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Kansas City News Today Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY NEWS TODAY - Monday, September 24, 2007 Schlitterbahn Vacation Village Expected to Be Largest Entertainment Project in Kansas History KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), September 24, 2007 - The first elements of the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village are scheduled to open in the summer of 2009 and will include the first phase of the Water Resort, several lodging components and the initial shops and restaurants to be developed along the projects themed Riverwalk. The Schlitterbahn Vacation Village is a $750 million year-round, trend-setting, retail entertainment destination comprised of multiple shopping, dining, lodging and entertainment venues connected by a Transportainment(R) River System. In the Vacation Village, manmade rivers carry guests between lodging units and a world-class Water Resort along with a covered Riverwalk including shops and restaurants. The Kansas project is the first expansion outside of Texas for the popular Schlitterbahn group of waterparks. Widely recognized as the leader of waterpark innovation and as the first family of American waterparks, Schlitterbahn currently operates three Texas waterparks -- Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, South Padre Island, Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark, Galveston Island and the award-winning flagship waterpark Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels. The 370-acre vacation village is expected to entertain millions of guests per year and will create several thousand jobs, providing an economic boost to the region. "On behalf of the citizens of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, I am delighted to have Schlitterbahn Resorts Worldwide select our community for the location of its first-class destination resort, the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village," stated Joe Reardon, Mayor/CEO of Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas. Blunt Cuts Ribbon for New Health Sciences Building KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), September 24, 2007 - Gov. Matt Blunt Friday helped celebrate the grand opening of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's new Health Sciences Building. The new $50.2 million facility, located just south of the School of Medicine, will provide 227,649 gross square feet of instructional, research and administrative/support office space for the UMKC Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy as well as the University's life sciences partners. "The UMKC Health Sciences Building stands at the intersection of two important avenues for Missouri's future - education and health care," Blunt said. "It is a pleasure to be at UMKC this afternoon to celebrate the grand opening of a health sciences building that will increase opportunity for Missouri students, and help prepare the next generation of pharmacists and nurses for the Kansas City region." Blunt recently signed legislation to expand student loan forgiveness for nurses. The bill helps address nursing shortages and encourages more Missourians to pursue careers in nursing. It expands the professional and practical nurse student loan program allowing nurses to earn forgiveness on their loans by working in facilities in defined areas of need. Financial aid available to nursing students consists of loans for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate training that may be forgiven in exchange for service in an underserved area. The governor also worked with Governor Kathleen Sebelius to secure a Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant. A portion of the $15 million grant is working to expand the nursing workforce in the region in conjunction with the Mid-America Coalition on Health Care. In addition Blunt signed legislation to make it easier for pharmacists to help patients. The law amended the practice of pharmacy to allow pharmacists to administer vaccinations and prescriptions for medication therapeutic plans as authorized by a physician. The legislation also allows pharmacists to administer flu vaccines by written protocol for Missourians over 12 years old. Don Bosco Community Center to Receive Tax Credits KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), September 24, 2007 - The Don Bosco Community Center, Kansas City has been approved for $32,000 in Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits. The center will utilize the tax credits to support and intensify three key programs: The Senior Center homebound meals program, of which an estimated 68,400 meals will be delivered to home-bound seniors and home-bound persons with disabilities; the Family Support Center emergency assistance program where an estimated 900 clients will receive case management counseling related to financial, emergency food and shelter and employment assistance; and the Don Bosco Education Center, an accredited high school, which is estimated to increase its attendance rate to 200 students and provide high school diplomas to an estimated 130 students who might not graduate if attending another educational institution. Businesses can donate cash, materials, supplies or equipment; technical assistance and professional services; labor; real estate; or stocks and bonds. Credits can equal up to 50 percent of the total amount contributed or up to 70 percent for projects located in most rural areas. Lottery Scam Using Bogus Checks from Missouri-based Utility Company KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), September 24, 2007 - Attorney General Jay Nixon is warning consumers about a new lottery scam using checks that appear to come from Aquila, the Kansas City-based utility company. In what Nixon calls a typical lottery scam, a consumer receives a letter saying he or she has won a large sum of money in something called "Power Lotto Payout." Enclosed is a check for $3,120 drawn on an Aquila bank account. The letter asks the consumer to deposit the check and wire a portion of that money to another party. This wire transfer supposedly covers processing fees. But consumers who follow these instructions later find out the Aquila check has bounced. "Consumers need to be on the lookout for these scams," Nixon said. "The letter is exciting, the check looks real and the instructions seem simple. But the only thing these consumers get in return is a massive withdrawal of their own money." Because the checks used in this scam are bogus, Aquila's bank is refusing to cash them. So far, Aquila says consumers have attempted to cash more than $250,000 worth of these checks. Nixon's office is working with Aquila to track down the perpetrators of the scam. So far, no Missouri consumers have reported receiving these solicitations.   The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 Moore Design Group. |
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