Tag Archives: Hearne Christopher Jr.
Hearne: KC Sports & Fitness Stagggers Across Finish Line for 15th Birthday
It doesn’t get much tougher than the print publishing biz these days…
For years Tom Leathers boasted about the dozens of publications that came and went while his Squire lived on. These days, who even remembers all of the entertainment, womens, seniors, parents, sports and gosh-know-what mags that have bought the farm in recent years?
Which brings us to Kansas City Sports & Fitness 15th anniversay issue this month.
Who better to weigh in on the momentous occasion than founding publisher Big Jim MacDonald?
Hearne: Bluestem Concept to Rise from Ashes of Trezo Vino
Think of it as Area 51 meets Area Code 913…
It won’t be easy, but on the heels of running Leawood eatery Trezo Vino the past eight months, Colby and Megan Garrelts have reportedly lined up backers for a second run at turning around the Park Place eatery at 115th and Nall.
That after the Italian and Mediterranean restaurant bought the farm Saturday.
The game plan: to reopen a new dining concept with the working title Native 34 in the same space.
Hearne: Leawood’s Trezo Vino Down for the Count Under Bluestem Management
So much for the streets of Leawood being paved with gold…
The ghost town known as the Trezo Vino closed quietly Saturday after business, sources say.
It’s no secret that the upscale Italian and Mediterranean eatery in Leawood’s swishy Park Place near struggled from the get go.
Vaunted bluestem owners Colby and Megan Garrelts rode to the rescue last summer, but that wasn’t enough to save the troubled eatery.
Hearne: Lowest Snowfall Ever? Maybe but Stand By for 25 More Inches
Did you happen to catch that snowstorm earlier today?
In Prairie Village I pegged it at zip, but KSHB weather wonk Gary Lezak says the offical count at KCI was .3 inches.
So can we put away the ice scrapers and start searching for the hay fever meds?
"No, there’s still a chance we’ll get some more snow," Lezak cautions. "There’s a chance that something like this will happen again and there’s a chance of another cold rain or snow next week.
"The most amazing thing about the weather this year is all the tornado stuff," Lezak says.
Hearne: ‘I Think We’ve Seen the Last of Jardine’s,’ Former Owner Says
The ducks are lined up, but nobody’s home…
Just last week Robert McCain and Joseph Fulgenzi appeared poised to take a brief victory lap and step back into the limelight as the saviors of the jazz club known as Jardine’s.
The club has been closed since late last year after a staff and musician revolt against owner Beena Raja.
Then on New Year’s Eve eve the two dudes announced in the pages of the Pitch and on Fox 4 News they’d bought the club from Raja and were the proud new owners.
Just one problem; contrary to that reporting, McCain and Fulgenzi had not purchased Jardine’s.
Hearne: Wesport Mulling 420 Day Celebration on April 20th
It’s a brave new world in Westport…
As evidenced by the fact that it’s poised to put Kansas City on the map in the weirdest way imaginable; by officially designating April 20th as a holiday. But not just any holiday, mind you.
For the uninitiated, April 20 is Carmen Electra’s birthday (she’ll be 40), the day Oliver Cromwell dissolved the Rump Parliament, when Louis Pasteur completed his first pasteurization test and was opening day in 1912 for Fenway Park.
But forget about all that, that’s hardly what the party hearty types in Westport had in mind when they ran this baby up the flagpole.
Because in street parlance 420 Day is known as the day (and the time 4:20 p.m.) that a group of California teens agreed to meet to smoke pot. From that humble, if vague, 1971 origin the date has evolved into something of a counterculture holiday that people gather on to “celebrate and consume cannabis.”
Hearne: Pending Death of Classical Radio Breaks Entercom Founder’s Promise
Consider the imminent killing of legendary classical radio station KXTR aka Radio Bach is a promise broken…
That’s because as former local Entercom boss Bob Zuroweste stated in the past, Entercom founder Joe Field "promised" to keep the classical music format on in Kansas City when he blew up the station on FM and moved it to 1660 AM where it resides today.
On death row.
As the guy at the helm when Entercom first assassinated classical music here, Zuroweste’s take on the company’s plans to drop classical on 1660 and replace it with – zzzzzzzzzzz – business news and Mike Shanin:
"Well, the company assassinated it, not me, " Zuroweste laughs. "I was just the henchman. I’m the one who had to do the act, but I agreed with it because classical music wasn’t appealing to advertisers and the demo that appealed to advertisers and there were not a lot of listeners. And that happened all over the country. So it was a good move to put The Buzz on and it was a success."
