Category Archives: News_and_Views
Glazer: Power & Light District on the Ropes as Plaza Takes Top Spot
Last Friday after afternoon my brother Jeff and I had some business downtown…
As we were leaving the area around 1 p.m. we decided to take a look at what was up in the Power & Light area. To be fair it was daytime, however this is Christmas shopping season and it was about 50 degrees and clear outside. Power and Light boasts that it has 50 stores, shops, restaurants and bars all under (kinda) one roof. A billion dollar entertainment romp.
Yes? No.
There was nobody – and I mean nobody – down there. We stopped at about six major restaurants and found zip. The main, most popular one, McFadden’s had about six people eating and drinking inside. The manager said "Well, its daytime, there’s not much going on. We had some people in earlier, try the weekend nights."
Hearne: Blockbusted – State Line Blockbuster Bites the Dust & Romantics Flashback
Just like that, the Blockbuster near 77th and State line is no more…
The one Steve Rose and I go to. That is, whenever Rose’s family is in town for the holidays and my kids are hosting an overnight hang with friends. It was kind of like a Mission Hills / Prairie Village / Waldo neighborhood institution. Albeit an institution on the brink of extinction.
When other Blockbusters and area video stores were dropping like flies the last couple of years, the manager there assured me his would be one of the last to go because it was some sort of regional headquarters or something.
Yet suddenly, last Tuesday employees got word from upon high and they were out-of-there in a flash.
New Jack City: It’s Time to Lay Off the Bogus Hyatt Criticism
I hadn’t paid much attention to the many stories about Hyatt’s refusal to financially involve itself in the proposed SKYWALKS MEMORIAL…
That all changed Sunday when I came across an absurd letter to the STAR.
Under the heading of "Hyatt Moral Debt" an Olathe woman wrote, "I am disgusted to learn that Hyatt Hotels Corp. will not be contributing to the Skywalk Memorial. They took money from Kansas Citians for 30 years, but when it came time to remember the 114 people killed and countless others injured or affected, they skip town."
Hold it right there.
Hearne: And Now, The Rest Of The Jardine’s Story…
It’s hard to be fair and balanced when you’ve only heard one side of the story…
Impossible, in fact. That said, there’s been no shortage of piling on in the soap opera surrounding vaunted Plaza jazz club Jardine’s going dark this past week. Especially with employees flooding the blogosphere with tales of being fired, wronged and any number of other sensational crimes against humanity.
And to a certain extent, that’s only fair.
People have every right to air their grievances, and readers and television viewers have every right to draw whatever their conclusions may be having heard those complaints. Unfortunately, in the absence of Jardine’s side of the story, clearly there’s been a rush to judgement based on but a single side side having its story told.
"There’s always more to a story than there appears to be," says Westport businessman Bill Nigro. "And nobody’s heard Beena’s side of it yet – there’s always two sides to every story. I just wish everybody luck on getting back in control of their future – everybody – both sides."
And so now, the rest of the story…
Hearne: Jardine’s Owner Goes Public, Says Everyone Will Be Paid
I doubt Kansas City Jazz has seen this kinda media feeding frenzy since Prohibition bought the farm…
At this point you all probably know what I’m talking about; the sudden and unexpected housecleaning at Jardine’s jazz club just off the Plaza. Suspicious of improprieties, owner Beena Raja changed the locks two weeks ago, then let the entire staff go after Karrin Allyson‘s shows early last week. The club’s been dark since.
And to date, for the most part, mum’s been the word.
Which of course didn’t stop local television news channels from lining up nameless ex-staffers to air their beefs.
Hearne: One Down; Kansas City’s Onerous ‘Health Card’ Bites the Dust
It’s all over but the shouting…
After years of carping, the Kansas City health department’s "food handler cards" are no more.
"They city’s eliminated one of its two dumb cards," cracks Westport businessman Bill Nigro. "One is called the liquor card and it requires people to pay $41 and you have one if you’re involved in serving alcohol anywhere in Kansas City, Missouri. And the one we got eliminated is the health card. It costs $20 and it’s the card they started making any employee in the restaurant and bar industry who handles food buy. They started it about seven years ago."
Here’s the rub…
"They send people to these little classes on hygene, like about washing your hands and stuff and keeping food hot and cold – things you learned in high school," Nigro says.
