As one of his final acts as governor, Jay Nixon pardoned 18 of Missouri’s most sympathetic convicts.These would be members of the “Medicaid 23” — clergy and others who were arrested and inexplicably tried and convicted for trespassing because they had the nerve to disrupt the almighty state Senate while appealing for Missouri to expand Medicaid eligibility.Nixon’s move was cheered…
Additional Kansas City rape news: Arturo Cabral, owner of El Patron Cocina and Bar, on Southwest Boulevard, has been charged with raping two different women.On November 13, 2015, according to court documents, Cabral “casually unzipped” the blouse of a woman he met at a bar on the Country Club Plaza and asked her if she wanted to get a hotel room….
On its new album, Moon Birth — released this week on the Whatever Forever label — Lawrence folk trio the Ovaries-Eez reaches for ethereal sounds. Granted, the group’s gorgeous three-part harmonies are still the focus and the joy, but the new CD also finds room for Cloud Dog’s Brett Grady and Jim Martin, who add further texture to the lush singing…
A crime lab linked one of the men charged with abducting and raping a sheriff’s deputy in Johnson County to a previously unsolved gang rape in Independence. The woman who reported the rape to Independence police is now speaking out against the investigation, which evidently went nowhere until the DNA match.In an infuriating story published Thursday at Cosmopolitan’s website, the victim,…
The Band That Fell to Earth: A David Bowie TributeThe hellish nightmare that was 2016 claimed the great David Bowie, but the legendary star’s spirit lives on. Local Bowie tribute band the Band That Fell to Earth brings together a slew of talented artists for one spectacular night of hits and memories. You can thank bass player Michelle Bacon, of…
You’ve heard Eboni Fondren. She is the female voice asking you to turn off your phone before the start of every movie at every AMC theater. She has done voiceovers for TV commercials. She has sung in shows with the Kansas City Repertory Theatre and at the New Theatre Restaurant. She co-hosts the weekly public-radio jazz-and-comedy series 12th Street Jump….
Thursday, January 5Tonight on IFC, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are back for a seventh season of Portandia.%{}%I’ll be the first to admit that when this show premiered, I figured it would have a short life and appeal only to the Northwestern-progressive body politic it lampooned. Portlandia continues to exert its original boutique appeal, but its constellation of absurd characters…
There are two kinds of beer-nerd palate: yours and Neil Witte’s.Witte oversaw field quality and training at Boulevard Brewing and Duvel Moortgat USA for most of the past 20 years. He is one of the 11 people on the planet to have passed the Master Cicerone exam. And he has an unsparing assessment to share about the ever-ballooning craft-beer bubble. “I’ve…
In one of the cruelest imaginable displays of fated timing, David Bowie died just three weeks before last January’s debut of the Band That Fell to Earth. The tribute act, organized by Michelle Bacon (Chris Meck and the Guilty Birds), was put together to pay homage to the musician while he was very much alive. Then came the bad news,…
Twitter handle: @katywritesHometown: Columbia, MissouriCurrent neighborhood: River MarketWhat I do: Convince people to pay me to write things, develop a content strategy and/or manage their social media channels. What’s your addiction: Words, Sephora, social mediaWhat’s your game? I’m a vicious Uno opponent.What’s your drink? Depends on where I am, but my go-tos are a glass of sauvignon blanc or a…
It is immediately apparent that the new Thai restaurant Aep (1815 West 39th Street), open since early December in the former Thomas space, is not your average, Americanized spot for phad Thai and spring rolls. Owned by seasoned KC industry vets Jakob Polaco and Adam Northcraft (Polaco is formerly of the American and the Rieger; Northcraft is the former co-owner…
Superman is about to go down. There he is, the man of steel, all primary red and yellow and blue, succumbing to a karate move administered by … a Japanese septuagenarian.This is what a victory lap looks like for Roger Shimomura, the artist and longtime University of Kansas professor. His “American Vs. American #2,” in which a white-belt Shimomura (the…
Some advocacy groups encourage their supporters to “adopt” state legislators. It’s a cute way for citizens to think about their representatives: as wards who need minding. Without some gentle parenting by the people, the idea goes, elected officials can be led astray by lobbyists, party leaders and filter bubbles.For Missouri lawmakers, bad influences pose an even greater danger. Researchers have…
Back in 2009, the newly formed Office of Congressional Ethics investigated U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, who represents Missouri’s 6th District. The OCE was established in 2008, toward the end of George W. Bush’s second term, following the corruption scandals of congressmen such as Tom Delay and Mark Foley, and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The office conducts its own independent investigations, which…
Much has been made of the dumpster fire of 2016, but in terms of local videos, the year went out on one hell of a high note. In addition to the debut of indie act Jaenki, there’s live footage from the likes of folk-punk duo Destroy Nate Allen and death-metal act Damned by the Pope, as well as hip-hop from…
