Author: Bob Weeks
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Why the Kansas Senate Leadership is Still There
When Kansans wonder why the leadership of the Kansas Senate is so often out of step with the rest of Kansas, look south of Wichita for the answer. As a Winfield Courier article reports, Winfield Democrat Greta Goodwin is often the vote that keeps the present moderate Republican senate leadership in office. For some reason,…
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Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius: Different from You and I
Do different laws exist for Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the rest of us? (At least the conservatives and libertarians among us?) The Kansas Meadowlark reports this: “Apparently Sebelius is exploiting a loop hole in Kansas law in using her PAC to attack conservatives. The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission said a similar new ‘Leadership’ PAC…
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What We’re Learning About Ourselves
“Soon this depressing campaign will be over, and we can reflect on what we learned from our two-month introduction to Sarah Palin. Clearly, it is more than we would have ever wished to know about ourselves.” “First, there turns out to be no standard of objectivity in contemporary journalism. … Second, there does not seem…
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What? Wichita’s Air Service Subsidy Isn’t Working?
Recently a travel and tourism expert visited Wichita and said (and I hesitate to repeat his exact words on this family-oriented blog) “Your air service sucks.” (See Tourism expert has frank tips for Kansas.) I’m more than a little distressed to hear that. Right now we spend $6.5 million per year in subsidy to low-cost…
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Beyond Bailouts Is Recommended
I recommend BeyondBailouts.org as a place to learn about the current situation in our financial markets. From their site: BeyondBailouts.org is a joint venture of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI). The purpose of the website is to educate about government’s role in our current financial difficulties, suggest reforms that address…
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The Facts the Wichita Eagle’s Mark McCormick Overlooks — Or Twists
In a recent column (Facts hurt bond issue opponents’ arguments), the Wichita Eagle’s Mark McCormick shows that he’s as adept at overlooking facts and reason and twisting an argument as is anyone. For example, McCormick takes some bond opponents to task because they admitted they haven’t been to schools to observe overcrowding. But if opponents…
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Reasons for businesses to oppose Wichita school bond abound
By Helen Cochran. Support for the Wichita school district’s proposed $370 million school bond issue from the business community has been lukewarm. There are valid reasons why this support has not been forthcoming. First and foremost is academic accountability. Nationally, bond proposals have been trimmed or postponed as communities wrestle with priorities and the lack…
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s Reformulated TIF Plan Still a Bad Idea
Today the Wichita City Council holds a special meeting to consider a reformulated plan to provide tax increment financing (TIF) for the area surrounding the downtown Wichita arena. It’s still a bad idea. It appears there are two major changes in the new plan. First, the TIF district is smaller. Second, spending on the district…
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Wichita school district spends $7,642 on logo kerfuffle
Recently USD 259, the Wichita school district, asked a school bond issue opposition group to stop using its logo, on the grounds that it was too similar to the logo the Wichita school district itself uses. Newspaper coverage revealed that the district had engaged in a multi-year legal battle with the Washington Apple Commission over…