.By Tom Bogdon

Reports are that The Wall Street Journal is working on a story about the Funkhouser fiasco at City Hall, and you can bet Kansas City will be a laughingstock after that newspaper relates the story of Funk and Gloria to an incredulous nation.

If Funkhouser had accomplished anything in his year and a half in office, there might be something to balance against the controversy he has caused. But even Funkhouser’s clownish attempt to pass a third-rate light rail plan became just another embarrassment.

Frankly, I’m ready to write off Mark Funkhouser’s tenure as mayor and start looking ahead to his successor, at the ballot box in just over two years, in a recall election if enough citizens get edgy enough, or in a Missouri Supreme Court finding that Funkhouser is guilty of nepotism and therefore must forfeit his office.

By William Worley

While for many this may seem like emphasis on the peripheral, the announcement in November 1954 that Arnold Johnson had bought the Philadelphia Athletics was “really big news” in Kansas City. Accompanying the announcement of the purchase came the added tidbit that Johnson planned to relocate the team to Kansas City. This was a decision that carried great import beyond the obvious sense that Kansas City had finally “arrived” with its belated entry into Big League professional sports.

By Tom Bogdon

“I read your article,” said Deb Hermann, chair of the Council Finance and Audit Committee. “The article was very accurate. The next move was supposed to take place three or four years ago.

“We plan to move the tow lot to I-435 and Front Street in December or January,” Hermann said. “I don’t know how long it will take to clean up the old location.”

KCTribun e ran a story last week detailing the dismal condition of the City Tow Lot , which is under the management of Les Washington, director of Neighborhood and Community Services. The very city agency responsible for enforcing property maintenance codes in Kansas City also operates the greatest eyesore in Kansas City, the City Tow Lot.

By Debbie Topi

Ever dream of draping your body in the fine designer silks, cashmere and mink sported by those topping the list of Fortune 500 company execs or Hollywood's most-watched?

If such clothes are confined to dreams, price tags that stretch to three, four or even five digits probably are the reason. But, one area resale shop offers a link from dream-status to reality by defining themselves as the only store in the area that offers designer labels at "everyman" prices.

The Junior League Resale Boutique, at 6398 Troost Ave., in Kansas City, Missouri, is the only spot in town where shoppers can walk away wearing the same labels that grace the garments of the rich and famous, at less than half the cost of high-end retail, said Connie Macias, the store's manager. In the market for a mink coat? It can be yours for $700 to $900, among the shop's most pricey items. How about a St. John's men's suit, which carries a $300 to $400 price tag? A Giorgio Armani ladies' suit? It runs $98.

The bare-bones 8,000-square-foot building doesn't scream "designer." Instead, it more closely resembles its other function, resale.

A nano mouse

Hi Kansas City. I’d like to get something straight from the start. This is between You and Me. Contigo. It’s personal. So don’t give me any trouble about how i capitalize things.

It’s my job to fathom something about You from the perspective of an outsider. I’m maybe in limited company, due to having seen You from two mini-poles, New Mexico, where I live, and Chicago, where I grew up. So maybe if I try, I can wrap around you a little, and give you something to think about.

I can start by confessing that in my brief time with You, KCita, never have I been perched so high, and yet laid so low. And so I guess I’m lucky that I can add some heartfelt verses to your local chorus of once proud humans who now whine blues like coyotes into the night, deeply humbled and humored.

By Karen Land

When I was little, I adored Lassie. The idea of being rescued from a burning building or the bottom of a deep well by a devoted, perfectly groomed collie appealed to me much more than the standard knight-in-shining-armour routine.

Lassie could drag a full-grown human from the flames, bark for help, fend off a grizzly, or dig a hole around your body - pinned under a fallen tree - allowing you to crawl free. Lassie would save your life week after week, yet expected nothing more in return than a bowl of dog chow, a pat on the head, a warm place to sleep. Lassie was a very handy dog to have around.

By Russ Simmons

Filmmaker Eric Darnell knows how to get to Hollywood from Prairie Village, Kansas.

“Well, first, you get on I-70, then head west,” quipped Darnell on a recent trip home to promote his new movie, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.”

In fact, Darnell’s trip from suburban Kansas City to the world of moviemaking was a bit more circuitous.

November 7th-November 23rd, 2008
The Barn Players

Reviewed By Lory Lacy

I really feel sorry for prostitutes sometimes...and that disturbs me. From Jack the Ripper, to the sad state of affairs in Les Miserables, to countless episodes of Law & Order, it’s hard not to figure out that they have a timeless, built-in victim mentality. Jekyll & Hyde races through the duality of one-man’s psyche and the juxtaposition of societal roles the female characters play in the story.

Reviewed by Russ Simmons

Crown Center, the Country Club Plaza, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Crossroads District, Union Station and the River Market are all locales that could provide great settings for a movie.

Apparently filmmaker John Stewart Muller thinks so, too. The KC native chose to shoot his first feature film, “Fling”, in his hometown. Thankfully, he makes good use of the region’s visual attributes.