Archives: October 2010
Brandon Flowers bringing Vegas to Lawrence
Brandon Flowers, is bringing his Viva Las Vegas-themed solo catalog to Liberty Hall on October 29 November 20. His latest, Flamingo, is an effort to tide over Killers fans during the band’s indefinite hiatus (which began in January of this year, following the band’s world tour). Flamingo is chock-full of bad gambling puns and velveteen cheesiness more ostentatious than a Vegas…
Woman, 4-year-old girl kidnapped, held for ransom; three arrested
Frightening abduction story from overnight. A man called police around 9 p.m. and reported his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter had been kidnapped and being held for ransom by an unknown man. Police met the man in the 3700 block of Virginia Avenue. The investigation led police to a residence in the 4200 block of Highland, and if the officers were…
We won’t have “Green” SunChips bags to kick around any more
%{}% Frito-Lay has decided to trash its biodegradable Sun Chip bag. USA Today reports that, after just 18 months, the chip producer will yank the compostable bags from five of its six flavors immediately. The environmentally friendly bags have been lampooned for being too noisy (see the 47,350 members of the “Sorry But I Can’t Hear You Over This Sun…
J.J. Rizzo vs. Will Royster: Alleged fishiness at polls in primary election
The battle between J.J. Rizzo and Will Royster, both candidates in August’s primary election, continues in appellate court today. Rizzo beat Royster by one vote to run for Missouri House, 40th District. Now, Missouri.Watchdog.org has details about alleged voter fraud. Court affidavits by witnesses at Northeast polling places contain allegations of people voting more than once, and members of the…
PotPie’s John Williams nixed nights, saved his sanity
John Williams lost 80 pounds (and lots of stress) racing bikes. Chef-owner John Williams listed his Westport restaurant, PotPie, for sale three years ago. He was concerned that if word got out about the listing, the news would hurt his business. It didn’t. “In three years, I never had one single person ask about buying the restaurant,” Williams says….
KC’s 64106 zip code is the 23rd Most Dangerous Neighborhood in America, say experts (of some kind)
Ranking our city makes 9 out of 10 puppies sad. Are you ready for more ways to judge your city based on faceless experts you’ve never heard of? I am! And something called NeighborhoodScout says the 64106 zip code is the 23rd Most Dangerous Neighborhood in the country. Oddly, this ranking is the 338th most arbitrary list I’ve seen…
Joe The Plumber, Missouri tea partiers fight anti-puppy mill legislation
%{}% There are some issues that you’d think folks would agree on. Take puppy mills that put profits above the welfare of the dogs. They suck, right? Someone should step in and protect the animals. Or at least, put regulations on commercial breeders to make sure they’re giving the dogs food and clean water, vet care, exercise, shelter and rest…
Bill Laursen, jazz piano player, had one of the largest child porn collections in Missouri history
Bill Laursen won’t be doing any more shows at the Phoenix. A year ago when I first met Bill Laursen to write a story on the jazz piano player’s arrest for child pornography, (“Crash”) the one-time member of the Scamps swore that the only pictures he had were of teenage girls — as if this somehow made things better….
Ned Yost to Royals fans: Give us a couple of years, don’t hold your breath on Mike Moustakas
Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost discussed his team’s miserable season and miserable future with the media yesterday. And the skipper toed the company line perfectly by touting the farm system, thanking the dwindling home crowds and lowering expectations. Yost, who just wrapped up his first season at the helm of the hopeless squad, said the Royals’ offense will likely…
Sharp’s 63rd Street Grill gets a new chef — again
Patrice Welcher is out, Matthew Coe is in Less than a month ago, we reported that Sharp’s 63rd Street Grill had hired a chef, Patrice Welcher, to revamp the Brookside restaurant’s dinner menu. It was a menu that definitely needed help. Welcher did a great job taking on the challenge of making changes at Sharp’s — where the regulars, by…
Kansas State No. 1 in Big 12 men’s basketball coaches’ poll. Yes, Kansas State
%{}% The Sunflower State could rule the Big 12 in men’s basketball but the team on top of the preseason coaches’ poll doesn’t play in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas State is the coaches’ pick to win the Big 12. Reaching the Elite Eight and guard Jacob Pullen’s neckbeard didn’t hurt the Wildcats’ cause. K-State received 10 first place votes. Categories:…
Bieber Watch: Justin to host new version of MTV’s ‘Punk’d’?
Hey, remember Punk’d, MTV’s hidden-camera show where Ashton Kutcher played pranks on celebrities and taped the weird things they did? It was the springboard to successful comedian and actor Dax Shepard’s career! Now you remember. Well, the crew over at Vulture is reporting today that MTV is reviving the Punk’d brand and the new host is going to be —…
A great restaurant better have some balls (Update)
Update (October 5, 2010): The long-awaited answer from last week? These big, meaty balls are served at the new Carmen’s Cafe restaurant in Leawood. A bowl o’ balls can be a beautiful thing. There’s nothing worse than a lousy meatball. They can be too big and undercooked. Or they can be too small and dense. They can be too heavy…
Best of Kansas City: Even the best new restaurants die young
Extra Virgin was the critic’s choice in 2009. On the eve of The Pitch’s 2010 “Best of Kansas City” issue, we thought it would be entertaining and revealing to take a backward glance at some of our past winners. Even the winners that ultimately became, well, losers. For the past decade, The Pitch has singled out one venue each year…
Kansas City leaders go to Indianapolis to see a non-dysfunctional city in action
Kansas City civic leaders are in Indianapolis learning how a real city is run. Business and political elites are visiting Indy as part of a three-day leadership exchange. Upon arrival, the Kansas City crew took a tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before attending panels that might as well as be titled “Here Are Things You Were Too Dim to…
No. 1: The beef sandwich from Arthur Bryant’s
To whet your appetite for The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue, we’re counting down our favorite Top 50 dishes each weekday until October 7. If you’re lucky, the line doesn’t stretch out the swinging screen door at Arthur Bryant’s. Instead, it’s just long enough for you to change your mind a dozen times while staring at the laminated…
Why a $4 peach may make sense
It’s easy to get caught up in the sensationalism of a $4 peach. The average shopper would likely say that’s a ridiculous price for a single piece of fruit. A few might be tempted to make a moral stand. If that is the price of knowing everything about that peach, then it is completely worth it. The problem is that…
Girlfriend calls police on unemployed pot-smoking man
Attention unemployed stoners, make sure keep your girlfriends happy or you may get a visit from the cops. A Lebanon, Missouri, man found out that smoking up all day and not looking for jobs pissed his girlfriend off so much that she called 911 to report him for smoking weed, according to The Lebanon Daily Record. Sounds like she needs…
Nailed to the X: five classic straight-edge anthems
Kevin Seconds, frontman for long-running Reno hardcore band 7 Seconds, plays an early matinee the Replay patio this Saturday in Lawrence. He’s playing solo acoustic — which is amazing — but, it would’ve been 100 times more fantastic to have gotten to see the hardcore legends, especially since they’re celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. In honor of Mr. Seconds…
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