The Columbia Heart Beat

We've Moved! Please visit www.columbiaheartbeat.com

2012-01-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

We've Moved! Please visit our new site at
http://www.columbiaheartbeat.com

This site will remain online as an archive.

DIVINED REDESIGN: After six years, the Heart Beat relocates

2012-01-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 1/1/12 (Beat Byte) -- After six years -- and after taking Google's Blogger software as far as it would go -- the Columbia Heart Beat has relocated to a website powered by Joomla, a software widely used by newspapers and other media organizations.

Former Columbia resident and now St. Mary's College communications professor Joy Piazza advised me a few years ago to check out Joomla, but the cost and time investment wasn't doable until recently.

Blogger is amazing and has served Heart Beat readers well since 2005. We've been able to seamlessly integrate it with several social media sites including Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, and we've availed ourselves of every possible Blogger function, from uploading videos to importing and exporting news feeds.

I've tried many similar softwares, including Wordpress and the newly-released Jux. Blogger, in my opinion as both user and technology journalist, outperforms them all. Despite its simple-sounding name, Blogger is a sophisticated software platform few people know how to use well.

Ultimately, though, we needed to graduate, and despite Blogger's functionality, Joomla and its cousin, Drupal, are even cooler. Joomla comes with modules, extensions, and templates -- some you pay for, but many free -- that take it well beyond its open-source roots. The new site allows us massive new functionality, including the ability to display multiple stories in multiple formats at once and to take custom-designed ads, one of many steps in a news organization's long-term viability.

Joomla has been a bear to learn and construct, but well worth the investment. And we'll still keep the Blogger site as an archive.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW SITE AT
http://www.columbiaheartbeat.com

DINERS DISH: Bangkok Gardens

2011-12-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

Fifteen years ago, when I first arrived in Columbia, I was working on a project to move a restaurant from the downtown area. My restaurant was closed and in boxes, but scrumptious smells were wafting in from next door. I was starving and John Pham's phabulous Thom Yum Gung soup would be my first meal in a downtown Columbia restaurant.

I've been hooked on his establishment, Bangkok Gardens, ever since.

Many people don't know that Pham is a certified French chef, a training and sensibility that makes his sauces and curries among the best I've tasted in Thai restaurants across the country. I've dined at Bangkok Gardens many times over the years, bringing family, friends, and business associates to savor what I've long enjoyed. More recently, I've been on a dumpling soup kick, ordering the veggie version of this filling meal each time.

Bangkok Gardens gets 3.5 out of 5 stars at Yelp.com, and 4 out of 4 stars at Urban Spoon.

Here's what other diners have to say.

"I've been a Bangkok Gardens fan for a long time. They're spacious locale on Cherry Street just west of 9th St is bright and airy, with upstairs and downstairs dining areas. Their pad thai is stellar, and their curries are awesome as well. They have Thai beer (Singha), which, in my opinion, gives Bangkok an extra boost above most Thai places."

"The service can be a bit on the slow side, especially if you're mouth is on fire and you're waiting for a refill, but Bangkok is still one of, if not my favorite restaurant in Columbia."

"The food was alright. The ingredients seemed fresh enough. The veggie egg rolls were especially fat. I liked them. The rest was just ok..."

"Excellent Thai food. Nice selection of typical Thai dishes and unique dishes with exotic flavors. Good Service. Fair prices. Appeared very clean. What more can I say? Give it a try."

Check out Bangkok Gardens at 811 Cherry Street, just off 9th Street in the Downtown District.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-gardens-columbia

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/116/878088/restaurant/Bangkok-Gardens-Columbia

-- Mike Martin

HOLIDAY LOVE STORY: Mizzou grads, forever enamored, reunite after 30 years

2011-12-29T10:18:00.000-08:00

Touching Times tale tells of Columbia, Mo., pizza parlors, a man, a woman -- and the best gift of all

COLUMBIA, 12/29/11 (Beat Byte) -- "What if?" The New York Times story begins. "What if Tom Prost had told Kathy Mabry how he really felt about her when they were students at the University of Missouri and worked together at a pizza parlor in Columbia, Mo., more than three decades ago?

"What if he had said that he loved everything about her, from her voice to the way she made him feel?

"And what if Ms. Mabry, raised by a single mother in a small Missouri town, had not concluded that Mr. Prost was too good for her, his family too stable and suburban. What if she had told him that she thought he was adorable, kind and funny? “Our backgrounds were so different,” Ms. Mabry said. “I felt like Tom was a little bit out of my league.”

Telling a love story as only The New York Times can on its Weddings and Vows pages, the December 2 tale of 1977 and 1979 Mizzou grads Kathy Mabry and Tom Prost, respectively, has been making the rounds on Facebook, women swooning and guys sighing over its tender retelling of a love thought long-lost, now found, the most special gift of all.

Recalling his student days, "Mr. Prost learned Ms. Mabry's class schedule so he could pretend to encounter her by chance," reporter Mary Reinhart explains. “We just really clicked,” he said. “I felt like she was someone I had known all my life.”

But neither student was grown up enough to admit such deep and abiding feelings, so they drifted apart, as young loves often do.   She went off to a newspaper advertising job in Albuquerque.   He returned to a St. Louis telecommunications job.

Over the years they stayed in touch, but both got married to other people. Then, in an odd coincidence that might have indicated what lie in their stars, she got divorced in 1997 and he divorced in 1999 -- both exactly twenty years after their respective Mizzou graduations.

“I dated off and on,” said Mr. Prost, now 55, “but I still thought about Kathy," Reinhart writes.   Some 1,500 miles away, she was thinking of him. “I never, ever forgot about him,” said Ms. Mabry, now 57.

Enter the gift of reconnecting, via Facebook and social media.   And hearing a voice again after all these years. Tom said that the moment he heard Kathy's voice, "the lilting, slightly breathy singer’s vibrato, he was transported back to the pizza parlor."

And the first meeting. "We were standing there in the airport, holding each other," Mr. Prost said. "We were trembling."

Photo credit: Joshua Lott for The New York Times

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE (and grab a hankie!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/fashion/weddings/kathy-mabry-and-tom-prost-vows.html

DINERS DISH: Tiger's Takeout, for those coooold winter nights

2011-12-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

With full menus from 18 restaurants delivered hot to your front door, Tiger's Takeout is just the ticket for these cold winter nights.

With an online system that takes the hassle out of off-site ordering, Tiger's Takeout invites diners to sample American, Italian, Mediterranean, Indian, and Thai food, from Boone Tavern to Taqueria El Rodeo.

One night, my family and I ordered from one of my local favorites, Taj Mahal.

First, we browsed Taj's online Tiger menu:

http://www.tigerstakeout.com/99_taj-mahal-menu.htm

My family and I hadn't used Tiger's Takeout before, and were surprised and delighted to find the restaurant's entire list of offerings fully described -- not some shortened "to go" version. We selected Vegetable and Chicken Stuffed Naan with Mango Chutney; Lamb Karahi; Chicken Saag; and Chicken Tikka Masala.

Next stop: Delivery options, with delivery 7 days per week:

http://www.tigerstakeout.com/index.php?CONTENT=DELIVERY_INFO

Next stop: Online ordering, as convenient as point and click. You can even leave special directions:

http://www.tigerstakeout.com/index.php?CONTENT=RRMENU&RR=99

Final stop: Checkout (and account creation, if you don't already have one):

http://www.tigerstakeout.com/index.php?CONTENT=ORDER_CART

Delivery fees average $4.95, and you can order from more than one restaurant at a time. Our food arrived in Domino's time (quickly, that is), with no mistakes, hot, well packed, and ready to serve. It was as delicious as eating at the Taj Mahal itself (the one across from That Parking Garage).

Tigers Takeout

http://www.tigerstakeout.com

contact@tigerstakeout.com

DINERS DISH: Taj Mahal -- Great Food, but Iffy Service

2011-12-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

I've lived all over the country -- Seattle, Spokane, Washington, D.C., Reno, Las Vegas, and a few other places besides. I love Indian food, and I thought I'd had the best Indian food ever at a little place on Dupont Circle in D.C.

That was until I tried Columbia's own Taj Mahal a few years ago. I've been a regular ever since.

If you like Indian food, or even if you just want to add a little exotique to your lunch, the Taj's lunch sumptuous buffet can't be beat. The Taj delivers consistently good eats, day in and day out. Parking is easy -- it's catty-wampus from the downtown post office, next to former school board member Elton Fay's law office.

A typical buffet plate might include tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, a side of chutney, and another side of something new you've never heard of before that tastes out of this world. On a cold day, the hot tea next to the buffet is perfect. On a warm day, beer, ice water, soda -- whatever. It all goes well.

From my experience, the wait staff is on top of everything with a side order of naan, a traditional flat bread, and drinks. But other reviews, particularly of the Taj's service, are decidedly mixed. "The food is great. I've been there several times and the service is slow but the food makes up for it every time," wrote one Urban Spoon reviewer, in a typically divided take on food over service, which isn't that important with a buffet.

I've also been to the Taj several times for dinner with friends and ordered out for delivery. Each time, we've had good service and great food.

Price is around $8.95/person for the buffet, with naan and tea. You'll be stuffed -- and you'll be back. Taj Mahal is located at 19 N. 5th St Columbia, (573) 256-6800.

Other reviews of Taj Mahal at UrbanSpoon and Yelp!:

UrbanSpoon

Yelp

DINERS DISH: The New Deli

2011-12-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to impress a luncheon date for either business, pleasure, or over the holiday vacay, try The New Deli, an MU Tiger-inspired delicatessen next to the Hilton Garden Inn and Menards Home Improvement Center off Vandiver Drive.

For busy lunchers, the new and relatively undiscovered restaurant offers fast service, good eats, and reasonable prices in a clean, bright, and inviting environment. With over a dozen subs and sandwiches for just $6.25, the New Deli offers new interpretations of old favorites. I've had the lamb and feta sandwich -- grilled lamb, red onion, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese on a fresh, warm tomato basil flatbread; and the Greek Chicken sandwich -- my New Deli fave.

A combination of spicy and sweet, the Greek Chicken features spicy sauteed chicken with a semi-sweet cucumber sauce, bell peppers, red onions, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and three cheeses on a spicy ciabatta role.

A friend raved about the Salmon BLT -- a sauteed Norwegian salmon filet on a ciabatta role with mustard caper sauce and the BLT usuals -- bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

The New Deli also offers box lunches and sandwich trays for the entire office.

Check The New Deli out at 3200 Vandiver Drive, Suite 10A, 573-442-2200

Or online at www.newdelicolumbia.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

REST EASY, SLEEP WELL: Peace, peace, and farewell...

2011-12-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.

Know the line has held, your job is done.

Rest easy, sleep well.

Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.

Peace, peace, and farewell...

Christmas at Arlington National Cemetery

Readers may be interested to know that the Arlington wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine.

The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992.

Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one of the poorest parts of the state.

-- By Nick Peckham

A GIVING HOLIDAY SPIRIT: Helps reduce substance abuse, Mizzou researcher finds

2011-12-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/23/11 (Beat Byte) -- Adolescent teens who incorporate the Christmas spirit in their everyday lives by volunteering and helping others are less likely to abuse substances as young adults, claims a study from Gustavo Carlo, Millsap Professor of Diversity at Mizzou's Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Carlo surveyed rural youths from junior high school to young adulthood, finding that so-called "pro-social behaviors" such as helping a neighbor protect against risky behaviors.

"Prosocial behaviors are good for society and communities, but also they are a marker of moral development," Carlo said. "Parents want their kids to be kind, selfless, considerate and respectful. We now have evidence that these prosocial behaviors make adolescents less likely to break moral codes and engage in illegal activities like getting drunk and smoking marijuana."

Carlo focused on rural youths because they may be more apt to use illicit substances earlier than youths in other areas. Rural communities often have less access to recreation centers, meeting space, volunteers, and funding for volunteer activities.

"There is a tendency for youths to take part in risky behaviors if they are not engaged in positive, structured activities," Carlo said. "Many rural communities have suffered from the economic downturn and are unable to offer opportunities for youth activities."

On a wider scale, the study's finding may have important implications for teen prevention and intervention programs. "Research shows that prevention programs are more effective and economical," Carlo said. "If we can develop programs that foster prosocial behaviors, we know the programs will decrease the likelihood that adolescents will use substances in adulthood."

Carlo's study was published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

SANTA'S LIST: Other Artlandish artists not to be missed!

2011-12-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

From pottery to photography, dozens more gift ideas

COLUMBIA, 12/22/11 (Beat Byte) -- Richard Buchanan invented an entirely new mixed-medium art form. Paula Curry is a real-life shaman whose spiritual visions appear on her stunning woodwork. Everyone loves Liz Mitchell's photographs -- so much so that they routinely borrow her images, sometimes without credit or payment, most notably for Roots and Blues events (naughty naughty, Santa says).

All this I learned and more from TieDye Queen Karen, as we rounded Columbia's catacombs, gazing at pottery by Marsha Ely, Dana Hartgrove, and Lynn Woodward; apparel by Peace Kitty, where every sale helps the Humane Society; more photography by Jennifer Market and Marcella and Charles Feagans, where "capturing God's beauty is our business"; and more woodwork by Kandace Larissa and Samantha Kay Mullins, aka Metah Wonders.

"In all, we have roughly 57 artists in Artlandish and the Catacombs," Lisa Bartlett told me. Fifty seven artists who, as Karen told me, share their love -- with each other and their customers. It's a visual holiday feast with an old-fashioned festive atmosphere that transports shoppers back to Columbia's past.

SANTA'S WRAP: A Gift-Giver's Guide to Columbia's Catacombs

Artlandish Catacombs

North Village Arts Neighborhood

1019 E. Walnut

Columbia, Missouri

(Just a partial list of the many artists and artisans.)

Paintings, Sculpture, Fiber and Mixed Media

Lisa Bartlett's Artlandish Gallery

Including jewelry, quilts, prints, and sculptures by:

N. Kautz

Peg Craig's SquarePeg Pottery

Jessica Lawson's Dea Dia

Patty Doyle

Chris McGee

Artrageous Mixed Media artists

Merri Hunter

Andrea Youngman

Richard Buchanan

Lawrence L'Hote

Photography

Liz Mitchell

Jennifer Market
Marcella and Charles Feagans

Fashion

TieDye Queen Karen

House of Van Sickle

Peace Kitty

Ceramics and Pottery

Jacqueline and Jodianne Pepper

Marsha Ely

Dana Hartgrove

Lynn Woodward

Woodwork

Cecil Nuzum

Paula Curry

Kandace Larissa and Samantha Kay Mullins

Glass

Shawn Palmer

Food

The Root Cellar

DINERS DISH: Old brick chic at Abigail's in Rocheport

2011-12-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

All proprietors of fine restaurants work hard. Among their ranks, two of the hardest-working restaurateurs in mid-Missouri are Chefs Todd and Susan Schapira of long-time local favorite Abigail's, named for their teenage daughter.

My wife, son, and I drove down to Rocheport one Sunday afternoon in search of lunch, antiques, and a walk on the trail along the high river waters. Luckily, Abigail's was open, and packed with smiling, chatty people in their Sunday church best. Waiting about 15 minutes for a table, we went next door to ogle antiques in the meantime.

Reminiscent of Columbia's popular but defunct Trattoria Strada Nova in feel and style, Abigail's ambiance is old brick chic, with interesting bric-a-brac and plenty of natural light flooding into the dining area and open-air kitchen.

Our son was happily involved with crayons on a broad paper table cloth, and before us appeared the day's menu, on a portable easel Chef Todd moved from table to table.

