Category — Kevin Church

**BREAKING NEWS…. MUST CREDIT THE CITY DESK (HTTP://THECITYDESK.NET)***

An 18-month investigation came to a head when City Councilwoman Elaine Brudnoy was arrested this morning for accepting eight bribes worth $9,250. Brudnoy, who has been on the city council for 19 years, allegedly accepted cash payoffs that ranged from $50 to $1200 during the investigation period. The largest was to help secure a piece of city-owned land for a megastore operated by the Adult Wonderland chain of booksellers.

One series of photographs held up by chief investigator Louis McGregor at a press conference this morning showed Brudnoy allegedly stuffing a $400 payment into her bra during a meeting with an informant at The Judge’s Chambers, a bar located directly across from the Federal Courthouse.

According to the 93-page affadavit, Brudnoy also brought her grandson to one meeting held in the parking lot of a Valu-Lvrs Discount Supermarket, where she received $125 to expedite the liquor license of a Snoco-Loco shaved ice stand.

Brudnoy has represented the Roxboro neighborhood she grew up in since taking a seat on the council in 1989, but lost in the Democratic primary to Elvira Chong-Suarez. This arrest may mean the loss of her license to practice law as well as a sentence of up to 25 years if convicted on all charges.
- Kevin Church

The Deluxe Diner
High-end comfort food may be a trend that’s two years past its sell-by date, but don’t tell chef/owner Alexa Dupree that as her place still offers the best late-night finer-dining in the city. Their summer menu features the best fried green tomatoes ($14) this side of the Mason-Dixon line, cornmeal-crusted and perfectly cooked. It’s the appetizer you’ll want to make a meal out of, but you really shouldn’t; that chicken salad club sandwich ($28) with the thick-cut, locally-smoked bacon requires your attention.
2285 8th Avenue | Reservations Recommended

Trattoria Milano
Sbarro is a third the price and twice as good. It’s a shame their wine list (heavy on the Sangiovese and, surprisingly, the Barbera) means that we’ll be coming back to sit at their bar and munch on those Sysco breadsticks that we love despite knowing better. (Wines range from $9-17 a glass, $28-130 for a bottle.)
12 Washington Way | Reservations Recommended

Parker’s Frozen Custard Stand
With the warmer afternoons and evenings, we’re glad to see that the old ticket window for The Spire Theater is once again dishing out some fantastic locally-made dairy treats that you’ll have to restrain yourself around. Our pick is a medium chocolate with caramel-glazed almonds ($4), but you can’t go wrong with just about anything on their menu.
1399 Highland Ave | No Reservations

Tableaux
The wait to get into star chef Marlon Picard’s latest venture has become legend in the city’s food circles, with the opening night having been booked a full nine months in advance of the room’s opening. Sadly, The City Desk’s staff has yet to actually dine there, but the gorgeous bar offered what could only be described as heaven in a martini glass with the Danny Tenaglia, one of six cocktails named after the superstar DJs that played the opening party. The guests leaving the dining room all had a smile on their face, so hopefully we’ll get to experience the offerings in full soon.
2983 9th, in the Flotilla Insurance Plaza | Reservations Required

Porky’s BBQ
Could this be the barbecue joint the city’s been desperate for since the closing of Jonesy’s? Sadly, no. The ribs were too dry, the brisket burned beyond recognition, and the barbecued chicken, a perennial favorite, had the consistency of gummi worms. Not even fantastic garlic-herb mashed potatoes and cornbread we’d strike our own mothers down for can save this mess.
987 Wagoneer Avenue | No Reservations

Chingy McChongerson’s
While the name may be cringe-inducing, the fare at this Irish-Chinese fusion joint surprisingly exceeds all of our culinary expectations. The first impulse is to scoff at menu items such as the appetizer featuring egg rolls and a Guinness reduction sauce, but executive chef Seamus Wang (no, really!) wins guests over quickly with high-quality, playful fare. Recommended: The heart-attack-inducing Kung Pao Beef Stew and General Gau’s Fish and Chips. Skip: The desserts. Instead, go next door to Eskimo Pete’s and partake of his new Mexican Hot Chocolate sundae.
18th and Myerson | No Reservations
- Kevin Church

Earlier this week, the FCC, working with local law enforcement, shut down local “pirate” radio station CTY-Radio, broadcasting on 89.7 FM. Operator Rian Hayes, 29, was taken into custody and will be arraigned this Friday on federal charges including unlicensed operation, inadvertent interference and possession of illegal transmission equipment.

