AltWeeklies Wire
'Anchor Babies' Are a Mythnew
This soon-to-be-deported family proves that "anchor babies" are a myth.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
01-26-2011 |
Immigration
The Snoop, or the Guy Who'll Trail You if Your Partner Suspects Cheatingnew
Chris is a private investigator with Northland Attorneys LLC. Clients frequently hire him to tail their partners, whom they suspect of cheating. We've changed his name so he can remain covert as he follows Kansas City's skulking spouses.
As Honeywell Closes a Kansas City Plant, Workers are Dealing with the Fatal Aftereffectsnew
The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a list of 785 toxic substances verified as having been used at the site, which will soon be abandoned. But people have been abandoned, too: former workers who live with chronic pain, who struggle to breathe or who have died.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
11-24-2009 |
Business & Labor
Freed After 24 Years of False Imprisonment, Darryl Burton Forgives Younew
Burton didn't just survive prison -- he met other innocents there, too, victims of a flawed justice system. Now, he says, it's his calling to do something about it.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
09-29-2009 |
Crime & Justice
She Survived a Rape and Stabbing 10 Years Ago, and So Did Her Casenew
Recounting the story to The Pitch is like putting a period at the end of a decade of victimhood. Maybe talking about it will help other victims, she says, let them know "they can still live -- well." And maybe, she says, there's still a chance to catch the fucker who did it.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
08-25-2009 |
Crime & Justice
It's a Dirty Job Nabbing Horny Guys in the Park, But Somebody's Gotta Do Itnew
The Kansas City Police Department's vice squad spends a couple of days a month conducting covert stings to ferret out men seeking sex in public parks. When things go right, the job is predictable.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
07-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Missouri's Death Penalty May Not Outlive Dennis Skillicorn Very Longnew
Two bills in Missouri's Legislature have proposed a moratorium on the death penalty and a review board to examine issues such as cost, fairness and the risk of wrongful execution.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
05-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Newcomer Has 20/20 Vision When It Comes to KC Hip-Hopnew
By far the most invigorating shot in the arm for KC hip-hop comes from the surge of just-turned-21 talent. The little guy with funny specs, Greg Enemy is getting some recognition.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
04-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
At Fort Leavenworth, Officers Are Marching on the Blogospherenew
Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, who oversees the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, decided last year to make media savvy a requirement for graduation. Each war-college student must complete a course of "strategic communication" in order to graduate.
Can the Obama Campaign Win Springfield and Rural Missouri?new
The Greene County Democratic Central Committee, which has headquarters in Springfield year-round, estimates that about a quarter of the county's voters are independent, so the Obama campaign has invested a great deal of energy here. Swing-state Missouri matters: The winner in Missouri has also won the general election in every contest but one since 1904.
Home Sweet Parking Lotnew
When a workingman doesn't have a home in Johnson County, a Wal-Mart parking lot is the next best thing.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
09-09-2008 |
Housing & Development
D-Locc da Chop Envisions Taking Over the Kansas City Hip-hop Crownnew
The core acts from local R&B and rap label and promotions company Van Brunt Entertainment — Cash Image, D-Locc da Chop and D-Locc's little brother, Slopp da Gambla — grew up around Van Brunt Boulevard and 20th Street on Kansas City's east side.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
09-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Stik Figa Aims to Make Hip-hop Fun Againnew
John Westbrook Jr., a 25-year-old rapper known as Stik Figa, recently totaled his car. He's unemployed. And yet, he's happy.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
08-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Did the Kansas City Fire Department Hide the Positive Drug Test of One of Its Own?new
Anthony Mots was driving the firetruck that killed Aaron Becerra. Afterward, Mots' brothers in the department rallied to defend him.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
07-16-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Hip-hop Newcomer D/Will Gets Cerebral on Two New Releasesnew
He approaches music with the kind of devout seriousness usually reserved for, say, a theologian contemplating transubstantiation. The dude is emphatically not messing around.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
07-02-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