My wife had an outrageously succulent pork chop bathed in dark, whipped butter with mash potatoes crisped just perfectly at the top, all over a bed of greens. Our son had a Ciabatta role with greens, bacon, fontina, and an apricot chipotle on the side that we adults ate. I had a linguini with chicken tossed together in a heavenly lemon-pecan glaze.

Despite the incredible meal, dessert -- something we almost never order -- turned out to the piece d'resistance.

My wife insisted on a crisped coconut pie, but I was torn over the cinnamon chocolate chili cake. You read that right -- cinnamon, chocolate, and chili -- three of my all-time favorite tastes. I've had coconut pie once or twice in my life, but my wife insisted so we decided to share. Best dessert decision ever! The coconut pie was heaven on a plate, right down to the last gooey morsel.

Total tab with plenty of great coffee: roughly $40.00 And our server -- Abigail herself -- was a perfect hostess.

-- Mike Martin for the Columbia Heart Beat

Also See Abigail's Reviews at Urban Spoon

TIE-DYE TO DIE FOR: From the Tye-Die Queen -- and sculptor Lawrence L'Hote

2011-12-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

One of Columbia's best-known artists transforms his best-known creations at the Catacombs

COLUMBIA, 12/20/11 (Beat Byte) -- Brenda Starr, Homer Simpson. Arthur Miller, Frida Kahlo. Hillary Clinton and Judy Garland. Like many Columbians, I first saw the sculptor Lawrence L'Hote's work enlivening the walls of Lakota Coffee, marveled at the fine-point accuracy of his metallic caricatures, and heard dozens of other people say they wanted Arthur or Norman Mailer or L'Hote's many fabulous takes on the form of the female face adorning their walls at home.

Now, L'Hote fans can liven up their casual wardrobes with his eye-catching artwork on a $12 tie-dye shirt. A fashion and artistic statement all in one in the Catacombs along with his famous metal sculptures, each shirt is so distinctive the minute you see one, you say "that's a L'Hote. That's what I saw at Lakota."

The tie-dye king of the catacombs, however, is TieDye Queen Karen -- my hostess on the tour -- so well known that people dismiss with her real name altogether. "Oh, you mean TieDye Queen? She's great!" several people said to me, as I related my Catacombs Christmas story.

Karen's fave tie dye pieces at her own shop are nearly sold out. She calls them flock dresses with a handkerchief hem. They fit everyone, she told me, run $45 a piece, and she can't keep them on the hangers. Like so many items I viewed, they sell like proverbial hotcakes. She also welcomes custom orders, proving that tie dye isn't just for T's.

Catacombs artists and artisans featured in this story:

TieDye Queen Karen

Lawrence L'Hote

BIG PURGE: Columbia city managers move to abolish citizen commissions

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Former commissioners condemn report seeking widespread elimination of city boards and commissions

COLUMBIA, 12/19/11 (Beat Byte) --  A report from senior Columbia city staffers that recommends eliminating over a dozen citizen boards and commissions has some former and current commission members crying foul, including over the proposal's holiday timing and shaky details.

Set for City Council presentation tonight, just six days before Christmas, the 6-page report cites a July 9, 2009 City Council meeting that, according to city records, never occurred.   It also says City Council members directed senior staffers to prepare the recommendations in April, May, and July 2010. But agendas from public meetings during those months show no indication of the issue.

On the chopping block, either now or in the near future: GetAbout Columbia, the Downtown Leadership Council (DLC), the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission (BPC), the Internet Citizens Advisory Group, the Storm Water Advisory Commission, the Substance Abuse Advisory Commission, the Energy and Environment Commission, the Water and Light Advisory Board, and the Boards of Plumbing, Electrical, and Mechanical Examiners.

New groups would replace some old groups. A new Transportation Advisory Commission, for instance, would take over for GetAbout, BPC, and the Public Transportation Advisory Commission. The Building Construction Codes Commission would take over plumbing, electrical, and mechanical oversight, a move the report says may generate "concerns."

"This is bad," said former Downtown Leadership Council (DLC) chairman and urban planning expert Randy Gray, about that group's proposed elimination and replacement by the newly-created Community Improvement District, or CID.   "The CID only represents property owners, as opposed to the DLC's broad-based, big picture, community planning process."

A downtown-area quasi-governing body led by an independent board of directors, the CID can levy taxes with voter approval and was behind the recent move to impose a downtown sales tax.  The DLC, on the other hand, has no governing powers, designed instead to guide planning in the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods, with representatives from a broad swath of the community.

"Ill advised" is how former Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tracy Greever-Rice, Ph.D. characterized the DLC elimination proposal. "Also note the timing of this, right after the end of the semester, when a lot of folks are out of town," added Greever-Rice, who has also served on the Visioning and Energy-Environment Commissions. "Seems like this [holiday timing] happened a couple of years ago, around the eminent domain issue downtown, too."

The staff report meanwhile recommends CID members consider ways to "include neighborhoods and other groups represented by the DLC."  But Gray finds that proposition dubious. "It may be impossible to add 4-5 DLC members to the CID board," he said. "State statutes determine the CID's existence, and its members must adhere to their enabling legislation."

The staff report is decidedly unenthusiastic about a list of new citizen commissions recommended by the Columbia Visioning Commission. Of seven suggested commissions, the report recommends creation of only two, one of which -- a Transportation Advisory Commission -- would absorb three existing commissions.

Gray is left with another question that will undoubtedly mirror concerns of people interested in the nearly 20 boards and commissions slated for shake up.   "Does it make sense to give a downtown planning role to an independent CID that only answers to its own board?" Gray asked. "The City would lose all control."

RELATED:

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2&meta_id=31827

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=248

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/dec/18/council-to-hear-report-on-changes-to-boards/

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR MONDAY, 12/19

KMIZ TO SHUTTER WEATHER STATION? Popular Stormtrack team out by Jan. 1, former weatherman Tweets

2011-12-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

A popular weathercast may be given the New Year's boot

COLUMBIA, 12/18/11 (Beat Byte) -- The popular KMIZ ABC17 Stormtrack 24/7 weathercast will be shuttered January 1, former KMIZ meteorologist Jeff Huffman has Tweeted, also starting a Facebook conversation that at last count had 39 comments.

"It's true! ABC17Stormtrack 24/7 will be replaced by MeTV on Jan 1," Huffman wrote, urging followers to email station manager Gene Steinberg to oppose the move. "If you're as offended as me, reTweet and email news@kmiz.com."

MeTV offers retro programming from the sixties and seventies, including shows such as Columbo, Hogans Heroes, and Love, American Style.

Huffman explained that he and former KMIZ general manager Randy Wright -- both of whom ultimately departed Columbia for the University of Florida -- helped build the weather team in 2003. Noted for its pleasant, professional delivery, the team includes chief meteorologist Sharon Ray, named a Best Weathercaster in a 2010 issue of Inside Columbia Magazine.

Arguing on Facebook with Kansas City-based private investigator Ron Rugen, who said the move is in line with other trends in news delivery given the rise of online formats, Huffman insisted that the loss of protection 24/7 weathercasting provides will ultimately sully the shuttering.

Station representatives have yet to officially announce or confirm the move.

"HIPPIE CHOW" AT THE ROOT CELLAR: Food with a far-out flair

2011-12-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

Columbia's version of Whole Foods Market at a whole new location

COLUMBIA, 12/18/11 (Beat Byte) -- Very nearly legendary among Columbia's organically-minded shoppers, The Root Cellar needs no introduction. But their fab new market just above the Artlandish Catacombs at 1023 East Walnut should be introduced to anyone looking for tasty, hard-to-find treats and eats.

Featuring Missouri-raised farm and food products, The Root Cellar is on its final weekend of local holiday food packages, from Patchwork Family Farms hams to pumpkin pies, dinner roles, pasture-raised turkeys, and cinnamon-roasted pecans (orders must be in this weekend for Thursday next week pick up).

Meanwhile, Kansas City-based Hippie Chow immediately caught my attention on Root Cellar's shelves. A cleverly-packaged granola that comes in original and exotic flavors (chocolate, Chai spice, peanut butter banana), Hippie Chow is owner Valerie Jennings and two interns: Caleb Watts and Lauren Ziegler. Waving aside life's commonplace things, "I have an irrational disdain for hostas and umbrellas," Jennings says, pointing out that she's both Hippie Chow owner and hardworking farmer.

For those high-end epicures on your gift list, check out the Root Cellar's stash of Patric Chocolates, where the name, the packaging, the descriptions, and the chocolate maker's photo on the cover of every chocolate bar (when do you ever see THAT?) looks scrumptiously artistic (or is it artistically scrumptious?)

The Root Cellar has umpteen varieties of Patric's chocolate, from PBJ OMG to the In-nib-itable Bar, which I bought myself, shared with my kids, and all promptly devoured! On the wrapper: "Bits of my carefully-roasted Madagascan cocoa beans...adding chocolaty bursts of flavor to my smooth and rich 70% Madagascar dark chocolate."

OMG! But what else would you expect when the Columbia-based owner and chief chocolatier -- Alan "Patric" McClure -- puts his face on the wrapping? Or notes that every scrumptious bite was "Made in the US, with American labor." He's that proud of his handiwork. And now at the Root Cellar, you can buy the perfect bottle of vino to go with that perfect chocolat!
That's just the beginning of all the goodies at The Root Cellar Grocery, next to Artlandish. Call 573-443-5055 or email rootcellarmo@gmail.com for more information.

Artists and artisans featured in this story:

Valerie Jennings, Caleb Watts, Lauren Ziegler

Alan "Patric" McClure

CATACOMBS X-MAS: From Santa in a golfball to an exquisite ceramic bird

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Crafty and cute, these wood, glass, and ceramic treasures start at just $10

COLUMBIA, 12/16/11 (Beat Byte) -- For the golfer in your life, the ornament collector, and the folk art lover, be sure to check out woodcarver Cecil Nuzum's classic pieces -- and soon! He's moving out of Columbia for Oklahoma, Catacombs tour guide Karen tells me, and his unusual precision creations are going with. My favorite: carved wooden Santas -- every facial detail intact -- nestled into real, hollowed-out golf balls. At $10 each, these are one-of-a-kind handmade gifts even Tiger Woods doesn't have!

Speaking of ornaments, glass artist Shawn Palmer is selling $15 hand-blown Christmas tree ornaments "that are just amazing!" Karen tells me. "I mean, look at them!" Among Palmer's many offerings, my favorite ornaments look like ornate snail shells that wind round and round into a mathematically-perfect little point.

When I ask what she likes, Karen literally pulls me over to see one of her personal favorites in all the Catacombs: a ceramic red bird nesting tentatively on a wood branch, every detail so finely drawn Karen is amazed that during the ceramic firing process, the bird didn't break, snap, or burst. "Do you realize how hard it is to get ceramic to do this?" she tells me. "I don't know how this survived the kiln. I don't know how they did it!"

I don't know how they do it, either. The bird's creators, Jacqueline and Jodianne Pepper, have priced their little artifact at just $35.00.

Artists and artisans featured in this story:

Cecil Nuzum

Shawn Palmer

Jacqueline and Jodianne Pepper

"WOMANLY JUJU": Fashion and fun at House of Van Sickle

2011-12-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Clever creations for the wife, mother, or daughter in your life

COLUMBIA, 12/17/11 (Beat Byte) -- Two words describe fashion intern Sharon Quinn's favorite selections at House of Van Sickle: sweater dresses. She was wearing one herself when I visited.

"Our sweater dresses are one of those unique clothing items that just have to be seen on a person to be fully appreciated," she told me. "They only really come to life on the fitting forms of a human body."

Quinn was right. Her Van Sickle sweater dress was a sexy-cozy combination of what she calls a "deconstructed dress" and a cotton-spandex blended midsection. The spandex, from specialty dance wear, forms the dress' middle layer and form fits, right around the center of an hourglass figure. You men out there will love to hug your ladies in this unusual take on casual, cold-weather comfort.

For the cold weather, my daughter has started wearing my sweaters, also starting a fashion trend called "wear dad's sweaters to school day."

Now compliments of another Van Sickle intern, she can have her own dresses made from dad's neckties. You read that right: "necktie skirts." Skirts -- and purses -- made from men's neckties. It sounds like an odd combination, but the result is striking and offbeat.

I also liked Van Sickle's festive holiday leggings, red and green and ready for almost any dress, skirt, or shorts. "They're among my very favorites," Quinn told me. She also introduced a Van Sickle exclusive: Signature line skirt, tunic, and dress-ready tops so self-supporting they don't require a bra. "They're our current pride and joy," owner Suzanne Van Sickle told me.

I walked out of Van Sickle with a gift for my daughter: the cutest, cleverest, most adorable fashion accessory I've seen in a while made by Van Sickle intern Allia Rahman. It was one of those items I bought the minute I saw it, since as we dads and husbands know, the women in our lives aren't always easy to buy for.

You see the right gift, and you land on it! And like everything else at Van Sickle, it was very reasonably priced.

What is it? Can't tell. Santa says that's strictly hush hush until opening day.

Artists and artisans featured in this story:

Allia Rahman

Sharon Quinn

Suzanne Van Sickle

Design illustration above

NATURAL MAGIC: From artists Andrea Youngman and Merri Hunter

2011-12-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

At Columbia's Catacombs, these artists call Mother Nature their partner

COLUMBIA, 12/17/11 (Beat Byte) -- Come in, come down, and join Karen Pummill-neal and I as we give you a guided tour of Columbia's most unique shopping environment.

Also known as TieDye Queen Karen, Pummill-neal proved an excellent, informative, and enthusiastic hostess. "We're really like a big family here," she told me. "We help each other out, watch each other's stores, and share a lot of love and friendship."

One of the artists Karen raved about was Andrea Youngman, (painting left) at the beginning of the Catacombs. "We're all so lucky to just be in here with her," she said.

"Revealing the sacred magic of nature," Youngman offers a variety of gifts in several media. My favorites are paintings that remind me of Columbia's Magic Holiday Trees: Come, Climb My Branches; Breathe Deeply; and a crisply delicate snapshot of a family of bright red cardinals on a barren winter tree with a title that says it all: Winter's Stark Beauty.

The beauty of all four seasons -- Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall -- comes through in Merri Hunter's glimmering, three-dimensional painting of four trees during each season made of gold and silver-toned metal. Who knew metal could be so delicate and giving?

On a roughly two feet by one foot cloth background, A Tree for All Seasons was one of my favorites in her shop at the end of the first Catacombs passageway. My other favorite is Spiritual Eclecticism, a 2-foot cross in subdued earthtones that looks as if it just stepped out of a stained glass window.

Artists and artisans featured in this story:

Merri Hunter

Andrea Youngman

DINERS DISH: Peking, Columbia's Best Chinese Food

2011-12-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

For years, my wife has been singing the praises of Peking, a Chinese restaurant that used to be downtown but moved to a small strip mall across from Murray's on Green Meadows Road.

We eat there often -- lunch and dinner. I've never had a bad dish at Peking, from the twice-cooked pork to the General Tso's Chicken, and the price can't be beaten. The service is also excellent, and there's almost always room to sit, in a booth or on the main floor.

What's more, the food keeps -- an all-important aspect of eating Chinese. Last week, my wife brought home several entrees, in both the styrofoam containers and the paper cartons. We ate on them for several days, warming everything in the microwave.

We aren't alone in our opinion. Other reviews around the web are equally glowing.

"Peking Restaurant is the best Chinese in Columbia. The food is excellent, the staff is friendly, and the food is a great value," from Judysbook.com.

"This is some of the best Chinese food I have ever had. We don't go anywhere else now," from Google.