“The capture of Mr Hayes is the result of a nine-month investigation,” stated FCC spokesperson Angela Moriarty. “We hope this sends a message to the pirate radio community in this area: you will no longer use the public airwaves without sanction.”

Pirate radio has a storied history in the city, beginning with Leonard “Lenny” Hart’s unauthorized rebroadcast of Jack Benny’s radio program in 1974. The phenomenon is widely regarded as having peaked with FM92 in the early 80s, where 93.9 personality Jamdog got his start.

CTY-Radio was popular for its focus on ethnocentric programming, including regular segments devoted to afrobeat, free jazz, and even Jewish songs. While Hayes acted as the primary operator of the station under the nom de broadcast Hallelujah Jones, other featured on-air talents used monikers like Sacred Skull, Minus Nine, and The Countess.

“I’m confident that we can work with the FCC and the city to reduce penalties against Mr. Hayes,” stated Hayes’ attorney, Davis Persons. “Nobody was harmed by his actions, and the community’s support for his efforts has been noted.”
- Kevin Church
(Check out an interview with Mr. Church on The City Desk’s Facebook group)

:: Number of injuries resulting from the “Magic of Sturly Davis” mishap at the Gloria Theatre Tuesday: 7 (6 serious burns, one broken ankle)

:: City champion in the Men’s 70-and-Over spring softball league: Needleman’s Kosher Meats, with a record of 3-0 (including one victory by forfeit).

:: Twenty-one deaths of city residents in the summer of 1988 were attributed to the heat and to the lack of adequate ventilation in several apartment buildings.

:: Number of municipal golf courses: 4
:: Number of privately-held golf courses, including country clubs: 14
:: Number of PGA Professionals holding membership at one of the country clubs: 21

:: Average cost for a single round of golf at a municipal course (2 players): $17
:: Average cost for a single round of golf at a privately-held course (2 players): $74
:: Average cost for an annual membership at a country club: $3,932

:: Average score at Verdant Greens: +9 over par
:: Korean sensation Minna Kim’s score at Verdant Greens: -12
::Pro Golfer Dale “Chum” Green’s last score at Verdant Greens: -9

:: Winner of the Parks & Recreation Department’s Junior Art Fair (July 7): Shelby Fairhaven-Steen, age 9, for her stone and construction paper collage “Autumn in the City.”

:: The city’s animal shelters have found marked increase in the number of stray American White Sheperds in the past month. This week 8 were collected, last week 6 and the previous week 1. Before that, no American White Sheperds had ever been picked up in this city. If you have friends or relatives known to own or breed this animal, Animal Control would very much like to speak with them.
- David Andrews, Shek Baker, Kevin Church

:: Five of the seven warmest temperatures ever recorded in the city occurred in the current millennium. The other two were in 1988 and 1889.

:: If there is a dearth of hot-weather favorite Fla-Vor-Ice at your local Northside market this weekend, blame erstwhile machine operator Kevin Sturgiss. A Jel-Sert delivery truck carrying over 2300 tubes of the cold, sugary treat was destroyed during Sturgiss’ lengthy botched bank robbery (and subsequent hostage crisis, police stand-off and eruption of vigilante justice) Tuesday on Garrick Ave.

:: Forms required to obtain a carriage-driver’s license for the City’s parks: 12, not including those related to the written and driving tests.

:: Forms required to obtain a hack license to drive a cab in the City: 3, including those related to the written and driving tests.

:: Warmest surface water temperature recorded at 17th Street Pier: 31 C, 87.8 F (2002).

:: Most ironic triple bill at the Founder’s Day Film Festival on a day where the high temperature reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit: August 5, 2002: In the Heat of the Night (1967), Body Heat (1981), Sahara (1943).

:: All the traffic lights around town controlled by motion sensors bear a sign reading, “Activate signal by pulling up to white line.” Except for one, which reads “Actuate signal by pulling up to white line.” The sign, at Thomas and Moreland avenues in the leafy Barrington District, is the sole reminder of Department of Public Works chief Daniel Solay, whose maddening attention to detail led him to be fired after a week and a half on the job.

