Northeast News
April 27, 2016

Over one hundred million dollars. That’s how much public money has gone into the 18th and Vine area of Kansas City since 1990. Those figures from an excellent article penned by C.J. Janovy over at KCUR tell the tale. Last week the city upped that ante by over $27 million, funding a host of projects ranging from a facelift for the historic Gem Theater to a flashy outdoor amphitheater. It should be noted that according to the KCUR piece, the Gem Theater has already received over $1.1 million in city funding, largely between 1999 and 2001.

To be fair, roughly $12 million in addition to the announced $27 million will be private funds leveraged against the public monies. Add the two together and it totals $39 million being thrown at an entertainment district that after 25 years, still can’t support itself without the crutch of public money. This critically thinking news-pooch wonders why things aren’t already soaring over at the Jazz District given the exorbitant amount of taxpayer cash that’s been spent on projects there already. Take for example in 1992 when almost $50,000 was spent on a Juneteenth celebration. Or in 1998, when over $900,000 was spent on management fees at the American Jazz Museum.

This newsdog wonders when the cash dump will end. There was a lot of talk last Thursday about connecting the Jazz District with the Crossroads art district that lies a scant four blocks away, if Councilman Quinton Lucas’s math is correct. It should also be noted that the Crossroads district was developed as a destination without the “help” of city cash. Last week’s announcement follows the same old liberal mantra that if you throw enough cash at something, it will eventually get better. We see how well that worked with the status of the Kansas City, Missouri School District in the 1990s. A score of shiny new temples of learning but still only provisionally accredited. Let this news writing canine be clear: while the Jazz District showcases some of Kansas City’s best history, throwing more taxpayer cash at it is not the answer.