Archives: June 2011

News, Politics

Vicky Hartzler tells gay student that he ‘shouldn’t feel bad’ about her anti-gay politics (video)

Justin Kendall,

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler can’t escape her comments from earlier this month comparing same-sex marriage with incest and pedophilia. Alex Sable-Smith, a University of Missouri medical student who happens to be gay, confronted Hartzler yesterday about her anti-gay record after a town hall meeting in Butler, Missouri. Hartzler, after trying to determine whether Sable-Smith was a Democrat or a Republican, acted…
Dining, Food & Drink

Talk of the Town coming to Leawood

Jonathan Bender,

Talk of the Town is, well, hoping to become the talk of the town in Leawood. The Kansas City Business Journal reports that the Overland Park bar and grill will be opening a second location this fall in the former Ted’s Montana Grill space (5201 W. 135th St.) at 135th Street and Nall in Leawood. Categories: Dining, Food & Drink…

News

Jenifer Valenti will receive sex-abuse complaints against the Kansas City Catholic Diocese

Justin Kendall,

%{}% Bishop Robert Finn is still trying to mop up the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese’s mess. His latest attempt: appointing former Jackson County prosecutor Jenifer Valenti as the contact person for receiving sexual-abuse complaints against the diocese, according to Micheal Mahoney’s 20 Pounds of Headlines blog.  Valenti will be the diocese’s ombudsman and public liaison, starting on July 15….
News

Salvation Army locations serving as cooling centers

Ben Palosaari,

All eight Kansas City-area Salvation Army locations will be serving as cooling centers as long as the city is under an excessive heat warning. The locations are: Each community center will be open from at least 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Categories: News Tags: heat-related deaths
News

Look out, Muslims! Lou Engle is on his way to Detroit

David Martin,

Lou Engle is taking his unique brand of bug-eyed fundamentalism to Michigan. The frothing preacher says God has told him to hold one of his prayer rallies in the Detroit area. Engle, who is affiliated with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, is planning an ambitious agenda for the Detroit event. He wants to fix race relations and…
News

Paul Nelson shot to death in Sanford Brown Plaza park; 49 homicides in KCMO

Justin Kendall,

UPDATE (July 1): The victim of the homicide in Sanford Brown Plaza park has been officially identified as 24-year-old Paul Nelson of Kansas City, Missouri. Original Story (June 30): A man shot to death Wednesday night in Sanford Brown Plaza park is Kansas City, Missouri’s 49th homicide victim of 2011. Categories: News Tags: homicide, Paul Nelson, Sanford Brown Plaza
Dining, Food & Drink

Get ready for the first annual Westport Food Truck Festival

Charles Ferruzza,

Food trucks, once the least glamorous form of dining in America, have become the hottest culinary innovation since commercially sliced bread (which was first sold to the public in Chillicothe, Missouri on July 7, 1928, by the way). So the opportunity to purchase a meal from a mobile-truck window has gone from fast food to fantastic food. That’s the general…
Music

The Kanrocksas local music showcase lineup, out at Wild Bill’s

David Hudnall,

You guys, Kanrocksas is inching ever nearer. We’re just a little over a month out. Today the fest announced the lineup of Wild Bill’s Local Music Showcase. It’s being held out at Wild Bill’s Steakhouse and Saloon at the Legends, and it features local bands and DJs every Friday and Saturday in July. Acts compete for two slots to play…

Prison Art

Berry Anderson,

Artist Reinaldo Dennes is on Death Row in Texas. He was 39 when he killed another man in a robbery attempt. Since he’s been in prison, he has found religion and meditation. His artwork consists mainly of spiritual subjects and is created with paint made of crushed colored pencils and homemade brushes made of human hair. See his work today…

Riverfront Weekend Festival

Hosted and organized by the Friends of the River-KC, KCRiverFest at Richard L. Berkley Park is the only place in downtown Kansas City that will have fireworks, food, carnival rides and games, and family entertainment. Today’s entertainment includes RiverRock, Bill Kleoppel, Billy Ebeling, Bradley Gaskin, the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America: The Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble. For…

Party in the Village

Get the day started early at this free, family-friendly event. Some of this year’s attractions include human hamster balls, pony rides, a petting zoo, a bike rodeo, hula hoop contest and much more. Music by Mr. Stinky Feet, Funky Mama and Neon Blue. See www.pvkansas.com for more information. Mon., July 4, 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 2011 Tags: Night & Day, Stinky…

Remembrance of Jazz Hands Past

Chris Packham,

In America, the theme songs associated with the threshold between single life and the union of two souls are “Wedding March” by Mendelssohn and “The Chicken Dance.” But for the most part, important life changes aren’t all that toe-tapping. As human beings living in a world of flux and, ultimately, biological decline, we’ve all probably had the same thought: “Why…

First Friday Top Pick: Belger Arts Center

More than 70 prints by artists Roger Shimomura, Peregrine Honig, Tom Huck, Gesine Janzen, Luis Jimenez, Jamie Jones, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Theodore Waddell, and others are on display through October 7 as a part of the Lawrence Lithography Workshop: Suites and Portfolios, a printmaking shop established in downtown Lawrence in 1979. Tonight’s opening reception is from 6 to 9 p.m….

Toddler Meadow

Chris Packham,

Children! We all maintain the pretense that we love them. Alternatively, we actually do love them, but this is mostly an evolutionary adaptation (as has often been pointed out by scientists and tired, uninspired humorists) that enables us to protect them for 18 years. At any rate, every­one can agree that our larvae need constant entertainment to distract them from…