"Peking has provided nothing but good food with courteous and friendly service. I particularly enjoy the delicious Egg Foo Yong and the Spicy Garlic Eggplant. As someone who has enjoyed good Chinese food around the country and abroad, I rank Peking among the best. My family & I have been enjoying their food for 2 years now and have never been disappointed," from Yelp.com.

Peking Restaurant is located at 212 E. Green Meadows Rd. For more information, including hours, phone, and a map, visit this Vox Magazine listing:

Peking Restaurant

http://www.voxmagazine.com/food/peking-restaurant/

A CATACOMBS CHRISTMAS CAROL: Great prices, unique gifts even Scrooge would love

2011-12-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

At Artlandish, Lisa Bartlett's amazing doorway to Columbia's subterranean treasure trove

COLUMBIA, 12/16/11 (Beat Byte) -- I knew I had finally found the perfect gift for my wife when, after church one Sunday, we wandered over to Columbia's North Village and entered the spectacular world of art and artisanship known as the Artlandish Catacombs.

A subterranean gallery like no other, the Catacombs once housed rail-era shipping and cold storage before historic preservationist John Ott transformed it. Today, the sprawling artisans mall at 1019 E. Walnut features the perfect holiday-shopping combination: some of the area's finest art and hand-crafted gifts at irresistible prices.

Through the doorway to it all -- Lisa Bartlett's Artlandish Gallery -- my wife spotted the "Bold and Beautiful" collection: stunning handcrafted necklaces by the artist N. Kautz.

Enormous blue stones tinted onyx; glittering quartz-like glass; polished pewter-colored chains; pink and emerald turquoise; tumbled and raw amethyst. The minute she started trying them on, I braced myself for sudden heart failure brought on by high pocketbook pressure. I tried to get her to look at something else: something I knew must be a whole lot cheap--er, more affordable.

Then, a divine revelation (it was Sunday, after all). The necklace she was holding was only $45.00 I had to look at the price tag twice. Decimal out of place, certainly. But then, good husband that I am, I started looking at all the tags. $50, $60, $25. No way could this be true!

But indeed it is throughout Columbia's Catacombs, where I just finished my Christmas shopping and where some of the area's loveliest handcrafted gifts sell for between $10 to $30.

I asked Lisa to show me her personal favorites and any great pieces her customers haven't yet discovered. We checked out more lovely hand-made jewelry by Jessica Lawson's Dea Dia and Patty Doyle from Stephens College. She showed me Columbia artist Peg Craig's SquarePeg Pottery: thin, elegant, and functional. I was surprised at how slender the pieces were, yet how sturdy. We looked at the quilts and fiber arts of a six-member team called "Artrageous" -- Jackie Berry, Patty Cantu, Christy Gray, Pam Gruer, Karon Kuggler, and Sharon Pendergraft.

Lisa also wanted me to check out Chris McGee's wood and ceramic decorator signs, which she likens to work Jackson Pollock might have created if he had lived in Missouri. It's so unique, McGee hasn't yet featured it on his website. But he does show off a line of artistic cards and prints Lisa carries called Mother Teresa's Door. "I was fortunate enough to meet this Great woman," McGee writes. "Each print or card includes a description of my experience."

Time and again, I was amazed at how affordable it all was, yet how abundant. Though they routinely sell out, Artlandish and the other Catacomb stores haven't been ravaged by Black Friday shoppers. They restock with artistic passion, and have gifts and art galore, a feast for the eyes and wallet. Let's face it: affordability is key these days, and handmade gifts are often so expensive they are out of range of most buyers. But not at the Catacombs.

Artists and artisans featured in this story:

N. Kautz

Chris McGee

Jessica Lawson's Dea Dia

Patty Doyle

Jackie Berry, Patty Cantu, Christy Gray, Pam Gruer, Karon Kuggler, Sharon Pendergraft.

THE UNDISCOVERED CHRISTMAS: Local gift ideas you may not have heard about

2011-12-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/15/11 (Op-Ed) -- For the next several issues, the Columbia Heart Beat will be visiting local merchants about potential Christmas gifts, asking them "what are the one or two items in your store you wish people knew more about?"

We'll start that list with some of the most awesome relish -- or is it jam? -- this writer has ever tasted -- or is it devoured?

Gift Idea: Roast'd Red Pop'n-Pep'r Relish

What is it: Not exactly a relish, not exactly a jam or jelly, not exactly hot, not exactly mild, but exactly awesome! Put this out with those ubiquitous Christmas party vegetable trays (which unlike the sweets and spiked punch, never seem to disappear) and watch those veggies vanish.

Where discovered: Columbia Hy Vee, but you can also call Fontanella Foods, 816-561-9120

Where made: New Bloomfield, Mo by Awesome Family Tradition Foods

Tag line: All the flavor with none of the heat!

Cool aspects: Gluten free and bears the official Missouri Agri Business stamp www.agrimissouri.com

EXERCISE NO SUBSTITUTE: For active lifestyle, Mizzou researchers say

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/14/11 (Beat Byte) -- For people with inactive lifestyles who nonetheless regularly exercise -- desk jockeys who visit the gym after work every night, for instance -- chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and a new epidemic -- fatty liver disease -- remain a serious threat, say University of Missouri researchers who point to caloric foods and hours of inactivity as modern-day scourges to healthy longevity.

“If people spend the majority of their time sitting, even with regular periods of exercise, they are still at greater risk for chronic diseases,” said John Thyfault, Ph.D., (left) assistant professor in the departments of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Internal Medicine.

The difference between activity (greater than 10,000 steps a day) and inactivity (fewer than 5,000 steps each day) has also led to a new epidemic, said fellow department assistant professor Scott Rector, Ph.D. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is now the most common chronic liver condition among U.S. adults, and occurs when excess fat accumulates in the liver. It contributes to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and has even become more common in children.

“Everyone should try to take at least 10,000 steps a day,” Rector said. “It doesn’t have to happen all at once, but 500 to 1,000 steps every few hours is a good goal. Small changes can increase the number of steps people take in their daily routines. Changes might include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to a coworker’s office rather than calling, or planning time for short walks throughout the day.”

Their articles were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

PROPERTY TAX OUTRAGE: Readers scorn deep developer discounts

2011-12-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

Millions of dollars of development and estate land brings in just $2,363.26 in yearly BoCoMo property taxes

COLUMBIA, 12/13/11 (Op-Ed) -- "Amazing and disheartening," is how David Stokes, a policy analyst at one of Missouri's leading conservative think tanks, characterizes Boone County's ridiculously generous property tax breaks for the area's richest and most powerful residents and businesses.

Other Heart Beat readers feel the same way. They have no problem paying their fair share of taxes, but scorn the idea that so-called "one percenters" -- the country's wealthiest individuals and businesses -- pay virtually nothing, the highest form of collusion with donation-hungry public officials.

I'm a big fan of our capitalist system when it works without collusion between government and wealthy individuals or big businesses, an ever-increasing problem as government takes a larger share of the domestic product pie and powerful people move in to manipulate the results.

Nationally, GE paid no income taxes on some $14 billion in profits last year. Locally, large donors to the re-election campaign of Boone County assessor Tom Schauwecker -- ironically, a Democrat -- get property tax breaks in proportion to their wealth, first revealed after the 2008 elections.

Now, with four years of tax records to look back upon, those same one percenters are paying a mere $59.01 more than they were in 2007 -- a single property tax increase for the other 99% -- on millions of dollars of development and estate land that together brought in just $2,363.26 in 2011 property taxes.

About our tongue-in-cheek take on Boone County's giant government-aided collusion, Fred and Ann Koenig quipped that they'd like to help the Kroenkes, Lauries, Sapps, Smiths, Forum Development, and the rest pay that $59 increase. "We should come together to help them out with their increased burden during these economically challenging times," they wrote. "Maybe we could have a bake sale, and send them the proceeds?"

Other readers suggested more direct action. "I would like to know who to start calling if these folks are getting off yet again," Linda Lutz wrote. "I'd like to make a stink."

CMNEA teachers union president Susan McClintic, who also teaches at Alpha Hart Lewis elementary, found the news sad enough to recommend an alternative. "If you are looking for some positive news, it is American Education week and the Columbia Missouri National Education Association (CMNEA) encourages everyone to read a book to a child this week to honor educators!"

"Honor educators." How ironic, given that educators are those most hurt by property tax breaks for the powerful.

But wait! Perhaps those generous tax breaks are development incentives, like TIFs and TDDs. Perhaps those breaks are designed to help the economy, through some vague "trickle down" effect. If that's what they are, the property tax breaks don't impress musician Win Grace, who thanked us for reporting the story. "In my opinion, it wouldn't hurt to slow down development," she said.

In another irony, Stokes -- a St. Louis-based policy analyst for the Show Me Institute, arguably Missouri's most aggressive anti-tax lobbyists routinely criticized by the public sector -- made a salient legal point: property tax breaks this generous are designed for farmers, not developers or estate barons.

"The question becomes, how many of those properties are being actively farmed or used for some agricultural purpose?" he said. "Property tax bills that low are only really possible for active farmland."

COPS AND CAMERAS IN CoMo: A marriage for better -- and worse

2011-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

A Columbia police sergeant discusses public perception vs. police reality

COLUMBIA, 12/12/11 (Interview) -- The signs were obvious 20 years ago, with cameras documenting LA's infamous Rodney King beating and OJ Simpson's equally infamous SUV freeway chase. Cameras -- and cops -- were getting engaged.

Today, police officers and the cameras that film them are an aging married couple, with cell phones, patrol car cameras, digital video recorders, and citizens for justice recording nearly every law enforcement move.

"This is a real adjustment for many officers," Columbia Police Department Sergeant Jill (Wieneke) Schlude (above left) told the Columbia Heart Beat. "When I became a police officer in 1999, I didn't have a camera in my patrol car and cell phones only made calls. The next generation of officers will be one of the first to spend their entire career almost constantly recorded."

The scrutiny is both good and bad, Schlude explained, articulating technology's double-edged sword.

"I think we have to be careful to use video to expose the bad and change it.

But also in equal measure, to celebrate the good and encourage it."

"The use of video is ultimately good and will hopefully lead to decreased complaints and reduced incidents of excessive force, as well as provide more transparency and increase public trust," she said. "But any officer who has been involved in the uglier part of policing and has had to use force completely lawfully and properly will tell you that public opinion and perception can be a heavy weight -- even when you know you were doing the right thing -- even when the Chief says you did the right thing."

The daily scrutiny starts with a rattling reality: being on camera all day in a job filled with stressful and unpredictable situations. "It doesn't feel great," Schlude said. "It is worse for police officers because inevitably it means someone will be second guessing and scrutinizing every detail of what they do and say, and sometimes twisting or editing it to fit an agenda."

An often-misguided discourse can follow the scrutiny, much of it coming from people

who have had repeated run ins with law enforcement or extensive criminal records.

But it's not the scrutiny that takes the long-term toll, she emphasized. It's the often-misguided discourse that follows, much of it coming from people who have had repeated run ins with law enforcement officers or extensive criminal records.

"Imagine you are a truly good police officer," Schlude said. "How must it feel to be called everything from a fascist to a racist to a thug just for doing your job and protecting yourself and the people you are sworn to keep out of harm's way. Imagine hearing it for 20 or more years.

"I think we have to be careful to use video to expose the bad and change it," she added. "But also in equal measure, to celebrate the good and encourage it."

RELATED:

EXPLOSIVE NEW VIDEO: Connects Columbia police to notorious lynch mob, Part 1

EXPLOSIVE NEW VIDEO: Connects Columbia police to notorious lynch mob, Part 2

EXPLOSIVE NEW VIDEO: Connects Columbia police to notorious lynch mob, Part 2

2011-12-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Short documentary raises troubling questions all around, Continued from Part 1

COLUMBIA, 12/11/11 (Beat Byte) -- Another credibility issue appears about a quarter through the video.

Akins films his arrest on an outstanding warrant and flashes a Wanted Poster explaining that he has a record for weapons violations, carries a concealed pistol, and runs the Citizens For Justice (CFJ) website. Court records indicate that "Matthew Stephen Akins" of Columbia has served jail time on recent drug convictions and faced both eviction and other creditor proceedings.

"For many police officers, it probably makes them question Akins' motivations more than if he had never been arrested," CPD's Schlude told the Heart Beat. "Based on the large number of officers I have talked to about this, they are less open and friendly to Akins because they are suspicious of the motives of CFJ."

Akins (above) said that he is on "municipal probation for driving without insurance and possibly a couple of other tickets," but that he was not aware of the outstanding warrant that led to his arrest. "At no time was I even alerted to the fact that I had a warrant, and municipal warrants don't show up on Casenet," he told the Heart Beat.

He was also disappointed that schoolchildren touring the police department saw the Wanted Posters, which listed a previously unlisted Citizens for Justice website.

"The poster indicates that I 'run the cfjweb.ssos.us website,'" Akins explained. "This was the unlisted version of CFJComo.com that we never promoted and was never found by search engines, but that had been monitored by the Columbia Police Officers' Association (CPOA) since at least December of 2010, when they sent us an email about it."

Including Akins' CFJ affiliation on the Wanted Poster served a "two-fold" purpose, Schlude explained. "One was to let officers know who he was in the event he approached them on a call, or they saw him video-taping. The last thing we wanted was a situation escalating if we could avoid it," she told the Heart Beat. "Second, we do have fairly frequent contact with Akins and he did have an active warrant."

Though CPOA representatives declined to issue a position on the Sheriff vs. Police comparison, Akins' credibility, or the other charges, "We acknowledge that certain individuals have been following police and sheriff's department officers to document what they believe to be problems in the system, which is their constitutional right," CPOA executive director Ashley Cuttle told the Heart Beat. "We are working energetically toward a more positive relationship with the community where there may be conflict."

On the charge that CPD is less professional than its BCSD counterpart, Schlude said the comparison is like "apples and oranges." Unlike most of his night-time CPD encounters for instance, Akins instead approached Sheriff deputies during the day, which may account "for police officers using their lights or being more cautious."

A daylight encounter between CFJ and CPD Chief Ken Burton goes well, in fact. He smiles, quips, and greets the filmmakers on his way from a downtown event.

Citizens for Justice has also made several CPD officers targets of inappropriate private information publishing, Schlude added. "Officers have expressed concern with some of the information CFJ has posted on their website," she told the Heart Beat. "Many feel like their police career and job are one thing, but personal information -- even legally-gathered public records -- are not relevant to CFJ's stated cause."

On possible criticism that "because of my run-ins with the law, I just don't like cops," Akins said that while he welcomes critics to form their own opinions, his legal encounters "have given me a wider view of the behaviors and attitudes exhibited by law enforcement officers."

He also stands by the professionalism comparison, both from his filmed documentaries and personal experiences.

"I've been pulled over by the Boone County Sheriff Department multiple times, and regardless of whether or not I receive a citation, Boone County deputies have always shown me a high level of respect and professionalism," Akins told the Heart Beat. "The only complaint I really have is that they confiscated my police scanner as evidence at a checkpoint. I was found to be in possession of marijuana."

The Boone County Sheriff Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Part 1

VIDEO: Boone County Sheriff's Department vs. Columbia Police Department: Is There a Difference?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQ6X5E7s2U

Citizens for Justice

http://www.cfjcomo.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/CFJComo#g/u

EXPLOSIVE NEW VIDEO: Connects Columbia police to notorious lynch mob, Part 1

2011-12-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

Youtube post featuring well-regarded defense attorney raises troubling questions all around

COLUMBIA, 12/10/11 (Beat Byte) -- On its way to declaring the Boone County Sheriff's Department (BCSD) "more professional" than the Columbia Police Department (CPD), a new Youtube video featuring Columbia criminal defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky connects the police to a notorious Columbia lynch mob, but also raises questions about the video's producer, who has had legal problems in both civil and criminal courts.

