Change clocks, batteries this weekend

With daylight-saving time beginning Sunday, March 14, the Shawnee Fire department reminds residents to change their clocks and the batteries in their smoke alarms.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, a working smoke alarm increases a family’s chances of a safe escape from a fire by more than 50 percent.

The Fire Department suggests residents install at least one smoke alarm inside every sleeping area and on every level of the home. Smoke alarms also need to be tested and maintained.

Wastewater warns of phone scam

Johnson County Wastewater is once again warning residents about an ongoing telephone scam that seeks to illegally obtain banking information from wastewater customers.

JCW spokesperson Lori Sand said several residents have reported receiving an automated phone call stating that their account is past due and requesting them to call back a number the scammers provided with a check or credit card information. The number on the recording is an 816 number, but so far customers have not provided the full 10 digits.

JCW officials say they do make automated collection calls, but the call does not originate from an 816 area code. JCW’s automated collection call requests the customer to contact JCW and does not ask for financial information.

Life Time Fitness opens at Lenexa City Center

A little life has been breathed into the stalled Lenexa City Center project with the opening of Life Time Fitness, 16851 W. 90th St.

According to company officials, the nearly $40 million, 112,000-square-foot, two-story center, located on 12 acres, is more than a workout facility or health club – it is a "healthy-way-of-life resort."

Following a VIP preview event Thursday, the center opened its doors to the community at 6 a.m. Saturday. The opening marks Life Time’s second location in the Kansas City area; the other is at 135th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park.

Merriam, Shawnee taking state smoking ban in stride

While most of Johnson County has been smoke-free for more than a year, a handful of bars and restaurants in Merriam and Shawnee still allow smoking.

That will change July 1 when a recently approved statewide smoking ban goes into effect.

The Kansas House approved the Clean Indoor Air Act on Feb. 25; the Senate approved the act last year. The ban prohibits smoking in bars, restaurants, work places, taxis and 80 percent of hotel rooms. Casino floors, tobacco shops, private clubs and designated smoking rooms in hotels are exempt.

About 40 states have statewide smoking restrictions, as do 39 Kansas cities and counties, including most in the metro area.

Business briefs

Walgreens opens at Cherokee South

The area’s newest Walgreens drugstore opened Friday, March 5, at Cherokee South Plaza in Overland Park.

The 14,820-square-foot stand-alone building is part of an extensive renovation project at the center, located at the southwest corner of 95th Street and Antioch Road. The project developer is Westchester, Ill.-based Tri-Land Properties Inc.

“With high name recognition and a strong consumer base, Walgreens will serve as a great anchor tenant and we are excited to have it up and running,” said Hugh Robinson, Tri-Land’s executive vice president of acquisitions.

Eight firms receive EDC honors

Eight businesses have received honors  from the Overland Park Economic Development Council.

The recognitions were bestowed at the group’s recent annual luncheon at the Regnier Center on the campus of Johnson County Community College.

Grant would add bus route along 75th Street

Prairie Village soon could get a major east-west transit link.

An $800,000 federal grant has been offered to fund operating expenses for a new bus route running along 75^th Street that would allow riders to travel across the state line and as far west as Quivira Road.

Alice Amrein, director of Johnson County Transit, said she will present the grant proposal to the County Commission for consideration early next month. To get the federal money, just under $200,000 in matching local funds would be required, she said.

There currently is no 75^th Street bus route, but establishing one has been a top priority in the county’s transportation strategic master plan.

OP City Council gets lesson in CPR

Members of the Overland Park City Council got a quick course last week on the lifesaving technique of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

If only it were as easy to learn how to revive sagging revenue figures.

In about an hour, Overland Park Fire Department Training Officer Buck Heath led Mayor Carl Gerlach and the 12 council members through a training exercise designed to teach the basics of the process.

“This is the minimum. This is bare-bones. But this could save a life,” Heath said after completing the instructional program. “Mostly, this level of training is for people with family or friends who are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.”

Arts programs continue despite funding cuts

Just when Johnson County was building some serious momentum in the arts, along came a recession.

Though not exactly a cultural revolution, arts officials say a cultural evolution of sorts has been taking place in the community for several years. That growth appears to have been slowed somewhat by the economic slowdown, but silver linings can be seen, even if hard silver for the arts is more elusive.

One of the most recent blows came when the Overland Park City Council, faced with declining revenue projections, trimmed $250,000 for public art over the next five years.

Private donations to arts-related programs and organizations around the county also are lagging in some cases because of corporate and individual budget constraints.

April Bishop, Leawood cultural arts director, has seen a decrease in private sponsorships for several events. As a result, the city will present two art shows this year instead of the usual four.