Author Archives: Hearne Christopher Jr.

Why wait for Halloween to do something really weird but legal? This Sunday check out Mark Valentine‘s annual Chihuahua Parade and help catapult the event into the Guinness Book of Records as the “World’s Largest Costumed Dog Parade.” It all goes down at the Barney Allis … Continue reading →

Small world… A year ago while vacationing in Southern California, I did pretty much the same thing Pitch top gun Steve Vockrodt just did in Denver; I checked out a couple of IKEA  stores to try and get a handle … Continue reading →

Westport is worried, really worried… And bracing for the worst. Because while for the past several years it’s the Country Club Plaza that’s been garnering headlines about urban youth hanging out and making its more affluent, mostly white patrons uncomfortable and uneasy, … Continue reading →

What’s in a word? Plenty when it comes to terms like “flash mob.” Especially in regard to the recent nighttime gatherings of urban youth on the Country Club Plaza. Take Saturday night when between 100 and 125 or so “black kids” … Continue reading →

Pardon the interruption but… KCC reader and occasional contributor Chuck Lowe is worried. And not just about the usual suspects, you know, the fate of Malaysian Air Flight 370, Chelsea Clinton‘s baby and the Chiefs draft picks. Nope, Ground Chuck … Continue reading →

It may not look like it, but I’m seriously rooting for The Bridge… The adult, album, alternative radio station whose call letters are KTBG 90.9 FM improved its signal and moved here late last year after operating for years out of nearby … Continue reading →

Move over Donald Trump… The divide between what prominent locals are more than willing to share with one another and – on second thought – what they are willing to attach their names to. Case in point a conversation I … Continue reading →

Here we go again, boys and grrrls… Hot off the presses, the latest radio ratings for the merry month of March. And again country is king with a nearly 18 percent share of  listeners. Yep, the days of urban station … Continue reading →

From one extreme the other… It’s no secret that for years Ward Parkway Shopping Center has had an on-again, off again problem with urban teens hanging around its movie theaters. Much like Cinemark’s Palace on the Plaza today and Crown Center and Cinemark … Continue reading →

Let’s give credit where credit is due… Nobody gets in business to fail or go broke – including now-former Kanrocksas promoter Bill Brandmeyer. Brandmeyer went down hard last summer after failing ticket sales forced him to cancel what would have … Continue reading →

Talk about the Top 40… With Vampire Weekend, O.A.R., Pat Metheny, 311,  Ziggy Marley, The Rainmakers, Robert Randolph and 33 more acts – and still counting – this summer at Crossroads KC promises to be the biggest and brightest yet at the 8 … Continue reading →

Once upon a time there were only private clubs… So when you wanted to go out to a nice restaurant in Kansas City – with rare exception – it wasn’t in the state of Kansas. Kansas City, Missouri was where the action was … Continue reading →

Hard as it may be for many of us to admit, in Kansas City today country music is king… I almost can’t believe I even wrote the above words. Look, I grew up here in Kansas City and worked for many … Continue reading →

This just in… In barely one week superstar actor and comic Chris Tucker will headline Stanford & Sons comedy club at The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas. “We just got him booked,” says Stanford’s main man Craig Glazer. “He’ll be … Continue reading →

Time flies whether you’re having fun or not… And so it is that more than a month ago a local jeweler rumored to be up you-know-what creek fled his nicely appointed Johnson County office in what is said to have … Continue reading →

Sheesh! It’s one thing to lose a hard drive for the very first time. A long overdue right of passage, the geniuses at the Apple Store on the Plaza told me. And I didn’t even really have to man-up or … Continue reading →

This just in from former Kansas City Star columnist Steve Penn… In addition to promoting his book about former Kansas City Black Panthers leader Pete O’Neal – Case for a Pardon – “I’m bringing in the National Alumnae Association of the … Continue reading →

Believe it or not, it’s been 10 years since iconic, local audio store Brandsmart bit the dust… And 10 years as well since local furniture powerhouse Benchmark put its spanking new, mega complex near 119th and I-35 up for sale. … Continue reading →

Pardon me while I share a bit of, “What CNN Sacrificed for Missing Plane Ratings” First what I wrote last week: “With CNN’s ratings reportedly up some 86 percent, the only thing that doesn’t seem odd, mysterious or suspicious is … Continue reading →