The video represents a nationwide if not international phenomenon that has come to Columbia in just the past few years: the steady movement of investigative reporting -- in fits and starts -- away from professional newsrooms and into the hands of untrained journalists, many of them young.

"The Boone County Sheriff's Department people, in 1923, are trying to stop the lynching," Bukowsky explains on the video, after a detailed and dramatic retelling of the James T. Scott murder. "And the Columbia Police Department is standing by letting it happen. So these are problems going way, way back."

A white mob broke Scott -- a black man -- out of a Boone County jail cell, marched him to a bridge near Providence and Stewart Roads, and hung him, over unproven and untried allegations that he had sexually assaulted the 14-year-old daughter of an MU professor.

Racially-charged allegations, from profiling to excessive force, have dogged CPD for decades, and led to the creation of the Columbia Citizens Police Review Board. Nonetheless, the lynching connection "is a stretch that is likely offensive to many members of the Columbia Police Department," said CPD spokesperson Sergeant Jill (Wieneke) Schlude.

The lack-of-professionalism comparison is also "a pretty serious claim to level with anecdotal evidence," she told the Heart Beat. "Are there things being done in the video I would like to see done differently? Sure. But I cannot say with 100% assurance why some officers took the action they did or if any of it was inappropriate."

The video begins by comparing filmed encounters with on-duty sheriff deputies and police officers, as its producer Matthew Stephen Akins (above), founder of law enforcement watchdog group Citizens For Justice (CFJ), introduces himself and his film crew.

Bukowsky

Sheriff's deputies are noticeably more polite and receptive. Police officers, on the other hand, seem agitated, even abrasive. A patrol car reportedly driven by CPD officer Addison Watson speeds off as Akins and crew approach, politely asking, "Is everything all right sir? Everything all right?" Other police officers shine their spotlights directly at the crew, Akins says to prevent filming.

After watching Akins' video, "You can't help but notice the Boone County deputies, they come up to you and introduce themselves," Bukowsky tells him. "They're not trying to avoid being filmed; they're being respectful and professional...It's just a difference in attitude toward you. It seems like, with the Boone County Sheriffs, that it's their duty to serve and protect, and if a citizen asks them something, they respond professionally."

Toward the police, however, Bukowsky directs pointed criticism. "The Columbia Police Department seems to have an attitude that it's okay to do things to you like leave when you're trying to ask if there's a problem, or shine their lights to prevent you from filming...like we know where you are, we're following you, we're watching you....It seems to be almost a pattern of intimidation."

At that point, Bukowsky introduces the Scott lynching, asking Akins if he has heard of the case. Local KOPN radio talk show host Tyree Byndom then narrates the tragic retelling.

Despite its powerful overtones, the critique isn't accurate, said CPD's Schlude, who worries that both Bukowsky and Akins are adding a slanted spin.

"I think Akins would be more credible if he edited less and maybe posted every video, regardless of whether it supported any theory about the police," she told the Heart Beat. Akins has a sizable Youtube film library about local law enforcement.

"Interviewing defense attorneys who clearly have something to gain -- clients -- by being anti-police doesn't help matters, either," Wieneke-Schlude (above) added. "I'm not saying Mrs. Bukowsky is a bad person, but in my opinion she doesn't add to the credibility of CFJ from an officer's perspective."

Part 2: Apples and Oranges?

AUTOMATED TRASH COLLECTION: An Idea whose time has come

2011-12-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

If we can build Garagezilla, we can automate rubbish removal

COLUMBIA, 12/9/11 (Beat Byte) -- Automated trash collection using trucks equipped with robotic arms came to hundreds of communities around the country years ago. I remember rolling out the trash bins for automated pickup in a suburb of Seattle back in the early 90s.

Columbia presently has 21 employees manually grabbing green trash bags that have to be restocked every few weeks and add to landfill waste. Automated trucks, on the other hand, pick up large plastic bins with wheels that can range from 32 to 96 gallons. Columbia solid waste utility manager Richard Wieman has been advocating the idea, and City Hall did a survey about it in August.

Trash removal automation saves time, money, and fuel; improves safety; and reduces workers compensation claims.

Though fully-automated trucks aren't cheap, combined local government has spent $75 million on new offices and parking garages since 2006. Like the old adage about sending a man to the moon, if we can build Garagezilla, we can certainly automate trash collection.

Here are some examples of automated trash trucks in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8lEZcykuX8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84d-mtCD6Wc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUHdLR56HA

Some automation systems come with less expensive retrofit options (put the system on an existing truck). It's called "semi-automated collection." Conventional rear loading trucks are retrofitted with a cart lifting device:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D1tk1rR6ZQ

CoMo PALM TREE PIONEER Decorates tree, copes with Missouri snow

2011-12-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

Eric Plott's plot to plant palms powers up for Christmas and the Holidays

COLUMBIA, 12/8/11 (Beat Byte) -- Last year, mid-Missouri welcomed a pioneering horticultural project: Eric Plott planted 10 tiny palm trees with no protection against the harsh weather. Five survived last year's winter, and now he's planting 70 more. Unusual Christmas gift idea, anyone?

Speaking of the Holidays, this year Plott decorated one of the trees just as the year's first snow began to fall (videos here):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C42Nf04plGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYVn_cPhuc

"We Retail Cold Hardy Palm Trees (outdoor and indoor) to the Midwest," Plott says, figuring on a few years before the palms finally take and survive in a temperature region most growers consider too cold for palms and other tropical plants. He also offers other exotic plants, including Passion of Christ flower, Clemente banana, and various species of Yucca.

Plott must be doing something right. He has over 3,400 Facebook friends and a growing library of Missouri palm tree educational videos.

More about Plott Palm Trees

http://www.facebook.com/blaze573

http://www.youtube.com/user/Blaze1145172

http://www.plottpalmtrees.com/

WHY BOOZE MAKES SMART PEOPLE ACT DUMB: Mizzou study finds answers

2011-12-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/7/11 (Beat Byte) -- Science can explain Mizzou football coach Gary Pinkel's (left) recent run in with the law, but the news isn't necessarily good. A new University of Missouri study found that alcohol dulls a brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake.

The signal slowing doesn't reduce awareness, however, as the conventional wisdom has long suggested. Instead, it increases apathy. Inebriated people know they're making a mistake, but they don't care.

"Contrary to previous studies, our study shows that alcohol doesn't reduce your awareness of mistakes – it reduces how much you care about making those mistakes," said Bruce Bartholow, Ph.D. associate professor of psychology in the MU College of Arts and Science.

Bartholow's team measured brain activity in 67 participants, ages 21-35 during a computer test designed to elicit errors. About one third of the participants were given alcoholic drinks, while the rest were given no alcohol or a placebo beverage.

Surprisingly, those who had consumed alcohol were no less likely to realize when they had made a mistake than participants in the other groups. But they were less likely to slow down and be more careful following the errors. "It is very common for people to respond more slowly following an error, as a way of trying to regain self-control. That's what we saw in our placebo group. The alcohol group participants didn't do this," Bartholow said.

The findings are an important step in understanding how alcohol contributes to mistakes and social blunders, Bartholow added. The study was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and partially funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

LIFESIZE DIGITAL 3D TIGER: Greets Mizzou Athletics visitors with lifelike realism

2011-12-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/6/11 (Beat Byte) -- A nearly life-sized digital 3D tiger whose warm "breath" fogs up a glass enclosure greets visitors to the University of Missouri Athletic Center's new interactive computer wall.

Overland Park, Ks.-based Dimensional Innovations designed the Mizzou Complete Athlete Wall, which went live earlier this year in Mizzou's Athletic Training Complex. After the pacing animated tiger greets visitors, an interactive database tells the story of all 21 sports at Mizzou.

Company representatives say the 60 square foot wall -- otherwise known as the Tiger Interactive Experience -- is used for recruiting and information for athletes, visitors and donors.

VIEW THE WALL IN ACTION:

http://wn.com/Interactive_Tiger!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR1sHiy_qbE

FREE VETERANS PARKING, DOWNTOWN "BOLLARDS": On tap for City Council

2011-12-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/5/11 (Beat Byte) -- Some military veterans could get a special new benefit under an ordinance Columbia City Council members will consider Monday night: free parking at all City-owned parking garages, spaces, and lots, which means just about anywhere parking is allowed downtown.

In other downtown business, Council members will consider an ordinance allowing historic preservationist John Ott, green architect Nick Peckham, and other building owners along Alley A to display so-called "decorative bollards" at each end of the alley to restrict auto traffic.

The free parking for Veterans would apply to cars displaying a Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Congressional Medal of Honor, or POW license plate under a new Missouri Law, RSMo. 304.725, which allows local authorities the discretion to authorize free parking. Mizzou is apparently playing Scrooge 2011 under the law according to a City Hall staff report, refusing to participate in the Veteran's parking benefit.

The "decorative bollards" ordinance comes complete with a detailed design by the American Bollard Company. If you haven't heard of a bollard before, it's a "short vertical post" once used to moor ships. The word may come from a botanical term meaning "tree trunk." The Wikipedia entry below has extensive pictures and information.

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2&meta_id=30746

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollard

Columbia City Council Dec. 5 meeting agenda

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2

ONCE-POPULAR NURSERY: Could become gas station under rezone proposal

2011-12-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/5/11 (Beat Byte) -- A once public favorite -- Regan's Riverhill Garden Nursery south of Columbia just off Route K -- could become a gas station under a rezoning proposal Columbia City Council members will automatically pass on their "Consent Agenda" Monday night.

Green Thumb Properties, LLC has applied for a zoning amendment that would add restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, car washes, day care centers, and storage facilities to uses permitted for the 2.5 acre parcel at the southwest corners of Routes K and S, and which is currently restricted to greenhouse or garden center usage.

Buck and Sherry Smith purchased the land from Bill Regan. Columbia's Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommends Council approval.

RELATED:http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2&meta_id=30728

Columbia City Council Dec. 5 meeting agenda

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2

CITY HALL HEIST? Gerrymander proponents want big bucks for park land

2011-12-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

From Ward reapportionment to $22,000 an acre, developers push ethical limits

COLUMBIA, 12/4/11 (Beat Byte) -- Just weeks after they voted for a so-called "gerrymandering plan" known as Trial D, two members of Columbia's recently-concluded Ward Reapportionment Committee want the Columbia City Council to fork over big taxpayer dollars for vacant land near the new Battle High School.

Bob Pugh (left), Scott Atkins, and their St. Charles Road Development (SCRD) partnership with Scott's father Tom Atkins, builder Rob Wolverton, and the estate of developer Bob Lemone want city taxpayers to pay $681,000 for 30 acres -- a whopping $22,000 per acre the Boone County assessor has appraised at just $521/acre.

By comparison, all 47 social services agencies in Columbia would get just $979,000 under a proposal Council members will consider Monday night.

The land would be banked for future use because the city has no money to develop it, Columbia park services manager Mike Griggs told Columbia Daily Tribune readers agitated over the proposed acquisition. The sale would mark the third time in roughly three years the Pugh-Atkins-Wolverton-Lemone partnership has sold ultra-pricey land to a public entity.

Shades of ethical gray

Scott Atkins

With the pending land sale -- which Council members will also take up this Monday -- Mr. Pugh, Mr. Atkins, and the City Council step into an ethical gray area.

Mr. Pugh -- a former Columbia Mayor and CEO of MBS Books -- chaired the Ward Reapportionment Committee (WRC) and voted for Trials E and D, the most notorious of two so-called "gerrymandering plans." Mr. Atkins also voted for Trial D, and used his considerable influence to sway 4th Ward Councilman Daryl Dudley into a political minefield that exploded across the community with a highly-charged recall effort over Mr. Dudley's support for Trial D.

Had the Mayor, Council members, and the public known that Mr. Pugh and Mr. Atkins would turn around just weeks after their Ward reapportionment votes with a big bucks deal for City Hall, would they have been appointed to such a powerful committee? Why didn't Mr. Pugh and Mr. Atkins fully disclose what was coming? Why didn't they recuse themselves from membership on this committee, or at least from voting on any reapportionment plans?

More importantly, should people with such significant, pending, and personally-enriching business before the Council ever be put in a position to affect its make up?

Rob Wolverton

Particularly galling given this turn of events: Mr. Pugh openly discounted public opinion about Ward reapportionment, while telling this writer to stop "picking on him" because he was a mere "has been" in the world of politics and business. He made this dubious statement as WRC chairperson, in what now seems an attempt to tamp down transparency about a business deal then just weeks away from City Council deliberation.

Third Time at The Trough

In 2008 and again in Sept. 2011, Columbia Public Schools agreed to pay the SCRD partners $2.4 million for land in the same area: 32 acres for a new elementary school at roughly $50,000/acre; and 79 acres for Battle High at roughly $11,000/acre.

The $900,000 Battle High land purchase also saddled the school district with millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements that were neither budgeted nor expected. "We’re spending $2.9 million that we never intended to spend," Chief Financial Officer Linda Quinley said at the time. "Hopefully we can learn from this and not make these mistakes again," then-School Board member Ines Segert added.

Even more disturbing given the school district's involvement: the St. Charles Road group pays only a few hundred dollars in property taxes. Between city and school district, the partners will have pocketed about $3.1 million on land the assessor has appraised for under $100,000. Property taxes are the #1 local source of school district revenue, and also provide revenues for city services.

Fictitious names only, please

"Damn. Must be gold in them thar hills," wrote Trib reader Vanessa Hall. "St. Charles Road Development LLC must be pleased with the amount per acre. Just exactly who is it that makes up St. Charles Road Development LLC? I sure would like to know if the names are publicly recognizable."

Hall asked that question because the Tribune refers to the prominent group only by its fictitious business name, further reducing transparency.

Tom Atkins

Responding to reader concerns about the whopping price tag, Mike Griggs wrote "park staff agreed with the purchase price of $681,280," based on two appraisals. Pugh, Atkins and partners "own the entire tract between Lake of the Woods Golf Course and Battle High," he explained, where they are planning "a mixed use development of single and multi-family residences, commercial and office space."

Budgets are apparently tight enough that "there currently are no funds to develop the park," Griggs wrote. "This acquisition could simply be seen as 'land banking' for future use."

http://www.showmeboone.com/assessor/RealEstateSummary.Asp?PARCEL=1730102000010001
http://www.showmeboone.com/assessor/RealEstateSummary.Asp?PARCEL=1730102000020101
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/nov/28/city-plans-for-parkland-near-battle-high/?news

MAPS:
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/09/16/columbia-public-schools-plans-purchase-property/
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/graphic/2011/11/29/map-future-park-location/

BAIT AND SWITCH: Scheme makes park, school land pay off BIG for developers

2011-12-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Land prices start out low -- then soar

COLUMBIA, 12/4/11 (Beat Byte) --  An averaging scheme that in 2007 had principals of St. Charles Road Development (SCRD) crowing about land they were selling the school district at what seemed like a sizeable discount -- $900,000 for 79 acres supposedly appraised at $2 million -- will pay off handsomely in 2011 with the sale of more land for another new elementary school and a new city park near Battle High.

Here's how the scheme worked.   The SCRD Pugh-Atkins-Wolverton-Lemone partnership "came to the rescue" with land for Battle High in 2007, when several competing parcels -- including the famous "Vemer tract" -- created an explosive controversy.

Calling it part "gift" and part "sale," the group played up the discount though school district officials later found themselves on the hook for $2.9 million in additional infrastructure costs, some of which will no doubt serve SCRD. Wolverton's company, R. Anthony Development, has a residential subdivision planned near the new schools and proposed park.