Hearne: Jason Whitlock Hammers ESPN on CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’
Another uptick for former Star sports star Jason Whitlock…
On the heels of hammering Penn State on ESPN, Whitlock was back in play Sunday on the national stage, courtesy of CNN‘s "Reliable Sources."
This time out, the Big Guy took estranged former-employer ESPN to task. Albeit via some twisted logic to rationalize what he’d written a few weeks back.
Think of it as a tale of two cities…
On November 23rd Whitlock had hammered ESPN – the sports media giant that fired him five years back – for unfairly smearing the now-disgraced Syracuse basketball coach Bernie Fine.
Leftridge: A Thanksgiving Blessing for That Which We Do Not Deserve
It’s important to remember what we’re thankful for right?
Isn’t that what this Indian-murdering holiday is all about? Well, first I suppose I’m thankful for my forefathers who murdered all of those Indians. Without their noble efforts, who knows where we’d be (and since I’ve got a good-bit of Indian blood in me as well, I’d like to say, "Patience, brothers. Our time will come once again.
Today: Shia’s Drunken Brawls, Tot Mom Assassination Attempt, Tyson Does Cain
Holiday gossip break, anyone?
There are some interesting stories in this week’s National Enquirer worth taking a gander at.
Like the "world exclusive" about – forgive me for borrowing the expression – Tot Mom Casey Anthony surviving an assassination attempt and being hastily moved to a new safe house in the middle of the night in a remote part of Florida after finding a scrawled threat taped to her front door.
Or how about director Steven Spielberg – whose long ago photo adorns a wall at Bryant’s BBQ – warning Transformers star Shia LaBeouf about getting hammered and getting into nasty barroom brawls as evidenced in photos of the 25-year-old actor getting his you-know-what handed to him in Vancouver, B.C.
Hearne: Will Best Buy Be The Next Major Big Box Store To Bite The Dust?
The mission; break down the impending demise of Best Buy...
A month ago, I interviewed Lawrence audio/video icon John Kiefer of Kief’s about the sorry state of the area electronics biz and it’s uncertain future in the digital age. As a more-or-less regular guy type dude, it hasn’t been that long since stopping by a Best Buy to pick up a new Green Day or Arcade Fire CD was a normal occurence.
And holiday shopping trips were practically a must.
No mas.
Hearne: Pitch Editor Claims ‘Best Of’ Awards About the Writing, Not the Counting
"Everybody’s a winner," spouted carnival barkers of old…
These days the king of cashing in on that concept is local alt weekly the Pitch. Year after year it dishes out unsubstantiated plaudits to anyone and everyone it can think of.
Best cupcakes, handyman, hair removal, pedicure – best T-Bones player, moving company, place to buy a scooter. Is there no end to it? In a word, no. You name it, they got it. And that’s just for the 250-plus reader-picked winners. Add to that 35 pages of picks by unnamed Pitch writers, ranging from best workaholic and best mom to best place to pretend that you’re employed.
Which by the way was the H&R Block employee lunch room.
But do the Pitch readers really think the best place to meet men is Oklahoma Joe’s?
Leftridge: Despite What the Internet Told You, Big 12 is Still a Thing
On September 22nd, KU released a statement reading in part: "Tonight, nine members of the Big 12 Conference affirmed their solidarity and agreed to measures that will ensure the stability of the conference moving forward.”
So… this is official? Finally, officially official?
Because to be honest, I tuned out awhile ago. And I know that’s not something that an ‘in-touch‘ sports writer should say, but let’s be honest… this whole situation has been insufferable.
New Jack City: Nice Rack (at 97th and Quivira, that is)
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It’s been quite a year for national brand favorites expanding into Kansas City…
The most anticipated was the long awaited opening of not one, but two TRADER JOE’S. And let’s not overlook popular Nebraska export RUNZA which opened its first fast food outlet recently in Mission. JACK IN THE BOX made a splash last year in KCK and its second opens this coming Monday at 103rd and Metcalf in OP.
They say Jack’s’ tacos are to die for.
But hold on, there’s another really big one right around the corner.
