Yearly Archives: 2011
Joe Miller: Sizing Up Kansas City’s Mayoral General Election & The Candidates
Eight things I’m thinking about on the first day of the Kansas City mayoral general election:
1. The Star is the big winner. Tuesday’s election proved that the morning paper is the most powerful political institution in town.
Not too long ago, I thought the Star had lost its power.
A big chunk of the newsroom destroyed by downsizing. A shriveled news hole. Constantly scooped by a porn-crazed trogladite.
But it seems they’ve only grown in power: Fewer people reading; fewer people voting; and the readers and the voters are pretty much the same few.
In this election, the paper of record showed that its more powerful than the titans of industry in this city – both the Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Council, a secretive but well-intentioned cabal of CEOs from the city’s biggest corporations in the city – came out early for Deb Hermann.
Tony: Who is to blame for KCMO’s Empty Voting Booths?
In KCMO the City Council ladies were dancing with delight upon the news that Mayor Funkhouser’s tenure was no more and so many other voters expressed the same sentiment.
But I’m more interested in casting blame for the way the elections came down. Politics can’t all be sunshine and hope. It’s no surprise that there are consequences and repercussions from last night’s primary in which almost nobody voted.
The final tally revealed a disheartening 15% of registered voters came to the polls yesterday.
It was the first time in 80 years an incumbent Kansas City Mayor failed to win re-election. But the more important trend is that the overwhelming majority of people simply don’t want to particpate in the process.
Let’s attempt to figure out why:
Donnelly: Update on U.S. Men’s National Team at Sporting Park & Boulevard Beer Sponsor Request
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As reported here last month, ("SKC Ticket Sales Booming; USMNT coming to KC?" – Jan. 17), the US Men’s National Team appears poised to play a Gold Cup game in KC on June 14th at Sporting Park (more on the stadium name later).
While the official Gold Cup schedule hasn’t yet been announced, recently several other local media outlets have been picking up on this development, including the Kansas City Star’s Charles Gooch. With all the chatter going around it seems more and more likely that Robb Heineman’s comment to MLSSoccer.com’s Andrew Wiebe really was a cat-out-of-the-bag moment.
Remember? Back in January Heinemann said of the Gold Cup:
"Our intent is to have that be a high-flying event … We want to make sure the Gold Cup and when the national team is here, if they end up being here, that we are running full throttle."
Smooth, Robb
In other SKC news, Heineman recently announced the concept of becoming a "member" of Sporting KC.
Donnelly: KC’s US Men’s National Team Wishes Coming True; Why You Should Be Friends With SKC
As reported here about a month ago ("SKC Ticket Sales Booming; USMNT coming to KC?" – Jan. 17), the US Men’s National Team appears poised to play a Gold Cup game in KC on June 14th at Sporting Park (more on the stadium name later).
While the official Gold Cup schedule hasn’t yet been announced, recently several other local media outlets have been picking up on this development, including the Kansas City Star’s Charles Gooch. With all the chatter going around it seems more and more likely that Robb Heineman‘s comment to MLSSoccer.com’s Andrew Wiebe really was a cat-out-of-the-bag moment.
Remember?..
Glazer: Table is Set for Excellence at City Hall Now That The Rascals Have Been Neutered
OK sports fans it’s come down to this…
Looks like your old buddy "The Glaze" is a pretty good picker. To be honest, I felt the KC mayor’s race would come down to Sly James and Mike Burke – and maybe the Funk. I liked what Sly had to say and the way he carries himself. So this will be a close one.
A white man versus a black man.
No matter how you cut it, that’s the case. However Sly is not a black candidate like Emanuel Cleaver or Alvin Brooks.
OTC: K-State At Nebraska For Rare Big Hoops Game
“It’s a bigger game for Nebraska than it is for Kansas State at this point.”Dave Armstrong, on the Wildcats trip to Lincoln for tonight’s 8:00 PM tipoff, 810 AM
GH: K-State is riding a torrid 4-of-5 game Big 12 win streak that includes a pounding of then top-ranked Kansas. Sleepy Nebraska jumped into everyone’s bubble conversation with maybe the upset of the year with their win over Texas. This matchup could not come at a better time for Big 12 hoops crazies. Both teams need this one to remain legit NCAA contenders.
