Category Archives: News_and_Views
Hovick: Death of a Concert Artist, Danny Mayo
My friend in the concert business Daniel “Danny” Mayo died of a sudden heart attack in his sleep this past weekend.
I’ve talked to quite a few mutual friends and the surprise of losing Danny, his passion, his art and his sense of humor is a loss to many in the Kansas City entertainment industry.
Danny painted on a big canvas.
He created stage and lighting designs for private events for many years. And he had a long list of loyal clients. Charity organizations could count on Danny to light a mountain on a molehill budget. Danny was a welcome sight in every venue hosting an event in Kansas City.
Tracy: KC Radio Great Mike Murphy’s Funeral–Into The Mystic
It was an afternoon and evening to remember…
A reunion of old-guard Kansas City leadership – and not just radio people. A grand send-off to an iconic Kansas City personality who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Salvation Army and many other causes over his 46-year career.
Three Kansas City mayors attended; Charles Wheeler, Dick Berkley and Mark Funkhouser.
Mayoral candidate Mike Burke dropped by earlier for the visitation (and tacklly a staffer of his planted a huge Burke sign in the middle of the lawn at McGilley’s Chapel).
Former KC mayor Kay Barnes did NOT attend. Perhaps afraid she’d be chastised for her bogus enforcement of a century old ordinance banning livestock from KC streets. A manuever that drove Murphy’s famed Cattle Drive to its final resting place in the suburbs of Mission, Kansas.
Tracy: KCTV Mayoral Debate; Sly James Mops Up Floor with Mike Burke
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Even before the first question, Sly James scored the first basket..
He stepped out from the podium (that’s called breaking the 4th wall in theatre) and extended his hand to mayoral rival Mike Burke. It was the difference between an alpha male and a behind-the-scenes guy best at setting up the volleyball for someone else to spike.
Score: James 1, Burke 0, Game on.
Joe Miller: The Brutal Irony Behind Yuri Ives Murder in Historic Northeast
I know we’re not supposed to say anything bad about the dead, especially the recently murdered.
But in the case of Yuri Ives, who was gunned down in his mansion in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast last week, some negativity seems in order, if only to illustrate just how severely life can turn around and bite you in the ass.
At very least, Yuri Ives’s story, or what little I know about it, is probably the most brutal example of irony that I’ve ever seen.
I first met Yuri several years ago when we were both serving on an obscure public board called the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee. He left a very distinct, not entirely pleasant impression on me.
Tracy: KCMO Ad Agency Bangs Taxpayer-Funded Juco for $120k for New Logo
Bernstein-Rein Advertising has donated dozens of branding campaigns to local charities over the years…
Good for them. So why are they hitting up Johnson County taxpayers for $120,000 to “rebrand” our crown jewel, Johnson County Community College? My question to Bob Bernstein, our venerated dean of advertising is –where’s the love, bro?
I know, I know, times are tough.
And you took a hit on the mess known as West Village just off the Plaza. It stands as a monument to extravagant architecture, runaway budgets and staredowns between local businessmen. It went into foreclosure and probably lost millions in that pissing match with J.E. Dunn Construction. But why not donate your services to Juco?
Look, everybody knows Juco’s sunflower logo sucks.
Tracy: Did the Pitch sell out? Planned Expose of Political Hit Man Pat Gray Turns Puff Piece
In honor of election day today, let’s take a look at one of the town’s most feared, reviled and exhalted political operatives…
And the hit piece alternative weekly the Pitch promised but failed to deliver on.
Naturally I’m talking about Pat Gray – who I’ll wager prior to the Pitch story coming out – was shaking in his lizard Tony Lama cowboy boots there in his Leawood hacienda. But the supposed expose of arguably the biggest political rascal here since Tom Pendergast–turned out to be a fluff piece. A snoozer.
Too bad.
Turns out I was practically the only one willing to go on the record, exposing Gray as the conniving, devious campaign manager I believe him to be. Everyone else (you know who you are) stayed off the record.
Which pretty much says it all.
Tracy: Payback Time, Brownback to Kansas Arts Council; Get Lost!
Egypt deposed its pharaoh and now Kansas is having its own little revolution…
I call it The Culture War. It may not be very bloody, but it’s clearly very, very bitchy.
My conservative friends are all playing it cool. Like John Malkovich in a drawing room drama. Complete with lace hankies and faux politeness. Faux, as in, foe! And it’s delicious to watch! They’re all, “Gosh, we’re exceedingly sorry, but it had to be done. Hope you understand. We’ve set up an itty bitty back-up arts foundation – non-taxpayer funded – on the side. So don’t cry, it’s just a transfer.”
But everybody knows it’s not!
It’s political hardball, baby. Nobody thinks cutting $300,000 from the budget will fix anything. Drop in the bucket.
This is all about retribution and revenge.
Tracy: Don’t Believe Your Lyin’ Eyes, I Love Steve Rose
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Actor Colin Firth played King George VI in “The King’s Speech.”
He stammered.
Steve Rose plays Mr. Johnson County in two KC Star zoned editions on Wednesdays.
He smirks.