Hearne: Die and Die Again; the Reincarnation & Last Rites of KXTR
Talk about undignified deaths…
The final rape, pillaging and plundering of classical radio station KXTR will be complete sometime later today when what’s left of the beleaguered "Radio Bach" at 1660 AM goes business.
And while for fans of – not just classical music but the station’s ties to the local arts community – a certain sadness is in the air, there was little doubt this day would one day come. That after the station that signed on in 1953 on 96.5 FM was sold by civic leader Robert P. Ingram to Heritage Broadcasting in 1997.
"Today is our last day on the air," a voice on the station told listeners Wednesday.
And while most locals still think of the station as KXTR, since last spring it’s gone by the handle Radio Bach and the semi-secret call letters KUDL AM.
Hearne: The Star Needs to Hire Brian McTavish Now
Enough already…
It’s time for the Kansas City Star to bring back Brian McTavish, one of the newspaper’s biggest, baddest, brightest and most prolific arts and entertainment writers ever.
McTavish got laid off three years back amidst the steepest, deepest cost-cutting slide of the newspaper’s history. Despite that he was the best writer in the features section. A journalist who could bat to any and all arts and entertainment reporting fields and who produced cutting edge videos and interviews for paper’s Web site.
Here’s the deal…
A ton of top reporters nationwide have bitten the dust the past few years as the print media business model has continued to suffer at the hands of the Internet and electronic media. The attrition in staff cuts and page counts at the Star and Pitch have been at times shocking and devastating as writers and editors have exited with few being replaced.
And in addition to those drastic cuts and departures, the Star‘s arts and entertainment section has been crippled recently by a spate of career killing illnesses.
Today: Glen Campbell’s ‘Goodbye Tour’ to Hit Uptown April 26th
This just in….
One of the legendary performers of our time – Glen Campbell – will touch down in Kansas City on Thursday April 26th. Not at the Sprint Center, but rather in the intimate confines of the Uptown Theater.
The 75 year-old Campbell – who turns 76 four days prior to the show – has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is currently on a "Goodbye Tour" with his three children joining him in his backup band.
Campbell rocked this year’s Grammy awards last month with a rousing version of his hit "Rhinestone Cowboy" and was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
As for Campbell’s remembering the lyrics, his wife Kim Woollen described music as a "natural memory aid" for him.
Hearne: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Coming to the Uptown for Earth Day
The fastest rising star in cable news is Kansas City bound…
Love her or hate her, there’s no denying MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is a force to be reckoned with. Since taking over the 8 p.m. slot four years ago her ratings have soared and she’s crossed swords with the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs – and even been compared to legendary newsman Walter Cronkite.
Here’s the deal.
Unlike most successful, lightning rod news-talk hosts, the openly gay Maddow has the grey matter to back up her arguments and point of view. As she does in her new book Drift, about "how the decision-making process of the American military has become divorced from the democratic process making it far too easy and streamlined to use force worldwide," says Slate Magazine.
Now this just in, Rainy Day Books in Fairway is bringing Maddow’s book signing roadshow to town Sunday April 22nd.
Hearne: The Real Reason Kanrocksas Won’t be Back This Year?
Let me say up front, I won’t be answering the question in the above headline…
When things don’t work out as expected and people lose tons of dough – especially big money backers rolling the dice in uncharted waters – something’s got to give.
In the case of the music festival Kanrocksas, it won’t be returning this summer as had been promised.
Insiders estimate last summer’s inaugural fest at the Kansas Speedway churned a wake of $2.5 to $4 million of red ink.
That’s a lot to love.
Now let’s take a look at the spin spoon fed to local media in Kanrocksas press release Tuesday:
"Due to a major construction project at Kansas Speedway during the summer of 2012, Kanrocksas Music Festival will not return until 2013. Following the successful inaugural Kanrocksas Music Festival at Kansas Speedway in August 2011…"
Was the fest successful? Nobody who knows how to operate a calculator would likely describe it that way.
Hearne: The (Burned) Bridges of Jason Whitlock County
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How many more journalistic lives does Jason Whitlock have left?
If he was a cat, he’d have nine, right? But Whitlock’s’s too big to be a cat. In any case, the former Kansas City Star sports scribe has burned through at least four of his nine – at WHB, ESPN, 61 Sports and the newspaper.
