News & Issues
Better Block KC Tames Oak Street in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison A stretch of Oak Street in the Crossroads will be a lot chiller through Oct. 27 thanks to Better Block KC, a “tactical urbanism” design group. Last Sunday, about a dozen volunteers with the group transformed a two-block section of Oak between 17th and 19th streets from what sometimes can be a…
Power & Light District Adding Hotel Karaoke, Expanded No Other Pub
The Kansas City Power & Light District is adding a new karaoke concept to the second floor space in the KC Live! block formerly occupied by the Hotel Night Club. The new Hotel Karaoke is expected to open for private events this December and will have a grand opening in early 2019, according to a…
Crossroads Shapes Up with New Men’s Barber Shop
By Kevin Collison The influx of new businesses and services in the Crossroads now includes a men’s barber shop in the mix. Dane Casey has opened his Venturemen Barbering Shoppe inside the EAST + WEST men’s clothing store at 1828 Grand Blvd. He offers what he describes as “high-quality men’s grooming” that includes haircuts, beard…
Poetry And Motion
For Isra Abdullah, art is a release — almost like the steam from a teapot. A native of Kurdistan, and a Sunni Muslim, Isra’s family escaped the sectarian violence in Iraq a decade ago. A relief agency in Turkey resettled the family in Kansas City, Missouri, when Isra was a third-grader. Along with her parents,…
‘Feminine Energy’ Infusing Faiths
Well before this #MeToo era of unmasked sexual misconduct — with its appalling revelation that an admitted sexual predator can be elected president — faith communities began to recognize that they have been complicit in the sin of misogyny. Today that recognition is turning into constructive action as people of faith across the nation, including…