Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser ripped the idea of developing a convention hotel during a press conference today at the corner of 14th Street and Baltimore — finally taking a stand on the issue after months of speculation. “My first thought, the only thought that sticks with me, is ‘Are you kidding me?’” Funkhouser said of the downtown convention hotel…
Michael Jackson dines with Brooke Shields, 1991 A couple of days ago, two young men I know were sitting in the dining room at Grinders — fuming. They later told me that it took more than an hour to finally get their lunch, and only when the waitress was setting down the plates did the explanation come out: The kitchen had…
Update III (1:51 a.m. June 10): Barbara Porter, 44, is now accused of helping her husband, Patrick Neal Porter, whisk her 16-year-old daughter away to San Diego, California. Patrick Porter, who faces child pornography charges, was arrested in California yesterday. Barbara Porter is charged with aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual…
Peter Newman, former assistant director at a Kanakuk Kamps for Christian principles in sports, has been sentenced to two life terms plus another 30 years for molesting boys. Newman pleaded guilty in February to two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree statutory sodomy for abusing teenage boys. Categories: News Tags: branson, Kanakuk Kamps, Peter Newman, statutory…
I’ve never been to the Tijuana Lawrence Busker Festival, but I couldn’t get past the following headline, from the press release I received today. Strong Women, Horse Acts and Mind Reading – All at the Lawrence Busker Festival this year Probably the equine entertainment happening August 21, 22 and 23 in downtown Larryville will be more in the vein of…
Update II (1:03 p.m. June 10): Zachary A. Bowershas been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of his father, David A. Bowers. The probable cause statement says that in a phone conversation with police, Zachary Bowers claimed his father made him kill him. “Dad threw the gun in my hand and told me to pull…
There’s a new Lebanese restaurant in Overland Park. Two days old, as a matter of fact, and the menu isn’t even back from the printer. Bassam Derbas, a native of Tripoli, opened the Village Restaurant at 9058 Metcalf — in the location formerly occupied by La Mesa Mexican Restaurant and, long before that, the last incarnation of La Mediteranee French…
Lauren Chapin Lauren Chapin, the longtime restaurant critic for the Kansas City Star, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm at age 50 in December 2008. She was survived by her husband, Tim Finn, and two teenage daughters, Brenna and Maren. The month after her death, Kansas City’s restaurant community rallied around Chapin’s family by mounting a sell-out fundraiser, Four Stars…
I, for one, cannot wait to see the out-of-this-world headdresses dreamed up by Kansas City Art Institute junior Maegan Stracy at the West 18th Street Fashion Show this Saturday. Stracy, an Overland Park native, is 19 years old — the youngest designer to have her work featured on the runway at this year’s show. Categories: News Tags: headdress, Kansas City…
A benefit show is scheduled for Friday, June 25 at the Riot Room, the proceeds of which go toward funding classes at the academy. On hand performing will be Deep Thinkers, Les Izmore, Negro Scoe, and more. A 19-song HHA mixtape featuring local acts Stik Figa and CES Cru, among others, will be available for purchase at the show as…
Local hip-hop artist thePhantom* has a question: Why are folks so afraid to stand on the street corner, to scream for peace, to scream for justice? In this video message — part political pastiche, part homily — delivered from his website, thePhantom* asks listeners to “join a movement, the likes of which this city has never seen … a movement…
Tina Myers is back in business Last December, shortly before Yarbrough’s Family Restaurant closed its doors forever in Shawnee, I paid a final call to one of Kansas City’s longest-running family-owned restaurants. Yarbrough’s dated back to 1965, when waitress Leona Yarbrough — who is still alive in her 90s, by the way — purchased the former Anne Peterson’s restaurant in…
%{}% Pastry chef Molly Krause reveals the secrets to making vanilla extract. Goldilocks had porridge. Kansas City has burgers — Blanc, McDonald’s and the Westport Flea Market go head-to-head. The history of one of most America’s enduring brands, Chef Boyardee, shows that we’ve always loved prepared meals. I know Kansas City wants to be a greener city, but I think…
The band plays a homecoming show at RecordBar Saturday, June 19, with Overstep and the Cherry Tree Parade. Categories: Music Tags: Roman Numerals
With mainstream newspapers and local television stations working with fewer resources, some stories are going to fall through the cracks. Luckily, there are people like John O’Hara picking up the slack. This May, O’Hara’s DIY News project started posting the first in a series of videos reporting on metro events that local anchors might ignore. Something like this could easily…
Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. A-Team novelizations Small But Deadly Wars; When You Comin’ Back, Range Rider?; Old Scores to Settle; and Ten Percent of Trouble Author: Charles Heath Date: 1984 Publisher:…
