Category: Wichita city government
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Real Development’s troubles should be red flag for Wichita
Recent new stories that a prominent Wichita office building developed and owned by Real Development suffers from severe problems should cause the City of Wichita to halt any new partnerships being considered with the company, and to seek to remove itself from agreements that exist.
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Our Downtown Wichita launched
As part of an effort to provide information about the Douglas Place project, a proposed renovation of a downtown Wichita office building into a hotel, Americans for Prosperity, Kansas has created a website. The site’s motto is “Limited government and free markets in Downtown Wichita benefit everyone. Centralized planning and crony capitalism benefit only a…
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For Wichita’s Project Downtown, goal keeps slipping
In selling a plan for the revitalization of downtown Wichita, promoters started with a promise of much private investment for just a little public investment. But as the plan proceeded, the goal kept slipping, and the first project to be approved under the final plan will probably not come close to meeting even the modest…
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In Wichita, historic preservation tax credits an inefficient form of developer welfare
As part of the subsidy plan for Douglas Place, a downtown Wichita hotel being proposed, developers plan to make extensive use of historic preservation tax credits to fund their project. This form of developer welfare, besides being inefficient, is largely hidden from public view.
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At Wichita city council, another junket authorized
The Wichita City Council approves expenses for a trip of dubious value.
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For Wichita’s David Burk, subsidy machine is working again
For Wichita real estate developer David Burk of Marketplace Properties, being on the receiving end of sweetheart lease deals with the City of Wichita is becoming a habit.
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer to critics: stop grandstanding
A meeting of the Wichita City Council provided a window into the attitude of Wichita elected officials, particularly Mayor Carl Brewer. Through their actions, and by their words, we see a government that cares little for the rule of law and good government, and one that is disrespectful to citizens who call attention to this.
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Wichita City Council procedure: A citizen’s perspective
The Wichita City Council’s handling of a letter of intent raises questions of openness and protection of the public interest, according to Shirley Koehn.
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Wichita City Council bows to special interests
Yesterday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council revealed a council — except for one member — totally captured by special interests, to the point where the council, aided by city staff, used a narrow legal interpretation in order to circumvent a statutorily required public hearing process.
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Wichita should reject the fads Portland has followed
Urban planners say they can make our cities more livable, our downtowns more vibrant, and our traffic calmer. The problem is that urban planners do not understand how cities work, so all of their plans often turn out disastrously wrong.
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Wichita city council to decide between rule of law, or rule by situation
Tuesday’s Wichita City Council meeting will provide an opportunity for the mayor, council members, and city hall staff to let Wichitans know if our city is governed by the rule of law and proper respect for it, or if these values will be discarded for the convenience of one person and his business partners.
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Wichita’s letter of intent for Douglas Place LLC
The City of Wichita intends to issue a letter of intent, and then later on hold a public hearing concerning the items in the letter. This effectively makes the public hearing meaningless.