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Starbeams: Cordish Plan Down the Sewer, DMV Days, New Math & Chocolate Love
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The Cordish Co. is planning a $70 million downtown project with a 23-story tower as the centerpiece. They also want a 25 year tax break. Thankfully, our $3.6 billion crumbling sewage problem is well-funded, so the timing’s perfect.
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Summer is officially here. June 21 is the longest day of the year….unless you’re at a Kansas DMV. Then it’s even longer.
Hearne: Time Running Out on Jardine’s Liquor License
Time’s running out for a ‘savior" to rescue Plaza area jazz joint Jardine’s…
That is, if its hard to get 3 a.m. liquor license is to be salvaged. Whether the intention is to do a jazz, blues, dance, gay bar – you name it – it won’t be easy to reopen the space at 4536 Main if the license lapses.
"It expires at the end of July," says Regulated Industries head Gary Majors. "It’s one license and a 3 a.m. license. Typically they have 90 days once it expires to reapply."
And you can pretty much forget someone new coming in and getting a 3 a.m. license without working something out with beleaguered Jardine’s owner Beena Raja.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘BRAVE’ Keeps Pixar’s Winning Streak Alive
Ancient Scotland has been the setting for many past adventures in movies…
And now it becomes Pixar‘s location for that studio’s 13th production.
Thirteenth? Will it be cursed?
No way, unless you count what the witch does to the Queen in this movie.
The story of BRAVE is a simple one with a red-headed and strong willed Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly McDonald) doing her own thing in the kingdom where her archery skills don’t exactly endear her to the male community.
Donnelly: Vermes Lays it on the Table, Steals Point With Little-Used Players @ Seattle
Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes took a big swing with his starting lineup Wednesday night at the Seattle Sounders…
Six of his eleven starters had played sparingly so far this year and one – outside midfielder Michael Thomas – had never logged an MLS minute. The other five, Lawrence Olum, Peterson Joseph, Michael Harrington, Jacob Peterson and Soony Saad, had a couple of starts this year combined.
But with a packed schedule looming, including five games in the next 14 days and a cross-continental flight for Saturday’s contest in Philly, having the regulars at full strength going forward was crucial. So Vermes made a gutsy call, threw all his chips down and let them fall where they may.
When all was said and done, the gruff KC boss came out smelling like a rose.
This game was a high water mark for both the club and the coach.
Glazer: Jimmie ‘JJ’ Walker’s New Book Has Kansas City Connections
My good pal, Jimmie Walker‘s book: DYN-O-MITE, GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES, OUR TIMES is out Tuesday…
it’s getting nice reviews and lots of media attention, including the Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post and yes, even the Kansas City Star‘s Lisa Gutierrez did a nice piece on the book. However Lisa, who’s covered Stanford’s and me, missed the local angle.
The book is written by KING OF STING co author, Sal Manna. It’s on the back cover of the book. More importantly, there’s an interesting story about Kansas City, Fox 4 and Stanford’s in the book by this legendary comedy icon.
The book is a bible on the 1970’s and on the men and women who worked with Jimmie and to a large extent made comedy on TV what it is today. Stories about his staff include Jay Leno, David Letterman and even the late Freddie Prinze.
Believe it or not, Walker started his career on TV with the Tonight Show with Jack Parr.
Starbeams: Retro Radio ‘Release’ Week, McCartney Does Bieber & Boulevard’s ‘Love Child’
New albums have been released this week from Neneh Cherry, Richard Marx, Smashing Pumpkins, Fiona Apple, Jimmy Buffett and Lita Ford. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to crank up ZZ99!
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Paul McCartney turned 70 this week. He is the only 70 year-old I know who can pull off the Justin Bieber hairdo.
Sounds Good: Flaming Lips@LibertyHall, Steve Martin@Midland, Split Lip@Crossroads
Storied Lawrence concert venue Liberty Hall turns 100 this week, and they’re throwing one helluva party to celebrate…
Fittingly, the party couldn’t be one night only, not for its 100th. Nope, they’re doing it up right, with two nights of the Flaming Lips starting Thursday. How is Wayne Coyne going to squeeze his giant hamster ball inside the intimate venue you ask? Not sure. But I do know it’s going to be insane. Definitely the smallest venue that the Lips have played in some time, I’m sure.
Remember, last summer they played the second stage at Kanrocksas in front of several thousand and killed it.
For Friday’s event, Mass. Street in front of Liberty Hall is getting shut down and turned into a psychedelic street party that I expect to be absolutely packed. This looks to be one of those events that you simply cannot miss if you’re expecting to keep any of your Larryville cred.
