Daily Archives: Oct. 6, 2007

Open thread 10/06

Oct. 6, 20071:05 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (127)

Kansas GOP needs to get real as well as get ideas

Oct. 6, 20071:04 a.m.

All good wishes for the new Web site, www.50ideas.org, to collect “progressive ideas that pioneer change” for the Kansas Republican Party platform. The more ideas aimed at improving Kansas, the merrier. But state GOP chairman Kris Kobach (in photo) showed selective reasoning in a launch statement: “Through this novel method, the Kansas Republican Party seeks to create a platform which serves as a vehicle for not just highlighting the failed policies of the Sebelius administration but ways to pro-actively fix Kansas government after years of Democrat control.”
Harris News Service noted what Kobach didn’t: “that Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius earned a 68 percent statewide approval rating in a recent Survey USA poll and that Republicans control both legislative chambers by wide margins.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (73)

Making the city safe for bicycles

Oct. 6, 20071:03 a.m.

In my Friday column, I admire the newly upgraded Central but ask: Why no bike lanes on city streets? It would be a low-cost way to encourage bike riding and enhance safety.
posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Health and safety | Comments (47)

McCain on Greenspan

Oct. 6, 20071:02 a.m.

John McCain is famous for his humor, but it can have an edge. Offering a South Carolina crowd his fine idea of getting the “best minds in America together” to fix the tax code, McCain suggested having former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan lead it: “If he’s alive or dead, it doesn’t matter. If he’s dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him like, like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s.’”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Business | Comments (66)

Buckner among the best

Oct. 6, 20071:01 a.m.

Congratulations to Wichita’s Buckner Performing Arts Magnet Elementary School for being one of only five Kansas schools and one of only 287 schools nationwide to be named a national Blue Ribbon School. To qualify, public and private schools must either be among the top 10 percent academically in the state or have dramatically improved student achievement while serving a large number of disadvantaged students. Buckner met both criteria.
Buckner’s success shows that disadvantaged students can perform at a high level academically. But the rarity of the award — it’s only the third Wichita public school in the past 25 years to receive it — also shows how challenging that can be.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Education | Comments (6)

Community thread

Oct. 6, 20071:00 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (2)