A year ago, a friend of mine underwent an intervention for his alcohol and drug addiction. His family sent him to the Pine Grove Rehabilitation Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for 90 days of treatment. The other day, this same friend got a call from a fellow Kansas Citian who also spent time at Pine Grove. “Dude — Tiger Woods is…
Throughout last week, we ran excerpts from a series of stories by Kansas Health Institute journalist Dave Ranney. The stories illustrate how Kansas lawmakers, faced with the need to cut the state budget, have a problem understanding some simple math: In the long run, it’s a lot less expensive to fund services that help disabled children and adults live independently,…
Today is the feast day of St. Vincent Tournante, the patron saint of wine growers and vinegar makers. You might raise a glass of vino in his honor — he died a ghastly death back the year 304 — while you read Jonathan Bender’s news about wine tastings and classes in Fat City. If you prefer beer to wine, there’s…
Johnson County prosecutors charged two men Friday in connection with the death of a woman whose body was discovered on the side of U.S. Highway 69 near Louisburg on Wednesday. Prosecutors charged 30-year-old Jason Warren Cott Sr. with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Angela D. Cott. Jason Cott is being held on $1 million bond. Prosecutors also charged…
Kansas City, Kansas, police are investigating a homicide in the 1700 block of Haskell Avenue. View Larger Map There, officers found the dead body of a man inside a vehicle around 11:12 a.m. The victim’s identity and the cause of death haven’t been released. The man’s death is Kansas City, Kansas’ fourth of 2010. If you have a tip about…
Inman Police Chief Michael Leland Akins Jr. was charged last week with sexually abusing four children under the age of 14 in McPherson County, Kansas. Akins is facing 19 counts of sex crimes and two counts of battery against three girls and a boy. The sexual abuse is alleged to have occurred between December 2008 and December 2009. Predictably, there…
You’ve probably seen 30-year-old Amanda Taylor in the news already. For a year now, she’s been in the process of adopting a two-year-old boy, Isaac, from an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, and she was in Haiti when the earthquake hit on January 12. Taylor made it back to Kansas City but had to leave her sister, Natasha Rae, and Isaac behind….
You need plans. Fat City has a recycle bin full of listings. In this post, all our problems are solved. Kansas City Restaurant Week has begun, and runs through Sunday, January 31. Get out there and see how many hometown calories you can consume in the next few days. If you’re craving Girl Scout cookies, scouts and their families will…
And once again, we bring you Friday Freebies, wherein we present things to do this weekend that won’t cost you any more than the gas it takes to get to ’em. Lawrence plays host to two art openings on Friday night. Both start at 7:00 p.m. Signs of Life welcomes 12 new artists for it’s “New Show.” There will be…
Collaborations like the one between Belgian brewer Jean-Marie Rock and Boulevard’s Steven Pauwels may prove more important in light of recent news from Belgium about a possible looming beer shortage amid protests over job cuts and declining beer sales. The past two weeks have seen angry picketers stacking crates and blocking incoming ingredients and outgoing crates at the headquarters of…
One of the few mistakes that diners are unwilling to forgive is an exorbitant wait for their food at a restaurant. We’ve all been the table that gets the short end of the steak — when dinner becomes a two-hour affair not because you’re enjoying the company but because something is going on behind the swinging double doors. And when…
The topic of school shootings in young adult literature is relatively uncharted. And though it’s been 10 years since the shootings at Columbine High School, that massacre continues to haunt. Hate List (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 416 pages, $16.99) by Kansas City Star columnist and Mom2Mom blogger Jennifer Brown, explores a similar phenomenon. One morning in May of…
I’ve seen A Place to Bury Strangers three or four times now. They are the only band in recent history for whom wearing earplugs is an absolute necessity. I’m aware that, as a music journalist, I get exposed to way more decibels than is healthy for the enduring health of my ears. However, APTBS is fucking loud. As in, “I…
Lee’s Summit police are investigating the death of 56-year-old Ronnie L. Feitz as a homicide. The Lee’s Summit police say Feitz’ employer found Feitz dead inside a residence in the 500 block of N.W. Ivy Place. View Larger Map Feitz hadn’t shown up to work for several days, and the employer went to check on Feitz, who lived alone. Police…
When you have a chocolate dessert that fails to live up to what you’ve eaten earlier in the evening, it’s a giant letdown. But a great chocolate dessert can turn an ordinary meal into a great evening. So listen up chocophiles — and the rest of you who say, “I’m stuffed, but maybe I could find some room for chocolate.”…
Whether dousing himself in cow blood or trying to block traffic, Jason Miller’s campaign to save the deer in Shawnee Mission Park has often been met with law enforcement. Most notably, in late October, Miller visited the home of Michael Meadors, director of the Johnson County Park and Recreation District, to deliver a protest letter regarding the impending deer harvest….
Chef Kamal is in a falafel mood We’re suddenly in a falafel reverie here in Fat City. First we discovered the excellent falafel served at the Olive Cafe and now we’ve learned about a free falafel night! Local entrepreneur Yahia Kamal — he prefers to be called Chef Kamal — the founder of the Kansas City-based Yummy’s Choice line of…
Clothes Whores: Enthusiastically examining Kansas City’s sartorial shenanigansBrandon Laskowski, the 24-year-old designer at the helm of Evolved Footwear, is known within the online-dwelling custom-shoe community as the guy who first brought the light. His technique of fitting kicks with glowing neon wires can transform an ordinary pair of Nikes into something straight out of TRON. “Customizers don’t like giving their…
Rod Jetton isn’t having the best week. Yesterday, a judge reportedly scheduled a preliminary hearing for February 24 in the assault case against Jetton, who allegedly punched and choked woman during sex in mid-November and supposedly told the woman the next morning that she “should have said green balloons” to stop the rough sex. However, the woman claimed to police…
We can now apparently count blueberries among superfruits — the Justice League of your crisper. A new study suggests that regularly drinking blueberry juice may improve memory. A sample population of senior citizens in the early stages of memory decline drank between two and two and one-half cups of blueberry juice each day for two months. Compared to a control…
