KC Confidential

News coverage can get a little dicey – even high profile murders in Westport – when they go down on Easter Sunday…

So it was that lots of local news organizations had a puzzle piece here, a puzzle piece there concerning the late night shooting of Kendrick L. Williams early Sunday morning. It appears Williams was a 22 year-old rapper who had performed that night at Ink Magazine‘s Middle Of The Map music fest in Westport.

Ink is owned by the Kansas City Star – which used its weekly Preview entertainment insert to plug the fest to Geritol-sipping readers.

And kudos to the Star for doing damage control up front by owning up to the fact that its fest appeared to be at the center of the confusion. As well as for tracking down KC Mayor Sly James’s double talking spokesdude about a rampant rumor that the mayor’s trouble magnet son Kyle James might have been in play at the scene of the crime.

Here’s what the Star reported:

"Police said they found the man after being called to investigate a disturbance at Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest music festival near 40th and Mill streets…

"Responding to reports that Mayor Sly James’ son may have witnessed the shooting, the mayor’s spokesman, Danny Rotert, e-mailed, “whether or not the mayor’s son was near, the shooting adds to a pattern of senseless violence that has to stop.”

Way to dodge the question, bro. 

None of the other reporting I saw dealt with the mayor’s son yesterday.

Now here’s what I was able to track down from a Westporter working the streets there at the time:

"I didn’t hear anything even though I was outside working about two blocks away," the source says. "And none of us there heard anything."

As for the victim Williams, "He was in the grocery store parking lot is what I heard from one of the Westport Security guys," the source says. "Not in Westport proper. That’s where a lot of the black kids hang out late at night, and I heard that Kyle James was there and had some verbal dialogue with the people in the car when it happened."

Speaking of which, KSHB TV reported witnesses told police they saw a burgandy-colored SUV speed away after the shooting.

Fox 4 News lead the news pack by getting quotes from Williams’ mother and two friends.

She told Fox 4 her "only child loved music and he was a rapper who was killed after performing in Westport on Saturday night."

So much for the local blogger who, aside from providing a few links to local news stories, stated incorrectly – according to the victim’s mother and Westport sources – that hip-hop couldn’t be blamed for the killing because the music fest was attended by a crowd that "was almost COMPLETELY white and without a single relevant rap music or hip-hop act."

Hold it right there…

According to Westport sources and the victim’s mom, the shooting took place outside but near the Middle of the Map fest, after the apparently musically irrelevant Williams had finished his gig.

So we’ll see what unfolds Monday and if the mayor’s son can dodge yet another PR bullet to go with the pair he ducked last year.

The first for allegedly refusing to pay his tab at Power & Light District eatery Fran’s, then threatening the arresting, off-duty KCPD cop. Naturally, Fran’s declined to press charges. Who wants to get on the bad side of a new mayor with four years left in office?

Kyle was later accused of punching a woman in the face at midtown bar The Point, but assault charges were dropped after the woman accuser failed to show for the trial. As Glazer might say, "Hmmmmmmm"

As it happens, the mayor’s son has been doing some rapping of his own. Kyle appeared on the album of another local rap artist (who contributed some work to the mayor’s election campaign) last year.

With, choice lines in Kyle’s rap like, "I remember when nobody said that I would be on the front page news. Even my moma told me I should get a real job or go back to school. But I don’t care, I won’t lose."

You can’t make this kinda stuff up, ladies and gentlemen.

Now here’s what Kyle told the Star last year after allegedly popping that chick in the kisser:

“This is not the first time I have apologized for what I have done and quite possibly it won’t be the last. I am trying to find myself as a person an individual separate from the circumstances that draw attention to this situation.”

Look, nobody’s saying the mayor’s son was involved in the shooting. But what does he know and will he squeal like a pig? Let’s see how this all shakes out Monday. And if hizzonor stonewalls his son’s curious involvements once again.

At the risk of starting a comments section race riot and against my better judgement…

I’m going to share with you an interview I conducted on St. Patrick’s Day on the Country Club Plaza. A conversation with 39 year-old suburban mother of two, Ann Thompson. Thomson was there on a shopping spree at Urban Outfiters, H&M, Bananna Republic and Standard Style, if that tells you anything about her.

Thompson’s take on the scene outside Seville upon observing the behavior of dozens of black urban teens and the Plaza Security police in afternoon on a warm, sunny afternoon?

"The thing is, the kids that were there weren’t dressed like most white kids would, but they weren’t dressed poorly," Thompson says. ‘They looked like kids who took pride in how they dressed and got dressed up to go out.

"But I felt bad about it because they were being ushered here or there – five to ten kids in a group," she continues. "I mean, that’s called loitering and if you had a group of white kids loitering, chances are they’d probably be indignant if the security did to them what they were doing to the black kids. You know like, ‘I have the right to be here. You can’t tell me where I can stand.’

