Month: May 2009
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Kansas open records sleuth stymied in Washington
The Kansas Meadowlark tells how on a recent trip to Washington, he wasn’t able to use digital photography to capture records. The post is Don’t take pictures near open records at Legislative Research Center or Office of Public Records on Capitol Hill.
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Downtown Wichita revitalization on Kansas Week
Bob Weeks discusses government-led revitalization of downtown Wichita on the KPTS public affairs television program Kansas Week on May 22, 2009.
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Demonstrating against government control of health care
Today a dedicated group of citizens worked for two hours to get out the message that government control of our health care is not in our best interest. Another protest will be held on June 6. One of the banners (and an adorable puppy) promoted the website Free Market Cure.
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Find your Kansas elected representatives
If you want to know who represents you in Washington and Topeka, here’s an easy way. The Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas provides a service that lets you find representatives for a specific address, or for an entire county. It also links to profiles and maps for election districts.
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Watkins to speak at Pachyderm
This Friday, Kansas House of Representatives member Jason Watkins will speak at the regular weekly meeting of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. Watkins represents House district 105, which includes parts of west and northwest Wichita. He is Vice-Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which was the center of some fast-paced legislative action this year as it…
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Lack of information clouds Sedgwick County industrial park plans
At yesterday’s meeting of the Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners, questions about a proposed industrial park development reveal that there’s still a long way to go before all issues are uncovered, much less understood. At the meeting, Chris Chronis, Chief Financial Officer for Sedgwick County, presented information and responded to questions. While Mr. Chronis was…
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Sedgwick County industrial park chasing uncertain industries
Sedgwick County is considering becoming a developer of an industrial park. The county is limiting itself to deals described as a “home run,” meaning a company that plans to hire more than 1,000 workers. The problem is that there are few of these deals each year. Maybe just five to eight. But Sedgwick County’s policy…
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Sedgwick County land development will harm private sector
As Sedgwick County considers whether to enter the industrial land development business, there are many considerations that must be weighed before proceeding. My greatest concern is the impact that government land development will have on the private sector in Wichita. … Government has advantages that the private sector doesn’t. It has access to free capital.…
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Kansas coal still generates discussion
The recent decision in Kansas to proceed with the building of a coal-fired power plant still generates discussion. Today’s Wichita Eagle carries a letter to the editor that deserves discussion of its claims. The main focus of today’s letter is that we as a state missed out on an opportunity to “produce thousands upon thousands…
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Sedgwick County needs to slow down, deliberate land purchase
Sedgwick County seems to be in a rush to make a huge decision that will have far-reaching and long-lasting effects on our county. We don’t have, however, anywhere near all the information we need to make this decision. We need to slow down and decide what role we want to have county government play in…
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Wichita school board to take citizen input on budget
“The Board of Education is hosting a Board Night Out community meeting to discuss the 2009-2010 budget on Monday, May 18, 7 – 9 p.m. at Washington Elementary, 424 N. Pennsylvania. Community members are invited to learn about the district’s budget and to provide feedback, which will be used as the BOE finalizes the budget.”
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The audacity of hopelessness
By Gregory L. Schneider President Barack Obama has had his way with business in his first hundred days in office. He is the only president in American history to fire a CEO of a private business, Rick Wagoner of General Motors. He called bondholders of Chrysler Corporation speculators after they refused a government-financed deal that…