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!