The rumors of the Big 12's demise were greatly exaggerated. Now the conference has an agreement with the Southeastern Conference for a big-time bowl game (just like the Rose Bowl!).
That could leave the Atlantic Coast Conference on the outside looking in on a playoff system (if it's ever instituted) - and the ACC's members considering their options. We've heard all about Florida State's interest. Rumored, too, has been Clemson. Well, that's official now with Clemson's board of trustees saying they're open to reconsidering the university's conference affiliation (via the Associated Press). The AP story says Clemson has yet to receive "a viable offer to leave," and quotes Board Chairman David Wilkins saying that the Tigers haven't been contacted by another conference. But, Wilkins said, Clemson is ready to mingle.
Here's a short list of things more important than the terror that the above sculpture, at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, is causing one think-of-the-children rube: (1) anything else; (2) no, really, anything else in the world; (3) especially the season premiere of The Real Housewives of New York.
Yu Chang's smart, socially engaged "Accept or Reject" is too nipple-y for noted art critic Stilwell mommy Joanne Hughes, who has started a petition to have the bronze statue hauled away from the public space. (She says she has 1,500 signatures.) Her stance may come from a place of pure, giddy ignorance, but you gotta hand it to her for sheer bravery: In last night's on-camera interview, she out-crazy-eyed the KCTV Channel 5 team - not easy! - achieving a kind of Michele Bachmann transcendence.
The stricter curfew ordinance runs through Sunday, September 30, when it reverts back to the standard curfew of 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays for all minors under the age of 18. For each violation of the curfew, parents or guardians can be fined up to $500.
In a narrow ruling on Monday, Judge Theresa Counts Burke acquitted driver Nicholas Pateri and state Sen. Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis) of running red lights because the tickets ATS mailed to them did not give the drivers a court date or fully inform them about their options to challenge the citations. The tickets only said they could challenge the fines by saying they were not driving or claiming that their cars had been stolen. Burke ruled that a violation of due process. She did not consider whether the use of cameras was constitutional.
It's the second legal blow to ATS from a St. Louis court this year. In February, Judge Mark Neill ruled that the city's red-light camera tickets violated drivers' due process for the same reasons. But Neil's ruling went much further than Burke's. He ruled that the use of the cameras was a violation of the Constitution because the state Legislature never gave cities permission to issue tickets based on photos. St. Louis is appealing that ruling.
The two men who make up the police department in Lanagan, Missouri (three hours south of Kansas City), have been charged with forging traffic ticket documents. Police Chief Larry Marsh and officer Michael Gallhue were arrested last week by the Missouri Highway Patrol.
"Similar to other industries, scholarly publishing is dramatically changing due to emerging technology, making traditional publishing very challenging. Typically, most scholarly presses do not generate revenue for universities - with most just trying to break even. The UM System currently provides the press with a $400,000 yearly subsidy," the system said in a statement.
The press publishes about 30 books each year and has published approximately 2,000 books in its history, The Columbia Tribune reports.
Wolfe also said the UM System will improve focus on six priorities he outlined in April: focused strategic planning; attracting and retaining the best people; innovative instruction; operational excellence; expanded research and economic development; and effective communication of our value and importance.
"Achieving these priorities, Wolfe has said, will likely include position eliminations and program reductions across the campuses," today's statement said.
The Westboro Baptist Church protested Van Halen's show at the Sprint Center on Tuesday night. Not exactly a surprise. But the Phleps clan's protesters were interrupted by a group of air guitarists, including Eric "Mean" Melin and Nielsen "Thunderball" Nacis, jamming to "Panama." The protesters appear ... bored and unamused.
Also, U.S. Air Guitar is coming back to Kansas City with a regional competition at the Beaumont Club on Friday, June 22.
Just in time for a long holiday weekend, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is partnering today with the Kansas City Free Health Clinic to give away oodles of free rubbers. AHF's "Condom Nation" 18-wheeler will be parked at in the Walgreens parking lot at Broadway and 39th Street from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. handing out condoms and offering free HIV testing. The truck is on a six-month tour of 25 states encouraging people to wrap it up. The advocacy group is aiming to pass out 10 million condoms over the course of its truck tour.
Holding the rubber giveaway at Walgreens is a somewhat odd choice given AHF's stance that condoms are unnecessarily expensive. In a blog post from a month ago, they take the pharmacy chain to task for inflating condom prices which, they say, can lead to reduced use. AHF says retailers should charge no more than 25 cents per condom.
A Cole County judge ruled that the ballot language on a tobacco tax petition submitted to the secretary of state's office is fair, as is the cost estimate given in the summary. The petition is seeking to raise the cigarette tax from 17 cents to 90 cents. The national average for cigarette taxes per pack is $1.46, and Virginia has the second lowest tax rate at 30 cents.
The TEDxKC Facebook page announced today that TEDxKC 2012 will be held at the Kauffman Center on August 28. The post says tickets should be available in the second week of July.
If that's not exciting enough news, Midwest tech watcher Silicon Prairie News announced yesterday that it'll be hosting a Big Omaha-like event in Kansas City in 2013.
Great news all around.
Clemson, rumored to be interested in the Big 12, opens up its relationship with the ACC
Fifty years ago this week, Continental Flight 11 fell out of the sky over Unionville
Johnson County boobaphobe wants Overland Park to disappear arboretum's Yu Chang sculpture
God hates ... air guitar? Mean Melin and friends jam to Van Halen among Westboro Baptist Church protesters
Lisa Irwin's parents tell Today show that debit card was stolen and share frustration with authorities' search for their missing daughter
Missouri legislators zero in on guns, gays and gags in another year of attempted lawmaking
The Pitch Questionnaire with Historic Kansas City Foundation executive director Amanda Crawley
DNC again ties Mitt Romney to shuttered Kansas City steel plant