On to the picks…
Glazer: Scribe Gives His Blessing to Texas Ranch Worker Killing
Sometimes killing a person is fine, just fine…
A Texas rancher did just that, killed a man with his bare hands. He beat a 47 year-old worker named Jesus Mora Flores to death. Why? Flores was raping his 5 year old daughter. The father was never arrested for the killing.
A grand jury decided not to indict the rancher for the killing. His name is being withheld due to the nature of the crime – rape, molesting a child. Flores was seen running off to the woods with the little girl, according to Shinner, Texas police. The father also was in the area and saw what was about to happen. When he reached the rape scene, Flores had his pants down around his ankles, the little girl was undressed and Flores was in the process of raping the child.
The father jumped the child molester and beat him about the head and body. He then called 911 and asked for help. "Come on! This guy is going to die on me!" the father yelled. "I don’t know what to do!"
Whinery: The War in Syria We Don’t Need to Fight
Isn’t America (and our NATO compatriots) in enough wars?
I think so, but the powers that be have that insane look in their eye again and Syria is appears to be the next target. The West has been emboldened by its faux victory in Libya and is now ready for the next “domino” to fall.
Syria- after Iran- should be the last country the West wants to play “regime change” in and here’s why…
The S-300 Missile System – the great equalizer as far as air defense systems go – was designed by the Russians and if there’s a war it will be operated by them. It’s a particularly nasty air defense system that can track up to a 100 targets at once and engage up to 12 at a time.
Its surface-to-air missiles are devastating with a range of up to 100 miles and they travel at up to six times the speed of sound which is a lot faster than an F-16.
Which means our big, bad aircraft carriers would be sitting ducks against Syrian anti-ship missiles.
Leftridge: Carlos Beltran; from the “Ah, What Coulda Been” Files
So this past weekend, the Kansas City Royals traveled down I-70 to play the Cardinals. We all know how this goes.
For the Cardinals and their fans, this weekend usually doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot. St. Louis is usually playing much better ball and doing that whole thing where they perennially contend while the Royals, God love ’em, are throwing out a bunch of washed up rejects and young kids who are apt to be gone once they fall out of affordability.
One of these latter types who we lost to the highest bidder—long since gone from our humble burg, now—was Carlos Beltran.
And now that the current Cardinals outfielder is fast cementing a Hall of Fame candidacy, this is particulary depressing.
Starbeams: The Top 5 Ways to Spot a Kansas City Terrorist
Federal officials have arrested a Kansas City businessman for allegedly being part of an al-Qaida terror cell.
Top 5 Ways to Spot a Kansas City Terrorist:
#5. He gripes about having to drive 45 minutes north of town just so he can fly an airplane into a building.
#4. Drives around town all day looking for something worthy of blowing up.
#3. Lives in a cave called Hunt Subtropolis.
Hearne: Life After Missouri’s Tigers; KU Football Renaissance Explained
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There’s been no shortage of hooting and hollaring about KU football and new head coach Charlie Weis...
Last year’s slogan for KU’s football team was "Believe." Which worked just fine for the two meaningless, winning games at home against McNeese State and Northern Illinois. From there however the Jayhawks went 0 and 10 against K-State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Missouri and every other team they faced.
It was ugly and cost KU coach Turner Gill his job.
Which brings us to sexy new head coach Weiss and the hopes and dreams of the KU football faithful who can scarely remember the good, old days when the head coach was "phat" and abusive to student athletes and delivered winning seasons and bowl games.
So how high are those high hopes lately?
New Jack City: Hollywood Figures It Out…from Kansas City
If I told you Hollywood’s major studios turn to Kansas City for information and insights about their latest movies you’d probably think I was nuts…
Well they do, and I’m not!
THE BOX OFFICE ANALYST, LLC here performs important services that only a handful of similar companies provide—worldwide. Think of it as an analytical think tank that its movie making clients draw to shepherd their movies through the jigsaw puzzle of film distribution.
Glazer: The Real, True Hollywood Story of Why the Government Doesn’t Like Roids
Roger Clemens, NOT GUILTY…
Boy, you don’t hear those words often in federal court. They win nearly 95% of their trials. Which doesn’t mean the defendant is guilty, the Feds just have the power to always win. But not this time.
In fact, the government has now wasted millions of dollars and manpower to stage yet another public witch hunt that the public did not want to go along on.
Remember, Barry Bonds also walked.
