It’s time to free Britney Spears. This is not up for debate. I’ll die on that hill.
Platte City’s July 4th celebration in Downtown Dreamtown is Sunday from 10-2. And yes, the rumors are true, you can gather at the dunk tank from 10:30 to 11 to sink Chris Kamler.
I’ll be in the dunk tank from 11 to 11:30 but there’s no need for you to drop by, really. In fact I noticed there will be some type of dance performance also going on at 11, so I suggest you head on over to enjoy the dancers. Go ahead, I don’t mind. I’ll just mosey over to the Big Daddy’s BBQ food truck and grab an early lunch.
I see on page 3 Landmark columnist Guy Speckman is encouraging folks to come use illegal devices like Spider Tack and such for an extra gripping advantage as they try to send me for a splash. This is hurtful, smells like fake news and is really nothing more than a political witch hunt on Speckman’s part. Pretty sure it also violates terms of the Geneva Convention.
I’ll get worried if Speckman is allowed to throw Budweisers instead of baseballs.
I spent some time in Riverside on Saturday and noticed the city is home to about 57 fireworks tents. More explosives than a Taco Bell menu.
July 4th is still days away but every dog in Riverside is already hiding under the bed.
Some local music scene news for you. Concerts return to Ameristar Casino in August. Music lovers are ready. More will be added I’m sure, but here is a list of shows and dates that have been confirmed to us by Ameristar thus far:
-Ozark Mountain Daredevils 8.21.21
-Urban Cowboy (Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee) 8.27.21
-Sara Evans 9.17.21
-Grand Funk Railroad 9.18.21
-Oak Ridge Boys 9.24.21
-Don Felder 9.25.21
-Slaughter/Riley’s LA Guns 10.01.21
-Vicki Lawrence 10.15.21
-Preacher Lawson 10.16.21
-Aaron Lewis 10.22.21
-Ron White (comedian) 10.23.21
-Josh Turner 10.30.21
-Leonid and Friends 11.05.21
-The Commodores 11.06.21
-Queensryche 11.12.21
-The Guess Who 11.20.21
-Travis Tritt 12.03.21
-Carrot Top 12.04.21
-Lee Brice 2.11.22
–Air Supply 5.06.22
Hey, did you notice Air Supply is coming? Bold faced it. Legends. Sure, May 6, 2022 is still 10 months down the road, but hey, a win is a win.
We hate to see her go but know that she is looking forward to her planned retirement life. After 23 years in the leadership role, Mary Jo Vernon, director of the Platte County Health Department, is stepping down later this year to a life of increased travel, camping and family time. She can walk away proud of the work she did–and continues to do–to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those kinds of decisions are never easy and never met with unanimous approval by the public, of course, but she maintained her focus on public health and didn’t allow other factors like political pep rallies to send her off course. That’s what a health director should do.
Uh, oh, City of Parkville. Not good news for you. If local plaintiff Jason Maki needed more confidence in his Sunshine lawsuit against the City of Parkville, he just got it.
As reported in the Missouri Independent this morning (Wednesday).
In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. The high court ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit alleging his office improperly redacted records, charged exorbitant fees and knowingly and purposely violated the state’s open records law. Judge Patricia Breckenridge wrote that the court concluded the allegations were sufficient to plead that “the governor’s office had an intent to violate the law.”
In response to a Sunshine request, Parson’s office had said the request resulted in 13,659 responsive documents that would cost an estimated $3,618.40 to produce. “Once we receive this amount we estimate that it will take at least 120 business days to complete this request,” Christopher Limbaugh, Parson’s former general counsel, wrote at the time. The plaintiff challenged the governor’s office on a variety of grounds, from charging for the time attorneys spent reviewing records to their redaction and a failure to provide a detailed explanation for them.
Also according to the Missouri Independent, plaintiff Elad Gross, an attorney, celebrated Tuesday’s ruling, which sided with him on nearly every point, and said it would have implications throughout state government on the issue of transparency. “Now there’s a very clear ruling that those practices have always been illegal, should never have been used to stop the public from accessing public records or members of the media for that point, too,” Gross told The Independent. “And hopefully those kinds of abuses will now be put to an end.”
Buckle up, Parkville.
(Find Ivan Foley at a dunk tank or a food truck near you. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)