10. Bank of American, our country’s largest bank holding company with $150 billion in revenue in 2009 and 248,000 employees, continues to struggle to maintain a small parking lot on the corner of White Oak & Osage.
9. Old City Hall at 200 South Main turns 100 years old. Yes, that’s right, behind those trees there is a historic building.
8. A local Main Street program gets a national award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. No, it’s not Independence. It’s the historic community of Lee’s Summit.
7. Our million-dollar tourism program gets a new leader, Cori Day.
6. Delaware Street sidewalks continue to be an obstacle course for tourists and neighbors.
5. National Preservation Month, May 2010, ends in typical Independence style. Yes, with the demolition of 1306 West Maple.
4. The National Park Service and the US Department of the Interior holds hearings in town and in Washington DC for the expansion of the Harry Truman National Historic Landmark District.
3. The National Park Service removes 26 properties on Truman Road and Maple Avenue from the proposed Landmark District Expansion after the Midtown / Truman Road Corridor Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation fails to follow its own standards.
2. As we search for community endorsements for the Landmark Historic District expansion, we learn of a public endorsement from the Independence Public Schools. No, it’s not for the historic district. It’s for a casino in Sugar Creek.
1. The New York Times does a less-than-flattering story on homes that Truman lived in here in Old Town, the “Hardscrabble Suburb.”
Happy New Year!!! Yes, we hope 2011 is better than 2010. Some positive things are in the works and we hope to report about those in 2011.