:: 84-year old City Councilman Ned Fortune (District 5 - Little Kishinev/Loftville) has been re-elected to 12 consecutive 5 -year terms, despite the fact that, according to a recent poll conducted by the Alternative Weekly, not one of his constituents will admit to liking him.

:: The US Courthouse on Telegraph Ave., whose air conditioning has been under constant repair since 2003, continues to receive over six dozen weekly requests from jurors to re-stock vending machines with bottled water more than once every two weeks. For the 123rd consecutive week, they have refused.
- David Andrews, Shek Baker, Kevin Church, Craig Gaines

:: Celebrities that have spent more than 24 hours in the custody of the city’s police force: Paris Hilton, Cam’ron, Willie Nelson, Stephen Baldwin, Alan Alda

:: Planning a visit to the city and looking forward to doing a little shopping in the “Antiquities District” around the 108th Street and Calendar Avenue area? You might be surprised to find that the area actually gained its name from a sarcastic, regional reference to the number of low-income housing units made available to senior citizens in the area, and that there are no antique dealers in the neighborhood whatsoever.

:: Manhole covers in the northeastern borough of Royal Hills are made of a high-density, blue-tinted rubber, as per a condition of a sizable civic donation made in the 1965 will of beloved philanthropist Dr. Rory Kyle MacFarlane. The manhole covers are considered “quite nice” by many area residents.

:: Between 1921 and 1926, when “Chanel No. 5″ first became popular internationally, 3 different cheap imitations were sold by local parfumeries: “Shanell #5,” “Chinnelle Number Fife,” and “China Know Fiver.”

Now, some unenforced ordinances still on the books:
:: It is illegal for two animals to mate within 100 yards of a tavern, school or place of worship. (1867)
:: It is illegal to wear a fake moustache in a public building. (1909)
:: A woman may not cut her hair without her husband’s permission. (1889)
:: Any person entering the city in an automobile must first contact the police. (1903)
:: It is illegal to eat in a restaurant that is on fire. (1881)
:: Grocers may not sell any pickle that will no longer bounce. (1849)
:: It is illegal for more than four unrelated persons to occupy the same dwelling. (The ‘Brothel Law’ – 1855)
- D. Andrews, K. Church, R. Ingraham, J. Morris

:: The Knights of Pythias annual spaghetti dinner in support of Special Olympics has been canceled this year due to a decline in membership from three to one. Group spokesman, 101 year-old Charlie Cassidy, apologized for the cancellation, citing his difficulty distinguishing the numbers on the stove dials, and his inability to lift a full kettle of water by himself following the passing of his son, Charlie Jr., from natural causes at age 82.

:: Number of posters, flyers and informational brochures (combined total) printed up for this Sunday’s Earth Day festival/concert at Baxter Park: 31,000

:: Number of Sanitation Department overtime hours estimated for the post-festival/concert cleanup: 150

:: Most popular dog food flavors sold regionally in 2006, according to Champ Brand Dog Food manufacturers, 1711 E.Blind St: Lamb, lamb and rice, beef, beef and rice. Least popular: Milk, “Dog Food.”

:: The last blacksmith shop in the city, John Schmidt’s 1890 Village Smithy, closed in 1979, although it operated as a curiosity, tourist site and gift shop for most of its last five decades. The last blacksmith shop to actually support itself strictly with ‘blacksmithing’ was Clark’s Harness & Metal Works, which closed in 1937.

:: Paper cuts account for approximately one percent of all emergency room visits within city limits.

:: The statue of Cornelius Keets looking out over Keets Harbor is made of metal salvaged from the largest anchor of The Colossus, the huge Emerald Sky Line passenger liner that was retired in 1919. The Colossus had three anchors with a combined weight of 29 tons (58,000 lbs.).

:: Number of copies sold of “Hot and Fresh: Fire Safety, Yo!” (an album of rap songs about, well, fire safety, recorded by city firefighters) since its release in 1986: 1,138

:: The Municipal History Museum on Quarterhorse Cul-De-Sac will be hosting a week-long series of documentaries, discussions and conferences on the “Gipsie Ordinances” passed between 1918 and 1921, beginning this Friday.

