Radio Waves
Pledge class: In response to John Tacket’s belligerent letter in the May 29 issue of the Pitch, it’s obvious he never heard my last show. As I stated on air that night, I resigned my KKFI 90.1 show as a matter of conscience, not to lead a protest.
I could not, in good conscience, ask my listeners for money during the upcoming pledge drive after I found out that Station Manager Robert Barrientos’ contract specified that he would pocket a portion of the funds donated to the station. That’s all there was to it. As to the rest of his letter, its rambling innuendoes, casual smears and paranoid allegations say a lot more about the writer than I could.
Barry Lee
Lawrence
Show down: In response to John Tacket’s letter, I would like to say that I used to listen to 90.1, especially Barry Lee’s Signal to Noise program. I found it to be quite entertaining, as he always provided some obscure cuts that you never heard on KC’s mainstream radio, along with some anecdotes about the artists.
I was saddened to hear that he resigned his position, but from what I recall, there was no reason to wail or gnash my teeth since he did it as a matter of principle, and for that I applaud his stand.
Mark Stitt
Independence
A Thug’s Life
Calling their bluff: Regarding Ben Paynter’s “Big Man’s Bluff” (May 29): Thank you so much for calling attention to this problem. I live in 905 Jefferson, two buildings down from the Lewis and Clark memorial. I constantly fear for my life as those assholes fly down Jefferson at 80 miles an hour.
Recently, my boyfriend’s car was sideswiped for having the “audacity” to park on his own damn street. Now we both have to pay out of our pockets to have off-street parking because the street is not safe. I never go out alone after dark — forget taking a walk after sunset. We hear shots every once in a while on the weekends — a couple of weeks ago, the police helicopter came out and shone the light in the park, looking for bodies.
I’m sick and fucking tired of fearing for my life and my property in my own home. I moved downtown because I hated Overland Park and I loved the atmosphere down here and the cheaper rent. The city needs to do a better job. Here’s a message to those thugs from the neighbors: fuck you!
Name Withheld Upon Request
Big Gulp
Fat of the land: The logic that prompted the Reverend John E. Russell’s “Proposal to Reduce the Size of Kansas City” is really not so new (Casey Logan’s Kansas City Strip, May 15). This is a plan that had been used in rural America for years to reduce the size of a herd of cattle, for example, while saving money.
Apply this same brilliant rationale to the citizenry of Cowtown. To cut the embarrassing rate of obese Kansas Citians, we have only to adapt Reverend Russell’s plan:
Move the fattest people out of the cities to make it harder for them to access fast, fattening foods.
Send metropolitan family food preparers to cooking classes at a Mennonite family farm, where they will learn that less is best.
Remove all temptation to overeat by eliminating words like breakfast, lunch and dinner from the American vocabulary.
Much like Brother Russell’s plan, this program will reduce the need for diets while also cutting food costs.
We checked with City Market vendors from Sedalia to see if we were missing any components of this revolutionary solution to slim down the City of Barbecue and Beef. When we asked Farmer Brown if cutting the whole city down to one spartan meal a day was a good idea, he replied, “Well, the last time I heard ’bout a farmer cuttin’ his herd’s feed down so low, he was pretty glum about the results … seems just about the time he got the cost of grain down to the barest bones, the whole darn herd up and died of starvation.”
But then again, as Reverend Russell might say, “He sure enough did get some skinny cows.”
Name Withheld Upon Request
Realty Bites
Estate of mind: Regarding Allie Johnson’s “Home Wrecker” (May 22): I’m one of the victims involved in this scandal and have already had the home I purchased foreclosed on. The hardest thing about all of this has been the unknowns, so it was nice to read her article.
I think most of us involved in this were guilty only of bad judgment and ignorance in the area of real estate. Hopefully my (and everyone else’s) credit will someday be cleared.
Thanks for writing the article.
Name Withheld Upon Request
Stain removal: Regarding Allie Johnson’s “Home Wrecker” (May 22): This guy’s appraisers are sleazy, too. I’ve seen their appraisals on many of these properties in the course of my work, and they stain all of us in the appraisal profession.
Mark Hastert
American Society of Appraisers
Kansas City
Quick fix: A misquote in the story about Brent Barber caused some confusion between landlords and the Housing Authority of Kansas City. Allie Johnson wrote that “if a Section 8 home needs a major repair — a new furnace or a new door — the Housing Authority provides it.” But as the owner of the rental property, it’s a Section 8 landlord’s responsibility to repair or replace defective equipment (furnaces, AC units, etc.). If Section 8 owners do not perform this function to our satisfaction, that unit is removed from the program, and Housing Assistance Payments are terminated. In short, the owner of the property is financially responsible.
Kevin Crockett
Communications and Public Affairs Manager
Housing Authority of Kansas City
Triumph of the Phill
What can Brown do for you?: I wish to thank Kendrick Blackwood and his editor for the in-depth article on Phill Kline and Bryan Brown (“Born Again,” May 15). I often shudder to think what it would be like to live in a society without a free press, where people such as Kline and Brown could operate without the fear of being discovered.
However, I am disappointed that the Star has apparently decided that Kline is a nonstory — all the more reason for a two-newspaper community.
Keep up the good work.
John R. van Keppel
Leawood
Skew You
Spit happens: Regarding Charles Ferruzza’s “Turn of the Skew” (May 22): You would think that someone whose career is dining out would be smart enough to leave some friends at home. Mr. Ferruzza’s buddy “Greg” is the perfect unsuspecting cad who gets a well-deserved loogie in his combination platter.
It’s a well-known fact that assholes’ dining chums sometimes receive this crude justice as well, whether they deserve it or not. Why would any self-respecting food critic risk having his food tainted because of a moronic tag-along friend? Hmm, unless, of course, the moronic tag-along friend was fiction, which he must be, considering that no one outside a Kevin Smith movie talks and acts like that.
Then again, perhaps Mr. Ferruzza really does have a buddy named Greg who acts like some sitcom writer’s idea of a rebel just because he gets to hang out with a food critic and berate servers who dare to answer his asinine questions. Either way, it’s all terribly trite.
Mr. Ferruzza, I realize that as a columnist for an alternative weekly, you must feel intense pressure to be hip and ironic in your writing. But for the love of gods, unless you suddenly undergo some miraculous, radical comedy transformation, please, please, please just tell us about the damn food.
Robb Wells
Grandview
Charles Ferruzza responds: Ill-mannered Greg lives. As for undergoing a “radical comedy transformation” (whatever that is), I’m not interested unless it involves liposuction.
Drinking Gains
All hands on deck: I enjoyed Jen Chen’s article about decks to have fun on around KC (Summer Guide, May 22). One other she may want to check out is at Frondizi’s Ristorante on Main by the Plaza. Great view, and some of it’s covered. You can sit in the rain if you want!
George Vesel
Frondizi’s
Boy bands: I just wanted to drop a line and say that Jen Chen is the best read in the Pitch. As much as I enjoy the reviews and descriptions of her nightlife adventures, I feel she should be writing more articles. She has a knack for making her writing as entertaining as it is informative.
In “Rat Packs” (May 22), I wonder sometimes how these guys keep doing it. It’s like that guy who has BO every day. It is strong enough to cripple a newborn, and they are killing everyone around them, yet they don’t seem to know or realize it.
Anyway, she is a rock star, and she is the first thing I read each week.
Ron Fields
Lenexa