Today: Justice Was Served; The Sad Sum Up in the Death of Brian Euston
Kudos to Star reporter Mark Morris for his reporting on the Brian Euston trial…
From the get-go coverage of this case was canted towards the deserved sympathy for Euston’s grieving family. It wasn’t their fault their son had been recklessly drunk and obnoxious at the exact wrong time in the exact wrong place. Having consumed nearly five times the legal limit of booze to drive, Euston had managed to navigate himself into harm’s way where he got in Stanford Griswold and his girlfriend’s faces resulting in him getting a punch to the mouth.
However instead of a fat lip and a hangover – as Griswold’s lawyer said in the trial – because of Euston’s being "massively intoxicated" (as Morris describes him), he fell backward, hit his head on the curb and later died.
Very sad, but let’s get back to Griswold…
There’s little doubt that because of TV news coverage, sympathy for the family and that Griswold was black and Euston white, the court of public opinion was stacked against Griswold. It didn’t help that he had an assault conviction, but heck, so does Star editor Mike Fannin.
Now let’s cut to the chase…
Leftridge: Next Year’s Kansas City Royals Could Be The Real Deal
Dateline: Minnesota. September 28th, 2011.
The weather is cold, too cool for baseball really. The Twins knew what they were getting into when they built Target Field, but the promise of beautiful, starry-skied summer evenings was too much to pass up. It’s the top of the ninth and the Royals are trailing by two runs. First baseman Eric Hosmer is on second after a walk and a stolen base. Johnny Giavotella, diminutive second baseman, is at the plate. He’s down 0-2 to Twins closer Joe Nathan. Nathan rears back and launches a knee-buckling curveball… that lands a foot in front of the plate. Giavotella takes a violent hack, but the wind is his only victim.
The ballgame, the season and even the summer, is officially over.
Ok, so this didn’t happen. Yet. But it could.
Hearne: Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II; KC Needs Urban Movie Plex for Kids
Unruly kids, bad parenting, floodlights overhead, police on horseback, the latest Hollywood blockbusters…
This is not the stuff from which flash mobs are made. Maybe that one a couple years back. But sexy as the term "flash mob" is for lazy media types wanting to dial sensationalism into Plaza kid curfew stories, it’s time to deal with the realities of the situation.
Poor kids from poor parts of town want to go see blockbuster first-run movies just like their suburban counterparts.
It’s the American Condition. The kids see ads for "Fright Night" and they wanna see it.
Just one problem…
Fitzpatrick: Star’s New Columnist Lineup – Money-Saver or Bold Stroke?
The Kansas City Star is now three weeks into its new rotating metro columnist system, and, while it’s far too soon to judge the success or failure of the initiative, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the concept.
Personally, I think it’s going to be difficult for any of the six new columnists (there are three carryovers, C.W. Gusewelle, Steve Kraske and Mary Sanchez) to gain traction with readers. That’s the whole idea of columnists, you know — to have them become trusted, if controversial, voices whose work becomes a destination point for readers.
Maybe this is an experiment designed to cull the reporting ranks for a new, marquee columnist or two, but this move strikes me as more of a money-saving mishmash, a cheap alternative to hiring or promoting at least one new, permanent columnist to replace the two being replaced.
But I certainly don’t claim to have a perfectly clear perspective on this, so I sought the views this week of two top, former editors who have deep wells of experience in newsroom leadership and organization.
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.
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…
Today: Newsosaur Examines Star Parent McClatchy & Newspaper Woes
While Jimmy C‘s away, the mice will play…
I don’t know what exotic locale vanquished politico / Star editor turned blogger Jim Fitzpatrick escaped to the past two weeks. All I know is he wasn’t around to nail this journalistic diddy to his cross. And that it would have been smack up his alley. A column by Newsosaur, the "Musings (and occasional urgent warnings) of a veteran media executive, who fears our news-gathering companies are stumbling to extinction."
The proposition at hand: "Will business model stabilize for newspapers?"
The departure point being the disastrous situation at McClatchy, parent company of the Kansas City Star.
"Quizzed by securities analysts last week about his company’s disappointing financial performance, the best McClatchy boss Gary Pruitt could say was that he hopes the newspaper “business model will stabilize” at some unspecified point in the future. But it will not," Newsosaur begins.
"And it had better not, if Pruitt intends to save what’s left of his newspapers, where relentless cost cutting has halved the headcount of his flagship Sacramento Bee to some 700 increasingly nervous souls in the last three years."
It may feel to Pruitt like he’s in the 19th inning of a really bad Royals game, but don’t expect a walkoff homer.