“I don’t think a loss at Nebraska is going to hurt (K-State’s) NCAA chances.”
Dave Armstrong, 810 AM
GH: Read that sentence again and try to make sense of it. While the Huskers win over Texas was huge for Doc Sadler and his squad, the Devaney Center is after all named after a football coach. No one outside the Big 8 thinks a loss in Lincoln is tolerable. Frank Martin needs this win to keep the Cats tourney hopes purring.
Dave Armstrong, 810 AM
GH: Read that sentence again and try to make sense of it. While the Huskers win over Texas was huge for Doc Sadler and his squad, the Devaney Center is after all named after a football coach. No one outside the Big 8 thinks a loss in Lincoln is tolerable. Frank Martin needs this win to keep the Cats tourney hopes purring.
Today: Will New Movieplex at 135th & Nall Break Ground, Live to Tell the Story?
Can a fledgling movie exhibitor take on the mighty, Kansas City-based AMC and Dickinson theater chains and live to tell the story?
We may be about to find out. And then again, we may not.
Movie insiders are skeptical about recently reported plans for Vancouver-based Cinetopia to open its fourth movie venue at 135th and Nall in a planned development called Prairiefire at LionsGate. The move would lock the six year-old Cinetopia in head-to-head battle with AMC’s Town Center Plaza (119th and Nall) and Dickinson’s Palazzo (135th and Antioch).
"If they go in there, I think what will happen is what happened to the new theater that closed last year at Zona Rosa," one theater exec says."The competitors will refuse to play day and date with them, and the movie studios will have to decide which theater to give the movies to. So the new theater would only get half of the product.
Hearne: Take The Royals Advice, Boycott Baseball
Everybody’s trying so freaking hard….
You know, to make it appear that somehow this year’s Kansas City Royals baseball season really matters. But in the wide world of sports – in the world of ‘Just win, baby!’ – it does not. Who cares?
It’s painfully obvious that after an eternity of mediocrity and faded hope, the owners of the Royals are either a) ridiculously inept b) could care less or c) all of the above. How else can it be explained?
At least in the days of the lowly Kansas City A’s everyone knew the score; the team was never gonna be any good, so just go out to the crappy stadium every year or three, check out the other team’s stars,slam a stadium steak, laugh at the mule and be done with it.
Get on with your life.
These days however, we have a sports media beast that wants to be fed. But why should we?
Hearne: Life After Funkhouser, A Legend Laid Low By Love
King Kong vs. Godzilla; Frankenstein vs The Wolfman; Jennifer Anniston & Angelina Jolie…
The annals of ridiculous rivalries are littered with the corpse-like memories of vicious cat fights between celebrity combatants. In Kansas City few have loomed larger than the one that went down these past four years between Kansas City mayor Mark Funkhouser and First Lady Gloria Squitiro and biting blogger Tony Botello.
It’s hard to imagine an indignity Botello has yet to inflict on the controversial first couple.
Raising the question of how thrilled Botello is with Funk’s election day throttling and if he’ll have to take up golf or ant farming to fill the deep void…
STARBEAMS: KC ranked 9th Most Dangerous; Diana Dress Tour; Thwarting Mexican Vacay Mishaps
A new US News & World Report survey ranked the most dangerous cities in the country – Missouri has two cities in the top 10. Kansas City is ranked the ninth most dangerous. St. Louis was ranked the number one most dangerous city.
FBI data includes burglary and motor vehicle theft, as well as violent crimes like murder and robbery. In Kansas City, you’re three times more likely to be a victim than in the average city. St. Louis was the only city where you are five times more likely to be a victim.
Things have gotten so bad, St. Louis is considering changing their area code to 911.
