City Hall Encourages Residents to Shovel Snow from Sidewalks, But This Was City Hall on Thursday January 9, 2014

A City Hall news release Tuesday encouraged people to shovel their snowy sidewalks. The release said it was the “neighborly” thing to do.
That did not apply, however, to the south entrance of City Hall.
Parts of the sidewalk and the marble steps leading to the door were not cleared. A chain with a sign saying “sidewalk closed”, blocked most of the steps. Kansas City Mayor Sly James defended the city after the picture was tweet out.
“Done intentionally because we don’t want people on the marble steps in the snow,” James responded in another tweet.
The steps can get very slick when they get wet. Even a short shower can make the steps slick.
The marble steps on the south entrance were part of the buildings’s original construction, according to the Mayor.
James also pointed out the City Hall’s north entrance was clear and open. He called that the preferred entrance.
James says when the north entrance was remodeled recently, heating coils were installed under those marble steps and the sidewalk.

Missouri Congressmen Clay and Luetkemeyer Don’t Use Twitter, Most Members Do September 26, 2012

Post-Dispatch:
Twitter inventor Jack Dorsey, who grew up in St. Louis, once observed that his microblogging service was so named because it defined “a short burst of inconsequential information.”
Cynics might say that his definition suits this unproductive Congress, where all but 56 members of the Senate and House combined use Twitter, according to a count by The Hill, a newspaper on Capitol Hill.
Reps. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, are worlds apart in their approaches to public policy, but they apparently share an aversion to office tweeting. Clay and Luetkemeyer are the only members of Congress from the St. Louis area who do not have a Twitter account in their congressional offices, according to the list published today in The Hill.
Clay is active on Facebook and has a Twitter account connected to his re-election campaign that had 588 followers as of this afternoon. It wasn’t clear right away why he doesn’t tweet as a congressman. (Or have someone tweet for him, as if often the case.)
Luetkemeyer spokesman Paul Sloca said his member of Congress prefers “communicating in interactions in real time” and uses Facebook and YouTube to do some of that.
Sloca added: “Blaine is really focused on having a conversation in which you can have context … and talk in depth about the substance of issues.”
What, no context and depth in 140 characters?

Twitter trouble for McCaskill December 3, 2011

From Politico via johncombest.com:
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill sent out an innocent-looking tweet Friday afternoon.

But did it run afoul of a Senate rule?

McCaskill’s office says the Democratic senator mistakenly sent out the wrong link in her tweet, and that the “honest” error has now been corrected.

But the questions started after the senator – known for her Twitter prowess – sent out an afternoon tweet that linked to a YouTube video of her delivering a Senate speech captured by the C-SPAN cameras. The same tweet also included a link to her campaign website — even though Senate rules prohibit the use of television coverage of Senate proceedings for political purposes.

“First please watch this. bit.ly/tJjriQ Then do this: bit.ly/cmc_infr Thank you,” she told her 61,000 followers in the tweet.

In the first link included in her Twitter message, McCaskill is speaking on the floor about her bill that would strip funding for major construction projects in Afghanistan and instead fund the construction of roads and bridges in the United States.

But click on the second link, and you’ll be directed to her 2012 campaign website where she’s asking supporters to “sign on as a citizen cosponsor of my measure that puts America’s infrastructure first.”

According to a standing rule of the Senate, that may be a no-no.

“The use of any tape duplication of radio or television coverage of the proceedings of the Senate for political campaign purposes is strictly prohibited,” the rule says.

McCaskill’s office says it was just a technological snafu. The senator had several links in front of her, and she mistakenly copied-and-pasted the link to her Senate floor speech. She had meant to direct her Twitter followers to an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” where she’s talking about her bill, according to her spokesman Trevor Kincaid.

Kincaid called it an “honest mistake” and noted that the correct link with the MSNBC appearance has now been tweeted by the senator.

Update: Brownback Says Staff “Over-Reacted”, Shawnee Mission District Says Brownback Tweeter Does Not Have to Write Apology Letter November 28, 2011

The Shawnee Mission School District says Shawnee Mission East High School student Emma Sullivan does not have a write a letter of apology to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.

The district says, “She is not required to write a letter of apology to the Governor. Whether and to whom any apologies are issued will be left to the individuals involved.”.

Also Monday morning, Brownback’s officer issued their own statement.

“My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that, I apologize. Freedom of speech  is among our most treasured freedoms.”

A tweet Sullivan sent to friends during a meeting with Governor Brownback on November 21 has created a social media firestorm.

“Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him sucked, in person#heblowsalot”, Sullivan tweeted.

The Governor’s office saw the tweet and reported it back to the administration at Shawnee Mission East High School.

On November 23, Sullivan’s sister, Olivia,  wrote that the high school administration “is now making my sister write a letter of apology to Brownback and his staff.”

Sullivan said she would not do that.

Sullivan said that she disagreed with the conservative Republican Governor’s politics, but the tweet was a joke.

The story has mushroomed into a news event.

Sullivan’s sister says after an interview this afternoon, Emma Sullivan will be flight a flight to New York, for another round of news interviews on Tuesday.

The school district statement concludes, “The issue has resulted in many teachable moments concerning the use of social media. The district does not intend to take any further action on this matter.”

The Dog that Didn’t Bark for the Holiday November 24, 2011

Some Missouri politicos thought the final thing they’d see before they left for the weekend would be a new Missouri re-districting map.

House Budget Chair Ryan Silvey was tweeting late Wednesday, “Will the Mo legislative maps come out in the next hour…tick tock…#MOmaps”.

An hour later he answered his own question, “Rumor is they’re done. I think not since they didn’t come today (Wednesday). They could have 4 days before major press scrutiny”.