In recent months, the Sunflower Community Action group has performed a public service by pressuring city officials to do something about neighborhood blight. But the group crossed a line of civility and privacy in December by picketing at City Manager George Kolb’s house, trying to goad him to act on a notorious dump in northeast Wichita. Protesters left signs at his house and upset Kolb’s wife (he wasn’t home).
Although Sunflower members insist the protest was brief and orderly, it wasn’t a smart or necessary tactic.
But now the city seems to have overreacted by pursuing trespassing and illegal dumping charges against four members of the group that could lead to fines and jail time. Kolb has reason to complain, but is this really a good use of city resources? "If it happened at anybody else’s house, we would have followed the same procedure," claimed city attorney Gary Rebenstorf.
Why is that hard to believe?
What’s ironic is that both sides share the goal of ending blight. Instead of using personal and petty tactics against one another, why don’t Sunflower and Kolb agree to sit down and reason together in the larger interests of the city?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The implied criticism of the leadership of former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is hard to miss in this story about the vital panel’s new era under Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Vice Chairman Kit Bond, R-Mo. "This was not pretty the previous five years," Rockefeller said. "We’ve made a different approach this time." The committee staffers have been reorganized to emphasize bipartisanship. "There are no Republicans. There are no Democrats. There are only people who work for the committee," Rockefeller said. Three long-overdue reports on prewar intelligence on Iraq are promised, too. "Just flush it out. Get it out and get to some other work," Bond said.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Bank of America is testing a pilot program in about 50 of its Los Angeles banks in which a special credit card is available to people with no credit history and no Social Security number. The marketing push is mostly aimed at the growing Hispanic population. The bank is allowing immigrants to use individual taxpayer identification numbers issued by the IRS, or their “matricula consular,” identification provided by Mexican consulates. While the credit limit is typically $500 and the card carries a high interest rate, the program meets the needs of a potentially huge market composed primarily of undocumented immigrants.
This program has called into question the ethics of U.S. companies marketing products to those who are here illegally.
Posted by Patrice Hein
Bullying is a serious problem in Kansas schools — both the in-your-face and cyber varieties. But it’s not a problem that seems fixable by the Legislature. If there is value in proposed legislation to require school districts to implement anti-bullying plans and report bullying to the state, it will be in bringing bullying greater public attention and prompting local school districts to explore whether their anti-bullying measures are in place and effective.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
In the debate over Kansas’ minimum wage, it’s often noted that an estimated 19,000 Kansas wage workers earn less than the federal minimum wage law of $5.15.
Who are these workers who make the state minimum wage of $2.65 an hour or higher? Surprisingly, state officials have only the sketchiest clue.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have that information,” said Inayat Noormohmad, senior labor economist with the Kansas Department of Labor. The figure is an estimate based on federal data, he said. He did say it’s “not necessarily” correct to assume, as many do, that the group consists mainly of waitresses who also make tips.
And he said there probably are some adult full-time workers in Kansas who make less than $5.15 an hour.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“Before we can even begin debate on climate change, we must investigate the numerous allegations that our federal scientists are being constrained from conveying their research findings and conclusions,” Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said recently. He said that allegations have included denying federal scientists the right to speak, changing their findings, and denying the release of their work.
With whole villages along Alaska’s western coast dropping into the ocean and satellite photos of massive chunks of sea ice breaking loose, attempts to keep scientists mum on the severity of climate change are futile. Why not put the hard science out there so that real solutions can be found?
Posted by Patrice Hein