In the early Twentieth Century, roving “Gipsie” bands of unregulated journeyman merchants took to the streets in such numbers and selling low quality goods at such tempting prices that not only were local businesses threatened, but the civic infrastructure was suffering under the weight of shoddy merchandise.

The first Gipsie Ordinances were introduced by furniture magnate David Floyd Lowell, who complained of journeyman furniture sellers in his memoirs:

…all manner of cater-wauling jipsies may come rattling across public squares with shoddy, cheap foot-stools and threadbare otto-mans of dubious quality, sold to un-suspecting citizens for penn-ies on the dollar, re-turning only frustration and self-reprisal for the fault of being bamboozled!

There is no cost for admission, but a sizable donation to the museum is recommended.
- D. Andrews, K. Church, J. Morris, R. White

:: The Mid-Town Lions Club has decided to carry over their popular Friday Fish Fries, normally only held on Fridays during Lent, throughout the rest of April. “Well, we’ve got all these fish still lying around, so why not?” said president Mark Pembroke.

:: Thirty-five percent of the steel used in municipal construction since January 1, 2000 has been imported from China.

:: Total cost of cleaning up the 1999 Backstreet Boys Millennium Tour “Soccer Mom” riot: $13.4m

:: More than two thousand city residents were asked what type of robot they would most be afraid of, if robots ever invaded the city. “Man-Eating” was the most popular answer.

:: Number of pints served at The Blarney Stone on 17th during St. Patrick’s Day 1997: 3,717
::Number of pints served at The Blarney Stone on 17th during St. Patrick’s Day 2007: 7,320

:: A little bit of trivia for fans of “Ripperology:” The legendary serial killer Jack the Ripper was rumored to have a trio of cousins living in our very own city. Two of them were butchers (the third was a librarian, according to legend).

:: Number of working Donkey Kong video game units: 26
:: Number of these units at Sal’s Nickelodeon, on New Park Avenue: 18

:: Following the winter of 1986/1987, a 12-foot wide pothole at the intersection of Fourth Street and Corn Avenue made the Guinness Book of World Records. The pothole was filled in that June, though a sign was erected to commemorate the achievement.

:: The humerus bone of a Triceratops was discovered during the excavation of the new City Hall Annex in 1985. It was determined to be a bone stolen from the Dakota Dinosaur Museum in 1978.

:: In 1991, the city’s fire department was the only one in the nation to accept funds from Universal Pictures to display advertising on the sides of its fire trucks in a strange and ill-conceived marketing push for the movie Backdraft (pictured below). Perhaps even stranger was when they tried the tactic one more time the following year for the fire-less Tom Selleck vehicle Mr. Baseball.

- D. Andrews, B. Brockie, K. Church, J. Morris

:: This Saturday is the 34th annual Last Year’s Easter Egg Hunt at Whittinger’s Park. The Greek Gardening Consortium insists that they hid more than 12 eggs and that if the rest aren’t found there will be no 35th annual Easter Egg Hunt at Whittinger’s Park.

:: Acts of violence committed against actors dressed as “Ronald McDonald” since 1980: 17

:: Acts of violence committed against actors dressed as “The Hamburglar” since 1980: 12

:: Acts of violence committed against actors dressed as “Birdy the Early Bird” since 1980: 30

:: Apples are the third most popular fruit currently sold at Haspiel’s Produce.

:: When asked, in a 2006 Evening Press poll, which insect they’d be most willing to eat “if worse came to worse,” the majority of the respondents preferred “crickets.”

:: Jumbo, P.T. Barnum’s famous elephant, visited the city seven times before he was killed in a locomotive accident in 1885, and once after.

:: Exotic dancers are required to wear jackets during the Winter season, according to a 2002 city ordinance, as part of a concerted effort to reduce instances of cold and flu.

:: A regionally-produced version of the popular board game Monopoly incorrectly spelled “Moondriver Blvd” as “Monodirevr Lvbd.”

:: The city’s original mounted police force was disbanded in 1970. It was reformed in its current incarnation in 1992.

:: The Dog Run at Mabel Tripp Gardens features a colored concrete map of Northern Europe as it existed during the Napoleonic era, as well as a timeline of the Little Emperor’s assorted battles and conquests. There is also an interactive water feature (visitors are politely requested to not squirt the dogs).
- D. Andrews, K. Church, S. Jones, J. Morris