Even for a guest columnist, a picture is worth a thousand words. So there he is, Mr. Smug, Steve Rose, finally writing for the Star, But only on Wednesdays, and only in two Johnson County zones. Rose’s expression in the Star‘s mug shot reminds me MSNBC host Chris Matthews smirk.
So what pearls of wisdom did Rose’s kickoff columns impart?
Tracy: New Overland Park City Manager Married to a Mad Housewife
Talk about the odd couple…
The photo of buttoned down new Overland Park city manager Bill Ebel in the Johnson County Sun gives the impression the city maybe hired a Brooks Brothers model. Ebel’s wife Theresa‘s Facebook pic on the other hand looks more like she’s running an ashram.
The point being, sometimes opposites attract.
The Dish: Big 12 Rankings Take 1
On Monday, the Big 12 Conference rolled out its men’s basketball coaches via teleconference. It was a perfect time to hear from the men in charge as the league kicked off its best week in Associated Press Top 25 rankings history with a record six schools listed among the nation’s elite.
Tracy: Star Wars; KC Star 1, Joco Sun Zippo
So Steve Rose bails on the setting Sun after penning a farewell column about his family’s 60 year history.
Where does he go? Smack into the loving arms of his family’s hated arch rival, the dreaded KC Star. But only in the dullish pages of the lightly-read Johnson County Neighborhood News. There are now two zoned editions in JoCo and Rose’s column will not be in the Olathe news zone, (circ. 15,700).
That despite half of Rose’s obsessions dealing with the County Commission, which meets in downtown Olathe.
(photo: Shawnee City Councilwoman Dawn Kuhn)
The Dish: OU beats Nebraska, Big 12 still loses
It’s weird, the feeling that exists in Big 12 country today.
Immediately, there’s the validation, of course. Oklahoma’s win did more than move Bob Stoops record in Big 12 Championships game to 7-1. It was the self-affirmation a bruised Big 12, the once-trendsetter-conference-turned-hanger-on, had desperately sought since the messy breakup was announced.
The Sooners played the hero in dramatic form, coming from a 17-0 deficit to knock off the hated Cornhuskers 23-20. In winning, OU gave closure to many who could not stomach the thought of the conference’s last crown going to an institution that no longer wanted to be a part of it.
Does K-State Athletics need a strict Twitter policy?
Last year, when Twitter was a hot topic among the Big 12, when the Kansas football and basketball teams were airing their differences online, Kansas State coaches were surprisingly liberal regarding their stances on policing their athletes’ social site habits.
A year later, it’s safe to say that while no wide-sweeping changes have been made (yet), the “you can’t watch everything they do” attitude has likely changed in Manhattan.
The Dish: Did Duke steal K-State’s mojo?
Let’s start with what Kansas State’s loss to Duke – a big loss, in front of the whole world – wasn’t. It wasn’t the end of K-State basketball. Frank Martin isn’t going to leave and be replaced by the next Tom Asbury. It wasn’t the end of the season. The Wildcats have 25 more games without counting the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t even the end of November.
The Dish: K-State, progress or not?
So, now that we’ve had a day to back away from the computer and Kansas State’s 44-36 loss in Boulder, I’m going to revisit the Twitter conversation that transpired between me and several K-State fans at the end of Saturday’s loss.
Well, I say conversation. I ranted, saying though the clay has been reshaped and the waters “calmed,” the 7-5 resume the Wildcats will have built after beating North Texas feels empty.
The Dish: With Selby, KU again the favorite
And, like that, the Kansas Jayhawks are again the favorite to win the Big 12 Conference.
Dragged through the NCAA wringer, Josh Selby, the top recruit in the country, finally will suit up for the Jayhawks after he completes a nine-game suspension. He must also repay $5,757.58 in impermissible benefits.
The Dish: ESPN hoops marathon gets it right
Thankfully, ESPN’s 24-hour hoops marathon has finally fully replaced "Late Night" as the official start to the college basketball season. The idea of cramming into an arena at odd hours of the night to watch some cheesy skits and a scrimmage is outdated and was always overblown.
The Dish: Curtis Kelly, where are you?
If I told you the Kansas State Wildcats, the third-ranked team in the country, would miss a fouling, offensively-challenged, grace-repelling center more than a flashy, highly-skilled, household-name guard, would you buy it?
The Dish: Texas Hits Jackpot, Big 12 Won�t Respond
“Apparently this is part of a mass e-mail you sent to multiple Big 12 institutions. Please be informed the Conference office will not be responding to your inquiry.” – Bob Burda (Big 12 Assistant Commissioner – Communications)
Tracy: Mysterious Stranger Wows at Unicorn
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There’s a new guy in town…
That would be actor Victor Rader-Wexler who appears now through Sunday in The Seafarer at the Unicorn Theatre at 3828 Main in Kansas City.
Rader-Wexler recently moved here with his two teenage girls. You may recognize him as the gloriously ironic “Voice of God” from multiple roles on Seinfeld,. As well as from Minority Report, the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie that starred Tom Cruise.
This play is so good that there’s but a single seat left for Saturday night. but there are seats on Sunday for both the 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows.
Don’t miss it!