Fast forward 4 years, when Pugh, Atkins and partners announced yet another sale to Columbia Public Schools for a second new elementary school -- 32 acres in the same St. Charles Rd. area, but this time for $1.5 million, or about $50,000/acre. This month, the development team is back again, offering 30 acres to the City of Columbia in the St. Charles Rd. area for a park.

The price for this acreage: $681,000.

Question: In the last two deals, what happened to the big discounts? Answer: They vanished, giving an average price over all 141 acres --- high school, elementary school, and city park -- of roughly $21,000/acre.

Second question: Did school district officials, city officials, and the Pugh-Atkins-Wolverton-Lemone partnership either know or agree before the Battle High site was sold that the other land sales would follow in subsequent years, all but erasing what seemed to be a great deal in 2007? If so, why didn't they publicly disclose?

If not, why aren't public officials demanding the same discount today, especially given that the economy and real estate has plummeted since 2008?

ROARING RIP OFF? Why I'm furious about this latest developer bonanza

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Selling overpriced white elephants to the buyers of last resort -- public agencies

COLUMBIA, 12/4/11 (Op-Ed) -- As a 14-year Columbia resident, taxpayer, and 20-year real estate investor who neither seeks nor gets the enormous bonanzas our good ol' boys get from taxpayers, I'm so angry I could spit about this latest round of Developer Lotto, detailed in these two stories today, which are also below:

City Hall Heist? Gerrymander proponents want big bucks for park land

Bait and Switch? Scheme makes park, school land pay off BIG for developers

City Hall proposes to purchase vacant land for an exorbitant price from St. Charles Road Development. Columbia Public Schools' purchased land from the same developers for an even more exorbitant price. Finally, in typical fashion, the developers pay paltry property taxes on their pricey parcels.

Developer Scott Atkins

$3 million taxpayer dollars for 141 acres of vacant land in the boondocks that requires another $3 million to make ready, on land that generates only a few hundred dollars per year for the public agencies that are buying it. I'm totally cool with making big bucks, but this is ridiculous, especially when public funds from so-called "tight budgets" are involved.

$50,000 an acre for school land. $21,000 an acre for park land. $6 million in total public expenditures -- and climbing -- to buy the land and make it ready with roads, sewers, and lighting the same developers plan to use for new developments on nearby land they still own which will skyrocket in value with the new schools, park, and infrastructure.

Parks director Mike Hood and Mayor Bob McDavid

What happened to donated land like Albert-Oakland Park? What happened to the idea of "giving back," which all the "little people" are constantly being asked to do, but which the high-falutin' among us seem to disregard (unless they stand to gain, like volunteering for a Ward Reapportionment Committee that could have muzzled the City Council with a gerrymandering plan)?

Citizens: Your taxes are being thrown down a pit that never bottoms. Your hard-earned dollars are being handed over with little thought of civic responsibility in favor of good ol' fashioned greed, via public officials who are either too dumb, too afraid, or too greedy themselves to say NO.

Assessor Schauwecker

Wise up and realize that as these tax money grabs continue -- locally and around the nation -- your personal circumstances dwindle in direct proportion to the higher and higher amounts you are forced to pay or subsidize to people who so do NOT need the payments or subsidies it almost makes a strong-hearted person cry.

We can have more parks, more schools, and more good things for the public if we aren't being robbed to pay for them. $20,000 an acre and up is highway robbery, especially out in the middle of nowhere, especially with all the added expenses, especially in this economy.

Developers: Donate the land; discount the land; gift part of the land and take a tax write-off; watch the value of your nearby land soar. Just don't loot the public treasury because you bought a white elephant no one in the private sector is willing or able to buy.

TIFs, TDDs, stupefying property tax discounts, and now this. When, I ask, are these public ripoffs going to end?

-- Mike Martin for the Columbia Heart Beat

CITIZENS LOUDLY OPPOSE: Postal facility Columbia move

2011-12-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/1/11 (Beat Byte) -- A standing room only crowd of Quincy, Illinois postal employees and residents criticized a proposal to move Quincy's postal processing facility to Columbia during a November 22 public hearing with the US Postal Service.

The protests could dash local hopes for a Columbia jobs boost the facility move may provide.

"If you are going to change the paradigm of delivery...don't you think you're just going to drive more customers away?" Quincy Mayor John Spring said, to applause and loud cheers the Quincy Herald-Whig reported. "Derisive laughter rippled through the audience" and meeting attendees also threatened to boycott the postal service.

The move has been proposed as part of a nationwide USPS effort to cut costs in the face of rising financial problems. As reported locally, it would shift a potential $3 million payroll from Quincy to Columbia. On the downside, it would eliminate jobs -- and overnight delivery of first-class mail -- in the Quincy area.

The impact on rural customers "would be catastrophic," said Linda Lueckenhoff, mayor of nearby Ewing, Mo. "Not everybody has Internet access," she said, in answer to the big shift toward email and social media messaging. Postal officials also said 18 jobs would be eliminated with the Columbia move and possibly 54 of 70 jobs affected.

"Postal employees Randy Miller and Scott Boyer said the Columbia facility is maxed out in its capacity to handle mail and would need additional space and staff to handle the extra mail from Quincy," the Herald-Whig reported.

(Originally reported December 1 in our online newsletter).

"SERIOUS ACCUSATION": Councilman accused city officials of manipulating task force, supervisor claims

2011-12-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

Important citizen commission "used" and "hoodwinked" by city staffers, accusation asserts

COLUMBIA, 12/2/11 (Interview) -- Fourth Ward Columbia Councilman Daryl Dudley (left) earlier this year accused senior city officials of manipulating a citizen task force charged with revamping a utility billing ordinance, city public works supervisor Bill Weitkemper told the Columbia Heart Beat and other reporters. Weitkemper said he observed the same manipulative behavior during task force meetings, a charge Mayor Bob McDavid and city manager Mike Matthes labeled a "serious accusation."

City staff's presumptive motives included keeping utility discounts for big customers and pushing through a 15% sewer rate hike Weitkemper has consistently maintained was not necessary. Rates should have instead been reduced, he explained. Council members will take up more changes to the controversial ordinance at their December 5 meeting.

"I met with Mayor McDavid and Council members Daryl Dudley and Gary Kespohl on August 31 and gave them each a detailed report of the problems I had with the sewer ordinance," Weitkemper said. "Dr. McDavid said that he did not have time to study the sewer ordinance. He said that was staff's responsibility."

Talk then turned to a citizen sewer task force created to resolve billing problems Weitkemper revealed in 2009. Senior city staffers, he explained, tried to manipulate the task force toward a conclusion of their own making, a ploy many citizen commissioners have complained about over the years. Senior city staffers and department directors attend -- and guide -- all citizen commission meetings.

"I told Dr. McDavid that I attended every sewer task force meeting except for the first and city staff had used the sewer task force to push through sewer ordinance changes that city staff had been unable to push through on their own," Weitkemper explained.

City Manager Mike Matthes

City staffers' overbearing approach troubled Councilman Dudley, who also attended most of the sewer task force meetings, he added. "Mr. Dudley said the sewer task force had been 'hoodwinked' by city staff," Weitkemper explained. "Dr. McDavid said, 'that’s a pretty serious accusation.' Mr. Dudley agreed."

McDavid said Dudley's revelation about staff manipulation "put the council in a difficult position," Weitkemper said. The Mayor wanted Matthes to respond after reviewing Weitkemper's work.

"On September 1st, I met with the city manager and gave him a copy of my report," Weitkemper explained. "I repeated to him both my comments and Councilman Dudley’s comments about the sewer task force and city staff. He said, 'that’s a pretty serious accusation.' I told him that was exactly what Mayor McDavid had said. The city manager told me he would read my entire report, ask public works to respond and then he would respond."

Matthes responded to Council members at a Council meeting last month about Council Bill B293-11, another change to the sewer billing ordinance. The result was so unsatisfactory, Council members tabled the ordinance without resolution until December 5.

http://www.columbiaheartbeat.com/2011/09/rate-hike-wasnt-needed-says-columbia.html

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: Applauds West Junior student play

2011-12-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 12/1/11 (Beat Byte) -- In a rare move that has local teachers excited, a childhood survivor of Nazi Germany's Terezin concentration camp has applauded students and teachers at Columbia's West Junior High School for their recent 2-day performance of Celeste Raspanti's play "I Never Saw Another Butterfly."

In an email to West Junior teachers Sarah Gerling and Pamela Sisson entitled "Regards from a child survivor of the Terezin concentration camp," Inge Auerbacher -- an internationally-known author -- enclosed girlhood pictures of herself at Terezin and wished the teachers "wonderful performances."

A child's view of Nazi internment, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" is set during the Second World War at Terezin, a facility in the former Czechoslovakia that routinely sent internees to the death camp at Auschwitz.

"I spent 3 years at Terezin between 7-10 years of age," Auerbacher explained. "The book I Am A Star deals with my life at Terezin, and has become a classic (it is in 8 languages -- a Penguin and Scholastic book). I wanted to wish the cast all my best wishes and love. I only wish I could have seen the performance and embrace all of you."

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/nov/19/dark-play-challenges-west-junior-students/

MATH LEARNING DISABILITY: Identified in Mizzou-NIH study

2011-11-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/30/11 (Beat Byte) -- A battery of tests given three times yearly to 177 students at twelve Columbia public schools may help predict which students are at risk for developing a mathematics learning disability, a Mizzou-National Institutes of Health study has concluded.

Elementary school students who have trouble with numerical quantities -- that the number 3, for example, represents three dots -- are likely to be diagnosed with a math learning disability by fifth grade. Math-disabled students are also less likely to catch up to their peers, the study -- conducted by University of Missouri, Columbia researchers Mary Hoard, Ph.D., Lara Nugent, Drew Bailey, and David Geary, Ph.D. -- found.

The testing covered kindergarten through fifth grade and measured math achievement; reading ability; paying attention in class; the ability to hold one idea or concept in mind while switching between tasks; and understanding numbers and simple addition problems.

In one kindergarten test, students looked at rectangles resembling dominoes. Some contained one to nine dots, and others a written numeral. Students were asked to circle dominos in which the number of dots and the numeral matched. The researchers found this test was linked to a gap in math scores between achieving and learning disabled groups. "Our findings suggest that children who generally struggle with math - the low achievers - may have a poor sense of numbers," said Geary.

In contrast to achievers, students with a math learning disability also have difficulty memorizing math facts, recalling answers to addition problems, and greater distractibility in class.

"The search for factors underlying difficulty learning mathematics is extremely important," said Kathy Mann Koepke, Ph.D., of NIH's Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which funded the study. "Once we identify such factors, the hope is that we can modify them through appropriate teaching methods."

The findings appear in the Journal of Educational Psychology.

SEWER STINK, CONTINUED: Ongoing battle highlights City Hall dysfunction, Pt. 1

2011-11-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Dedicated city employee continually blown off over valid policy concerns

COLUMBIA, 11/29/11 (Beat Byte) -- For observers of City Hall, where trying to pass meaningful legislation can mean endless games of stop, start, and stall, the ongoing struggle between city public works supervisor Bill Weitkemper (left), his superiors, and the Columbia City Council over sewer billing has been one of the most confounding and bizarre in recent memory.

For consumers under siege by rising rates, falling wages, unemployment, and a sagging economy, Weitkemper's travails are a travesty writ large across that giant new Columbia City Hall building, sold as a way to improve government, not make it more costly and cumbersome.

The Columbia Sewer Stink continued at the last Council meeting with a confusing question-answer session between Columbia City Council members, city manager Mike Matthes, and public works director John Glascock. At issue: Council Bill B293-11, a change to the sewer billing ordinance that mandates how bills are averaged, especially when residents are away for long periods and in a phrase, aren't flushing.

Whistle blown

Back in 2009, Weitkemper blew the whistle on utility billing practices costing Columbia residents millions of dollars.

Based on three years of studying and quantifying the problems, Weitkemper's carefully laid out case had City Hall systematically under-billing large and powerful sewer utility users such as malls and Mizzou, and then passing off the resulting losses to average consumers via rate increases and other shenanigans. It also had his superiors blowing him off whenever he'd bring the problems up, and local reporters doing a hit-and-miss job covering the cover-up.

One Sewer Task Force and several proposed ordinance changes later, sewer bills have rocketed higher for average consumers, and unnecessarily Weitkemper maintains. In fact, this year's 15% sewer rate hike should have been a rate cut, the 35-year veteran city employee told the Heart Beat in September.

Big mistake

To illustrate problems with B293-11, Weitkemper told Council members about Fifth Ward resident Robert Schultz, who over the course of a year would pay almost seven times more for his sewer bill under the proposal they were considering.

"I also provided this information and my opinion why the proposed ordinance was a mistake to Mr. Glascock after Mr. Schultz contacted me," Weitkemper said. "Mr. Glascock did not respond."

Visibly concerned, Council members at the Monday meeting peppered senior staffers with questions, some they answered incorrectly, Weitkemper explained.

"The city manager indicated the proposed ordinance was going to change winter quarter average billing from a three month average to a six month average. That was not correct," Weitkemper told the Heart Beat. "The ordinance did not provide for a six month average. It merely changed the three months used to calculate the average, from Jan-March to Oct-Dec."

Weitkemper is right. The ordinance -- a simple two pages -- says nothing about a six-month average billing system. How, one is left wondering, could the city manager himself get it so wrong?

Mr. Matthes also used a fall-back line more than once in response to other questions: We have this big city, see, and this big ordinance, see, and of course there will be some people like Robert Schultz who aren't happy with it. We're proposing a global solution, and just can't get caught up with every Granny Fanny Nesselrode who calls in with a billing problem.

But as a public enterprise, resolving such problems is exactly what City Hall should be doing, Weitkemper says, and his frustration is apparent. "How many more opportunities is staff going to have to get this right?" he told the Heart Beat, citing the issue's importance with an October 19 Missourian story that reported 40-70 residential customers per day having their utilities shut off for non-payment.

Donations for rate hikes??!

Ironically, the Missourian story is both a report of recent rate hikes -- and a plea for donations to help people pay those higher bills, a situation Weitkemper says is totally out of whack. To right the ship, he's been urging action under two administrations: Hindman/Watkins and now McDavid/Matthes, without much success.

"I've asked the Council: How many more opportunities are you going to give staff to get this right?" Weitkemper said.

Council Bill B293-11 was tabled until the December 5 Council meeting.

NEXT TIME: Communication Not-so-Merry Go Round

CHURCH FRAUD SUSPECT: From Columbia may have resurfaced in Texas

2011-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/28/11 (Beat Byte) -- A suspected con artist Columbia police claim stole over $10,000 from area businesses and churches in 2008 may have re-emerged in Lubbock, Texas, say police and synagogue members there.

Using the name "Alan Farahat," the man has been soliciting donations from Jewish congregations claiming to be a Syrian Jew whose parents died after hitting an explosive device in Syria while trying to bring his 92-year-old grandmother out of the strife-torn country. She survived, the story goes, and Farahat has been seeking $200 for plane fare to visit her in Israel.

After details of Farahat's story didn't add up, including his lack of knowledge about Syrian customs and politics, Congregation Shaareth Israel members discovered he bore striking resemblance to Alan Farha, who made the rounds of Columbia charities, churches, and businesses three years ago with a similar hard-luck tale seeking donations. Among Farha's local victims were 17 churches, dozens of churchgoers, and a handful of downtown business owners including Bob Wood of Dawson Shoe Repair.

Farha said his father had died when he was actually living in Georgetown, Texas at the time, and also claimed Middle Eastern origins. In Columbia, Farha said he was Lebanese.

