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Travel should be the first Wichita expense to be cut
Read more: Travel should be the first Wichita expense to be cutAt tomorrow’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, council members have this item on their agenda: “Approval of travel expenses for Council Member Janet Miller and Kelly Harper, Wichita Area Sister Cities President, to attend the International Cities Conference in Paris, France and the Sister Cities Loire Festival in Orleans, France, September 21-27.”
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Wichita special assessments for repairs is bad policy
Read more: Wichita special assessments for repairs is bad policyAt Tuesday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, a privately-owned condominium association is seeking special assessment financing to make repairs to its building. In order for the association to succeed in its request, the council will have to waive two guidelines of Wichita’s facade improvement program.
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Wichita downtown revitalization discussed on Kansas Week
Read more: Wichita downtown revitalization discussed on Kansas WeekBob Weeks discusses planning for downtown Wichita revitalization and what he learned on his trip to the Platinum Triangle in Anaheim, California. Host Tim Brown and guest Randy Brown also appear. From the KPTS Television show Kansas Week, August 14, 2009.
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Wichita’s getting ready to plan
Read more: Wichita’s getting ready to planThe danger we face is that Wichita’s plan will end up like almost all other urban plans — a top-down effort micromanaged by politicians and bureaucrats, people whose incentives are all wrong. We already have the structure in place, with our mayor promoting the plan for downtown as his signature achievement, and a tax-supported downtown…
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Kansas needs education for prosperity
Read more: Kansas needs education for prosperityMark Tallman, assistant executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), seems to be making the case that spending on education is more important to a state than moderate tax rates. He makes this case as reported in a recent Topeka Capital-Journal article Education a key to prosperity. As reported: “Tallman said action…
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What type of turf is a lie?
Read more: What type of turf is a lie?The Lone Star Times reports how, at a town hall meeting in Texas, an Obama supporter claimed to be a physician when asking a question. But she isn’t: Obama camp plants fake doc, Che fan at Jackson Lee forum. I wonder if this happened at the same Sheila Jackson Lee town hall where the Member…
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Astroturf, union style
Read more: Astroturf, union styleThe American left takes great delight in making accusations of “astroturfing.” Meaning that nothing that conservatives or libertarians do, such as attending tea party protests or raising a ruckus at town hall meetings, is real. It’s all driven from the top, the left says. I wonder: When a government employee labor union provides a service…
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Kansas funds have large, unneeded balances
Read more: Kansas funds have large, unneeded balancesThe Flint Hills Center for Public Policy has released research that shows that the state of Kansas has large unencumbered balances, representing excess funds needlessly collected from Kansans in the form of taxes and fees. The numbers are staggering, with over 1,600 state funds holding between $2 billion and $3 billion in excess balances, depending…
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If this is recycling profit, let’s skip it
Read more: If this is recycling profit, let’s skip itA letter-writer to the Wichita Eagle states “In Washington state, we participate in a nearly effortless, profitable and environmentally important recycling program.” A paragraph later she writes “The cost of recycling is $5 a month on our refuse bill.” I don’t know: Do these statements contradict each other?
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Light rail not good for Wichita
Read more: Light rail not good for WichitaA recent letter in the Wichita Eagle by Alden Wilner of Bel Aire worries that “flat, dusty and hot” parking lots in the neighborhood of the Intrust Bank Arena (formerly known as the downtown Wichita arena) in downtown Wichita will hamper downtown revitalization. I don’t know if this claim is true or not, but I…