efficient than regular light bulbs, will be used to 'wash' the bridge in color year-round. The lights will be programmed for colors appropriate to holidays and special events throughout the year. The Paseo Bridge is the second bridge to be completed as part of this project. KCP&L illuminated the Wornall Road Bridge on the Country Club Plaza in conjunction with the 2007 Plaza Lighting Ceremony. KCP&L partnered with Kansas City Parks & Recreation, Custom Lighting Services, and Animated Lighting to complete this project. NEW SCHOOL OFFERS UMKC CREDIT UPON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION The University of Missouri-Kansas City is among five community partners behind the planning and operation of the Southwest Early College Campus (SWECC) opening this fall. The school has a math and science focus and will serve students in the sixth through 12th grades. SWECC will open in August with grades six and nine at the site of the former Southwest High School, 6512 Wornall Road. The school will offer a project-based curriculum with extended-day and extended-year opportunities. Beginning as early as the ninth grade, students will have the opportunity to take college-level courses, participate in internships, join activities on the UMKC campus, and earn up to 60 hours of college credit from UMKC. In addition to UMKC, SWECC is being designed and implemented by the Kansas City, Missouri School District; Kansas City's Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation (PREP-KC); the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute; and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship. For more information call 816-418-7977. NELSON MUSEUM EXPANSION GARNERS NATIONAL RECOGNITION Excitement about last June's opening of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building continued into 2008. Time magazine named the $200 million expansion the Number One Architectural Marvel of 2007. The American Institute of Architects bestowed one of 13 Honor Awards for Architecture on the 165,000 square foot museum addition. In citing the work of Steven Holl Architects in its design of the Bloch Building, Time said, "Adding a new wing to a neoclassical museum, Holl devised a spectacular update on classicalism: an irregular series of volumes that cascade down the museum's lawn and glow from within. The effect against the nighttime sky is nothing short of magical.” LIGHT RAIL PLANNING The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is engaging the community in planning for light rail, considering routes in and around the Brush Creek Corridor. Workshops are scheduled through early May. Visit their website www.kansascitylightrail.org for more information. Midtown Kansas City April 10, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Saint Paul's Episcopal Church 11 E. 40th St. April 24, 5:30 - 7:30 pm UMKC Education Building, Room 115 May 8, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Saint Paul's Episcopal Church 11 E. 40th St. East Kansas City April 7, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Gates Banquet Room 4621 Paseo April 21, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Brush Creek Community Center 3801 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd. May 5, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Gates Banquet Room 4621 Paseo KOBAYASHI’S EXPERIENCE GUIDES BCCP’S FINANCIAL DIRECTION "You can't have a strong business community without strong social commitment." Brush Creek Community Partners Treasurer Todd Kobayashi says that's a BCCP mantra, and with his experience in finance and investment, he totally agrees. Kobayashi is a money man. He knows how to project it, create strategies and assess the potential of making it and, ultimately, count it. Elected to the BCCP Board of Directors in 2006, he says the interest of his employer, Kansas City Power and Light, in the partnership's efforts in the area, is a sound one. "KCP&L has a big load pocket in the area, so it's important to see it develop," said Kobayashi. "Business needs to be part of this development and it needs to make an investment." Kobayashi is KCP&L's vice president of Energy Resource Management. His responsibilities include evaluating the need for new plants, environmental equipment, and wind power, as well as marketing electric power and hedging and managing the fuels department. Previously, he was Vice President of Strategic Planning, Investor Relations, Corporate Budgeting and Financial Forecasting for Great Plains Energy, the parent company of KCP&L. He believes his experience in both finances and strategic planning can help guide the financial direction of BCCP, especially in assessing what programs are financially viable. According to Kobayashi, BCCP needs to expand its base of business members. "Membership is what pays expenses. To keep doing the things we're doing, we need to expand." Currently, BCCP is considering a number of concepts to keep the area moving forward. Among them is the development of a tennis complex with public, indoor courts along Brush Creek. According to Kobayashi, the facility will not only draw interest from locals, but also visitors to the area. He says it will increase housing and help create investment for more business. Kobayashi gives a lot of credit to area residents for the success of the partnership to this point. He says partnership programs take real work and that people like those in the Blue Hills Neighborhood have a passion for the programs and are willing to do the work. And he believes it's important for board members like him to make the connections and reach out to new members with a message about the group and the area. He says part of that message is what business can gain by being part of the effort. "We need to communicate well what we're doing and how we're doing it so people see the value."