EAST
The second annual orchestra Halloween pop-up concerts, conducted by orchestra teacher Adam Keda, will take place on Thursday, Oct. 31 during all three lunches in room 212.
This year’s performers are primarily from the first hour class of advanced chamber orchestra. However, other orchestra class hours can participate if they’re willing to learn the songs at a faster pace than normal.
“Putting music together in three weeks for them can be a push, but I think it’s pretty authentic to what they would have to do in the real world [as a professional musician],” Keda said.
This year, their set list includes “The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart,” which is based off of the poem “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Ghostbusters Theme” from the movie “Ghostbusters”.
Although Keda estimates that between 200 and 300 people attended the concerts last year, he hopes the audience will grow. Orchestra will be advertising the concert in the coming week with flyers designed by junior Luke Tsaur and a shout-out on the daily announcements.
Senior chamber orchestra member Julia Stevermer was disappointed by last year’s attendance as well. She is hopeful that more students will come to enjoy the candy, spooky lighting, fake cobwebs and scary songs this year.
“I think it’s a matter of school spirit, really,” Stevermer said. “The arts [are] a part of the school culture that can sometimes get overlooked even though we have a really flourishing arts community. This is something that everybody can partake in without serious commitment and just show a little bit of appreciation for our arts community.”
LOCAL
The Kansas City T-Bones will stay in Kansas City after the Wyandotte County government approved a $1 million infusion of tax revenue to help the team.
The city commissioners approved a new stadium lease for the new T-Bones owners, with a 9-1 vote in favor of the new owners.
This came just a few days after their eviction from the Community America Ballpark for failing to repay over $600,000 worth of debt. According to KMBC news, city officials plan to sue the previous owners so that they will pay the unpaid bills.
The team’s new majority owner will be local entrepreneur and construction firm partner Mark Brandmeyer. According to new team president Mark Perry, the new ownership group, Max Fun Entertainment LLC, plans on investing significantly in the stadium and making other improvements to the team’s image.
Max Fun has committed to spend at least $500,000 on stadium improvements. The local government has also committed to spending at least $1 million in Sales Tax Revenue bonds (STAR bonds).
“We’re taking over an operation that has not performed well as a business consistently in the last several years,” Perry said to the Kansas City Star. “That’s not always easy.”
The new owners are ready to spend money now to ensure that they will profit from their efforts in the future. The prospective owners are currently awaiting approval from the American Association of Professional Baseball, the T-Bones’ league, who will potentially be voting on the issue this week.
INTERNATIONAL
After hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong protested a Chinese bill in June that would have allowed sovereign citizens accused of crimes to be sent to China, the U.S. has introduced legislation to ensure respect of human rights in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which has been passed through the House of Representatives but not the Senate, would end Hong Kong’s special trading status with the U.S. if the region crosses stated human rights guidelines. Among the guidelines are the U.S. State Department’s annual certification that Hong Kong authorities are respecting human rights and the rule of law.
Another bill, the Protect Hong Kong Act, would bar commercial exports of military and crowd-control items to Hong Kong. The legislation now awaits a Senate vote.
“If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, then we lose all moral authority to speak out on behalf of human rights anyplace in the world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech.
Hong Kong protesters currently have five declared demands of the Hong Kong government: full withdrawal of the extradition bill, establishing a commission to investigate alleged police brutality, retracting the classification of protesters as rioters, amnesty for arrested protesters and full suffrage for both the Hong Kong Legislative Council and the Chief Executive.
Since June, the peaceful protests have become more violent as Hong Kong police fired live rounds for the first time and shot an activist in the chest earlier this month, Business Insider reported.
A few weeks ago, chief Hong Kong government executive Carrie Lam banned face masks. According to Lam, the masks promoted “radical behavior” among protesters. Protesters have defied the ban by continuing to wear masks and even forming human chains.
The protests have yet to cease and an end to them is, at the moment, unforeseen.
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