Westwood

Westwood residents voted 441 to 394 to keep the tiny park. The result puts an end to plans to sell the land to a developer for an office park and retail shops.

Kansas City voters will be asked in April's election whether they'll support a renewal of the city's public safety sales tax, which city officials want to use to fund a new jail. Plus: A small park in Westwood has sparked legal battles, heated city council meetings and even protests. Now, voters will decide its fate.

After years of legal fights, Westwood residents are voting in a special election to decide the fate of Joe D. Dennis Park. The small patch of land has come to encompass tensions over city power, green space, development, and First Amendment rights.

More than a dozen law enforcement agencies — from Overland Park to Prairie Village — will be encrypting their primary channels so listeners can't hear what police and dispatchers are saying over the air.

Residents say the city of Westwood failed to follow a specific state statute requiring a published notice of intent to sell Joe D. Dennis Park — one piece of the pie for the Karbank Real Estate Company’s planned development on Rainbow Boulevard.

Kansas City, Missouri, had several ballot questions to vote on — including a sales tax that could determine the future of the public bus system. Cities across Johnson and Wyandotte county also chose winners in local council, mayor, school board and other consequential races.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7! While Kansas City, Missouri, has no candidates on the ballot, voters will have several important questions to answer. In Johnson and Wyandotte counties, voters will have all kinds of local council, mayor, school board and other races to decide.

The Westwood City Council voted to pass a proposal that will replace Joe D. Dennis Park, at the corner of 50th Street and Rainbow Boulevard, with several multi-story, mixed-use buildings. Residents protested the project over concerns about its finances, the impact on pedestrians and Westwood's identity.