Bonds was convicted of one minor charge but did no jail time. Clemens was cleared of everything. The government chose not to indict Lance Armstrong.
Did all three of them do steroids? No doubt.
Today: Can Alamo Drafthouse Lure Enough Geeks to AMC Mainstreet to Make a Buck?
They’ve got their work cut out for them…
It may sound like no big deal – other than the Nazi-like rules and regs about talking and texting – but when Alamo Drafthouse takes over the AMC Mainstreet later this week (after AMC gets kicked to the curb), there’s gonna need to be a whole lotta remodeling shaking going on.
That is if Alamo intends to sell enough upscale food and booze to its patrons at the downtown movieplex to make a profit.
Hearne: AMC Head Lashes Out at Cordish in Star Before Story Vanishes
You know it’s an ugly divorce when the CEO gets nasty and goes public…
For months rumors have flown about a pending nasty split between KC-based movie giant AMC Entertainment and Cordish Company. According to a source heated-beyond-belief emails were exchanged between AMC honcho Gerry Lopez and the operator of the Power & Light District.
Extremely heated.
Which explains why rather than simply divvying things up – AMC’s Mainstreet and the Midland by AMC – AMC was kicked to the curb in favor of the tiny Alamo Drafthouse. Embarrased in its home town no less (to the extent that the Chinese-owned firm ever gave a you-know-what about KC since the money lenders – including Bain Capital – took over a handful of years back.
How ugly did it get?
Edelman: There is Life After Jardine’s for Kansas City Jazz
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Rest in the Peace, Jardine’s…
All that’s left of my favorite KC jazz spot is the occasional story about Beena‘s travails here in KC Confidential. With its liquor license coming due, I’m afraid that may be all she wrote for a club that gave up plenty of smiles in its long hey day (and kept alot of musicians working).
Beena gave us some great shows.
I had my "killing me softly" moment the first time I heard Karrin Allyson on the tiny Jardine’s stage. Billy Stritch, Marilyn Maye‘s musical director, brought the cool for a $5 cover– that would be $35 and a two drink minimum in NYC. The Sons of Brasil (and all of Stan Kessler‘s musical amalgamations), Alacartoona, Professor Cartwright‘s KC series, Julia Othmer, Bram‘s jumping septet, Friday nights with Angela and Saturdays for Ida McBeth–it all sounded good,
I, for one, miss the place.
Like the Reno Club, Tootie’s Mayfair, the Inferno, Milton’s and a hundred other nightspots, the doors are closed but the music lives on. Don’t despair; move on.
Speaking of which, here are some places to catch great jazz in Kansas City this week:
Katie: No Lie, ‘Badass’ Alice Cooper Delivers the Goods @ Midland by AMC
We sent ace photographer Katie Grogan out into the trenches over the weekend to check out the freak show going down at the Midland…
Sure, Alice Cooper is old enough to be her granddad, but in order to appreciate the new, you’ve got to understand the classics, right? And Alice has been reaching out to younger generations for years, playing at Bonnaroo last week and incorporating a Lady Gaga cover into his set, of all things.
Reviews have been positive across the board, almost every one of them mentioning the fact that Alice can still bring it with gusto. Just as KC Confidential‘s Brian McTavish found in Cooper’s show here three years back.
Donnelly: Biggest Crowd of Season Witnesses Two World Class Sporting Goals
On a hot humid Saturday, LIVESTRONG Sporting Park was packed – even the standing room- for a game against one of the worst teams in the league…
The club reported it was the highest attended game of the season despite that Toronto entered the contest at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with only one win to its credit. And Toronto coach and Dutch legend Aron Winter, was canned just a week or two earlier after failing to bring total soccer to Canada.
Judging from Toronto’s play Saturday, current coach Paul Mariner may not be long for this world either.
Sporting started the game with a bit of a new look due to the fact that Matt Besler had an emergency appendectomy last week, and Kei Kamara is still out for national team duty with Sierra Leone.
Glazer: Good Riddance, Rodney King Was a Joke
Forty-seven year-old Rodney King died this weekend…
King drowned in his backyard pool – a pool paid for by a lawsuit from his 1991 beating by LAPD. It was a beating we’ll never forget, caught on video and which led to the LA riots that killed 55 people, injured 2,000 and caused millions of dollars in damages.
King became a "black leader" because of the incident but many white people had a problem with that.
Hey, there’s no doubt King was beaten and no doubt it was wrong. There’s also no doubt the police in LA and everywhere else in this country have no right to behave like animals.
But the problem with the entire mess is Rodney King himself.
