It can’t be easy for the Kansas Senate to function during the special session without access to its chamber, which is under renovation. But its alternate site is deliciously appropriate: the Statehouse chamber where the Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments until 1978. As senators weigh whether to limit the court’s power and how to heed the court’s school finance ruling, they must do so with the portraits of past Supreme Court justices looking on. That’s rich.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
What do you think about the proposal that caregivers — such as people who push wheelchairs or provide other assistance to those who are disabled — get in free when they take the person in their care to area taxpayer-funded attractions? It’s a kind gesture, but should the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County make it official policy? Could this open the door to requests from other groups?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A group of businessmen and the Wichita tribe of Oklahoma are interested in developing a casino near 21st and Broadway as part of revitalization efforts for that area. A casino “would bring money and prosperity to the area,” said Ken Thomas, who owns a pet supply business in the neighborhood.
The proposal and support seem sketchy at this point, but with downtown space limited, perhaps the City Council should at least consider this redevelopment area as a potential site.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It sounds like something out of Jules Verne. But the idea of “solar sailing” holds out the promise of intergalactic travel and could be the future of space propulsion, as this article explains. Fascinating stuff.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
With about 3,300 employees, Boeing Wichita’s military plant is important to this community. And today, it will unveil its new name. But let’s hope it is something cooler sounding than Mid-Western Aircraft Systems or its current name, the Wichita Development and Modification Center. Who came up with those names? Aircraft engineers?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Congratulations to Sedgwick County Manager Bill Buchanan for being tapped by his peers to be president-elect of the 8,000-member International City/County Management Association, meaning he’ll be president in 2006-07. Besides reflecting very well on Buchanan, such recognition makes the county look good, too.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
America faces some big challenges: Record trade and budget deficits. Soaring health care costs. Homelessness. Illegal immigration. Insurgent attacks in Iraq. Reports of prisoner abuse. So what does the U.S. House do? It passes a constitutional amendment banning flag burning.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Cities have the constitutional right to seize your home for use in private development, such as a shopping mall, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday. But that doesn’t make it right. And as the court pointed out, state legislatures can — and should, in my view — set restrictions on the use of eminent domain.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
