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Up To Date

Seg. 1: Opposition To Mayor's Pre-K Tax Plan. Seg. 2: A Jazz History Tour Of Kansas City.

Luke X. Martin
/
KCUR 89.3
Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell, pictured here on a January 2018 episode of Up To Date, says getting kids in pre-K programs is critical to them performing well throughout the rest of their school years.

Segment 1: Most people agree access to pre-K needs to be expanded. Not everyone agrees on how to pay for and oversee it.

Days after Kansas City Mayor Sly James made public the particulars of his plan to fund expanded early childhood education, opposition to the proposal is piping up. Today, we heard educators and community organizers explain why they think the mayor's scheme to get more 4-year-olds into pre-K needs work.

Segment 2, beginning at 26:22: Some sites are more obvious than others, but Kansas City offers jazz lovers plenty of historical points of interest.

Kansas City's UNESCO designation this year as a "Creative City of Music" is international recognition of the town's influence and impact on the direction of a distincly American art form. To guide us through some local sites where early- and mid-century musicians blew their horns, wet their whistles, and generally just hung out, we sat down with two advocates for local jazz remembrance.

As part of the Charlie Parker Celebration, Wagner and Burnett will guide a Kansas City jazz history tour starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, beginning in the 18th and Vine District. For ticketing information, visit the tour's Eventbrite page.

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City. Email me at luke@kcur.org.