The man Kansans wanted to send to face President Barack Obama in the general election last year will be in Wichita Monday morning to sign his new book, “A Simple Christmas” and the new paperback release of “Do the Right Thing.”
Mike Huckabee’s book signing is at 10:30 a.m. at Watermark Books & Cafe at the southwest corner of Douglas and Oliver. It’s the only Kansas stop on his 60-city tour. (See an interview with TIME magazine about his book tour.)
Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas who has also been a pastor and is now a talk show host on Fox News Channel and ABC Radio Network.
Kansas was one of the eight states he captured in the 2008 presidential primaries. He took about 60 percent of the vote. He gave a roaring stump speech and played with his band in a hangar at Col. James Jabara Airport in February 2008 where he called himself a “Wal-Mart Republican” and signed hundreds of autographs after leaving the stage.
his newly released “A Simple Christmas” and new-to-paperback release “Do the Right Thing”
Wagle
State Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, plans to announce whether she’ll enter the expanding race for the 4th District Congressional seat today.
The announcement is at 2 p.m. at the Wichita Area Builders Association.
(Update: Wagle endorsed Mike Pompeo.)
After 7 years, the WaterWalk project still struggles to meet expectations
The Eagle’s Bill Wilson wrote today that:
Wichita city officials say they’re eager to see entrepreneur Jack DeBoer’s plans for WaterWalk, the embattled 7-year-old downtown development along the Arkansas River.
But they sent a message to DeBoer on Wednesday: There’s no more money available to help kick-start a mixed-use project bogged down from the beginning, first by city funding issues and more recently by the lack of credit available for business deals.
WaterWalk conceptual rendering
The big news circulating in City Hall today is the change in management at the WaterWalk. The slow-moving project with more than $36 million of you tax dollars invested is now under day-to-day control of Jack DeBoer’s Consolidated Holdings Inc.
The change is intended to speed up development. Whether that will turn the letters of intent project managers continually say they have in hand into reality is a big question. Sorry, no answers or predictions here. It’s too early to tell. Read More »
Council member Paul Gray complained a bit about the environmentally-friendly building designs. Vice Mayor Jim Skelton balked at the potentially huge price tag.
Otherwise, council members Tuesday mostly voice support for an ambitious plan to turn about 420 acres of vacant city land into a sprawling park with a 215 acre lake. The plan is pretty complex. It involves a Cornejo & Sons-affiliated company mining tons of sand out to build the lake and extensive landscaping with the leftover top soil. Then it would be up to the city council to approve funding for roads, about 14 miles of trails, several large buildings, a cable system that tows waterskiers and wakeboarders and a swimming beach. Parks and Recreation Director Doug Kupper said it could cost $60 million to $100 million, depending on when things are built and how many donations/sponsorships they can secure from corporate partners. Read More »
Longwell
Wichita City Council member Jeff Longwell said he may try to table a planned Tuesday vote to support tax incentives for a proposed destination bowling center in west Wichita.
The move comes after confusion over whether the “Gordon Vadakin School of Bowling” is actually part of Jay Maxwell’s plan. Maxwell, an established Wichita developer, stressed to The Eagle last week that it’s only an idea and that he still needs to negotiate Vadakin’s involvement. Allen Bell, director of urban development, said that Vadakin asked the city to withdraw his name from publicity after it emerged in a story in Saturday’s Wichita Eagle. But, Bell said, developers still plan on a bowling training center of some kind.
Vadakin would be key to the project. Read More »
Brewer
Who’s that on Fox Business Network? It’s Wichita’s mayor.
See the clip on Business Casual.
The last of Wichita’s informational meetings on how the city might clean up and better use the Arkansas River is Tuesday.
The session runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sedgwick County Extension office near 21st and Ridge. The basic goal is to improve the quality of the water, promote sustainable economic development and find better ways for people to use the river. If that’s not enough, there will also be coffee from Starbucks and snacks. To learn more about the program, visit www.wichitawraps.org.
For The Eagle’s previous coverage on this, follow the jump: Read More »
The city is pressing on with a controversial plan to lease the former Boys and Girls Club on 21st Street near Grove to The Lord’s Diner for a satellite location.
Wichita City Council members will vote next Tuesday whether to have a public hearing on the idea Nov. 3. The plan calls for The Lord’s Diner to pay the city $15,000 a year for the 18,414 square foot building. The Diner would have an option to buy it at anytime.
The place was recently appraised at $150,000, and it is in fairly rough shape. The Diner would pay for repairs.
Tiahrt
How do you open a speech dedicating a $105 million elevated railroad project? Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, went with a little partisan comedy.
Taking the stage in the cool mist this morning in front of roughly 100 engineers, politicians and business leaders, Tiahrt opened with this:
“Morning. It’s great to be with you at this day. And, whatever happened to global warming? (light laughter) I want to take that up with somebody. We’re looking for somebody in Washington right now. They’re still trying to figure out where the Nobel Peace Prize came from. Once they get past that, we’re going to be fine.”
Later, several engineers and city council member Janet Miller lauded the project for reducing carbon dioxide emissions produced by vehicles as they wait for trains to pass. Read More »