What happened last week in Midtown Kansas City?

Last week in Midtown Kansas City, Westport Middle School moves closer to being sold…the city keeps debating the crime lab and airport issues…and the city gets a major grant for streetcars.

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Issues around Midtown schools came to the forefront as the Kansas City School Board agreed to sell Westport Middle School to a development group. The school will be converted to apartments, nonprofit offices and an urban gardening site. But some residents and elected officials worry that Midtown’s stock of useful school buildings is being depleted, which could limit the options for finding quality local school options in the future.

>Meanwhile, classes were underway at Gordon Parks Elementary charter school in Volker, but the state asked a court to amend a recent decision that allowed the school to reopen after losing its charter.

At city hall, U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver told the council that sequestration is hurting Missouri and Kansas City. He also told the charter review commission that he favors changes to council districts that could lead to more minority representation on the council.

In an ongoing debate, the city council and the police department reached a compromise on the size of a scaled-back crime lab, and discussed forming a joint committee to monitor construction of new police stations.

And in another ongoing debate, a study group continued looking at options for KCI airport.

The restoration of Roanoke Park continued with the park conservancy releasing a new plan for ecological restoration.

Our most popular story on Facebook concerned the charges filed against the man who killed a tame deer in Elmwood cemetery. He said he needed the meat to feed his family, but our readers weren’t buying that.

On Twitter, our most shared story was the news that Kansas City had been awarded an $20 million federal grant for the downtown streetcar line.

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