Charged in Boone County with seven counts of misdemeanor stealing in May 2008 and later arrested in Florida, Farha was never extradited back to Boone. His whereabouts since that time have not been reported.

http://archive.showmenews.com/2008/may/20080522news003.asp

(Published in newsletter 11/14/11)

COLUMBIA TOPS FOR TROOPS: #4 Best Small City for retired military

2011-11-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/27/11 (Beat Byte) -- Two mid-Missouri cities have made a 2011 top ten list of best places for retired military compiled by United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and Military.com.

Among cities with less than 175,000 population, Columbia ranks fourth and Jefferson City ranks ninth -- despite being in a state that taxes Federal pensions.

The list factors unemployment, housing prices, taxes, and proximity to military bases -- presumably for shopping and medical care. It also cites "government, medical, and maintenance/material handling" as Columbia's largest employment sectors.

At the top of the list ranks Cheyenne, Wyoming and just above Columbia, Rapid City, South Dakota takes the third place spot. Other cities on the list include State College, Penn. and Warner-Robins, Georgia.

Best Small Metro Areas for Military Retirement
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/enterprise_retirement_best_places_landing

LIBERTY SCHOOLS TAX DEFEAT: May hold lessons for Columbia

2011-11-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Board members criticize Columbia's classroom trailers

COLUMBIA, 11/25/11 (Beat Byte) -- Two Liberty, Missouri school board members took a verbal swipe at Columbia's many public school classroom trailers -- aka "modular units" -- in an official statement about the Nov. 8 defeat of a Liberty Public Schools property tax increase to fund new school construction.

"Waiting two to three years to build another elementary school will not place the district in any danger of being overrun with modular units like Columbia, Missouri," said Liberty School Board members Carlin Walker and Mattie Ransom, who with fellow member Kim-Marie Graham opposed putting the levy on the November ballot.

Columbia Public Schools is proposing an April 2012 levy increase for similar purposes, and Liberty's defeat may hold some lessons for local district officials. Faced with issues similar to Columbia including
overcrowded schools and deep budget cuts -- $11.5 million so far -- Liberty is now considering cutting another $2 - $2.5 million; a smaller tax increase; a reduced project calendar; or a combination of strategies. They also plan to redraw elementary, middle and junior high boundary lines to spread out the school population, a move already underway in Columbia.

The Liberty School Board remains split on higher taxes. Three members oppose tax increases, opting for more budget cuts. Four members support higher taxes.

The superintendent and board members have found common ground in their opposition to classroom trailers, however. "Modulars are not an acceptable solution," Liberty superintendent Mike Brewer told the Liberty Tribune. "They aren't acceptable to patrons, nor are they a good use of taxpayer funding."

RESTORED BRICK STREETS: Idea whose time has come #1

2011-11-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

A local realtor's long quest shows Columbia is behind the times

COLUMBIA, 11/25/11 (Op-Ed) -- In American city after American city, brick streets are being restored, not only for their historic character and charm, but for their durability and low maintenance.

In Columbia, however, brick street restoration is a piecemeal affair, often involving a fight with the city's public works department, whose leader, John Glascock, earlier this year dismissed brick street restoration proponents as "those historical people."

On something of a personal crusade for the past 5 years, local realtor Brent Gardner (above left) hasn't let the short-sightedness get him down. He sees the value in brick streets so many other communities see, a sampling of which we've included here:

Ways to restore brick streets -- Florida and Illinois
http://www.smoothroads.com/psi/brick-street-restor.html

http://www.movingpicturestv.com/brick.htm

City of Orlando guide to Brick Street restoration

http://www.cityoforlando.net/public_works/esd/admin/pdf/BrickStreetBrochure.pdf

Bricks Are Back: Saving the City's Brick Streets is on City Hall's Front Burner

City of St. Augustine, Florida http://www.cpsa-staug.org/

Brick street restoration in:

Topeka, Kansas

http://cjonline.com/news/2011-08-12/street-brick-becomes-valuable-resource

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03SzXtbieyU

Holton, Kansas

http://www.holtonks.net/city/brick/brick.html

Chicago Tribune: Red Bricks Resurfacing as Asphalt loses luster

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-07-17/news/0607170099_1_brick-streets-asphalt-paved

Albion, Illinois

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jun/22/saving-brick-streets-saves-piece-of-towns/

Bloomington, Illinois

http://www.cityblm.org/department.asp?dep_id=2751&menuid=2772

LaGrange, Indiana

http://www.kpcnews.net/special-sections/reflections1/reflections8.html

BE NICE TO YOUR KIDS: Mizzou study says good relationships most important to old age care

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/24/11 (Beat Byte) -- Parents be nice to your kiddos if you want them to care for you in old age. That's part of the message from new research by Lawrence Ganong, Ph.D. (left) a Mizzou professor and co-chair in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Ganong and Mizzou Curators professor Marilyn Coleman, Ph.D. found that relationship quality trumps genetic ties when determining caregiver obligations. The findings are important, Ganong says, because divorce, remarriage, and non-marital relationships have introduced so many non-genetic relationships into today's family fabric.

"The idea that family obligations are based on genetic ties is not true for most Americans," Ganong said. "How close family members are to each other, how much they have been helped by them in the past, and what hardships care giving might place on family members are important factors when people consider caring for older kin."

Participants in Ganong's study answered questions about who should provide care to parents and stepparents. Most participants said that while biological factors are relevant, they do not create an automatic care-giving obligation to older relatives.

Ganong recommends adult children have honest conversations with parents and stepparents about expectations for care giving before needs arise.

The research was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

BIG OOPS! News story moves "murder house" to Columbia from Illinois

2011-11-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/23/11 (Beat Byte) -- "According to Susan Walla, the subdivision trustee of Columbia Lakes, the Columbia, Missouri house where Chris Coleman murdered his family has been sold," claims a November 17 syndicated news story with a Columbia, Mo dateline; details about the tragic killings; and a home address: 2854 Robert Drive. "The buyer is expected to close on the house next Monday."

But this journalist never read about the murders, never saw the news picture of the beautiful wife and two children, and never heard of Chris Coleman (above, with family), the young father now serving a life sentence for strangling his wife and two children to death in 2009. Robert Drive didn't sound familiar, and the agent who sold the home didn't ring any bells, either.

How on Earth could I have missed all that? Had I been living in some alternative reality all this time? Or did the Trib and Missourian fall down on the job and fail to report any of it?

A reporter did goof, but not here. An error mistakenly transported the story from Columbia, Illinois to Columbia, Missouri. I understand readers have advised the publication.

TWILIGHT SAGA'S MIXED TEEN MESSAGES: Concern trio of Mizzou professors

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/22/11 (Beat Byte) -- Next to Wills and Kate, the marriage of Edward the vampire and Bella the mortal was this year's most anticipated nuptials.

But as "Breaking Dawn" breaks across the big screen this month, three University of Missouri communication professors warn that it has the most controversial cultural messages of the entire Twilight vampire love saga.

"Of the four books and movies, Breaking Dawn is perhaps the most troubling in terms of gender messages," said Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, Ph.D., co-author with Melissa Click, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, Ph.D. of Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media & the Vampire Franchise.

The supernatural soap opera's mostly female fans had enjoyed a traditional, idealized romance that stressed abstinence between vampire and mortal. But with "Breaking Dawn," many fans disagreed with Bella's marriage and pregnancy choices.

Although "many of the teenage Twilight fans we interviewed were excited to see Bella and Edward get married shortly after high school graduation, they did not want to make the same choices that Bella makes in Breaking Dawn," said Click. "These teenagers want to go to college, and they didn't want to rush into marriage and motherhood."

Despite teenage critical thinking, the Twilight saga still bombards fans with subtle messages about gender and sexuality that concern the three Mizzou professors. "Breaking Dawn, and the series as a whole, does more than entertain - it communicates and potentially reinforces cultural messages about sex before marriage, life and death," Behm-Morawitz explained.

CITY COUNCIL: Police review, Regency rezone on tap for jam-packed meeting

2011-11-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/20/11 (Beat Byte) -- You know a Monday night Columbia City Council meeting will be busy when the first item of business -- public comment -- kicks off with controversy. Speaker Spencer Vyrosteh will address the Council about "turning on the power to the outside outlets at City Hall," an issue that hit the fan last week over reports public works officials cut the power, viewed by many as part of an effort to shoo away those pesky "Occupy" protestors.

Other controversial business will include Council bills B264-11 and B265-11, rezoning the run-down Regency Mobile Home Park to accommodate a student housing complex from Aspen Heights development. This week the developer offered money to nearly everybody, a move that felt like sleazy vote buying when Aspen asked students to support the rezoning for $500. Petition signatures have flooded in opposing the rezoning, and environmental groups like the Sierra Club continue to have serious questions about sewage, storm water, rubbish, and other hazards that have accumulated on the long-neglected site over the years.

Two items on the automatically-approved Consent Agenda involve that team you either love or loathe -- the Columbia Police. B318-11 amends rules governing the Citizens Police Review Board, including the definition of "police misconduct" and closed meetings. B319-11 authorizes an outside firm -- Evidence Control Systems -- to organize the property and evidence room (naturally, it takes an outside consultant to do this -- for $20,000).

Local architects Peckham and Wright continue their ironic rise to the top floors of the city's parking garage empire, with R206-1, which hires the firm to do planning, design and construction management of commercial space in Garagezilla for roughly $16,000. Peckham is also on tap to lease and build space in Villa-zilla, Garagezilla's offspring on Short and Walnut streets in the North Central Village.

Why "ironic?" If one citizen were voted "least likely to ever be involved in such an oversized, overpriced, non-green series of projects," that person would probably be Peckham and Wright principal and founder Nick Peckham, who designed and built Grant Elementary's Eco Schoolhouse and is a leader in city-wide efforts to reduce carbon foot-printing.

Other potentially-controversial items will get their First Reading (meaning no immediate Council action) at Monday's meeting, including a plan for City Hall to spend $681,000 on 30 acres -- $21,000/acre -- for a park near the new Battle High School. The beneficiaries of this taxpayer-funded government largesse: local iconic conservatives Tom Atkins, Scott Atkins, Bob Pugh, and builder Rob Wolverton.

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR MONDAY, NOV. 21, 2011

http://gocolumbiamo.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2

COLUMBIA POST OFFICE: May add jobs from Illinois facility closure

2011-11-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

Controversy surrounds possible move, $3 million annual payroll

COLUMBIA, 11/19/11 (Beat Byte) --The U.S. Postal Service may close a Quincy, Illinois mail sorting facility and move the operations to Columbia. The 60-70 workers at the Quincy facility average 12 million pieces of mail per month and make $50,000 - $60,000 a year. That's an annual payroll of $3 million, some of which may come to Columbia.

A USPS study supports consolidating the operations, and postal service officials will take public questions about it Nov. 22 in Quincy.

Nationwide, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe wants to close 252 sorting facilities and hundreds of small post offices to eliminate at least 35,000 jobs. Congress has proposed a much larger cut, eliminating up to 100,000 jobs.

The plan is controversial. In Quincy, it would end next-day mail delivery. Around the country, it will cost jobs. "These consolidation studies have created a lot of uncertainty in communities across Illinois that are already struggling during these difficult economic times," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. told reporters.

People interviewed about the closure say Columbia is the best choice among alternatives. "If we had to be in any other sorting center, Columbia would probably be the best. We want to stay away from places like St. Louis and Peoria where they're notorious for being very, very slow," Quincy print shop owner Mike Nobis told KHQA news.

(Originally reported in the Nov. 14 email Beat Byte)

HOLOCAUST HEARTBREAK: West Jr. students explore child's view of history's darkest hour

2011-11-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Play re-creates life in Hitler's most unusual -- and deceptive -- concentration camp

COLUMBIA, 11/18/11 (Beat Byte) -- The ironic words of doom above Auschwitz -- "Arbeit Macht Frei," or Work Makes Free -- blare from a hand-painted set piece for a play students at Columbia's West Junior High School are performing this weekend. Fifteen hundred hand-made paper butterflies symbolize children killed during the Nazi terror.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly by Celeste Raspanti is set during the Holocaust, in an unusual concentration camp in the Czech Republic called "Terezin" or Theresienstadt, a gussied-up stopover on the road to Auschwitz I learned about researching a book. Directed by West theater teacher Sarah Gerling, the play "speaks from a child's perspective of life in Terezin," Columbia Public Schools music teacher Pam Sisson told me.

Students will perform it Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 2 pm -- Nov. 19 and 20 -- in the West Jr. High auditorium.

German dictator Adolf Hitler's years-long siege against Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone else who didn't fit the so-called "Aryan" mold of perfect humanity, the Holocaust was arguably the most heartbreaking tragedy in history. But as an opportunity to learn -- and never forget -- it can have a powerful impact on young minds and hearts.

"I spoke with a former Grant Elementary student who did not love school in his elementary years," Sisson explained. "At West Jr. High, he took a field trip to the Holocaust Museum in St. Louis. He talked non-stop for 15 minutes about everything he had learned in the greatest detail."

To learn more about Terezin, read the following excerpt from the book I mentioned previously.

In it, a train of refugees from Warsaw is entering a fictional concentration camp loosely based on Terezin just outside the fictional Polish village of Melinka, nestled in the real-life Koscieliska Valley, one of the world's most beautiful places. The second in command, a German major named Petersdorf, has given both camp and village a false, happy front like the one Terezin put forth to the world.

"The train slowed and the people aboard looked through dirty, scratched windows. They saw delicate Melinka, nestled in the valley Scott Fitzgerald made famous with boozy letters to his editor and a few movie producers (some even visited and photographed the Koscieliska to scout locations).

The unmolested village idyll provided soldiers at the camp a nearby place for rest and recreation. On those rare visits from spouses and girlfriends, they were able to treat their girls to the wonderful surroundings, rather than the woeful center, of their daily awful lives.

[Hitler's security chief Heinrich] Himmler had ordered Organisation Todt to place a “resettlement camp” near Melinka in a nod to the success of Theresienstadt, an SS-run Czech ghetto with a happy face – well-stocked dummy stores, cafes, schools, gardens, even healthy-looking people – designed to deceive

Red Cross ambassadors and newspaper reporters.

After all, look what the British press had stirred up in Parliament about Britain’s dreadful neglect of the Poles in Warsaw. Bad press, Hitler knew, could force otherwise circumspect leaders to act. The Führer also knew that one front alone does not win a war. The propaganda front had always been a fundamental component of the Nazi strategy and to that end Hitler waged a public relations blitzkrieg.

"During the so-called Great Terezin Embellishment, Theresienstadt “guests” enjoyed a children’s opera, Brundibar, while the SS filmed The Führer Gives a Village to the Jews, a propaganda pastiche that showed ghetto Jews living well under Hitler’s benevolent protection.

The film’s director, Kurt Gerron, was a cabaret performer and actor who appeared with Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel.

After filming wrapped and the ruse ran its course, the Nazis sent cast and crew to Auschwitz, where they executed Gerron and his wife on October 28, 1944. The film was posthumously edited into short propaganda “bites.”

To maintain the Melinka ruse, Himmler ordered a “don’t sh-- where you work” strategy that was more pragmatism than propaganda. Heinrich Petersdorf had been brilliant in its implementation, helping make camp Melinka a model of death by design.

To make the village more accommodating, Petersdorf immediately squelched or assuaged any outbursts there by his staff. He sometimes attended Fr. Waleska’s Catholic mass, especially on holidays. He ordered community involvement. Guards and kapos helped villagers fight fires or dig drainage canals after spring floods."

