The devastating collapse of a Minneapolis bridge should raise concerns anew about the nation’s aging infrastructure. A full 26 percent of the nation’s 600,000 bridges — including 22 percent of those in Kansas — were rated "structurally deficient" in a 2006 Department of Transportation study, according to USA Today.
Most aren’t going to fall down tomorrow, but with increased traffic and loads, significant and costly repairs can’t be postponed indefinitely.
"We need more responsible understanding that the infrastructure issue is a crisis today," said one engineer expert. "If we don’t believe it, we just need to start looking around."
Posted by Randy Scholfield
I argue in my column today that amid all the debate about casino effects and benefits, an obvious fact is being overlooked: Millions of Americans think gambling and casinos are actually fun.
You’d never suspect that listening to the anti-gaming folks.
But many Wichitans have no problem whatsoever thinking of a casino as entertainment, including many people who have no real interest in going to one.
What’s wrong with that?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Here is another reason why many Americans don’t trust electronic voting machines: Hackers hired by the state of California were able to break into electronic voting systems used in California and found several ways in which vote totals could potentially be altered, the New York Times reported. The U.S. House has been working on a bill that would require every state to have a paper trail that so that voters could verify that their ballots had been correctly cast and that could be used during recounts, as is already the case in Sedgwick County. But critics contend that paper backups aren’t enough to address all the security concerns.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Grumblers who have been complaining that the new downtown arena will become a money pit for taxpayers can be quiet now. The Sedgwick County Commission approved an innovative contract this week that protects the county from any loss during the arena’s first five years of operations. SMG, a Philadelphia-based company that will manage the arena, has agreed to foot the bill for any losses. In exchange, the company will get to share the revenue if the arena makes a profit.
“The contract places all the downside operational risk with SMG,” County Manager Bill Buchanan said in an e-mail. “Sedgwick County taxpayers do not have to subsidize this arena. That is huge!”
Perhaps the only thing more amazing than this contract is that anti-arena commissioners Kelly Parks and Gwen Welshimer voted against it.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
You know that times are changing when the Beacon Restaurant, long a favorite of smokers, announced this week that it will be smoke-free on Saturdays and Sundays. Actually, the restaurant, located at 909 E. Douglas (right next to The Eagle), is testing the ban to see how it goes, according to an employee who predicted an uprising by the restaurants smoking patrons. Still, if the Beacon is willing to become more smoke-free, an eventual citywide ban seems inevitable.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
