Category Archives: Hearne_Christopher
Hearne: Penn State Paterno Interview by Washington Post Belies Good Journalism
This is what’s lame about print journalism today….
By most measures Washington Post reporter Sally Jenkins’ exclusive interview with disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was a grand slam homerun. It’s what newsroom editors like to call, a "great get." Which is that’s understandable, except for one thing.
Jenkins sacrificed her journalistic soul by writing a sugar-coated, Joe Posnanski-like schmooze piece rather than playing it straight down the middle, asking the tough questions and convincing readers that her mission was not to spare the rod.
Remember, this was supposed to be a hard news story / interview.
Hearne: Westport Nightclub Nabob Declares War on Kansas City Liquor Law
All’s fair in love and Card Wars…
For years Westport businessman Bill Nigro has waged a war of words against a pair of cards Kansas City has required workers in the service industry – bars and restaurants – to purchase and carry. Nigro polished one off – the health department’s "food handler" card – last month and as of this year, they are no longer required.
The so-called "health card" cost 20 bucks and required workers who handle food to take classes on hand washing and the like.
That leaves one last card on Nigro’s hit list, Kansas City Regulated Industries "liquor card."
Hearne: And Now, the Rest of the ‘Uncle Ed Muscari’ Story
This isn’t the first report this week on the death of former Channel 41 late night personality Uncle Ed Muscare...
However, in the interest of adding a bit of corrective information along with some news and views to the mix of mostly blogger driven reporting and commentary, let’s take another look. The New York native died in a Florida prison Sunday at the age of 79.
"He was creepy, the creepiest," says former Shawnee Counciwoman Tracy Thomas. "He was a cross between Ed Wood and a defrocked priest."
"I met him a couple times," says longtime radio personality and movie dude Jack Poessiger. "He was an entertaining guy at a time when late night ntelevision still had local programming and it became a local phenomenon. And when he left, his show got taken over by by Dick Wilson of KCMO FM."
Hearne: Groundskeeper Hall of Famer George Toma’s Greatest Hit Jobs
They say it’s lonely at the top…
That’s likely to be the case with KC Sultan of Sod George Toma and the new "MLB Groundskeeper Hall of Fame. " I couldn’t resist poking a little fun at the hall yesterday, but silly as the concept seems, there’s no doubt Toma is deserving of the props.
That said, it’s hard to imagine Toma’s new award and the "hall" bringing much of any import to the table in the years to come. Now that it’s shot it proverbial wad on about the only groundskeeper anybodys ever heard of in the grass growing game. Quick, tell me who’s next?
Now let’s review what made Toma so special – I’m talking about his chutzpah.
Hearne: Crawfish ‘Shortage’ – Real or Imagined – Grips Local Cajun Eatery Jazz
Don’t look now, but there’s an imaginary crawdaddy drought going down…
For three long weeks a crawfish shortage has gripped KC’s top cajun restaurant chain, Jazz a Louisiana Kitchen. That according to a server Monday at the eatery’s 39th and State Line location. Which, of course, flew in the face of the restaurant’s Mudbug Mondays special, "2 Pounds of Crawfish and 2 Pints Select Draft Beer" for $14.99.
There were none to be had my server said.
What? No crawdaddies at an eatery who’s very logo is – you guessed it – cartoon crawdaddies!
"I actually don’t know why we haven’t been able to get them," Jazz staffer Jane said in a followup call Tuesday. "I assume because they’re not in season or something. I’ll have to ask my manager, but he’s not here. We haven’t been able to get them for a while, but I have no idea why. Sorry."
Today: The Strange Ascension of George Toma into Even an Stranger Hall of Fame
Before this column spirals out of control. allow me to say a few kind words about George Toma...
Without question the longtime Kansas City A’s, Chiefs and Royals groundskeeper was the gold standard among groundskeepers in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The 80-something Toma started as groundskeeper for major league baseball in Kansas City in 1957, when the Athletics were playing at Municipal Stadium at 22nd Street and Brooklyn Avenue.
Toma’s also renown for his decades of duty tending to Super Bowl fields and sporting events worldwide.
So it comes as little surprise that in a sports short in today’s Star we learn he’s been inducted into the Major League Baseball Groundskeeper Hall of Fame.
Hold it right there…
Star Search: Month-Old Rehash of Report Masquerades as News in Star
Better late than never, I suppose…
That’s one way to look at yesterday’s front-page, upper right-hand story in the Star by Mike Hendricks.
"Drug of Choice For Kids Is Pot," reads the headline. "Use of alcohol and tobacco drops, but high school seniors’ daily marijuana use hits a 30-year peak."
