Some Wichita liquor store owners continue to whine about the local ordinance change that allows them to make money on Sundays, starting this coming Sunday (unless a local petition drive meets its numbers goal, in which case it will be on the ballot Aug. 7).
They should give it a rest.
Why should liquor stores be immune from the market decisions that other businesses have to make about whether it’s worth staying open on Sundays?
The bottom line is, they don’t have to open on Sundays — nothing in the law forces them to do so. They say it’s not so simple: Competition will pressure them. Well, that’s the free market.
They should simply decide whether it’s in their economic or personal interests to sell on Sundays. And stop complaining.
posted by Randy Scholfield
Though its population is 50.6 percent female, Kansas is among the 18 states in which top legislative leadership is 100 percent male, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. What’s more, the number of women lawmakers hasn’t changed much over the past decade; currently, 35 women serve in the 125-member Kansas House, and the 40-member Senate includes 13 women. The Legislature’s 29 percent female membership means the state badly lags Vermont’s 37 percent, but at least women are better represented in Kansas than in South Carolina, where 91 percent of lawmakers are men. The state currently has a woman governor and, for the first time in a decade, a female member of Congress. But it needs more women in the Legislature overall but particularly in its top ranks.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Frontier Airlines confirmed this week that it’s coming back to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, offering nonstop service to Denver starting Oct. 1. That’s excellent news for westward fliers looking for competitive fares, and just in time for the holiday season. No doubt the popular demand, in the form of more than 1,200 e-mails Frontier received from area residents, had an impact. But for the expansion to make sense long term, Frontier also will need get lots of people in the seats. Here’s hoping Frontier’s experience this time turns into a success story that attracts the attention of more low-fare carriers looking to expand.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Cost-of-living raises in the U.S. House of Representatives are automatic, meaning the only way to stop them is with special effort. That latest effort quietly failed last week on a procedural vote, 244-181, meaning lawmakers should get their 2.5 percent, $4,400 raise next year, bringing their wages to nearly $170,000 annually. In the Kansas delegation, Republican Todd Tiahrt of Goddard was in the majority favoring letting the raise take effect; Republican Jerry Moran of Hays and Democrats Dennis Moore of Lenexa and Nancy Boyda of Topeka were among the losing votes to block the raise.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com:
BOWING TO PUBLISHING TREND, ROWLING TO REWRITE LAST INSTALLMENT OF POTTER SERIES TO MAKE HILLARY CLINTON THE VILLAIN
NADER’S EGO ENTERS 2008 RACE; Massive Ego Fills Madison Square Garden
CONGRESS HIRES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO WRITE IMMIGRATION BILL; Lawmakers Cite Cost Savings
BUSH TO UNVEIL PLAN TO PHASE OUT ENVIRONMENT BY 2010
CNN TO OFFER SERVICE IN WHICH IT WILL BROADCAST DEMOCRATIC DEBATES BUT CROP OUT MIKE GRAVEL
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
