Wyandotte County has a shortage of more than 4,000 affordable homes. About 23,000 households in the county can’t afford more than $400 a month for rent, according to a report from the county’s health department. Some local leaders say making more housing types available could help. However, some lower-cost housing options such as accessory dwelling […]
Thomas White
Thomas White covers workforce and economic impact for The Beacon, reporting on policies, programs, and systems that help or hinder everyday people's pursuit of the American Dream. White is an emerging reporter with previous experience at The Community Voice and The Pitch Magazine. The KC-area native spent over a decade in hospitality before earning his journalism degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City as a first-generation college graduate from a working-class family.
Posted inLabor
‘We are human beings’: UMKC workers take their fight for higher pay public
Belkis Cabrera has worked as a custodian at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for 16 years. Each time she and her co-workers earn a merit raise, she said, increasing healthcare costs and inflation swallow it. “We are not asking for much, just respect and enough pay to get by,” Cabrera said through an interpreter at […]
Posted inLocal Government
The good, the bad, the missing: How community benefits for new Royals stadium stack up
The 11-page ‘community impact partnership agreement’ commits at least $55 million back to Kansas City over 30 years. Here’s what the public gets and how it compares to other deals.
Posted inLabor
KC Streetcar workers vote to unionize after record summer, expansion talks
Privately employed KC Streetcar operators, maintenance workers and maintenance technicians vote 41-11 to join Teamsters.
Posted inLabor
Worker groups seek common ground on proposed new Royals ballpark
Two weeks after a public meeting broke down in jeers, Mayor Quinton Lucas invited Kansas City worker groups to talk. Here’s what they agree on — and what they don’t.
Posted inElections
Kansas City election results: 5 questions sought $1.7 billion in bonds and a sales tax renewal
Five city questions on the Aug. 4 ballot covered water and sewer infrastructure, affordable housing, aging civic buildings and a sales tax for development in the urban core.
Posted inElections
FAQ: Kansas City Question 3 sales tax renewal explained
Question 3 asks Kansas City voters to extend the one-eighth-cent Central City Economic Development tax that helps fund projects in the urban core.
Posted inElections
FAQ: Kansas City’s two $750 million water and sewer bond questions explained
The ballot language, the history, the projects and the money. Here’s everything you need to know about Kansas City’s Aug. 4 water and sewer bond questions.
Posted inHousing
A $100 million fund could spell more affordable housing in Kansas City
Financing affordable housing is difficult, but a new regional housing fund backed by local foundations hopes to create or preserve thousands of homes across the nine-county area. A similar fund in Cleveland offers an early look at what to expect.
Posted inEconomics
Barfly on the wall: An inside look at a World Cup match night in a 5 a.m. bar in Kansas City
Argentina vs. Algeria filled the screens, but here’s what we saw from the table of a downtown bar on a match night and what extended alcohol service hours actually looked like.