Issues from the complaint. // via Missouri Ethics Council The Missouri Ethics Commission filed a complaint against Raytown alderwoman Bonnaye Mims and her campaign for misusing funds during her run to represent District 27 in the 2016 Democratic Primary election. The Commission’s staff received the complaint and performed a review of the committee’s campaign finance reports. It found eight counts…
4th of July police protest in KC. // Photo by Jim Nimmo From a public relations perspective, “defund the police” is a powerhouse. “Defund the police” outstrips “demilitarize the police” by 100 to 1 in Google trend rankings. It’s been a Twitter trend. It’s compared to “Medicare for All” and “Yes We Can,” with Emily VanDerWerff arguing in Vox that…
Is it safe to have an outdoor cocktail? At Percheron, it just might be. The Crossroads Hotel bar reopened earlier in June, and the rooftop bar is busy—but not too busy. All servers wear masks now, surfaces are wiped down frequently, the seating has been parsed down to accommodate for six feet of distancing, and reservations are booked in 90…
Kansas City’s The Guillotine Choir features the Philistines’ Cody Wyoming and Kimmie Queen, along with Justin Muschinske, making music which is not just dance-worthy electronic rock, but political, as well. Despite only playing a handful of shows since their debut in October of 2018, the band’s sound is fully formed, and spans the width and breadth of gothy dance sounds,…
Kansas State Fair // Courtesy of the Kansas State Fair For the first time in state history, the Kansas State Fair has been canceled for 2020 due to concerns about COVID-19 contraction and transmissions. The fair was called off this morning after a vote in Hutchinson, Kansas by the Kansas State Fair Board. The vote passed 13-0 to cancel the…
KC Police Protest 6 03 20 // Photo by Jim Nimmo Whether the police have the right to kneel on an unarmed black man’s neck in order to arrest him for using an alleged counterfeit $20 bill is a legal question few people think they’d have to consider. And yet George Floyd’s family has to do exactly that. On May…
Campaign logo. // Courtesy Borgen Project While here in Kansas City and the United States we are facing the results of COVID-19, countries living in global poverty cannot be forgotten. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminds us of the importance of working together to overcome this issue saying, “We are only as strong as the weakest health system in our…
A real cool author and publisher. // Courtesy Cynthia Fails Today on Streetwise from The Pitch we discuss cars, what we’re watching, listen to The Harrisonics’ track “Trailer Court Goth Girls”, and chat with children’s book author Cynthia Fails. Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, editor in chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. Subscribe to the Streetwise newsletter, a weekly…
June 3rd KC police protest. // Photo by Jim Nimmo The sheer timing of our nation’s uprising for Black lives—in the midst of a global pandemic, when we’re more resilient and fragile than we could have imagined—is a significance historians will have to sort out. Just as COVID-19 is reshaping the unthinkable, more Americans are accepting the raw truth that…
We thought it might be fun to take a look back at the last 40 years of The Pitch’s film criticism, which encompasses reviews by local writers, as well as our history as part of Village Voice Media (RIP). We found some takes that haven’t aged all that well, and some that hold up like fire. There were also some…
J. Rieger & Co. hosts Parking Lot Provisions // Courtesy J. Rieger & Co. Starting Saturday, some of your favorite local goods will be available in one nifty location. J. Rieger & Co. hosts Parking Lot Provisions, a low-contact drive-up marketplace located in the lot to the west of the distillery. Located on 2700 Guinette Ave., the drive-through route will…
Event banner. // via KC Fringe Festival Facebook page. The show must go on! The Kansas City Fringe Festival is an annual summer festival, showcasing some of the city’s greatest performers, artists, and productions. Heading into their 16th year in the middle of a pandemic, KC Fringe made the decision to move this year’s festival completely online. With the spirit…
Local pup enjoying the cool shade. Everyone say hello to Winnie. Hello good pup! // Photo by Celia Searles In the past week, four dogs in Kansas City have died at the hands of the hot summer weather, and the Great Plains SPCA and KCK Animal Services are spreading awareness of how to prevent more heat-related canine deaths. One dog…
The Beach House. // Courtesy Exile PR Today, the new art-house sci-fi horror flick The Beach House hits video-on-demand services. Our review of the film ran earlier in the week. Here’s our interview with director Jeffrey Brown about his bold new vision and the journey of his first feature film from script to screen. I guess the first question around…
Liz ready to conquer an escape room. // Photo courtesy of Liz Cook I’ve been locked in a bungalow for the past four months with the worst kind of hypochondriac—a vindicated one. I should specify here, for the benefit of my mother-in-law, that I adore my husband, Tom—who is patient, who is kind, who has been warning everyone about the…
Mayor Quinton Lucas official photo. // Courtesy City Hall. Kansas City, MO mayor Quinton Lucas has extended the mask order indefinitely as of Friday morning. The order, which went into effect June 29th, mandated that all employees and patrons of indoor public spaces must wear a face-covering where maintaining six feet of distance between themselves and others is not possible….
Kelly’s back in the day. // Courtesy Kelly’s Westport social media Recent protests in front of Kelly’s Westport Inn have caused a discussion in the community around the bar’s history, specifically that it once kept slaves in the basement in the 1800’s. The owners of the bar put out a statement, sharing a desire to to shine the bright lights…
Sprint Center mock-up. // Courtesy @jeff_rosen88 on social media Sprint Center will now go the way of Kemper Arena and Sandstone Amphitheater in venues being renamed… that we’ll still call by the old name for years to come. Following the Sprint and T-Mobile merger, it was announced earlier today that the downtown arena will be called the T-Mobile Center until…
Illustration by Jack Raybuck Dear Dan: I’m a lesbian in a long-term relationship. After much conversation with my partner we’ve decided to explore cuckolding role-play together. I’m not comfortable bringing another person into the relationship—especially right now—but I am willing to explore this as a fantasy. The thing is, I’m having a hard time figuring out how to do it….
Illustration by Kelcie McKenney “Highly Debatable” by Joe Miller, March 30, 2002 The Kansas City Missouri School District’s endless accreditation woes nearly stopped two students from Central High School from becoming national debate champions. Joe Miller followed this story for years, and the series ultimately became a book: Cross-X: The Amazing True Story of How the Most Unlikely Team from…
Kelcie and Brock from The Pitch // Photo by Travis Young The Pitch’s Best of Kansas City season has arrived. As of today, nominations are open for this year’s Best of KC issue, themed around the 80s, and it’s up to you to write in your favorites in Kansas City. Why an 80s theme? We started out in 1980 and,…
Lucas addressing protestors in early June. // Photo by Jim Nimmo Today the Trump administration announced a plan to send federal investigators to Kansas City to battle recent spikes in violence. This announcement comes as a surprise to Kansas Citians who thought that the city was moving in a very different direction regarding its police force and the community’s oversight…
Last year’s recipient, 94-year old Frank Giles, a World War II Navy veteran. // Courtesy Shamrock Roofing Shamrock Roofing & Construction has opened nominations for their “Roof 4 a hero” campaign, where they will award a free new roof to a veteran or active first responder living in the Kansas City, Missouri region. President of Shamrock Roofing & Construction, Garen…
I-435 and Shawnee Mission Parkway // Photo courtesy of Google Maps Four teenagers were in a serious vehicle crash on I-435 north of Shawnee Mission Parkway Tuesday evening. The driver lost control of the vehicle and rolled over, ejecting the driver and passengers. According to the crash report, the driver lost control around 5:35 pm while on the entrance ramp of…
