Daily Archives: Dec. 16, 2006

Open thread

Dec. 16, 20061:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (63)

Arena _ can we keep it under $201 million?

Dec. 16, 20061:03 a.m.

Some Wichitans are pouncing on news that the cost estimate of the downtown arena has risen from $184.5 million to $201 million — as it turns out, the amount of revenue now expected to be raised from the 30-month arena sales tax.
Cynics will see that as too convenient. But the higher price tag of the arena wasn’t that hard to predict — many public projects around the nation have seen cost overruns because of rising material costs and other factors.
Politically, though, the Sedgwick County Commission will take it on the chin, especially in light of earlier commitments to bring the project in on time and within budget.
“I’m still very, very confident we’re going to be able to build this within the budget we put out,” Commission Chairman Ben Sciortino told The Eagle back in April, referring to the $184.5 million figure.
It might be safer and more realistic for county leaders to pledge that they’ll stay within the revenues brought in by the 30-month tax, whatever that amount raises.
By law, the tax will come to an end Dec. 31, 2007.
If the final cost goes beyond those revenues — and that’s not hard to imagine — commissioners should have to go back to the public and make their case for more funds.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Arena | Comments (63)

Will Roberts really forsake Brownback?

Dec. 16, 20061:01 a.m.

It’s got to sting a little for Sen. Sam Brownback — news that fellow Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts made a pitch to business types in Washington, D.C., this week on behalf of Sen. John McCain’s likely presidential candidacy. Roberts later said he’s “not endorsing anyone at this time” and noted that “a Kansas favorite son” was among potential GOP candidates. But it does make you wonder what Roberts really thinks of Brownback’s bid. No Kansan has been better positioned to assess Brownback’s 10-year service as a senator.
Meanwhile, when Luntz Research Companies asked voter focus groups in Iowa and New Hampshire last summer about 2008 presidential contenders, participants found Sen. Sam Brownback to be “clean-cut, honest and clear about where he stands” but a bit too “soft-spoken” and “passive.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas delegation | Comments (38)

A holiday greeting from OPEC

Dec. 16, 20061:00 a.m.

If the United States needed another reminder that cheap gas is a thing of the past, it came Thursday as OPEC announced its second production cut in two months.
The 2 percent cut, to begin in February, startled some analysts because oil prices remain above $60 a barrel and supplies are already tight. Clearly, OPEC wasn’t as pleased as the rest of us to see prices slipping from the record high of $77 a barrel this summer. That’s why it imposed a 4 percent production cut in October.
“I hope the market appreciates we are working so diligently to bring supply and demand in balance,” Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, said of the new cut.
Appreciation? Hey, that goes without saying.
Posted by Dave Knadler

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (36)