"The sad thing is, you have this group of black kids with nowhere to go and they’re loitering. And when they’re asked to move it’s because it’s because they’re seen as loiterers and a threat. Where the white kids are just loiterers. No one’s uncomfortable or afraid of the white kids, they’re just a nuisance. The group of black kids are a nuisance and a threat."

There’s more…

"So when that kid said, ‘We be movin,’ before the security guys even reached him, it was an acknowledgement that they know that they’re perceived as a threat," Thompson says. "And the fact that they have that kind of self-awareness is what’s wrong. That’s what hurts our society because it is racism.

"These kids were on good behavior as far as I’m concerned – they were on good behavior. Yet they knew they were perceived as a threat and what a terrible weight to bear when you’re 13. That’s just wrong. I mean, that’s sad.

"They were cleancut looking; they were well-dressed and they were not acting up. But they were still being treated as though they were going to do something wrong. But I have to side with the Plaza, too. When you’re on the Plaza, you don’t just see big groups of people standing around. They’re constantly in motion and standing around and doing nothing is loitering."

Therein lies the conundrum – that even in a best case scenario- urban teens on the Plaza or at Ward Parkway‘s spruced up new AMC Theaters and Cinemark in Merriam have their work cut out finding their place in a world that largely mistrusts them.

Merely because of the color of their skin.

Smoke ’em if you got ’em…

Don’t look now, but one of America’s most infamous holidays – 420 Day – is about to splash down in Westport. That’s right, local smoking rights champion Bill Nigro is spearheading an annual bash celebrating the fine art of smoking pot. Right here in River City.

"Well, we’re not calling it 420 Day," Nigro hedges. "Our event’s called the Westport Smokeout and we’re going to do some fun things. Jerusalem Cafe’s going to have a Hookah bar and our feature band is going to be The Pornhuskers."

Never heard of the legendary Pornhuskers? Read on.

"Will rock for sex," reads a description of the band on Last FM. "America’s premiere Pornographic Punk Rock band! Coming soon to fuck your town silly! Bring them home after the show, let them sleep at your place, your girlfriends’ place, and her girlfriends’ too while you’re at it."

And for those of you who’ve been hiding out in the Unibomber‘s old digs or holed up in a remote location reading old Skip Sleyster ads in the Kansas City Star – you know who you are – 420 Day falls on April 20th (get it?) and stems from an Urban Legend that grew into the national day to celebrate and smoke marijuana.

But back to 420 Day, I mean, Westport Smokeout…

"We’re going to have a huge table full of raw tobacco and we’ll have a cigarette rolling contest with prizes," Nigro says.

Lemme guess, dinner for two at the Cigar Bar and a juice dessert afterwards nextdoor at Bazooka’s?

"No, I don’t think that’s the prize," Nigro says. "Although it sounds fun – I mean who doesn’t like the Cigar Bar."

And while there’ll be reps from NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) to sign up  registered voters for a petition to legalize you-know-what in Missouri, there’ll be no drug paraphernalia on sale, Nigro says. "Then we’re also going to let people sign a petition to let bars have smoking rooms like they allow in other cities."

Maybe even an outdoor drive in movie of sorts with Cheech & Chong playing on the big screen.

It all goes down – quite naturally – in Westport at 4:20 pm, on 4/20 and ending at 11:45 p.m.

"I’m bringing my 20-foot long, giant cigarette that I saved from the Smoking Ban Fight a few years back,"  Nigro says.

Geez, what’s next, strippers?

"No, we’re just going to be having an informative party about what’s going on in America about smoking," Nigro says. "Because while one smoking substance is legal, it’s illegal to smoke it inside. And the other smoking substance is illegal, but everyone’s smoking it inside because it’s illegal."

It’s been a slippery, seven-month slope since Kansas City went paperless…

You know, with e-tickets. so unless your an aging biker who likes to park illegally in front of LatteLand on the Plaza, chances are, you’re gonna get one of these one of these days – maybe just for parking somewhere in KC, so listen up.

Or you may end up like Stanford & Sons‘ Craig Glazer did three weeks back.

E-tickets are not your grandfather’s friendly, yellow, or beige, carbon copy tickets. Not even close.

They’re two-feet-long and four and a half inches wide to begin with.

Which is a lot to love, especially given what’s missing on them, namely the fine amount and where to mail it in. Suffice it to say, Glazer was verklempt, perplexed and confused.

He called the phone number on the ticket and landed in Kansas City’s 3-1-1 Action Center which proceeded to spit out prereorded, confusing water bill options before offering a municipal court, city services or a live body option.

Glazer rolled the dice on human life form and soon found himself trapped in Hold Line Heck. Frustrated he gave the ticket to his office manager to pay before he left town, but she too missed the online pay option. 

