By DAVID MARTIN Robert Heacock, third from left, and Mayor Don Reimal, fourth from left, break ground. The city of Independence broke ground earlier this month on a 5,800-seat events center. J.E. Dunn Construction, the metro’s largest contractor, is building the $55-million facility on a no-bid contract. In the original plan, Global Entertainment Corp. of Phoenix was going to build…
By PETER RUGG For the second time this year, a soldier stationed at Fort Riley has filed a federal suit over the military’s religious practices. Today, Spc. Dustin Chalker filed the suit today, in conjunction with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. According to the suit, he was forced to attend three events in the past two years that featured prayers…
By Alan Scherstuhl Much of what critics have said about Miracle at St. Anna is true. Spike Lee’s two-and-a-half-hour drama about four African-American soldiers stranded behind enemy lines in World War II Italy is too long. At its undisciplined worst, it feels like someone crammed half a dozen scripts into a wood chipper set on overdrive. What a two-star review…
By OWEN MORRIS At wine tastings, I’ve generally encountered two types of people: wine snobs, who believe their noses and opinions are as important to humanity as, say, penicillin; and event snobs who could care less about what they’re drinking as long as the people they’re drinking around are the “right” people. Last Friday night I found the much rarer…
By CAROLYN SZCZEPANSKI “Bail out the homeless!” Anne Pritchett bellowed into a bullhorn. “Bail out the uninsured!” While politicians scrambled last night to assemble a $700 billion package to rescue financial institutions and avert a threatened economic meltdown, demonstrators at the intersection of Blue Parkway and Cleveland Avenue hoisted placards and told evening commuters to oppose putting taxpayer money into…
By ANDY VIHSTADT Earlier this week, They Might Be Giants took the Mountain Stage for West Virginia Public Radio. They currently hold the record for most songs performed in 20 minutes on the program. Included in the latest set are a couple classics from the duo’s 1990 LP, Flood, as well as the disjointed live favorite, “Fingertips.” Listen here at…
By OWEN MORRIS This weekend is uber-loaded with Oktoberfest events, which almost makes up for the lack of German restaurants in town. As subscribers to The Pitch’s dining newsletter Pitch Forks know, there is only one German restaurant left in the Kansas City area, The Rheinland Restaurant in downtown Independence. But there’s no lack of Oktoberfests this weekend. The biggie…
By CHARLES FERRUZZA Back in the days when I was juggling two jobs — as a reporter and a waiter — a few people asked if I would ever want to open my own restaurant. Say what? I’m not that crazy! I am just crazy enough, however, to know all the lyrics to the song “Twisted” by Annie Ross and…
By NADIA PFLAUM So I was all, “Is that a Keith Haring dress?” And Christine was all, “Yeah, I think it is. I got it at a thrift store, but it’s obviously that.” Christine’s a painting major at the Kansas City Art Institute, which explains (1) her getting the Haring reference and (2) her effing awesome style. “People at the…
By OWEN MORRIS This post is titled “the best three dollar sandwich in Kansas City.” While I’m not sure what the competition is, for three bucks, I’ll pretty much eat any sandwich. (KC With a Russian Accent) This article about Bordeauxs goes a little over my head (and a lot over my pocketbook) but it’s interesting to see how much…
While politicians scrambled to put together a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, demonstrators at Blue Parkway and Cleveland Avenue told evening commuters to oppose a rescue for mismanaged corporations.
Jim Gaffagin Pre-Party
rockin by the speedway
An Evening in the Sculpture Park
Children Intl Passport to Hope
By OWEN MORRIS This just in: Don’t miss the 7th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social at participating Cold Stone Creamery locations nationwide, a special night to join together and share the simple pleasures of life with a FREE ice cream and family fun. On September 25th from 5:00 – 8:00PM, guests will be treated to a 3 oz. serving…
By PETER RUGG Thanks to Scott Burnett, the Lansing Correctional Facility’s maximum-security inmates might have a guitar-therapy program. This past spring, Burnett purchased six acoustic guitars and donated them to the prison. Burnett’s gift was inspired by British folk musician Billy Bragg’s program Jail Guitar Doors, which provides musical instruments to inmates. Burnett hopes to establish an active arm of…
%{}% By OWEN MORRIS SustainLane.com, the self-proclaimed “Web’s largest people-powered guide to sustainable living,” has released its 2008 study ranking cities according to (what else?) sustainable living. It looked at the 50 most populated cities and measured each city’s performance in 16 areas of urban sustainability. So how did Kansas City do? Not as bad as I expected. Coming in…
By FLANNERY CASHILL Color us jealous. Chicago’s unfailingly awesome Numero Group unveils its newest Eccentric Soul release, a compilation of St. Louis soul called The Young Disciples, on October 21st. The Young Disciples features the work of St. Louis producer and humanitarian Allan Merry and features the tracks “Girls Girls Girls,” “Bang Bang Bang,” and “Love Love Love.” They ought…
By JUSTIN KENDALL Herm Edwards may need a hug after this season. Yesterday, our friends at State of the Line broke down the growing trend of store clerks going Charles Bronson on the asses of would-be thieves. Buried at the end of the post was a link to a story drawing a “disturbing and accurate correlation” between crime and shitty…
By OWEN MORRIS It is fun to show a restaurant’s kitchen in the weeds. Gordon Ramsey has made a particularly lucrative career out of it. But in a well-put-together kitchen, such chaos is a rare occurrence. That’s because of prep work. Prep work is rarely written about or shown on television because it tends to be repetitive and boring. That’s…
By THE PACKHAM VIC 20 Exciting features: The Packham Vic 20 automatically selects the first photo it finds in its initial Google Image search. The Packham Vic 20 uses advanced BASIC programming to generate one exciting insult or vulgar epithet per topic. The Packham Vic 20 includes one joystick port. Play all your favorite games! The Packham Vic 20 works…