-- From Ch. 86, The Firecrackers of Lilliput, © 2012, Michael J. Martin

RELATED:

The Fuhrer Gives a Village to the Jews (filmed at and about Terezin)

A trip through Terezin

Missourian story about the West Jr. High play

NATIONAL HONOR: Goes to radio pro at Columbia's KBXR

2011-11-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/16/11 (Beat Byte) -- Broadcasting pollster Edison Research has named Leslie Scott, (far left) a program director and morning presenter at Columbia radio stations KBXR and KBBM, a 2011 "30 Under 30" radio industry broadcast professional.

Scott is the only Missouri radio professional so honored, from a nationwide group in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and other communities both large and small. Only the third such award, Edison did its first “30 Under 30” searches in 2007 and 2008, returning via popular demand after a hiatus.

"Over the last month, we’ve received more than 200 nominations. Nominees had to be no older than 30 years as of Oct. 1, 2011," said Edison representative Tom Webster. "We were surprised and thrilled with both the quality and the quantity of the 2011 '30 Under 30' nominees."

Honorees range from a 23-year-old large market program director to the 30-year-old inventor of USB turntable and Internet radio devices, Edison noted in an official release. The honorees include on-air talent, programmers, Chief Engineers, station owners, syndicators, and sales managers. They represent 22 different companies with formats such as Country, Urban, Public Radio, Christian, and Top 40.

"It is no longer possible to say that radio suffers from a lack of young broadcasters interested in the medium," Webster said.

THE SECRET LIFE OF PUMPKINS: Mizzou expert dishes the details

2011-11-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/16/11 (Op-Ed) -- More than a billion pounds of pumpkins are grown every year in the U.S., and most of those will become decorations rather than pumpkin pies, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.

Though pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving delicacy, pumpkin growers aren't worried about taste. Instead, "everything is done for ornamental appeal," Trinklein explained. "Breeders have bred pumpkins with an atypically large stem, or handle, that is deep green in color even when dry."

Though pumpkins seem like Mother Nature's Halloween treat, both science and marketing have transformed the pumpkins we buy, eat and exhibit today, Trinklein explains.

Despite the harvest schedule that governs other foodstuffs, breeders deliberately make pumpkins ready for Halloween ahead of the harvest schedule. "Years and years ago, you knew when the pumpkin turned orange it was time to harvest it," said Trinklein, "But plant breeders have developed pumpkins that turn bright Halloween orange well ahead of maturity."

Given the impact of All Hallows Eve on the venerable pumpkin, Trinklein nonetheless emphasizes its real value in healthy eating. "Pumpkin is really quite a nutritious vegetable," Trinklein said. "It is very high in beta-carotene or vitamin A. It's a good source of dietary fiber, and as Garrison Keillor would say, 'It's a good excuse to use nutmeg and cinnamon.'"

More information about pumpkins
http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/harvesttohealth/pumpkin.htm

FORMER MAYOR HINDMAN: Headlines health policy summit

2011-11-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/15/11 (Beat Byte) -- St. Clair County, Illinois is on a quest to become the healthiest county in America and they're enlisting the aid of none other than former Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman to help, billing him as a "pioneer in active transportation."

Hindman will be the keynote speaker at the St. Clair County third annual Health Policy Summit Nov. 16, an all-day event with a 2012 theme of safe, environmentally-friendly communities.

Hindman's bio in ads for the summit note that he "spearheaded the effort to create the Katy Trail, one of the first rails-to-trails conversions; established the annual Bike, Walk and Wheel Week; and brought a $22 million non-motorized transportation federal grant to Columbia."

Information about the summit is at www.getupgo.info

PROPERTY TAX HIKES: Wallop Boone County developers

2011-11-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

Taxes soar on wealthy landowners as area schools scramble for cash

COLUMBIA, 11/14/11 (Beat Byte) -- Boone County is sending out property tax bills this week, and big-time developers are in for a shock. Their property taxes have hit historic new highs since 2007.

School officials and the county assessor -- facing re-election in 2012 -- hope higher property taxes on the area's wealthiest landowners will help pay for new schools, much-needed amenities such as air conditioning, higher teacher salaries, and stave off a levy increase tentatively scheduled for this April.

Others worry that -- despite TIFs, TDDs, and other tax incentives -- the property tax hikes could threaten real estate development in Columbia and surrounding areas by imposing too much of a burden on developers when they buy and hold land.

Check out these amazing examples. (Click links to read tax bills.)

18.2 acres with cul-de-sac in Thornbrook subdivision
Owners: Robert and Marvin Sapp

2011 property tax: $51.07

2007 property tax: $50.86

Tax increase: $0.21

12,600 square ft. lot on Bernadette Dr. and Fairview

Owner: TKG Columbia Square, LLC

2011 property tax: $15.43

2007 property tax: $14.89

Tax increase: $0.54

16.6 acres that guard entrance to Jeff Smith Estate

Owner: Jeffrey E. Smith Trust
2011 property tax: $47.19
2007 property tax: $46.95
Tax increase: $0.24

1.4 acres in Broadway Bluffs retail center

Sold 8/11 to Magnolia Hospitality by Forum Development

Original Sales Price: $1,228,392.00

2011 property tax: $1,344.43

2007 property tax: $1,307.35

Tax increase: $37.08

133 acres across from Mill Creek Elementary on Nifong and Sinclair

Owner: Stanley and Ann Kroenke

2011 property tax: $283.46

2007 property tax: $275.04

Tax increase: $8.42

0.6 acres on Nifong Blvd.

Owner: Crown Center Farms/Wal-Mart's Laurie family

2011 property tax: $2.59

2007 property tax: $2.51

Tax increase: $0.08

77.2 acres on I-70

Owner: TKG Columbia Square, LLC
2011 property tax: $85.59

2007 property tax: $83.07

Tax increase: $2.52

3.04 acres off Sinclair next to Kroenke estate

Owner: Stanley and Ann Kroenke

2011 property tax: $22.43

2007 property tax: $21.76

Tax increase: $0.67

164 acres surrounding the Jeff Smith estate on Hill Creek Rd.
Owner: Jeffrey E. Smith Trust
2011 property tax: $241.94
2007 property tax: $240.68

Tax increase: $1.26

Eight acres off Sinclair Drive next to Kroenke estate

Owner: Stanley and Ann Kroenke

2011 property tax: $269.13

2007 property tax: $261.14

Tax increase: $7.99

Total property taxes, 2011: $2,363.26
Total property tax increases, 2007-2011: $59.01

That's right, Columbia and Boone County. In four years, county government, public schools, libraries and other property-tax funded resources are now collecting an extra $59 and a penny on these ten parcels alone, which encompass hundreds of acres and millions of dollars in value.

County wide, these property tax hikes must be netting a staggering amount of desperately-needed revenue, and none too soon!

JOB BOOST: Plastics maker relocates operation to Columbia

2011-11-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/13/11 (Beat Byte) -- Columbia's lagging manufacturing sector is getting a boost from Engineered Plastic Components, Inc. (EPC), which is moving a plastic molding business here from Monroe, Michigan.

With 14 plants in the U.S. and Mexico, EPC performs manufacturing, painting, and assembly for the auto, home appliance, and medical industries.

The Grinnell, Iowa-based plastics manufacturer has been on an expansion binge recently, buying five new companies. Last month, EPC purchased a molding operation from JCIM, LLC, formerly a division of auto interior supplier Johnson Controls, Inc. The Monroe operation coming to Columbia is part of that acquisition.

THE FACE OF AUTISM: Mizzou researchers present new findings

2011-11-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA 11/13/11 (Beat Byte) -- The face of autism is the focus of new research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

With a camera system that captures 3-D images of a child's head (example left) medical school assistant professor of anatomy Kristina Aldridge analyzed 64 boys with autism and 41 non-autistic boys ages eight to 12 years old, mapping 17 points on the face. She found statistically significant differences in face shape between her autistic and non-autistic subjects.

Children with autism have a broader upper face, including wider eyes; a shorter middle region that includes the cheeks and nose; a broader or wider mouth; and other more subtle differences. The study also identified distinct facial traits that occur in subtypes of autistic children with behavior and language problems.

A neuro-developmental disorder known to reduce social abilities while often increasing select cognitive functions, autism is mysterious on several levels. Aldridge hopes her facial profiles will help solve the mystery of autism's origins and its wide variability.

"There is no clear answer about whether autism is caused by genetics or by environmental influences," Aldridge said. "If we can identify when these facial changes occur, we could pinpoint when autism may begin to develop in a child. Knowing that point in time could lead us to identify a genetic cause, a window of time when the embryo may be susceptible to an environmental factor, or both."

The study was published in the journal Molecular Autism in collaboration with graduate students and fellow professors in the College of Engineering, School of Medicine, and Thompson Center.

TIGERS MAY TEACH JAYHAWKS: How to attract retirees

2011-11-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/12/11 (Beat Byte) -- "In Jayhawk country, it can be painful to admit that Columbia, Mo., has beaten us at anything. But when it comes to pitching its city to retirees, our rivals to the east beat us by nearly 20 years."

So begins Part 2 of a Lawrence Journal-World newspaper series about Jayhawk town's efforts to reach beyond college students to attract retirees. The series references a 1990's Columbia Chamber of Commerce effort called “2000 by 2000” to attract 2,000 more retirees to Columbia by the year 2000.

"The chamber advertised in national publications and reached out to University of Missouri alumni, reminding them of the good times they had during their college days," the story notes. Chamber president Don Laird

The rest of the story compliments Columbia's efforts, interviews several Columbia-based experts on retirement and aging, and urges Lawrence, Ks. to emulate what worked in Tiger Town. said the effort was a smashing success, attracting 2,600 retirees.

"The thing that worked well for us was getting national attention, getting ranked as a top place to retire," Laird said. "It’s all about visibility. Reaching out to alumni is also key to remind them of the positive experiences they had while going to college in Columbia."

Read the story here:
When it comes to attracting retirees, Lawrence could learn from Columbia

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Push for larger City Council, Part 2

2011-11-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Plan to add members and at-large seats makes for most unusual joint venture

COLUMBIA, 11/11/11 (Op-Ed) -- David Webber started the Council configuration discussion in an October 16 Columbia Tribune editorial, arguing against wards represented by a single person, and arguing for a larger City Council with more "at large" or city-wide representation.

"Single member districts invite gerrymandering," Webber wrote. "At-large elections would serve the city of Columbia quite well, just as they do the Columbia public school district."

An enlarged, at-large City Council may have its advantages, but critics argue that it would drive the cost of running a campaign through the roof, putting the entire Council into the hands of monied special interests. Council seats can't be compared to school board positions, they add, because the special interests and economic stakes at City Hall are so much greater.

They point to the 2010 Mayoral race -- the Council's only at-large seat -- where candidates raised more than $100,000.

Eventual victor Bob McDavid, M.D. outspent his closest opponent, Jerry Wade, Ph.D. nearly 2 to 1. McDavid's largest donations came from some of the very monied interests -- developer Tom Atkins gave McDavid over $2,300 -- that worry opponents of at-large Council seats.

"Hold your horses, bedfellows," say other Visioning Committee members, who received an Oct. 30 email blast from Clark urging the original 21-member group re-convene to discuss their "unanimous decision" to endorse increasing the size of the City Council.

"It is interesting that the four of you 'remember' unanimous support for something I did not support," fellow Visioning group member Mahree Skala emailed Clark, his new partners, and the other Visioning members. "I have never supported increasing the size of the council, or the creation of more members-at-large...Our report says nothing about the addition of at-large members."

Skala also reiterated the big contributions concern. "At-large elections in a city this size require big money for media buys, and would disadvantage ordinary citizens seeking these offices in favor of those with deep pockets, or friends with deep pockets," she wrote.

Some internal squabbling between the partnership of Grossman, Schuster, Clark, and Webber may slow the horsemen, regardless. After Grossman sent a request "that we be put on the pre-council agenda or the council agenda or both," Clark worried that he was jumping the gun.

"I am disappointed that anyone has contacted the Council or scheduled appearances before or with the Council without a prior meeting of the Governance Committee," Clark emailed. "Larry, please cancel the meetings, presentations, etc. that you have already scheduled with the Council."

Imagine that: John Clark telling Larry Grossman what to do. Washington politics ain't got nothin' on Columbia.

PART ONE

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Push for larger City Council, Part 1

2011-11-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

Plan to add members and at-large seats makes for most unusual joint venture

COLUMBIA, 11/10/11 (Op-Ed) -- After a stunning 6-1 Columbia City Council defeat, two advocates of Ward reapportionment Trial D -- known as a gerrymandering plan -- are teaming up with a former politician and a political science professor to push for a larger Council, from seven seats to at least nine or even eleven, a few representing the entire city.

The team may have some of the strangest political bedfellows in recent Columbia history: frequent Council candidate and City Hall nemesis John Clark, J.D.; former Add Sheet owner and development lobbyist Larry Grossman; former City Councilman and progressives' bogeyman Larry Schuster; and David Webber, Ph.D. (above), the well-regarded Mizzou political science professor and father of Democratic Statehouse representative Stephen Webber.

On the sidelines, Columbia Daily Tribune publisher Hank Waters even signed on, bemoaning all the reapportionment "squabbling" and urging a new committee to study a larger Council chaired by Ward reapportionment honcho Bob Pugh.

Schuster

The four horsemen of what many consider a Columbia political apocalypse -- city-wide Council seats that demand big bucks contributions -- met each other on a Columbia Visioning governance committee. An October 26 email exchange kicked off their unusual partnership.

"John, David and Larry: I would like to get as many members of our visioning group together to go to the council and ask them to proceed with our recommendation to expand the city council," wrote Larry Grossman. "There was no question that we all agreed that our council needs expanding. I think a little push now will make this happen....I would envision showing support as a team."

Webber responded the same day. "Larry: This is an excellent idea," he wrote. "I've intended to write the current council members to encourage them to consider enlarging the council but your idea is better....Let me know what I can do."

Clark

"I would be most in favor of our visioning group getting together to discuss how to proceed before we go any further," John Clark emailed Webber and the two Larrys. "I would be happy to forward Larry's [Grossman] original message to us to the email list that I have kept current."

"The timing is good," Larry Schuster responded, adding some strategic advice. "It would probably take a year for the Council to make a decision. The obvious committee to further study the matter would be the Governance Committee. I doubt the Council would tackle this without more solid direction from the community. I am willing to help out."

Clark -- an attorney impeached earlier this year as president of the North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association -- then suggested an announcement with a partnership name that almost sounds like a new law firm.

Grossman

"Grossman, Schuster, Clark, and Webber have remembered that our Governance and Decision Making Topic Group unanimously endorsed increasing the size of the Council by encouraging the Council to appoint a committee to investigate increasing the number of wards," Clark emailed the team. "They feel that it may be a good time to raise this issue directly with the Council. Grossman has taken preliminary steps to arrange a pre-meeting with the Council to encourage them to take action...Clark will contact everyone shortly to arrange a meeting time...."

Next Up: "Hold your horses, bedfellows."

"SEEING" THE LIGHT: Mizzou researchers explain mysterious way plants move toward light

2011-11-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/10/11 (Op-Ed) -- Plants don't have eyes, but everyone has seen them point toward sunlight. Called "phototropism," this unusual ability hasn't been well understood until a recent study from University of Missouri scientists, who report in the journal Plant Cell how a critical protein helps regulate phototropism.

Two light-sensing proteins, phototropin 1 and phototropin 2, initiate phototropism after a third protein called NPH3 tags phototropin 1 with a substance called "ubiquitin," the researchers discovered, likening the process to hand signals at a baseball game.

Phototropin is the pitcher and NPH3 the catcher who coordinates the pitch with ubiquitin, a biochemical version of a hand signal, explained Mizzou biology professor and Bond Life Sciences Center researcher Mannie Liscum. "Prior to this study, no one knew how NPH3 and the phototropins cooperated to facilitate the signal," he said.