Remember, these tickets are two feet long and printed on both sides

"I didn’t have time to wait," Glazer says. "So I assume they’ll mail me something."

Three weeks later – after he’d lost the ticket he tried to mail before he left – Glazer got a mailing advising him it was $43.50 and that he could pay by mail, over the phone or online.

Therein lies a portion of the problem.

There are lots of people in KC’s e-ticket conga line who don’t know all the dance steps yet.

It took me several days and multiple calls and emails to Kansas City Police, the 3-1-1 Action Center, the 16th Judicial Circuit Court and probably a half dozen more places I won’t bore you with to get even close to unraveling the mystery of e-tickets. And I still don’t have it all straight.

But I’m close enough to spill what I do have and let the e-chips fall where they may.

One police spokeswoman told me early on she didn’t know the amount of the fines were being left off of the e-tickets and where to send them in. She suggested maybe Glazer’s ticket had been issued by Plaza Security or something.

Nope, not us, Plaza Security told me – they don’t write tickets. Plaza Security suggested I try Lanier Parking who’s in charge of the Plaza’s private parking areas and field a fleet of cute little golf cart-like runnabouts. Not us, Lanier said.

Ditto added Highwoods honcho Brad Drees. "We don’t write tickets," he said.

Let alone e-tickets.

"I run the Plaza," Drees said. "I don’t know anything about that."

Here’s the deal, e-tickets save the court and Kansas City a ton of dough over the old paper tickets. They allow the cops to make a bust and get back to fighting crime faster. And meter maids and parking police to more quickly capture illegally-parked cars. So in a perfect world, there are fewer mixups and mistakes.

Just don’t tell that to the 3-1-1 Action Center gang.

"They’re still working out the bugs, because there’s still some issues…" 3-1-1 call taker Rodney told me. "They’re working out the kinks. The police have to do their thing and then the court processes it."

"There’s no place on the e-ticket that tells you how much is owed," added 3-1-1 staffer Marcia, confirming that there was confusion from a lot of callers who couldn’t find the ticket price and where to mail it in. "But that’s not up to me. That was not my decision," she added.

Enter 3-1-1 Action Center supervisor Tracy Rue…

Because of operator error, the city took the dollar fine amounts off of the tickets, Rue said.

"Because the code (the police) wrote was (sometimes) wrong and we billed the wrong amount and we had to honor their mistakes – we have to honor what we wrote," Rue says. "So now the municipality has to take a hit, so we took (the fine amounts) off of there."

Got all that? Good.

Because according 16th Circuit Court e-ticket Godfather Kevin Dey, little of the above is true.

"I’m sure there are many stories out there," Dey says. "The truth of the matter is everybody writing tickets for Kansas City has moved on to an e-ticket process and the old paper ticket is an unacceptable document to the court."

Lots of people besides police could write paper tickets before e-tickets came along, Dey says.

"For example, we have animal control folks and the housing code inspectors," he explains. "And there are a group of ticket writers that work for the city in the Parking Services Division, and they write parking tickets for the downtown area and they are not Kansas City police either and if UMKC wanted to purchase the e-ticket equipment they could write tickets."

See, KC Police had earlier told me non-police personnel couldn’t get e-ticket devices because there’s too much sensitive information privy to police-only on them. That only cops and "autherized law enforcement agencies" are allowed to view that information.

Au contraire, Dey says.

There are e-ticket devices that give only the basic information needed for the wrist slapping and leave out the confidential stuff only cops can see.

For example, Glazer – I think they have the abridged version of King of Sting on the police e-ticket devices.

In fact, a number of local organizations that include UMKC, the Veteran’s Administration Hospital and area Metropolitan Community Colleges had been writing paper tickets up until last August 28th. No mas.

"They can’t write them anymore," Dey says.

And none of them have anted up yet for an e-ticket machine.

"Not currently, no," Dey says. "But if they wish to purchase them, they could. It’s a little handheld device called a CN50."

Which reportedly sells for around $1,200 a copy.

As for the slightly bumpy shakedown cruise the 3-1-1 gang refers to, "You know, it’s taken a while to get e-ticketing off the ground," Dey says. "But let me tell you, Hearne; there is nothing about that (3-1-1) story that is even close to real.

"First of all, we don’t put the dollar amount on the face of the ticket anymore because every single ticket gets an assigned court date. What happens sometimes is the e-ticket gets kicked out of the e-ticket system and they have to be manually corrected. So that happens every so often."

And don’t forget kiddies, you can always pay online. "That’s on the back of the ticket," Dey says.

In the interest in sticking up for the coppers who joked with me about the new e-tickets being two-feet long, I need to do an ever-so-slight bust on Mr. Dey.

