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Hearne: Will KC Firefighter Louie Wright’s Lawsuit Mean The End for Tony’s Kansas City?
I wanted to start this off with something like, "Nobody likes a lawsuit"…
But I’d be lying. Lawyers like ’em. People who work at law firms must as well. It’s a paycheck. Judges probably like ’em. People who think they’re gonna win, kick somebody’s ass and / or make a boatload of money undoubtedly like ’em.
So how about this instead? People who get slapped with lawsuits don’t like em. They cost money, take lots of time and sometimes you lose. Meaning more money, more time and more stress.
When Louie Wright, president of Local 42 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, filed a defamation lawsuit against blogger / KC Confidential contributor Tony Botello this week, Botello wasn’t happy.
"I am both ill-equipped and completely unprepared to face a lawsuit of any kind…" he emailed the Pitch."This probably means the end of the blog."
Wait! The end of Tony’s Kansas City? No way! Really?
"Not anytime soon but it’s definitely a possibility and it shows people the real stakes of the game," Botello shot back.
"Well, if they do hit me with the multi-million dollar verdict, I think that makes it pretty much open season on me," he says. "So it wouldn’t be worth it."
Starbeams: Punk Kids & Lawyer Ban on Plaza Elicit Wave of Nostalgia
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Katy Perry packed Sprint Center Wednesday as concertgoers wore everything from purple hair to cupcake bras. But even with all that, I still couldn’t get her attention.
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People are stealing copper from the
KC SCOUT
signs, the signs that alert you to upcoming traffic problems in the metro. Specifically from the cameras that show traffic problems. The copper can then be melted to make pennies. So far, the only suspect is my stockbroker.
Sounds Good: Buzz Beach Ball@LIVESTRONG, HOD & Grisly Hand@Knuckleheads, Quixotic@Crossroads(FREE), Dumptruck Butterlips@Perry Bar & Grill, Janet Jackson@Starlight
Have you ever rolled up to someone’s house to pick them up, blasting Janet Jackson or something?
Then, before they come out, you put in a different cd, cue it up right at the exact moment that makes you seem like you’re the coolest ever.
And when they get in and ask what you’re listening to, you say something nonchalant like, "Umm, oh, that’s the new Bon Iver album. It’s been stuck in my player for weeks."
Then you drive to some cool-ass, acrobatic/ hip hop/ electronica show that is kinda like Cirque du Soleil but with awesome beats and bolster your coolness even further. I mean, Brandon Draper is there, it’s in an arts district, and it’s totally free.
This is going great, you think. Then, on the way home, she finds the Janet Jackson cd and asks, "Is this yours?"
You scramble, "Are you kidding? That’s my little sister’s. Janet sucks, she just rode the coat tails of her brother for 30 years."
And then she says, "Oh, I love this album. It’s really sexy."
You make a mental note to slap yourself in the mouth when you get home…alone.
Never happened to you? I can’t be the only one…
Donnelly: Scary moment After Idiot Hits Sporting Goalie in the Head With Projectile
After dominating the game early, Sporting KC finally found joy in the 25th minute. 
The LIVESTRONG crowd erupted in celebration of a spectacular goal by breakout midfielder Graham Zusi that KC coach Peter Vermes called “a bomb,” putting Sporting up 1-0 over the visiting Portland Timbers.
The big screen flashed with images of “Brisket Bob” slicing his way through some juicy KC barbecue, poking fun at the Timbers’ practice of firing up a chainsaw to cut through a massive log each time they score a home goal.
At the other end of the pitch, Sporting goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen laid motionless just to the side of the net…
Glazer: Humble Scribe Welcomes Bubba Starling to Loserville; See Ya, Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya
So the Royals got their man, Bubba Starling...
No. 1 draft pick, big bucks, 19 years-old and a world beater. He may be with our big league team as soon as 2013. So you’d think with Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Melky Cabrera and now Starling, the Royals could look to 2013 as a year to at least win the division if not more.
Right? Wrong.
At first glance, the Royals look decent on paper. They actually do. They’ve got four starters who will likely hit more than 20 homers for the first time since Pete Rose played (OK, maybe that’s a bit too far back). Their best weapon, Melky Cabrera, gets nearly no ink or buzz. I don’t get it. THIS GUY IS TRADE BAIT? WHY?
Melky is hitting .311, has 16 homers and 73 RBI"s. All team bests. HE IS THEIR BEST PLAYER right now, not Hosmer or Gordon. He’s still young.
I say, keep this guy if we can afford him.
Jack Goes Confidential: : ‘FRIGHT NIGHT’ is Cult Blood-Sucking—Revisited!
Was there a good reason for remaking Tom Holland‘s 1985 Cult-Classic FRIGHT NIGHT?
Frankly I can’t think of any!
But give producer Michael DeLuca credit for keeping the reboot real. After all he did tell the entertainment media that the original "has a very special place in his heart."
