Northeast News
September 7, 2016

We all remember the old Sesame Street rhyme: “one of these things is not like the other…”

This dog certainly does, and that little ditty has remained part of our highly-used lexicon to this day. Last week, owners of the InterContinental Hotel, located in the heart of the trendy, upscale Country Club Plaza shopping district, filed a request with the city’s plans and zoning committee to declare itself blighted. Cue the Sesame Street music maestro, if you please. Seriously?

This dog thinks if you factor in the weekly appearance of violent teen flash mobs spreading their hateration and lawlessness on The Plaza, you might have a better chance of being declared blighted, but this dog doubts it. Note to the ownership group at the InterContinental, the above right picture is what real blight looks like. Real blight negatively impacts property values. Real blight is what citizens in Kansas City’s urban core deal with on a daily basis. We’ll be watching this hearing carefully given this news-dog’s office stands next to a blighted shot-gun shack that is being rented out by its owner to any squatter with a $5 bill and a bottle of hooch. Hotel management says the business side of the hospitality industry is complex. We beg to differ. It’s pretty simple, actually. The left is most certainly not blighted and the right most certainly is blighted. Questions anyone?