Dey gave me the exact measurements of the e-ticket as 101/2 inches long and 41/2 wide, compared to paper tickets which were 81/2 inches long and 31/4 wide. That is until 20 minutes later as we were about to hang up and one of his staffers printed out an actual e-ticket and brought it in for Dey to stoke on.

Oops!

They are two-feet long, he marveled!

As for people like Glazer, and maybe even older folks getting confused by the new e-tix, "I don’t know what to say about that," Dey quips. "It’s like when you send out a memo and nobody reads it, I guess. But there’s a lot of information on those tickets – more than on the paper tickets.They also reduce the chance of errors, because there’s no one interpreting the officer’s handwriting."

Seven no ones, to be exact.

Courtesy of e-tickets, the Data Interpretation Department went away, Dey says. "Roughly seven of those people were deployed. There’s no doubt one of the advantages of e-tickets is a budgeting and fiscal advantage."

Dey also takes exception to 3-1-1’s assertion that coding mistakes were costing the court money.

The shakedown voyage is over, he adds.

"We are 71/2 months into e-ticketing and it’s running quite smoothly right now," he says. "It’s just a matter of people getting accustomed to it. You know, if people get an e-ticket on their windshield and they want to know the price of it, all they have to do is go on the Internet, pull it up right there and they can pay for it on their smartphone. The positive thing is the sytem’s working and it’s working beautifully."

The bottom line being…

"When you look at the volume of tickets we’re writing every year, it’s pretty breathtaking," Dey says. "It’s 350,000 tickets a year, and if you’ve gotten one, thank-you for shopping Municpal Court."

A funny thing happened on the way to the Plaza Saturday afternoon…

Those beefy biker dudes who commandeer the 15 Minute and No Parking spaces at 318 West 47th outside LatteLand – were nowhere to be found.

Had the Plaza finally forced Occupy LatteLand to find a new, legal home away from home? Had Police and Plaza Security finally teamed to enforce local traffic and parking laws – the ones that govern cars but for years have been ignored where hordes of illegally parked motorcyclists gather every weekend on the Plaza?

Naturally, this called for further investigation.

Turns out the bikers sometimes migrate to the curb outside Kona Grill overlooking Brush Creek, the Konans say. However Occupy LatteLand has been a Friday through Sunday mainstay for years.

And since last time out, LatteLand had closed before I could get their take on what it’s like having all of their 15 Minute parking spots and outdoor patio overrun by mostly non-paying bikers who park illegally forcing regular LatteLand customers to park blocks away and have to sit on outdoor, concrete ashtrays to sip their cappuccinos.

That’s right, ashtrays…

While interviewing a LatteLand staffer Sunday, a handsomely-attired, older woman asked me to grab a copy of the New York Times as I held the door for her to carry her drink to one of LatteLand’s two outside patios. I then further assisted by helping move a giant, cigarette sand-filled ashtray which she then covered with "all the news that’s fit to print" and seated herself.

Why you ask?

Because more than a half dozen elderly biker gentlemen had swiped the two chairs from LatteLand’s small patio and crammed them into its jam packed larger patio the bikersl had hunkered down in for the afternoon. None of whom rose to offer her a chair or move their bikes from the 15 Minute and No Parking zones. Zones filled with motorcycles for the hour I was there as well as before and after.

Other bikers crowded the sidewalks, straddled the newspaper and magazine racks or reclined on their bikes along the curb.

"You know, they’re all these regulars and they just sit on thier bikes, our patios and the newspaper racks," said one LatteLand staffer. "And I can understand their wanting to be out on their bikes on a beautiful day, but why aren’t they out riding them? You know, get a life."

Next stop; the nearby Walking Company store to check in with the young ladies who’d wondered aloud a week earlier why police and the Plaza allowed the bikers to park illegally for hours on end and clog the sidewalks.

Any biker problems now that the hanging out on the Plaza season is beginning to unfold?

"Well, they do stare at us," staffer Nikki complained. "They like check us out."

Rather dirty-old-man indiscreetly, Nikki and 19 year-old fellow staffer Jessica agreed.

"Like I went to LatteLand the other day and they all stood up and just looked at me," Jessica says "Like a full-on checkout. But you know, if they think they have the right to check us out like that, that’s just creepy."

Which stands in stark contrast to the obvious differences in how mostly polite young black kids are constantly being rousted by Plaza Security while the largely white, law breaking bikers are given a complete pass.

And if the urban kids so much as pause for even a few minutes on the sidewalks Plaza Security or police are all over them, advising them to "just keep moving."

The bikers are allowed to illegally hog the 15 Minute parking spots outside LatteLand – spots specifically designated for the businesses dash in / dash out coffee crowd.

It doesn’t make sense.

Why would Plaza Security and police who are so quick to ticket illegally parked cars allow the bikers to park illegally for three days each weekend hampering the businesses along 47th Street?

Surely they’re not afraid of the geriatric pocket rocketeers?