Taking advantage of the current vampire craze, this new tongue-in-cheek edition has Las Vegas High Schooler Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) suspecting that his new next door neighbor Jerry—played by Colin Farrell-–is a vampire! And that he and his hot girlfriend are now Jerry’s next victims. Matter of fact Charley’s best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is convinced of it.
Mother Toni Collette takes longer to persuade. But when there’s a blood-sucker to slay and you live in Vegas, why not call upon the expertise of a local hocus-pocus headliner from the Strip for advice?
That’s what happens when Charley now seeks the services of a Chriss Angel-like dude.
So why the R-rating?
Edelman: STARLIGHT GETS IT SMART & FINAL WITH XANADU
I never could figure out why they called that store "Smart & FInal…"
I mean, it’s got all the same crap as a low rent Target. What’s so Smart and Final about that?
Then I checked out XANADU at Starlight this week– now THAT’s Smart and Final. The final show of Swope Park’s 2011 season is about as clever as outdoor musical theater gets. Like I said, Smart and Final.
Douglas Carter Beane writes terrific plays (THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED at the Unicorn several seasons back is more than proof of that). And his book for the musical of XANADU is a hoot. Instead of slogging through the sentimentality of your usual boy meets girl songfest, XANADU offers up "a children’s musical, but for 40 year-old gay men" (per Beane).
Its whipsmart send up of the horrible big budget film that set back movie musicals at least a decade (and killed off Gene Kelly) is chock full of those kinds of zingers— including a few none too blunt barbs at the whole juke box musical genre of which XANADU is an audacious member.
Glazer: Tears Shed as Iconic Comic Tommy Chong Leaves Deep Impression on KC
It was nice having the Chong’s back one more time…
You know, Tommy Chong – of Cheech and Chong – and his wife Shelby, who played Stanford’s this past weekend. We had a nice time. It was a reminder of how things used to be and in many ways no longer are. The crowds were very respectful of him and his wife. Everyone was smiling and in good spirits. And it was cool because there was so much going on, a Chiefs home game, Farm Aid nearby, the stock market mini crash, school starting, Plaza riots – about anything you could dream up.
Yet they packed the club up as always.
The Chongs did a meet and greet for everyone who wanted to see them after each show. Tommy signed everything put in front of him. He’s a national treasure. There are no comedy duos like Cheech and Chong today. Maybe Penn and Teller, but it’s just not the same. No big movies like there were in the Cheech and Chong days.
Tommy stands for the past, legalizing weed, being a free spirit, making our nation’s leaders listen to the people…
Starbeams: Royals ‘Bat’ Nightmare, Ann Taylor Plaza Riot & Vanguard Flashback
Good news! Nobody got shot on the Plaza last night, although, my wife did start a riot when she arrived at Ann Taylor one minute after they closed. You haven’t lived until you see an Ann Taylor riot.
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Passengers on a Delta flight from Madison to Atlanta were frightened by a flying bat inside the plane. People were yelling and screaming and the flight had to return to Madison as no one knew how to handle a bat. Begging the question, why were the Royals flying from Madison to Atlanta?
Glazer: KC Mayor Sly James to Adopt Glazer Plan for Plaza
Kansas City Mayor Sly James is a KC Confidential reader for certain…
I wrote several stories about him when he ran for mayor – all backing him. I interviewed Sly twice and wrote both stories on kcconfidential.com. Now the mayor’s going with my plan to save the Plaza. As written here a couple days back. The plan to rid the Plaza of the large groups of unruly black youth on Saturday nights.
OK, maybe James thought it up on his own. But it’s exactly what I suggested here a few days back.
CURFEW OPTION HAS KC’S INTEREST is the Star‘s headline today. The Mayor said a new city-wide curfew would be in effect this weekend. Starting at 9 P.M.
Sound familiar?
The details are still in the works, but it will be an under 21 and you’re OUT curfew.
Westport tried this in the 90’s, but it kinda failed due to lack of police enforcement.
Hearne: The Sun Also Sets, NPG Newspapers Issues Death Sentence to Joco Sun
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Prediction realized…
Last December I asked: "Does Steve Rose to the Star mean Death to the Sun?"
Today that rhetorical question was answered by the Sun‘s parent NPG Newspapers of St. Joseph.
"Everybody has to be out of the office by noon today, former Sun publisher Rose told me around 11 a.m. as I drove to Oklahoma City. "I got the official word on it three days ago."
Rose parents, Stan and Shirley Rose founded the suburban Johnson County weekly more than a half a century ago.
"It’s a very sad moment for me," Rose says. "And it’s sad for my mother who is alive and well – she started the paper with my dad – and she’s pretty emotional about it."
The unfortunate reality being, like any number of print pubs, the Sun was destined to set, Rose says.
Star Search: As Expected, Star Unleashes Furloughs Instead of Layoffs
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Nothing like being A over Tea Kettle in a financial freefall….