And truth be known, at least three more, raising his magic number to seven two remaining?
With that large of a media enemies list, the big guy was more than a little lucky he was able to dodge the getting fired bullet again recently after his Tweet about Jeremy Lin‘s you-know-what size and that because Lin had had a good game he was gonna inflict some "pain" on a NYC hottie.
Hearne: Landlord OK’s Deal for New Owners to Take Over Jardine’s
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Don’t look now, but the jazz club known as Jardine’s is poised to get a new lease on life…
I know, it’s been a long hard media slog since the club mostly went dark last November. But think about how long The Phoenix downtown was out of commish before new owners breathed new life into it a few years back.
Face it, it’s not like the road to fame and fortune – even in Kansas City – is paved with live jazz music.
Not by a long shot.
Hearne: Son Pulls Plug on Former KC Mayor’s Estate Sale, Hundreds Hung Out to Dry
Scratch one absolutely fabulous and historic estate sale…
Just like that, the executor of the estate of former KC Mayor Ilus W Davis and his wife, civic leader Bea Davis put the kibosh late last week on one of what would surely have been one of the grandest estate sales in recent Kansas City history.
"I was on my way over there when I got the email that it had been cancelled," says former Shawnee Councilwoman Tracy Thomas. "I was hoping to see if he had any mayoral memorabilia or maybe a copy of the Doubleday book I wrote with Walt Bodine that mentioned mayor Davis."
‘It was a helluva sale – not," says estate sale pro Kathe Kaul, who was quarterbacking the grand event. "I don’t want to say much more."
Then again…
So what happened?
Star Search: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…Who Will Rule KC’s Arts Scene?
The $64 million question at the Kansas City Star: Who will lord over KC’s arts and entertainment scene?
The guessing game is now on as to who will succeed the newspaper’s features editor, Mary Lou Nolan, my old boss. It’s a big job – riding herd over the FYI and A&E (Arts & Entertainment) sections and Star Magazine.
Or as the mostly male editors at the newspaper tend to regard it, the "womens sections."
When I started at the Star in the early 1990s, one of the first things new editor Art Brisbane did was usher out the two male editors that had been running the section and installing a three woman chain of command. Times have changed however and with the attrition of the past several years there are far fewer women candidates in the pipeline capable of replacing Nolan.
Hearne: Jason Whitlock Gets His You-Know-What in a Racism/Sexism Ringer
From the penthouse to the you-know-what house in two short years…
When former Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock imploded his way out of Kansas City two years back, he went out in style. Kinda. By taking a huge public dump on the local newspaper and outing his boss – Star editor Mike Fannin – for allegedly dipping his pen in the company ink.
Nevermind that few at the Star disagreed.
Hearne: Enquirer Dings Romney With Valentine’s Day ‘Love Triangle Shocker’
There’s little doubt Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney‘s campaign could use a little oomph…
But is it possible that one of the most boring presidential candidates ever was caught up in a "love triangle"?
Hey, maybe. And at this tender stage of the game, the idea of Romney getting strafed by The National Enquirer in a Valentine’s Day sex scandal story might be a positive. Anything to knock Mitt out of that flavor-free, flip-flop box he’s been trapped in the past four years.
Hearne: One & Done or Will Kanrocksas Return This Summer?
When it comes to the future of the music festival known as Kanrocksas, mum’s the word…
That’s not a good sign. Calls to pretty much all-parties involved (that could be reached) from last summer’s event at the Kansas Speedway yielded a single answer; nobody knows for sure.
Again, not a good sign.
Established festivals like Bonnaroo and Wakarusa have had their dates picked out and up for all to see for months. For good reason. Because to succeed at the level these multi-million dollar events need to, it’s vitally important to keep the faithful informed so they can make plans to attend.
Last year’s inaugural Kanrocksas stumbled out of the gate with a late April announcement.
And it paid the price for being tardy.
Star Search: Kansas City Star Features Head Mary Lou Nolan to Step Down
This one’s personal…
It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m out of town and flying low, so I don’t have the time to give this one a lot of thought right now – other than to do the basic reporting.
Which is…
My old boss Mary Lou Nolan announced today that she will retire on Friday February 24th.
I’ll "revisit" this, as Mary Lou might say in the near future.
But I will say here and now that she will be missed. Maybe not universally, but by and large Mary Lou did a good job during some very difficult times. She certainly was never what one would call cutting edge, but hey, she put up with me for 10 or more years.
And largely was very supportive.
