Just 21 years old, Max Jury has a world-weary air about him. He’s too genuine to come off as jaded, yet when he does things like refer to his former college classmates as “those kids” (as in “I’ve seen how great these kids are at music”), you don’t think of
Read More →
Posted March 19, 2014in Film Review
“300: Rise of an Empire” 3 stars Rated R 102 minutes Action Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey “300: Rise of an Empire,” of the sword-and-sandal hybrid war franchise based on Frank Miller’s (“Sin City”) graphic novel, fumbles through this superfluous sequel to “300” (2006). Huge sheets of splaying
Read More →In honor of April being Jazz Appreciation Month, the Community Jazz Center (CJC) will host an 11-hour jazz festival at Java Joes on Sunday, April 6. The event will kick off at 9 a.m. and is both open to the public and free to attend, though donations are being accepted
Read More →Sobering Signs In February, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that David Bell could not avoid being charged with driving under the influence merely because he had been sober enough to pass all six “field sobriety tests” administered during a traffic stop. It was enough, the court said, that he had
Read More →
Posted March 19, 2014in Political Mercury
Gov. Terry Branstad’s designation of Greene County as the state’s first Home Base Iowa community distinguishes the west-central county as one of the most supportive locations for returning military veterans in the United States, said Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Orr, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard and a former
Read More →The rise of high-speed Internet and online streaming video over the last decade has definitely shaken the broadcast and pay TV business. While burgeoning Web technology has contributed to lower ratings and dipping revenues, it appears what the TV industry is most afraid of is a tool older than the
Read More →
Posted March 19, 2014in Civic Skinny
Don’t be surprised if the undisclosed site of that data project being proposed for West Des Moines turns out to be the south part of Willow Creek Golf Course along Highway 5. And don’t be surprised if the company is Microsoft. … No one will confirm anything, but the Kum
Read More →In a stunning one-man show called “Ghetto Klown” (Saturday, 9 p.m., HBO), John Leguizamo presents a “cautionary tale.” He details his progression from a poor Latino boy to a showbiz star to a jerk. Leguizamo may be the most appealing jerk in Broadway history. He gets the live audience laughing
Read More →Amount: $10,119.65 To: Carpenter Uniform For: Purchase of uniforms for the Sheriff’s Office, including $275.70 for patrol ($2,993.40 for vests); $938.80 for detectives; $4,647.34 for jail staff; $879.93 for court staging; $384.48 for court services. Amount: $651.73 To: Clive Power Equipment For: Purchase of parts, repair and maintenance for
Read More →
42 reflections
The coming baseball season — it can’t come soon enough after such a long and terrible winter — reminds me of the summer day in 1947 when three aspiring young journalists from the University of Iowa visited Chicago’s Wrigley Field to interview Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson, of
Read More →