However the story – masquerading as breaking news – was little more than a ginned up rehash of a month-old report widely covered by other news media around the country early last month.
Hearne: The Awful Truth About Why Ink is Eating The Pitch’s Lunch
It’s no secret that news light as it is, Ink magazine is kicking the Pitch‘s butt…
That after only three years on the scene to the Pitch‘s 30-plus. Things had gotten so bad at the Pitch last year that after years of trying to dump it, its former out-of-town parent finally unloaded it on the publisher of the Nashville Scene alt weekly.
When I interviewed former Pitch publisher Hal Brody a few months later, he was shocked to learn his former pub was barely choking out 40-page issues. Meanwhile, Ink was knocking back 56-pagers – 40 percent larger than the now lowly Pitch.
So what does Ink have that the Pitch doesn’t?
Hearne: Round & Round They Go, But When Jardine’s Will Sell Nobody Knows
It’s a story that just won’t die…
One of the comments section dudes spent the better part of a week needling me for writing so frequently about Jardine’s. He had a point. On the other hand, when Kansas City’s top jazz club goes down ugly (not to mention weird), who am I to ignore it?
Especially given that for better and for worse, I’m in the unique position of having access to most of the players in this jazz soap. Lucky me.
Besides, what’s not to like about the local alt weekly and Fox news getting taken for a ride on the bogus sale story?
Today: KU Fans Stoked Over New Football Phat Man Despite the Critics
This is a very unusual season in Lawrence…
And not just the weather. Basketball’s well underway but everywhere you go the scent of pigskin’s in the air. There’s a new phat dude in town and KU football fans are getting restless. They’ve all but put Missouri in the rearview mirror and out of their minds. However, instead of dreaming about going to the Big Dance, they’re buying KU football tickets.
Go figure.
To some in KC, hiring new KU head coach Charlie Weis was downright dumb. Star sports columnist Sam Mellinger labeled it desperate, calling Weis a failed head coach on his fourth job in four years with really bad health.
Mellinger didn’t quite have the guts to come right out and say it, but Weis isn’t just phat, he’s fat.
Hearne: Missouri’s Offer to Play KU in Football a Hollow Gesture
Add sports politics to the circus going on in Washington, D.C….
When Missouri told the world late last year it was leaving the Big 12 for the SEC there was no shortage of pissed off Kansans. Starting with comments by KU basketball coach Bill Self and continuing on to the school’s official Facebook page with: "Missouri forfeits a century-old rivalry. We win."
So as the final Big 12 KU-MU basketball games draw near, do the KU faithful still harbor ill feelings towards the departing Tigers?
"You’re funny," laughs Lawrence promoter Brett Mosiman. "No. None at all."
Today: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it…Lezak Weigh in on (Possible) Record Setting Winter
Praise the lord and pass the suntan lotion…
The heat is on in Kansas City and elsewhere around the country in one of the warmest late December / early January cold spells ever. The question being, how long will it last?
"I think the second half of January will turn much colder," says KSHB weather wonk Gary Lezak. "There’ll be a couple of cold outbreaks, one of which will be an arctic outbreak which will be really cold."
The reason for the recent and current balmy climes?
Today: Guido Toledo on New CD, Jardine’s & What Your Favorite Classic Rock Band Says About You
This just in from KC expat Joe “Guido Toledo” Welsh in Nashville…
The former 4 Sknns front man sends his wishes for a Happy New Year to all and wants to let devotees know that his band has a new jazz/rock fusion album out that’s also available on iTunes under Joe Guido Welsh.
"Think 1974," Guido says. "It features some heavy hitters – three original members (Roger Powell, Kevin Ellman & John Siegler) of Todd Rundgren‘s Utopia on it, along with Reeves Gabrels from David Bowie‘s band Tin Machine and some of Nashville’s finest. It hits radio this month and we’re hoping to tour Europe by the Fall of 2012."
Here’s the lineup:
"The live band is HOT with: Yours truly on guitar, Jim Riley on drums (Rascal Flatts), John Siegler on bass (Utopia/Hall & Oates), Steve King on keys (Keith Urban), Chris Rodriguez on guitar (Keith Urban/Faith Hill),
and Randy Leago on sax, keys & percussion (Shelby Lynne). We’ll have a DVD out by Feb. 1 on Amazon.com and we hope to get to KC this year. Maybe another 4 Sknns reunion – we’ll see."
Which brings us to Guido’s dark side…
Hearne: The Uncertain Beat Goes on at Jazz Club Jardine’s, Former Co-Owner says
Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside…
Reports of new ownership and management at Jardine’s may be a bit premature, say former Jardine’s co-owner Pat Hanrahan and businessman Paul Wilson, who is still in what he has been told are negotiations to buy the local jazz club.