Tracy: Did the Pitch sell out? Planned Expose of Political Hit Man Pat Gray Turns Puff Piece
In honor of election day today, let’s take a look at one of the town’s most feared, reviled and exhalted political operatives…
And the hit piece alternative weekly the Pitch promised but failed to deliver on.
Naturally I’m talking about Pat Gray – who I’ll wager prior to the Pitch story coming out – was shaking in his lizard Tony Lama cowboy boots there in his Leawood hacienda. But the supposed expose of arguably the biggest political rascal here since Tom Pendergast–turned out to be a fluff piece. A snoozer.
Too bad.
Turns out I was practically the only one willing to go on the record, exposing Gray as the conniving, devious campaign manager I believe him to be. Everyone else (you know who you are) stayed off the record.
Which pretty much says it all.
STARBEAMS: Honoring Washington, Hilton and the American Way
There’s one common last name in this country that’s 90% black and that would be "Washington." The main reason Washington is so common is because a lot of emancipated slaves picked that last name to honor the country’s first president, even though he was a slave owner. There aren’t many black children with the last name Urich, but only because Sharita Hutton is playing hard-to-get.
Last night on Hawaii Five-0, Dane Cook guest starred as Dano’s brother. So, at least we knew the show wouldn’t be funny.
Note to the producers; we only watch to see Grace Park in a bikini.
Don’t waste your time with a plot.
OTC: Bulldog Bob Fescoe Loses His Bite When It Comes To KU
“K-State fans are not happy with me and the radio station for our perceived bias of KU. I didn’t think we’d have to go into these explanations on why we’ve mocked K-State. They were supposed to (win the Big 12) and they have completely underachieved!”Shan Shariff, 610 AM
GH: The hot question being debated between Kansas and K-State fans is why isn’t KU’s Tyshawn Taylor’s suspension being critiqued with the same voracity as KSU’s Curtis Kelly’s reported investigation and hearing was the previous week? Read on for Bob Fescoe’s crimson and blue reasoning.
“This is two different stories but K-State fans won’t hear that. The Curtis Kelly thing was different! That was three things that happened boom, boom, boom – all in the same season. Tyshawn Taylor’s were one his freshman year, one his sophomore year and one his junior year. They were more spread out.”
Bob Fescoe, 610 AM
GH: Yeah, Fescoe really said that. The Bulldog might be the best thing to happen to the OTC since Neil Smith.
Bob Fescoe, 610 AM
GH: Yeah, Fescoe really said that. The Bulldog might be the best thing to happen to the OTC since Neil Smith.
Today: Key Business & Civic Leader Handicaps Mayoral Contest, Looks at Leaders
Sleepy as this year’s Kansas City mayoral contest has been, it’s about to get a lot more interesting…
Starting with which two candidates will carry their share of the brass ring into the grand finale election ring a month from now. Here’s how one business and civic heavy hitter with a penchant for politics sees today’s ultra-close mayor’s race shaking out:
1st Place: KC mayor Mark Funkhouser with 23 percent of the vote.
2nd Place: Development lawyer Mike Burke with 20 percent.
3rd Place: Deb Hermann and Sly James with 19 percent each
4th Place: Jim Rowland with 15 percent
Glazer: The Write-In Campaign That Will Never Be
Make no mistake, this will never happen…
But here are the people I feel would get Kansas City back on the map.
My first Pick: Carl Peterson for Mayor.
Most people are no longer on the "We love Carl" bandwagon. And it’s public knowledge he and I didn’t get along. However Carl is a sharp, smart leader. Peterson made millions for Lamar Hunt. Not just with the Chiefs but with other investments. The man lands of his feet.
Carl has charisma and knows how to run things. He turned the Chiefs around, especially attendance and profits.
Tony: Retired Star News Man Jim Fitzpatrick Bets Big Money On Mike Burke
Talking "journalistic ethics" (giggle) is tantamount to a parlor game for me. It’s a losing pastime because there is no journalism judge, jury or definitive ruling body to make the final call.
In fact, what the digital age has shown is that ANYONE can practice journalism and those old talk shows on PBS – full of hot air regarding the state of "journalism" – don’t really have any more insight than anyone else.
