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In Sedgwick County, New Technology vs. Old School
Read more: In Sedgwick County, New Technology vs. Old SchoolI was one of the two campaign co-managers for Karl Peterjohn’s successful campaign for the Republican nomination for Sedgwick County Commissioner, third district. As such I was invited to the election night party where we watched the returns roll in. I had my laptop computer with me, connected to the outside world by a wireless…
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Kansas Blog Roundup for August 8, 2008
Read more: Kansas Blog Roundup for August 8, 2008The August primary exposed some ugly behavior in the Kansas Republican party. And from its senate leadership, no less. While not, strictly speaking, a blog, Kansas Liberty is a great place to read about Kansas politics. The article Senate Leadership PAC supporting Republican liberals over conservatives in primaries: Conservatives protest GOP contributions to liberal Republican…
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Predictions of Downtown Wichita Arena’s Success are Premature
Read more: Predictions of Downtown Wichita Arena’s Success are PrematureSeveral Wichita Eagle editorials in recent weeks have mentioned the success of the Intrust Arena being built in downtown Wichita. Success, I might ask, at doing what? The fact that the arena structure is rising is evidence of only the smallest measure of competence by Sedgwick County officials. Having entrusted them with some two hundred…
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Questions Wichita Reverend Kevass Harding Will Not Answer
Read more: Questions Wichita Reverend Kevass Harding Will Not AnswerThe Reverend Kevass Harding, a member of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is also a real estate developer (New life for Ken-Mar Shopping Center: Harding plans to revitalize 13th Street mall, March 14, 2008 Wichita Business Journal). The problem is that Harding plans to ask the taxpayers of the City…
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Testimony Opposing Expansion of the Wichita City South Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing District
Read more: Testimony Opposing Expansion of the Wichita City South Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing DistrictFrom John Todd. Mr. Mayor and members of the Wichita City Council, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak before you today. My name is John Todd. I stand before you today as a citizen in opposition to the Expansion of the City South Redevelopment District (Tax Increment Financing) (Districts I & VI).…
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Downtown Wichita Arena TIF District
Read more: Downtown Wichita Arena TIF DistrictRemarks to Wichita City Council, August 5, 2008. When I’ve been talking to people in Wichita, I find there is great confusion about the way that TIF districts work. This confusion serves to obfuscate what really happens with TIF districts: the TIF developers get to use their own property taxes to pay for things that…
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Wichita School Bond Issue Opponents: Driving What? And How?
Read more: Wichita School Bond Issue Opponents: Driving What? And How?In his Sunday Wichita Eagle column, Mark McCormick complains that the Wichita school bond issue opponents are a) cynical, b) short-sighted, c) myopic, d) forces pulling us backwards, e) frightening voters, f) spending too much at Starbucks, g) only saying “no,” h) hiding their true agenda to replace public schools with vouchers, i) not honest…
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Kansas Blog Roundup for August 1, 2008
Read more: Kansas Blog Roundup for August 1, 2008I’ve noticed two new Kansas blogs this week. One, Blog For Kansas, displays the disclaimer “Paid for by Jim Slattery for Senate,” so this appears to be, and not only for that reason, an official campaign blog. Keep that in mind while reading. The second is Douglas and Main, obviously located in Wichita, maybe right…
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Will Bob Lutz Follow Jeff Davis on the Wichita School Bond Issue?
Read more: Will Bob Lutz Follow Jeff Davis on the Wichita School Bond Issue?When the USD 259 (Wichita, Kansas) school board voted on February 11, 2008 to hold a special bond issue election on May 6, board member Jeff Davis was the only dissenting vote. His reason, as reported in the Wichita Eagle, was that his district wasn’t given equal consideration. His district wasn’t getting its fair share.…
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Wichita School Bond Issue: What We Don’t Know
Read more: Wichita School Bond Issue: What We Don’t KnowIn a recent article I wondered Who Runs the Wichita School Bond Issue Campaign? Reporting in today’s Wichita Eagle (Technical ed at center of bond changes) makes me even more concerned about this. At Monday’s school board meeting, representatives of Citizens Alliance for Responsible Education (CARE) revealed their recommendations for the revision of a proposed…
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Do Wichita TIF Districts Create Value?
Read more: Do Wichita TIF Districts Create Value?A recent Wichita Eagle article City tax districts aren’t breaking even reports on some of the problems with tax increment financing, or TIF, districts in Wichita: One promise of TIFs was that revitalizing certain areas — such as Old Town and the East Bank — would boost property values throughout downtown. In the past four…
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Center For Climate Strategies in Kansas: Good Economic Analysis?
Read more: Center For Climate Strategies in Kansas: Good Economic Analysis?As the Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group deliberates over the future of the environment in Kansas, we ought to examine the quality of the work product that the Center for Climate Strategies has produced in other states. The Beacon Hill Institute has performed an analysis of some of the work CCS has performed,…