The plant's sunlight response is also dose-dependent. "In low-light conditions, phototropin 1 is modified with single ubiquitin proteins," Liscum said. "In high-light conditions, phototropin 1 is modified with multiple ubiquitin proteins."

The research may have implications beyond crop science, he added. "Many human disease pathologies are associated with alterations in ubiquitin-tagging."

"DRUNKOREXIA": Binge drinking--calorie purging combo harms students, Mizzou researcher says

2011-11-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/9/11 (Op-Ed) -- As if parents with college-age kids don't have enough to worry about, add a condition called "drunkorexia," claims University of Missouri assistant professor of social work and public health Victoria Osborne.

A combination of anorexia and all-night benders, drunkorexia has college students under eating and over drinking -- restricting food calories in order to binge on booze. Common among all U.S. college students, roughly three times as many women as men suffer from the disorder.

"Apart from each other, depriving the brain of adequate nutrition and consuming large amounts of alcohol can be dangerous," Osborne (left) said. "Together, they can cause short- and long-term cognitive problems including difficulty concentrating, studying and making decisions."

Drunkorexics are also at greater risk for violence, risky sex, substance abuse and alcohol poisoning, explained Osborne, who presented her findings at the American Psychopathological Association and the Research Society on Alcoholism.

"GIFTED RETAILER": Nation's top décor magazine honors Columbia's Poppy

2011-11-08T06:25:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/8/11 (Beat Byte) -- The country's number one publication in gifts and decorative accessories has honored Poppy as a "Gifted Retailer" with an extensive feature about the long-time downtown Columbia merchant.

Poppy manager Lili Johnstone, say the editors of Gifts & Decorative Accessories (GDA), "believes in doing something out of the ordinary that gets people talking."

Asked what she loves best about retailing, Johnstone said "getting to talk to people about art everyday and brainstorm with other artists" makes life at Poppy "never a dull moment."

Looking back on Poppy's 30 years in business, Johnstone shares some business, retailing, and even trade secrets with GDA readers. Going "outside the norm to take risks," is the most important business advice she has received. "Customers are always hungry for something new and different."

Greeting cards are Poppy's best sellers, and the store's most popular lines are "probably Stick's furniture, Maruca Design's bags and accessories, and Clara Beau Jewelry," Johnstone explains.

The best advertising, she emphasizes, is word of mouth. "Being in a small college town, word of mouth is very important as our customer base is constantly evolving."

Founded in 1917, Gifts & Decorative Accessories serves retailers, manufacturers, and vendors of general gift products, decorative accessories, stationery, greeting cards, collectibles, personal care products, jewelry, and gourmet food items.

[Ed. Note: Poppy owner Barbara McCormick has contacted GDA to correct a misleading impression in the Gifted Retailer story. Lili Johnstone is not a new owner of Poppy and is not responsible for all the decisions behind the retailer's long history. McCormick is not sure why GDA did not interview her, but the information in the story is otherwise accurate.]

POPPY'S INSIDER TIPS ON RETAILING SUCCESS

CARRIE 2? Anti-tax flyer does Stephen King-style riff on District director Gartner

2011-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/7/11 (Beat Byte) -- Carrie White brought down prom night with her telekinetic powers in Stephen King's famous thriller, and now opponents of a new downtown sales tax are wondering if Carrie Gartner might bring down night life with new taxation powers.

Halloween may be over, but a ghoulish prank leading up to the November 8 CID sales tax vote has transformed District director Gartner, whom Trib publisher Hank Waters calls "the empress of downtown Columbia," into a vampire bat.

A flyer opposing the tax imagines Gartner hovering over downtown Columbia with fangs and bat wings, preparing to drain the economic life blood from restaurants, shops, nightclubs, and taverns.

"Carrie Gartner and her CID vampires want to raise taxes on everything sold in Downtown Columbia to pay for their pet projects," the flyer -- distributed by a group calling itself Occupy the District -- reads. "Vote No on Nov. 8."

KEEP COLUMBIA FREE: Of new sales tax, group urges

2011-11-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

Keep Columbia Free wants lower taxes, different priorities

Keep Columbia Free (KCF), a pro-liberty advocacy group, has released a statement condemning a proposed sales tax for downtown merchants they say will hurt more than help:

The Community Improvement District (CID) is proposing through a ballot initiative on November 8, 2011, that downtown residents approve an increased sales tax of up to ½% for sales happening in the downtown business district.

The justification is that these funds will be spent on “downtown beautification”, “technology and public information enhancements”, promotion of downtown events and assistance to entrepreneurs, “event recruitment and promotion” and “enhancements” to downtown shopping, dining, and entertainment.

We urge you to vote against this tax. There are several reasons.

We should be trying to lower taxes on people trying to spend money in Columbia. A new tax will increase the cost to consumers of doing business downtown, and will drive marginal consumers to other places where the sales tax is lower.

Second, many of the proposed improvements being pushed by the CID are unnecessary. There is no reason why a government agency should be in charge of event promotion, building smartphone apps, or providing WiFi.

There are a variety of Columbia’s citizens AND BUSINESSES who make their livelihoods providing these services, and we shouldn’t give a government agency tax dollars to compete in these markets.

Moreover, it is inevitable that the decisions made by a public agency to micro-manage Columbia businesses will cause division and turmoil fostered by accusations of favoritism and collusion. We don’t need that in our community.

Third, the First Ward needs another police officer and perhaps another fire company. If we are going to raise taxes to provide public services, these are the vital services that are needed in our city, and we should reject spending money on other projects until our most vital needs are met.

Fourth, the CID has lost the trust of many voters and citizens. In joining with Keep Columbia Safe to push for the installation and public funding of surveillance cameras, the CID joined forces with people who used city dollars to push a partisan agenda. We should consider the risk that future tax revenue will be used to pay for more surveillance cameras instead of making real investments in law enforcement or fire protection services.

For these reasons, we ask that you reject this proposed tax at the ballot.

OSCO EYESORE, SKATEBOARD REGULATIONS: On tap for City Council

2011-11-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

COLUMBIA, 11/6/11 (Beat Byte) -- Empty Osco, new regulations for skateboarders, and an unusual request for free bus passes from a service organization that recently thumbed its nose at City Hall zoning regulations are among items on tap for Monday's Columbia City Council meeting.

As it seems to be awaiting a taxpayer TIF bailout, billionaire Wal-Mart husband and globe-trotting soccer team owner Stan Kroenke's empty Osco eyesore on the corner of Broadway and Providence has metastasized into a junky-looking holding facility for a Mizzou construction project. Staffers at Columbia City Hall aren't happy.

But fear -- of Big Man Stan and even Bigger Man Mizzou -- seems to have them equivocating about how exactly to clean up the mess, which they cited with violations back in July and take up with Columbia City Council members this Monday.

Calling the junkyard a "violation of zoning ordinances as an unauthorized use," the staff report then tries to justify it all, talking about how hard it is to stage a big construction project like rebuilding Tiger Power, Mizzou's power plant that's under renovations.

Question is: Why didn't the contractors and Kroenke's people resolve this issue back in July, when they first got the violation notice?

Council members will also take up a new ordinance regulating skateboarders and roller skaters. The ordinance not only mandates use of roller skates, skateboards, and coasters in a "prudent manner," it then defines the term, from an "approved helmet" to this 80-word, bureaucratic gem:

"Wear reflective clothing including, at a minimum, the attachment of a rear facing red reflector on the back of the person, at least two (2) square inches in reflective surface area, which shall be visible at night under normal atmospheric conditions on a straight, level, unlighted roadway when viewed by a vehicle driver under the lower beams of vehicle headlights at six hundred (600) feet during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise."

Now partly famous for giving City Hall and their beleaguered neighbors the proverbial finger over zoning, code, and land use restrictions, Boone County Family Resources (BCFR) -- which recently announced a $3.5 million piggy bank -- wants 104 free bus passes for staffers in addition to the other taxpayer goodies it receives.

The agency is asking City Council members to approve the big freebie, which seems like it would be far more appropriate for agency clients than agency staff. Let BCFR pay for staff rides; let City taxpayers pick up the tab for the agency's clients. That sounds like a fair compromise.

Plenty of other interesting doings are on tap this Monday. Check out the Council's agenda here:

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Council/Commissions/agenda.php?meetingid=460&bcid=56

HEAVENLY GIFT: Woman takes lifelong love from Stephens College to the world

2011-11-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA, 11/5/11 (Op-Ed) -- This is a story about how a woman who's nearly 100 years old developed a passion in Columbia, Missouri, carried it with her for the rest of her life, and then donated a large part of it so others could share her love, too.

"I was walking on the Stephens College campus one day and I came to the music building. I went in and came to a practice room, and there was a harp. I'd never seen one before," Stephens alum Helen Rogers told North Dakota's Fargo-Moorhead Forum. "The harp is one of the most ancient of all instruments; it's mentioned many times in the Bible. For me, it was sort of like falling in love."

After taking lessons at Stephens, where she was in school during the 1930's, Rogers went home to visit and told her father she wanted a harp. "'Helen, I'm not sending you to college to play a harp' he told me." But Rogers carried her love of the harp from Stephens back to hometown Fargo anyway. She was a harpist for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony for 20 years; gave harp lessons; and established music education scholarships.

Now living in Scottsdale, Ariz. Rogers recently donated a large collection of harps and harp-related memorabilia to the Waterford retirement community in her hometown of Fargo. The collection includes harps, harp paintings, plates painted with harps, and miniature harps made of everything from glass to metal.

"I've collected maybe hundreds," said Rogers, who was raised by her father after her mother died when she was an infant. Though Depression-era economics prevented harp lessons, her father did make sure she went to college. After she graduated, she met and married a young medical student in Minnesota.

After the war, Helen and Bob Rogers returned to Fargo, where he became chief surgeon at a local hospital and she became the only harp instructor in town. She also played for events, getting the 75 pound instrument around in her station wagon.

When her husband retired, they moved to Arizona. He died in 2002, leaving Rogers with two children; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and the musical love of her life she met at Stephens College. She doesn't play anymore, but still promotes the harp, attending American Harp Society conferences in California, Prague, and Jerusalem. She gave her own harp to her grand-daughter.

"But she's a doctor and has three boys," Rogers told the Forum. "I wonder why she doesn't have time to play the harp?"

COLUMBIA GLASS ARTIST: Displays work at major Chicago show

2011-11-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA, 11/5/11 (Beat Byte) -- Quietly over the past decade, Columbia glass artist Susan Taylor Glasgow (left) has become a major figure in the international world of glass sculpture, and a new exhibit at SOFA Chicago further confirms her status among the world's top sculptors.

The Communal Nest , Taylor-Glasgow's 10 foot glass bird's nest -- an ironic take on the fragility of home and hearth -- will be featured in the SOFA sculpture court this year.

Billed as the world's foremost exhibit of contemporary art and design -- SOFA, the International Exhibition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art -- will take place November 4-6 at Chicago's Navy Pier Festival Hall and repeat in New York City next April.

"A special thank you to my friends at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Bullseye Glass, my good buddy Susan Hart at Huebert Builders, the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Women and Girls Foundation, the many artists who made small glass twigs for 'The Communal Nest,' and of course my patient husband, Brian," Taylor-Glasgow said. "Creating the piece was an amazing journey."

CHOPPY LANDINGS: City hiring practices to blame for airport manager fiasco?

2011-11-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

A city employee blasts management hiring practices at City Hall

COLUMBIA, 11/3/11 (Beat Byte) -- Columbia Water and Light is on its third director in as many years: Dan Dasho, Kraig Kahler, and now Tad Johnsen. Columbia Regional Airport (CRA) manager Andrew Schneider, a source told the Heart Beat, was fired for "offensive comments."

And in a management merry-go-round, Columbia public works director John Glascock has hired the same person twice to run the airport since 2010: airport superintendent Don Elliott, CRA's fourth manager in as many years. Elliott preceded -- and now replaces -- Schneider.

These personnel ups and downs strike one City of Columbia manager as symptomatic of a larger problem. "The city's hiring process is flawed," the manager told the Heart Beat, illustrating the point with a detailed chronology of Don Elliott's career. "They either hire someone from the outside who is less qualified than an existing employee, or they promote someone from the inside who is less qualified than an existing employee. It happens in every department."

Passed over in recent years for less-qualified management, the city employee cited Eric Meyer - police; Ron Barrett - finance; Tony St Romaine - City Managers office; Jim Paneck - protective inspection; Bill Weitkemper - sewer and wastewater; and Elliott at the airport.

"Pete Capadonie, a former pilot, was the airport manager who first hired Don Elliott in 1982," the city employee explained. "The next airport manager after Mr. Capadonie retired was Gary Cummings. When Mr. Cummings resigned in 1994, Kay Wagner, a long time Public Works secretary who had no management or airport related experience was hired as airport manager.

Don Elliott had been employed at the airport for 12 years at this point.

"When Mrs. Wagner became ill (cancer) in 1999 Bill Boston, another former pilot, was hired to manage the airport.

Don Elliott had been employed at the airport for 17 years at this point.

"When Mr. Boston retired in 2005, public works director John Glascock hired -- and then essentially fired -- Kathy Sok.

Don Elliott had been employed at the airport for 23 years at this point.

"The Columbia Tribune reported, 'In October (2005), Glascock offered the airport manager job to Kathy Sok, the former security coordinator of Central Nebraska Regional Airport. But the offer was withdrawnhad been fired from her previous job in a pay-raise flap and had inaccurate information on her résumé.' after news reports revealed that Sok

"In 2006, Mr. Glascock hired another long time Public Works secretary Kathy Frerking, who had no management or airport related experience, to be airport manager -- again to more controversy. The Columbia Tribune reported: 'Glascock rebuffed the idea Frerking was hired because she is a known commodity. 'She knows the business side better than anybody,' he said. 'She'll hit the ground running, and that's what we need right now. Sometimes you overlook what you have locally.'

Don Elliott had been employed at the airport for 24 years at this point.

"In 2010 Kathy Frerking retired. Mr. Glascock finally appointed Don Elliott, but only as an interim airport manager. Don had been employed with the airport for 28 years at this point. 'Internal candidates are always good because they can hit the ground running,' Glascock told the Tribune.

"But then he hired Andrew Schneider to take over permanently. And just last week, about a year later, Andrew Schneider was dismissed."

After 29 years diligently working at the Columbia Regional Airport, Don Elliott is back again as "interim airport manager."

And John Glascock is back again crowing about Elliott's outstanding capabilities. "Don knows the day-to-day operations of the airport, and I’m confident that he will do a good job," Glascock said in a news release.

RELATED:

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/oct/13/city-fires-airport-manager

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/aug/14/superintendent-named-interim-manager-at-columbia/

HEART BEAT EDITOR: Accepts Duke University journalism fellowship

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Martin

COLUMBIA, 11/3/11 (Beat Byte) -- Columbia Heart Beat founder and editor Mike Martin -- a longtime science journalist -- has accepted a journalism fellowship at Duke University and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCENT).

A National Science Foundation-sponsored evolutionary research think tank, NESCENT is jointly operated by Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University.

Martin's official title is "scholar-in-residence, NESCENT journalism fellowship."

"I'll be exploring latter-day applications of the work of an evolutionary biologist I wrote about two years ago, Margie Profet," he explains. "I'll then do a feature article on the topic for the Journal of the National Cancer Institute."

Profet -- who mysteriously vanished in 2005 -- theorized that allergies, though annoying, are biologically evolved protective mechanisms that keep us away from toxins. Several recent studies have shown allergies confer protections against various types of cancer, most notably glioma, a malignant form of brain cancer.

Mizzou biology postdoc Kate Hertweck is presently doing a different fellowship at NESCENT.

RELATED:
Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony