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Why the Kansas Senate Leadership is Still There
Read more: Why the Kansas Senate Leadership is Still ThereWhen 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
Read more: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius: Different from You and IDo 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
Read more: 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?
Read more: 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
Read more: Beyond Bailouts Is RecommendedI 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
Read more: The Facts the Wichita Eagle’s Mark McCormick Overlooks — Or TwistsIn 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
Read more: Reasons for businesses to oppose Wichita school bond aboundBy 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
Read more: Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s Reformulated TIF Plan Still a Bad IdeaToday 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
Read more: Wichita school district spends $7,642 on logo kerfuffleRecently 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…
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Wichita School Bond Issue: Informing or Advocating? CARE Seems to Know.
Read more: Wichita School Bond Issue: Informing or Advocating? CARE Seems to Know.Kansas law places restrictions on the activities that government officials may undertake with regard to ballot measures such as the Wichita school bond issue question on the November 4, 2008 ballot. A page at the USD 259 website titled “Educate, Don’t Advocate” explains the behavior that USD 259 personnel may, and may not, undertake with…
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The Cartoon The Wichita Eagle Wouldn’t Print
Read more: The Cartoon The Wichita Eagle Wouldn’t PrintHelen Cochran of Citizens for Better Education commissioned a series of political cartoons concerning the Wichita school bond issue. She’s paid to have them printed in the Wichita Eagle each Monday for the past month or so. They’re also carried on her group’s web site. But the Wichita Eagle refused to run this week’s cartoon.…
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City Council divvies up tax dollars for the arts
Read more: City Council divvies up tax dollars for the artsA Wichita Eagle news story today tells how City Council divvies up tax dollars for the arts. Can you imagine sitting through these meetings with people like Joan Cole and other members of the Arts Council as they decide who gets — and who doesn’t get — government largesse? I imagine that these people actually…