Category Archives: Hearne_Christopher
Stump Funk? No Effing Way, First Lady Vows
Heard the one about the 300-pound, 6-foot-7 preacher and funk musician who got laid to rest in a shrunken Continue reading
Smoke This: Wave Bye-Bye to Kansas City Smoking Ban
It’s not looking good for the anti-smoking zealots’ rushed-to-judgment ban on smoking in public places...
Oh, dear – tisk, tisk – not good at all.
Kansas City’s anti smoking ordinance governing bars, restaurants and other public places is highly likely to be struck down by Missouri’s court of appeals just in time for summer, says Jonathan Sternberg, an attorney representing a consortium of bars, restaurants and other businesses affected by the ban.
And for good reason…
“There’s a very old Missouri statute that says that a city can only pass ordinances that are in harmony with the state law on the same subject,” Sternberg says. “It’s been on the books since 1889 and it’s never been amended.”
Nor is it likely to be, Sternberg ventures. This is not one of those dusty, forgotten laws still on the books but no longer relevant in today’s society.
“Hardly,” Sternberg says. “Not in the slightest – the courts have applied it dozens and dozens of times over the years.”
Hearne on the street: Would You Believe Speedo Day at The K?
Word that the Kansas City Royals are poised to bring back Halter Top Day in part to commemorate the team’s 40th anniversary might come as a shock to some…
Hey, but times change and for the first time in ages, the team has no plans for doling out those ubiquitous-but-tired bobbleheads, according to Royals spokesman Toby Cook.
Which reminds me, they never did get around to bobbleheading Kissing Bandit Morganna, did they?
I digress…
The Royals tentative plan to bring back Halter Top Day harkens back to a 1998 column I wrote in the Star.
Could Halter Top Day return to The K? I asked then Royals PR czar Mike Levy?
“I hear about this so often it’s unbelievable,” says Levy told me.
So was there a snowball’s chance in Hades of bringing Continue reading
Cancel the Court Date: Mix 93.3’s Kelly Urich Flashes Peace Sign
From choking down a hefty six-figure paycheck and lording over afternoon drive radio in the Cowtown to Continue reading
Star Struck: More is Less as Double Whammy Wallops Subscribers
Just as the haze Monday from Kansas City Star editor Mike Fannin’s front page “we are not dying” opus began to recede, up popped the devil… That in the form of a letter from the Star’s circulation department. “I am … Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: Cook to Red, White & Boom, Star Concatenates, Posnanski vs Posnanski
This just in…
American Idol winner Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: Funk Foams, Britney Befuddles, Hall Huddles
It’s like this: Inquiring minds want to know… Does Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser ever get tired of playing punching bag for the Kansas City Star and other agenda-driven entities with a knack for measuring mostly the empty portion of … Continue reading
Wizards Tart Up Starting 11: Unleash Calendar Friday at Mint
Those tres polite, helpful Kansas City Wizards women in the sexy-but-subtle ensembles – the Starting 11 Girls – are upping the animal magnetism ante…
This time last year, the cheerleader-looking Starting 11 were charged primarily with schmoozing VIPs, helping people find their seats, customer service and hospitality.
That was then…
“We wanted to enhance the program with the Starting 11 Girls,” says Wizards marketing man Rob Thomson. “So we have a whole new team and now there’s a dance component and they’re performing at half time and before the game. You know, like what you see in arena sports – it’s very new. This will be something people come to games that they’ll want to see.” Continue reading
Bust Out the Boobs: Royals Contemplate Halter Top Day
Was a time when baseball and motherhood and apple pie were it...
That was prior to the free wheeling 1970s. And after the smoke from the bra burnings of the 1960s cleared, the Kansas City Royals emerged with one of the team’s most popular – albeit infamous – promotions ever, Halter Top Day. Free Royal blue halter tops were distributed to ticket-toting female fans. Oh and it was a dude magnet too.
But at some point in time Halter Top Day went away – too tacky, too tired – whatever.
Flash forward to the present and the team’s 40th anniversary.
“There are a couple of things we’re doing for the 40th anniversary,” says Royals spokesman Toby Cook. “We’ll have retro nights, like the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and we’ll roll back prices.”
Along with things like a ’70s theme?
“Yes, it’s not guaranteed, but the marketing department is asking fans to vote on their favorite promotions of all time and it would be a surprise to everyone if halter tops didn’t top the list or be in the top five.”
The jury may yet be out, but it sounds like a near done deal.
“I’ve seen the prototype,” Cook says.
Popular as it was, Halter Top Day was always a bit over the, um, top. Continue reading
Hollywood Producer Jets in, Ponders Jewish Godfather
Think of it as a pact between famous sons of famous fathers Continue reading
Pet Sematary III: Neighborhood Nexus Lynched by Lender
The saddest thing imaginable is about to go down in the pullulating party district known as Waldo Continue reading
KC Confidential Sold to Tony’s Kansas City
In an unprecedented move, popular local Web site Tony’s Kansas City has reached an agreement to purchase KC Confidential (kcconfidential.com) from former Kansas City Star columnist Hearne Christopher, Jr. for an undisclosed sum. TKC – thought to be wildly popular … Continue reading
What’s New Pussycat Dolls: Would You Believe a $30,000 Bowling Gig?
That hot pink Britney Spears tour bus parked outside the Intercontinental on the Plaza? Just a mirage… Sources say Britney had no intention whatsoever of gracing the Cowtown with her presence overnight. Flies in, Flies out the same day… So … Continue reading
First the Name, Now the Restarante: Corona Cantina at Legends Bites the Dust
Just like that the restaurant formerly known as Corona Cantina at the Legends in KCK is no more…
“They closed today,” says fellow Legends tenant Craig Glazer of Stanford & Sons comedy club.
Telephone calls to Cantina #1 as it is now called generated a recording saying the line has been “temporarily disconnected.” Continue reading
Martini Corner Stimulus Plan, Crash Cure: Pop
Stimulous, shmimulous – let there be pop! What the world needs now, according to Martini Corner spark plug
Peregrine’s Panty of the Month Club Snags Katy Perry
This just in from artist/birdies owner/KC confidential blogger Peregrine Honig… “Hey, guess who joined our Panty of the Month Club?” Honig asks. “Katy Perry. Her New York stylist found out we carry Marlies Dekkers and Katy Perry was doing a … Continue reading
Handsome Harley Race Explains Nanogenarian Body Slam Death
The sad situation involving former pro wrestler Continue reading
Craig Glazer Gets Hollywood Movie Deal for “King of Sting” Book
This just in…
The Hollywood Reporter knocked out a front page story about Stanford & Sons comedy club Continue reading
Step Aside P&L District: Kansas City Royals Dress Code Controversy Erupts
There are dress code controversies and then there are dress code controversies… In the case of the getting-better-all-the-time Kansas City Royals, the “controversy” would appear to be benign. As in, the Kansas City Council can find somebody else to overstep … Continue reading
St. Patrick’s Parade 2009: Parking, Safety Lose Out to Savings
Chalk another one up for the Almighty Buck…
The switch from downtown Kansas City to midtown by Kansas City Continue reading