It’s not rocket science. When The Founders first developed their adherence to the principles of free speech, the "media" had even more "citizen journalists" than today, and corporate gatekeepers had yet to find a way to control and limit the opinion of the masses.
Still, along the way there have been customs and mores developed that are still prized by most people practicing journalism. And that’s what we’re here to talk about today.
The question: Is it kosher that current blogger and former Star reporter Jim Fitzpatrick is making significant donations to a KC Mayoral Candidate but only finally noted his contributions in one, tiny reference last week?
Glazer: Sly James & Deb Hermann for Mayor – Take Your Pick – These Two Are Tops
Well, this year’s mayoral race has been quiet to say the least…
Current mayor Mark Funkhouser is still somewhat of a force. Why? Name recognition that many of the other candidates don’t for one. And with a very small turnout lkely tomorrow, that well could work for the incumbent mayor. Remember, only one seated mayor has lost their second term in the last 100 years. Kay Barnes wasn’t very popular in her second run and barely beat my dad, Stan Glazer. Stan got 42% of the vote. Not bad for a man who had never dabbled been in city politics and who got muckraked by the Star. So Barnes was re-elected and the same thing could happen with Funk, even though he doesn’t appear even a little bit popular.
Two candidates getting some traction are Sly James and Deb Hermann.
And here’s what they had to say when I caught up to them yesterday
First James..
Today: Rumored Streetside Savior Hits Tax Trouble Road Bump
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There’s good news, bad news and weird news where the saving of the music store formerly known as Streetside concerned…
Let’s start with what passes for the good.
Unlike most failed, defunct businesses, Streetside’s phone number in Westport is alive and kicking. Nobody’s answering and no messages have been left but clearly somebody’s hanging onto the more than 20 year-old, number for some reason. Telephone numbers for most failed businesses go away pretty much immediately.
And despite a non-denial denial by Shawnee music store Vinyl Renaissance’s manager about reports it plans to reopen in Streetside’s digs, a funny thing happened. Someone slipped into Streetside’s now empty digs and planted a Vinyl Renaissance sign in the front glass door.
Now the bad news…
New Jack City: AMC Unspools Continuous Smorgasboard of Oscar Hopefuls!
Here’s your dilemma: The Oscars are this coming Sunday night. You haven’t seen most of the movies nominated for Best Picture. Seeing them on video obviously wouldn’t be the same.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
The solution? A 24-hour Movie Marathon of the 10 Best Picture nominees – showing back-to-back at the AMC Mainstreet Theater.
It all kicks off this Saturday morning at 10 a.m., February 26 with Toy Story 3 and wraps on Sunday morning, February 27 with The King’s Speech showing at 7:05 a.m.
For a mere $50, you get a 24-hour marathon pass that covers you for the entire 10 nominated movie experience.
But wait, there’s more!
OTC: Royals’ Forecast Differs Depending On Radio Station
“(Dan Glass) has officially owned this team for a decade now. I think we’re on 12 years that he has officially owned this ball club. This team has not won. And now we stand at the crossroads of a labor negotiations to which David Glass was once considered a problem (for owners) because he stood up for the small-market teams. … Now everybody’s getting rich and it’s not about winning or the small-market teams would be standing up and crying foul. And they’re not. They’re quietly sitting and lining their pockets with millions of dollars. And that’s sad.”Soren Petro, 810 AM
GH: It has been interesting to listen to the different tone regarding the Royals from the two local all-sports talk radio stations in Kansas City. Petro and his 810 crew have continued to be quite harsh and in my opinion more realistic in their approach to analyzing and covering the Royals. 610 Sports sent Bob Fescoe to Arizona to cover the first week of the Royals’ camp and he got a case of true blue religion while in the Valley of the Sun. Read on.
“The Glass bashing is done. The Glass bashing is old. He is the owner of this team. He was not doing the right things at the beginning but he’s doing the right things now. They are the caretakers of this franchise.”
Bob Fescoe, who has declared he will no longer publicly bash the Royals owner as he has in the past, 610 AM
