Just a quick note here before I head out on Christmas vacation. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Thank you for watching First News and allowing Donna, Joel, Johnny and I to come into your homes every morning. I hope you get some great gifts, eat some wonderful food and enjoy the holidays with loved ones. Have a safe holiday season and I'll see you in the New Year.

If you're like me, you've been moved by the Secret Santa stories done by Channel 9 reporter Bev Chapman and videographer Tim Twyman over the past few weeks. No matter how many times I've seen it, no matter how old the footage is, I always get a lump in my throat when I see the expression on people's faces when Larry Stewart hands them a hundred dollar bill. Some laugh. Some cry. Others thank him profusely. Stewart has impacted so many lives with his random generosity. It's part of the Christmas season that sometimes gets lost in all of the hustle and bustle.

I was reminded of the real meaning of the holidays last week as I visited something called the Christmas Store in Independence. The Community Services League has been operating the store for decades and it's touched thousands of families' lives over the years. The concept is simple: needy people come to the store and get to pick out presents for every member of their family, adults and kids. It's all free and all donated. They also get food for a Christmas meal. This program is so successful because it allows parents to pick out items they think their loved ones will like, rather than being given a bag of things selected by somebody else.

I talked to one mother as she picked out gifts for her family. Both she and her husband are on disability, she had brain surgery this year and they have five children ranging in age from 16 years to 12 months. It had been a tough year for her family. She told me, "There wouldn't be anything under the tree if it wasn't for them." She was smiling as she picked out special things for each of her children and her husband.

I saw a lot of smiles at the Christmas store that day. Quite honestly, I saw more smiles than I usually see at the packed malls this time of year. It reminded me to keep everything in perspective this holiday season. As the thankful mother told me before she left with her bag of holiday cheer from the Christmas Store, "It's the magic of Christmas. It's a miracle." It's giving and generosity that truly keep Christmas magic alive.

Politics is a very strange game indeed, and in Johnson County, Kansas, it's apparently turned into a game of musical chairs. Last month, longtime Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison trounced Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline for the AG job. The margin of victory was especially big in Johnson County, where both men are well known. Now, the big switcheroo. Literally as soon as the ballots where counted on election night, the rumors started: Kline may go after Morrison's old job. That's right, he was interested in becoming the Johnson County DA.

It seemed pretty preposterous at first. It still does to many people, but Kline didn't need to be elected in this case. All he had to do was be selected by Johnson County Republican insiders. Morrison, of course, was a Republican before he switched parties to run for Attorney General, so Republicans got to chose the person who served out the rest of his term. Kline stepped up for the job.

Well, he sort of stepped up. He didn't officially announce he was a candidate until right before the vote, but he worked the phones and the back rooms hard and what do you know, he won. It was a close election, but Kline now gets the job of the man who defeated him. To complete the irony here, Kline also gets a $50,000 raise. Not bad for getting beaten badly in an election.

This whole thing seems very strange to me. Strange that Kline would want to do this, strange that Republicans would pick him for the DA spot and strange that Kline gets a big raise out of the whole deal. Kline hasn't talked to the media since his win, so we'll have to wait to hear his take on all this. All I can say is situations like this are what make politics so fascinating. In Phill Kline's case, I guess he can't lose for losing.

Needless to say, this is not the time of year you want to upset Santa. The jolly ole elf can make or break your Christmas, so it's very important to keep him on your good side. Unfortunately for me, I managed to offend St. Nick just in time for the holidays.

It started innocently enough on Monday's First News. We had a story about the town of North Pole, Alaska getting flooded with letters addressed to Santa Claus. After the story, I mentioned that my son had written a letter to the big guy. The letter was actually very cute. He didn't even ask for many gifts, but instead, he told Santa how much he loved him and that he'd leave milk and cookies out for him. Okay, that was fine. Then... Donna asked me if Santa wrote back. I won't repeat what I said, but let's just say that it questioned Santa's existence. Oh boy. Not good.

On today's show, Santa Claus himself came into our studio to reprimand me and let me know that he does indeed exist. And, yes, he also informed me I will be getting a lump of coal this year. I admit, that's very much deserved. All I can do is ask for Santa's forgiveness and hope he accepts it in time for next year. Otherwise, it could be a coal-d Christmas for me for years to come. I learned my lesson: don't mess with the guy who brings the presents.

It's not often that a news anchor gets to say the word "Gondolas." Or at least that was the case until an amazing thing happened during last month's elections in Kansas City. For years, Clay Chastain had tried to get a light rail plan passed by local voters. Every time he failed. Then he tried a novel approach: he moved a thousand miles away to Virginia and once again put a light rail measure on the ballot. And what do you know - it passed. Chastain's low-key approach worked. Actually, I believe it was his opponents' low-key opposition that lead to the result. They thought they didn't need to put up much of a fight against a plan that had failed so many times. They were wrong.

So what now? My first reaction was that this will be a huge boondoggle for the city. (There's another word that anchors never get to say: boondoggle.) It very well might be, but city leaders need to try to find a way to make this thing work. It may require a few changes, but the voters approved it and the city needs to find a way to make it happen. Will we really tear out all the roads in Penn Valley park? I'm thinking that's one part of the plan that may need to be tweaked a little bit. I'm also not sure that the gondolas are really necessary (but I love saying that word.) However, a light rail system could be another step toward making Kansas City absolutely top-notch. Imagine taking light rail to the Sprint Center for an event, then hopping on it again to go to the Plaza for dinner and drinks. Sounds great to me. My message to city leaders: It's your job to make it a reality. Get it done. All aboard!