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Community thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Aug. 11, 2007 at 1:00 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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17 Comments
I like that picture of this community blog. Behind Century II was a casino site that no one yet can tell me, why that location SCARED some.
Writing to the Feary won’t work. Sure she’s complaining now with no Casino in Wichita, but made statements hating that “core downtown” location. Mayor Brewer made similar complaints.
Blow hard CEO’s of downtown corporations threating to move, yet I don’t have specifics why.
Was it fear of people going into a casino. Hanging around? What culturally is the problem. Wasn’t a strip club!
Sad!
The Library wants to move, investment money could have helped them do that.
City shouldn’t own the Hyatt.
Century II needs upgrades investment money could have helped that.
Those improvements will continued to paid for by tax dollars and the City is happy to do it.
I can’t believe City Council wanting a Casino let this happen. The Canadians couldn’t buy Century II but was that said directly to them?
If the NO crowd is proud of their accomplishment then there shouldn’t be a problem with the Bowling Congress coming here, using Century II.
Wichita may not win the 2011 Bowling tourney, other cities are bidding, maybe.
Mistakes were made by developers, too involved with interior City politics, instead of selling their plans with more details to the general public.
It’s a lesson how to approach development projects, get the people interested first before the politicians.
Any fool plan can make front page of the Eagle. Trolley did, nothing came of that. Dave Bayouth’s Arena over the river drawing. Nonsense like that caused a real meeting downtown to talk about it.
We are defined as a City, One Epic tower, a project unfinished yet accepted.
Love the Boathouse that didn’t rent boats.
Redirected street is finished for WaterWalk but will it finish construction? I don’t see the WaterWalk Condo’s being constructed west of the river, east of the Ice Rink.
The Arena, no corporate yet has partnered with County. As of today, we still have the smallest Arena idea in this regional area.
Some people didn’t want gambling, nor the Arena. I think some are just complaining of parking downtown. We need the Arena.
I’m very glad the Park City location was rejected again for development. Some people have to be pounded on the head, that’s not a good location for large developments. It’s a retail area.
Some are excited Sumner County Casino isn’t far away, I’m disappointed its not in Wichita, I’m not eager to witness that Casino get built. Someone will have to take me there, I won’t go willingly. I’ll hop a plane in Wichita, fly to Vegas instead.
Would you like some cheese with that Mrage?
And congratulations on helping defeat slots at the dog track.
Now, to change the subject for those of us who love Kansas and not only Wichita. The Eagle has been doing a thing on the ‘7 wonders’ of Kansas. I’d like to add to that short trips that can be done on a budget within the state. A few weeks back I took the boys to Hutch – water park and Cosmosphere. This past week to Rock City near Minneapolis.
Steve Harper of the Eagle has written a book “83,000 Square Miles, No, Lines, No Waiting: Kansas Day Trips.”
Who says there is nothing to do in Kansas?
Wait. Two posts upthread: was that REALLY Ben being snarky to Mrage, or is CF2K seeing things?
I can’t recall Ben ever snarking like that–unless one counts his way of adressing “Joe!” Williams.
Yep, that was me. Mrage deserved that; especially since he helped defeat both the casino AND the slots at the track and now whines about it.
Ben,
It’s okay to blame me, and not look at yourself.
Skimmed over the key information about the Canadians plan. They would have left Century II and Expo Hall in their current condition.
Your over reaching fear Century II being sold came from where?
Hate Casino’s competely as cancer in the community but to fear the location downtown is senseless and no one has explained that to me properly.
Then you kept on hoping for the racino, never been there before and liking the Park City location for developments. Citizens have denounced that area twice in voting, get it now?
Dee gets it!
Blame Michael Vick problems in the news mistreating his dogs and suddenly dog tracks are wanting slots. A lot of people don’t like dogs being raced.
The Gilley’s Bar, food and slots wouldn’t hide that fact.
My fault, none of it yours. I voted for the Casino, I’m the blame for it failing. You voted No and accept none of the responsibility.
You promoted No-Yes often.
Thanks for killing the Casino. Feary voted yes and she’s a protector of downtown.
Mrage – people like you who kept alive the concern that it would be downtown hurt the casinomore than I ever could. That is why you are so funny!
As for “Blame Michael Vick problems in the news mistreating his dogs and suddenly dog tracks are wanting slots. A lot of people don’t like dogs being raced.” That’s even sillier than your usual stuff!
Speakin of hate – I notice your vow to never attend the one that would help Sedgwick County and would fly to Vegas instead. Gee, that sounds a lot like your LIE-claim about me and your arena. Remember that one?
By the way – hmaking any progress with your attempts to get corporations to help your arena?
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Moving on to good news in Wichita. I just attended another sold-out performance by Wichita Music Theater. Hairspray this time. EXCELLENT!!!
Looking in the program I note massive support from corporations and individuals who underwrite the productions. This makes tickets affordable for people like me. These performances draw patrons from a fairly large area outside of Sedgwick County.
We have attended theater in Chicago, New York, LA, Pittsburgh, Boston, London and elsewhere. MTW can stand proud compared with all of them.
