By DAVID MARTIN
A judge has ruled in favor of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council's effort to redevelop the old Horace Mann School on East 39th Street.
Earlier this week, Judge Justine Del Muro dismissed a city agency's petition for eminent domain. The agency, the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, had condemned the Mann building and awarded the development rights to a company called Prairie Dog.
The Ivanhoe neighborhood had also sought the development rights. Although the PIEA had rejected its proposal, the Ivanhoe council (smartly, it turns out) went ahead and executed an agreement to buy the school from its owner.
By JUSTIN KENDALL
Baby Mangino.
By JUSTIN KENDALL
The black sheep of Fred Phelps' flock, Nate Phelps, recently gave an interview to a student newspaper in Western Canada.
The Ubyssey recaps Nate Phelps' alleged beatings at the hands of his father and his exile from the church. The younger Phelps is now a cab-driving atheist living in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
The most intriguing nugget in the story is Nate Phelps' claim that nephews he's never met have contacted him and told him they've left the Westboro Baptist Church.
“Once he made the choice, he’s cut off," Phelps says of his nephew Tim. "Everything that he grew up with is taken away from him, and he gets to wonder if he’s going to burn in hell….[He’s] living with that shadow.”
For his own part, Phelps says, "I just want peace. I want to not wake up fearful every morning.”
By CHARLES FERRUZZA
Tomorrow night, Saturday, will be the final curtain for 14-year-old Shiraz, the cozy and cosmpolitan bistro at 320 Southwest Boulevard. After a long run, owners Ali and Stephanie Shirazi decided the time had come to sell the business.
"It was a combination of a lot of things," says Stephanie Shirazi. "The Power & Light District, the economy. And we got lucky -- we sold the building."
Shirazi won't tell me who bought the building, but apparently the space will continue to be used as a restaurant. The new owner bought all the kitchen equipment too.
It was a quick deal. The final papers, Shirazi says, will be signed on Tuesday. She's been a successful real estate agent for some time, but what will chef Ali Shirazi do after Tuesday?
"We have no plans," Stephanie says. "It all remains to be determined."
By CAROLYN SZCZEPANSKI
After years of endless meetings and technical negotiations it basically comes down to this: If Kansas City wants a bike path on the new Paseo Bridge it’s going to cost more than 4 million bucks. And the Missouri Department of Transportation isn’t going to pay a dime of it.
This fall, construction started on the $215 million overhaul of the Interstate 29/35 bridge that crosses the Missouri River just northeast of downtown. Everyday, MODOT estimates, more than 100,000 residents cross that bridge by car. That's something only a cyclist with a death wish would attempt.
The prospect of adding a lane for cyclists has been the source of debate for years. MODOT has agreed it's possible. The city councils on both sides of the river have expressed support.
But talk is cheap. Raising $100,000, on the other hand, speaks volumes.
At least, that’s the hope of Let’s Go KC, a local group of transit activists, who want to prove they’ve got too much clout to be treated like second-class commuters.
By CHRIS PACKHAM
Happy Halloween, y'all, 'tis the spooky season to be terrifyingly jolly, if you're into that kind of thing. I'm more of a "Fourth of July"-type guy, myself, what with my Uncle Sam beard and the soaring apple-pie spangled eagles tattooed upon my magnificent biceps, but hey, man, whatever "fries your burger," y'know? I think I'm going to hand out lit sparklers to the l'il ghouls and Spongebobs who knock on my door tonight, or — for safety — unlit sparklers and a pack of matches.
After the jump, the final Daily Briefs of the month of October. Click here, or alternatively, click on yourself:
By CHARLES FERRUZZA
I'll never forget the terrifying moment in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane when Bette Davis, as the lunatic former child star Baby Jane Hudson, serves a dead rat -- under a silver salver, no less -- to her invalid sister Blanche, played by former Kansas City resident Joan Crawford. I had nightmares about this meal for days.
Movies have long used food as a horror device.
By JUSTIN KENDALL
Planned Parenthood thinks nothing is scarier than John McCain and Sarah Palin haunting the White House. This afternoon at 4, Planned Parenthood advocates will let everyone on Plaza know just how frightening a McCain-Palin presidency would be for the pro-choice movement by throwing an anti-Palin themed party at the J.C. Nichols Fountain.
"While Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, rape victims were forced to pay up to $1,200 for the emergency exams used to prosecute attackers," the release says. "Her positions are clear — and extreme. The last thing women — or the country — need is a president and vice president who are prepared to turn back the clock on women's rights and repeal the protections of Roe v. Wade."
Ralliers are encouraged to dress up as their favorite politician, but maybe you should leave the Phill Kline costume at home.
By OWEN MORRIS
As the newest beer in Boulevard's Smokestack Series and the one named after the city's most iconic sports figure (sorry Len Dawson) Saison-Brett has high expectations on its shoulders. Of course, any beer that costs $12 and change for 25 ounces should have high expectations. But Saison-Brett has been declared by those in the know as Boulevard's best beer so I had really high expectations.
Since only 12,000 bottles are being made (about four bottles for every hit Brett had) and inventory seems to be off and on (it was delayed then it wasn't etc.), I picked up two bottles when my liquor-store guy called to say he had it in stock. I took one bottle all for my lonesome and I shared the other bottle with several co-workers.
Basically the response was the same across the board: "This is good! So it's the new Boulevard? It tastes very smooth. I could drink a couple of these. How much did it cost? Really? That much? Well, it's not very strong for that amount of money."
Basically the Saison-Brett is an excellent beer and a standout in the saison category. It pours in the glass like a very cloudy Boulevard Wheat and even though I was holding the glass down by my waist, the aroma was still strong and slightly yeasty.
As for taste, saisons in general are tough to describe. They taste one part pale ale and one part witbier. It's difficult for me to pin down one flavor that the Saison-Brett had because the beer subtly changes with every new sip. Even when I let it sit in the mouth for a couple seconds and actually tried to name one specific flavor I couldn't. This beer is like the greased pig of high-end beers: just when you think you've got it, it moves.
Beer connoisseurs and people who are really into flavor structure will definitely take to this beer. The casual drinker who is just looking for something to sip and to knock his socks off will be disappointed. To appreciate the flavors you have to pay constant attention to the beer and I even found conversation distracting.
Then there's the price. It costs about three or four dollars more than a regular Smokestack bottle, which puts it squarely in the luxury category and out of reach for the normal consumer. As one co-worker said to me, "I won't even pay $12 for a bottle of wine!" My co-worker may not be willing to pay but I bet there are a lot of people out there who are.
Finally, one of my favorite parts of this beer is its name. It got me thinking: What other beers deserve to be named Royals' players? A few of my choices below the jump.
By ANDY VIHSTADT
A.C. Newman isn’t wasting any time between New Pornographers albums. His second solo effort is slated for a January release. Download one of the tracks below (thank you, Stereogum), or get it as part of Matador’s Free Intended Play: Fall 2008, which also includes tracks from Belle & Sebastian’s upcoming BBC Sessions and a B-side from Pavement’s Brighten the Corners reissue.
MP3: A.C. Newman, “There are Maybe Ten or Twelve,” from Get Guilty (Matador)
Don't mess with the Army, feds remind two local businesspeople
Homer's Drive-In: the oldest drive-through in the metro
Parisi's Pete Licata is a World Barista Championship semifinalist
Oklahoma Joe's ribs named the best in the country by The Daily Meal
Burt Bacharach's musical magic is your Memorial Day YouTube project
Soundgarden's sludgy sound, last night at the Midland (review)
Yo La Tengo is at Grinders tonight
Royals fan sprints on the field, steals rosin bag