In other words, a report that local businessmen Robert McCain and Joseph Fulgenzi have purchased Jardine’s and Hanrahan will now run the show are questionable at best, Hanrahan says.
"I don’t know what the hell is going on over there," he says. "There’s all kinds of things going on, but I don’t think anything’s been finalized yet."
Case in point, Jardine’s calendar of events for 2012 is a complete blank.
Hearne: Unintended Mediocrity & Hedonism Collide on KU Campus at The Oread
I have been to the mountain and I’m back…
And I can now tell you that aside from its many sports, pizza and coffee bar offerings, the two-year-old Oread hotel high atop the University of Kansas campus is a bust.
At least as an upscale hotel.
It kicks ass as a sports bar hang for thirsty KU students and out-of-town parents. But its stately stone facade makes promises that the eleven-story ediface doesn’t come close to delivering on.
Despite its critics, the Oread fits in just fine with the other classic stone structures that dot the nearby KU campus.
But here’s the deal…
Today: The Jardine’s Saga is Over… For Now
When it comes to tangled webs, it doesn’t get much more convoluted than Jardine’s…
At least for now, the confusion and uncertain future of Kansas City’s top jazz club has been stemmed. things came to a head yesterday when Chartwell Realty main man Joseph Fulgenzi and his partner Robert McCain walked into the offices of the Pitch to buy advertising, identifying themselves as the new owners of Jardine’s.
Think perfect storm.
Perfect in the sense that Chartwell is Jardine’s nextdoor neighbor and a respected tenant of the American Century-owned building that houses Jardine’s. And perfect also because former Jardine’s co-owner Pat Hanrahan has agreed to return to the club and oversee its operations and the booking of local jazz bands.
Today: Jardine’s Saddles Up for New Year’s Eve Comeback
Amidst rumors of a deal to retool Jardine’s, the beleaguered Plaza jazz club has announced plans to be open for New Year’s Eve...
"Jardines has a new team that will start on New Year’s Eve," says owner Beena Raja. "Its a party with the Pete Cole Quartet featuring the one and only Chris Clark on piano. And we will jazz it out from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a $5 cover."
Attendees can opt for the four course NYE menue at $35 per person or you can order a la carte.
Hearne: The KC Confidential Comments Section Cleanup
To the majority of KC Confidential readers and commenters, I salute you…
Instead of one or two word, anonymous putdown comments (like a certain local blog) or allowing no comments at all (like another), KCC gets mostly some pretty entertaining and thoughtful comments. The "stage names" may shield their identities, but most KCC commenters think things through and bring something to the table in the way of suggestions and/or criticism.
They may get carried away with the ALL-CAPS button or unleash an ungentlemanly word here or there, but for the most part they’re an important ingredient to the overall mix of ideas and viewpoints on this site.
Then there are the odd haters…
Today: The Sad Demise of David R. Spivey Books, Maps & Fine Arts in Westport
Chalk one up for Father Time and the Internet…
In a matter of days, a 33 year-old Westport institution – David R. Spivey Books, Maps & Fine Art – will take it’s place in the history books.
"I’m alright, I’m just retiring," says Spivey. "I’m in the process of selling everything."
Spivey sold the building at 825 Westport Road to neighbor Joe Zwillenberg of the Westport Flea Market.
Spivey’s Web site says, "David R. Spivey has been buying, selling and appraising old maps, rare books and fine art since 1978. Over the years, Spivey’s has grown to be the largest old map, print and book dealer in the Midwest…We have five floors of maps, prints, fine art and books. Our building dates to 1910 and sits on the old Santa Fe trail in historic Westport."
Today: A Christmas Olive Branch from Jardine’s Owner to Local Jazz Musicians
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In an open letter to Kansas City jazz musicians, Jardine’s owner Beena Raja reached out Christmas Day in an attempt to mend fences and restore sanity to an out-of-control situation that has resulted in the club’s going dark much of the past three weeks.
That after Raja found a handful of her staff drinking illegally at the club at 4 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Jardine’s general manager / cook then resigned. Two staffers were fired, a third walked out and confusion over what had gone down lead other staffers to believe they too had been fired.
An incident with one server, whose father is a leading member of the local jazz community, resulted in the father calling for other musicians to boycott Jardine’s.
It’s been downhill from there.
Will Raja’s reaching out to musicians work? Is it too late?
Here’s Raja’s late night letter:
"To All,
You don’t know the facts of why this happened.