Likewise we have symphony, opera (not my thing) and other productions that have similar quality. Who says there is nothing to do in Wichita?
I saw the movie tonight at the Warren in Old Town…LOVED IT!! I’d love to see the stage production..what great music.
Wichita has done a great job in Old Town…it’s really nice to just walk around there.
Mary – you definitely should check out Music Theater. They do a spectacular job. Reasonably priced too.
Next season – Miss Saigon, My Fair Lady, All Shook Up, a couple more I can’t recall right now.
Thing I wish they would do in Old Town. Block the brick streets from vehicle traffic to facilitate ’strolling around’
Big River – the fourth one. Fifth one not announced yet.
Because of all the ‘honcho’ types who contribute so much we can actually afford tickets. Mary – I strongly recommend it.
At 3 AM, looking in the northeast sky, for the Perseid Meteor Shower. This meteor shower is supposed to be at its maximum in the tonight’s night sky. Its said to be debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet which has a 130 year orbit around the Sun.
Anyway, I just now looked for the vaunted meteor shower in the sky. However only saw one possible flash and didn’t turn fast enough to be sure. Might be to many nearby street lights.
Did anyone else try?
*********************************
In other news, the National Baseball Congress annual tournament concluded earlier in the evening at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Havascu (sp?) routed the Hays Larks in a lop-sided game, 12-2. I suspect the Hays team were tired from games yesterday … don’t know how the sports people will replay this game. The crowd of course generally supported the Kansas team.
***************************
And now for a little history trivia. Seventy-six years ago tomorrow, on August 14th, 1931 … downtown Wichita experienced a gangster episode. “Mad dog” killer, bank robber and favorite son of Joplin, Missouri, WILBUR UNDERHILL, shot a Wichita police officer in a downtown Wichita hotel.
The shooting took place in the Iris Hotel, third floor looking out on the downtown Wichita intersection of Douglas and Water streets. This would be short block northwest of today’s Downtown Library and across the street east of today’s Century II.
The Iris Hotel is, of course, long gone.
The Wichita police officer was making his rounds checking on suspicious characters in downtown Wichita hotels. Wilbur Underhill and his brother had a car wreck somewhere on Broadway so were waiting for the car to be repaired at a garage in the vicinity.
Wichita officer Merle Colver happened to notice a pistol under a pillow in Underhill’s hotel room which resulted in a confrontation and the shooting. Officer Colver was buried in nearby Clearwater, Kansas.
Although Wilbur Underhill, a notorius gangster of the 1930’s era, escaped the Wichita episode, about three years later Oklahoma peace officers shot him 13 times with pistol and shotgun fire. Wilbur Underhill died on January 6, 1934.
Underhill was one of the genre of “Cookson Hills” gangsters of the 1930’s including Machine Gun Kelly and others. Underhill himself called Joplin, Missouri his home and was buried there.
Final canvas with provisional ballots included:
“The slots measure received 51,863 no votes and 51,617 yes votes”
246 votes apart; a ‘flip’ of 124 votes would have passed slots.
I wonder how many of the diehard ‘downtown location only’ and ‘we hate Park City’ casino supporters voted YES-NO hoping to get a monopoly.
I suspect that a majority of voters voted FOR expanded gambling; they just split their votes.
The Big and Little Arkansas River elevations will be lowered this week and next, to permit inspection of 17 bridges spanning the two rivers.
The Little River will be lowered beginning Tuesday, Aug. 14, and raised Friday, Aug. 17 if no extra time is needed. The Big Arkansas water level will be lowered beginning Aug. 20 and returned to normal levels approximately on Aug. 23.
The inspections will be performed by PEC, an engineering firm hired for this process.
It would be nice to see a real cleanup, perhaps with some selective dredging of sediments, while the level is down.
City of Wichita officials announced today that the Broadway bridge – south of the John Mack Bridge – is closed after bridge inspections revealed deterioration under the deck.
The 800-foot long bridge is located approximately halfway between MacArthur and 31st Street South. It’s unkown how long the bridge will remain closed. A detour route has been established along 31st Street South, Seneca and MacArthur. A graphic is attached to the news release.
The four-lane bridge carries about 14,000 vehicles a day over Union Pacific railroad. It was last officially inspected in July 2004, when a 10-ton weight limit was implemented.
“The bridge had been posted with weight-limit signs, because of concerns about its aging condition,” Chris Carrier, Director of Public Works, said of the 70-year-old bridge. “Trucks exceeding the limit accelerated the deterioration. Motorists have been ignoring the weight limit.”
City officials have contacted state and federal officials regarding possible funding sources. The estimated cost to replace the bridge is 5 to 7 million, but repairing the bridge remains an option.
Engineers from Professional Engineering Consultants and the City discovered accelerated deterioration during a routine bridge inspection today. They were conducting a scheduled round of inspections that began in April.
Kansas – having done cleanups along the river I have seen a lot of deterioration on the undersides of bridges. A couple of parking garages I know downtown too. Makes me wonder.