That pretty much describes the current state affairs in of the newspaper industry. Publishers continue to talk of better days ahead – after our long, national nightmare – the coming-soon, double dip recession. Which naively ignores the long term downward prospects of the print news industry.
Bringing us to the mandatory one week staff furloughs announced at the Star.
They went down this week as both suggested and predicted by KC Confidential. With a 32 percent earnings drop in its 2nd quarter, McClatchy had to make some serious cuts. No question. But forcing Parrish to do the dirty work one month into her KC Star honeymoon would have placed her in a very unsavory position.
Getting rid of two highly paid columnist positions was likely a savings. Especially given the axing of one.
Now let’s do some math on the furloughs. Which are forced, unpaid, one-week vacations. Vacations that have to be taken between now and year’s end.
Hearne: Christian Radio Kicks Butt, Tops KC Radio Stations in Women Listeners!
First adults, then dudes, but leave us not forget the all-important, sought after women listeners…
Trust me, everybody wants a piece of this action. And don’t take that the wrong way. To that end, let’s look at the Top 10 KC stations in women listeners, 25-54, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For the uninitiated, this is when 90 percent of most station’s revenue is derrived. Where its heaviest hitters slug it out for money, power and glory. Morning shows next.
Now hang onto your crucifixes because you may be in store for a huge surprise…
Starbeams: Pharm Aid, Plaza Security & Gary Amble’s Sister Elected Iowa Straw Queen
Willie Nelson and Neil Young need to do a benefit concert for their fans called Pharm Aid.
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Shots rang out Saturday night on the Plaza near mayor Sly James as his security shoved him to safety. Three teenagers were injured. The mayor says he’s getting serious about the violence with flash mobs and teenagers that seems to be increasing. In fact, he plans to inform Plaza Security about the shootings later today.
Glazer: Why Blacks & Whites Don’t Get Along and How to Solve The Plaza Problem
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How to solve the Plaza problem?
Simple. Kansas City should institute a new policy: AFTER 9 PM YOU MUST BE OVER 21 TO BE ON THE PLAZA. Weekends only. UNLESS YOU ARE WITH PARENTS.
That, for the most part, will end this issue. Much of the Plaza’s problems have to do with teenage blacks and the Cinemark Palace on the Plaza movie theater. Unfortunately, Cinemark must now avoid playing movies that attract that crowd. Which means it would miss out on some of the highest grossing films.
Donnelly: Farm Aid at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, August 13, 2011
It was the 26th Farm Aid but the first-ever concert at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
How did it go? How did it sound?
How was the crowd? How high was Willie?
Were there any kinks that need worked out before this weekend’s Buzz Beach Ball featuring Jane’s Addiction, Bush, and others?
Yeah, a few…
Hearne: Plaza. Police, Mayor Panic, Too Late to Solve This Year’s Plaza Kid Problem
The long hot summer…
On August 1st, upon returning from Arizona I spoke with KC Police who confirmed that for several weekends hundreds of mostly black youths had gathered on the Plaza near the Cinemark. That there had been problems – but nothing major – maybe a little pepper spray. But no tear gas or "crowds running kind of things."
Not yet anyway.
That long lull before the storm came to an end last night when shots rang out, three teens were wounded and what had the makings of another Plaza mini-riot began to unfold.
New Jack City: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Getting Sex in Las Vegas
Frequently asked questions and misconceptions about Las Vegas include sex and its availability in Sin City…
Say you’re on the bachelor party plan. You’re staying on the Strip and do the ‘Hangover’ thing the first night. Great! And by Day 2 you’re looking for companionship of the professional kind.
No matter what you may have heard, prostitution is illegal in Clark County which includes all of Las Vegas. And because of the recent mayoral campaign, authorities of late have really been cracking down.
So don’t get caught with your pants down.
Hearne: Mayor’s Plaza All Clear Call Gives Way to Shots Fired
Talk about timing….
As luck would have it, KC Confidential‘s server went down on the day I decide to cruise the Plaza. As a followup to recent police confirmation here that the urban youth problem had been simmering – mostly off the media radar – for several weekends. I’d been out of town for two weeks during the buildup and was limited to third party eyewitness reports and carefully-worded police statements.
Here’s what I learned at 9 p.m. tonight (Saturday) prior to KC Mayor Sly James rubber stamp visit to the Plaza and the Star‘s 10:18 p.m. report that the evening had gone without incident.
Au contraire…
Starbeams: Move Over Farm Aid; The Top 10 “Aids” to Mend KC
The Chiefs‘ preseason started Friday with a 25-0 loss to Tampa Bay at Arrowhead. It was a meaningless game with nothing on the line. Or as the Royals call it; September.
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The Missouri State Fair opened this week. Eleven days, 300,000 visitors. Lynyrd Skynyrd had to cancel its appearance because of health reasons – huge blow to the African-American community.
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Farm Aid is today at LiveStrong Sporting Park. Other AID benefit concerts Kansas City could use:
