The city of Wichita blew it by putting a bright blue roof on the water pump station at 21st Street and Webb Road. But now, after neighbors have had many months to adjust to the color, the city is compounding the offense by replacing the roof at a cost of $78,000, up from one $36,000 estimate last year. The decision seems final: The installation of a concrete tile roof is under way. But the city is throwing good money after bad with this, and sending a poor message about City Hall priorities to neighborhoods where the needs are more basic than aesthetics.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
I got many thumbs-up responses to last Friday’s column “Letter to Boeing/Onex CEOs: You’re fired!”
Many of the calls and posts were from Boeing workers. One e-mail said this: “As one of the many people that were black listed in the Boeing Onex deal, I would like to thank you for being a voice for Boeing workers that were wronged in the takeover, and most of the folks that lost their jobs were good employees.”
Another worker wrote: “I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of my coworkers to say thank you. Until now we have all felt as though nobody was in our corner, not the local politicians, not the community, not the media, and not even our own union leaders.
And this from a “lifelong manufacturing manager”: “These Boeing/Onex execs are acting like total non-professionals working from some prearranged workbook. Where are the voices of our city and area leaders — mayor, city mgr., city and county councils, community and church leaders. Are they also intimidated by the Boeing/Onex steamroller approach?”
However, a couple of readers didn’t see the humor of the piece and told me they thought the criticism went too far:
“I think its time to stop dumping on Onex and exploiting the Boeing/Onex buyout,” said one e-mail. “Either you were not around the last 40 years or you don’t want to point out all the heartless layoffs which always came around the Christmas holiday Boeing found necessary to make. My father was one of those longtime Boeing workers who fortunately was never laid off, however the possibility was always present as it is with any manufacturing concern.”
Another reader said: “There will be traumatic changes for the Boeing commuity, and they will have an impact on our broader communty. It is very likely these changes will be healthy for us in the long run. Whatever may happen, Randy’s ranting did not deserve the space he was given Friday.”
I appreciate all the responses, for and against.
Let me just add that my column was not about the worth of the sale itself — Onex might be the best deal Wichita can get — but rather the impersonal, callous way the layoffs were handled.
It wasn’t right.
posted by Randy Scholfield
The anti-casino forces broadened their base this week with the release of a letter signed by two dozen current or retired business leaders from companies including Cessna, Koch and Intrust. The letter, released by Stand Up for Kansas, says a Park City Casino would have economic and social costs that would outweigh its value. Expect Bob Knight and the pro-casino forces to fire back.
Posted by Lou Heldman
“I wonder if the attorney general has a memo on how to avoid going to jail for car theft,” attorney Alan Rupe told the Lawrence Journal-World in response to Phill Kline’s memo to legislators that provided options on how to deal with the state Supreme Court’s order on school finance.
Rupe argued that it was inappropriate of Kline to coach legislators in such a way. What do you think? Click below to add your comments.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Good for the State Board of Education for exploring whether to subject its members’ expenses to board approval. The idea, which cuts across the ideological divide, was inspired by member Connie Morris’ $2,220 hotel bill from a magnet school conference in Miami Beach — never mind that her western Kansas district has no such schools. The point is: Most Kansans don’t stay in $339-a-night hotel rooms, and would think it reasonable that such elected officials’ spending at least be scrutinized, if not curtailed.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The GOP-controlled U.S. House dealt a stinging setback to President Bush’s efforts to renew the USA Patriot Act, voting Wednesday to repeal the controversial provision allowing the FBI to search an individual’s library records, bookstore transactions and other private records without a judicial court order.
While it’s still unclear how the Senate will line up, the vote sends a welcome bipartisan message of concern about erosion of privacy and civil liberty protections under the Patriot Act.
Repealing this provision wouldn’t leave the FBI clueless: Law enforcement can still seek a judicial subpoena if it wants more information about what a suspected terrorist is reading.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“I don’t like the court ordering the Legislature to spend an amount of money .æ.æ. but that’s where we are.”
— Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on the Kansas Supreme Court’s school finance ruling. Upset lawmakers also need to accept this reality and start fulfilling the court’s order.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
There is no satisfaction in learning from Terri Schiavo’s autopsy that she was, in fact, in an irreversible vegetative state and was blind. And that doesn’t discredit her parents’ heartfelt attempts to gain custody and prevent the removal of her feeding tube. But how about the activists and politicians who inserted themselves into this family tragedy issuing a public apology to all the doctors they vilified?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Michael Jackson’s lead attorney said that from now on, Jackson would “be very careful who he allows into his home.” Let’s hope that parents will be very careful about allowing their children into his home.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
A panel of conservative thinkers has selected the "Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries." The unsurprising top three: The Communist Manifesto, Mein Kampf and Quotations from Chairman Mao. Then it gets interesting. The Kinsey Report on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male is #4. Check on the rest here. On the same site, Human Events Online, an older list of Ten Books Every Student Should Read in College.
Posted by Lou Heldman
