Daily Archives: May 6, 2009

Poor timing on House GOP bonuses

May 6, 200912:47 p.m.

moneyfalling11No offense to the Kansas House GOP staff, which no doubt works hard for its money, but what were the chamber’s GOP leaders thinking in doling out four- and five-figure bonuses in the midst of a state budget crisis? As the Lawrence Journal-World reported this week, four top staffers for House Speaker Mike O’Neal of Hutchinson, House Majority Leader Ray Merrick of Stilwell and House Speaker Pro Tem Arlen Siegfried of Olathe each received one-time payments ranging from $2,308 to $20,000 shortly before the current session opened in January, on top of salaries ranging from $48,000 to $90,000 a year. Note that these targeted bonuses were made as O’Neal and other GOP leaders were sternly calling on then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to make across-the-board budget cuts.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (20)

Opportunity lost on seat-belt bill

May 6, 20096:03 a.m.

seatbelt1If a failed maneuver in the Kansas House on Tuesday means a primary seat-belt bill is dead for the year at the Statehouse, that will be frustrating. By neglecting the bill, lawmakers are passing up the potential to draw down $13.2 million in federal transportation funding — a move that state Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, had warned would be “a travesty in our current economic crisis.”
Some legislators still view the right to not wear a seat belt as some profound personal freedom. But primary seat-belt laws are proven lifesavers in other states. And as Rep. Dan Johnson, R-Hays, has said, “I don’t see where this takes any of our freedoms away. . . . It might let you live a few more years.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (150)

Open thread 5/6

May 6, 20096:02 a.m.

thread393

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (198)

GOP like ‘Animal House’ marching band?

May 6, 20096:01 a.m.

animalhouseparade1“History does teach us that party fortunes fluctuate over time, so I assume the GOP will somehow find its way back,” wrote columnist Dick Polman. “But for now, it reminds me of the college marching band that went astray during the climactic movie scene in ‘Animal House.’ Strutting blindly down a dead-end alley, the musicians ran into a brick wall, and even as they crumpled against one another, they kept on playing the same old music.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under U.S. politics | Comments (127)

Wind plant is great start

May 6, 20096:00 a.m.

Hooray for Hutchinson for landing a new wind turbine plant that is expected to employ 400 people. Germany-based Siemens selected Hutchinson because of its central location, work force and transportation logistics. Turbine manufacturing is a natural fit for this region, but we’ve been slow in pursuing it. The Hutchinson plant is a great start at achieving Gov. Mark Parkinson’s vision of “a corridor of factories from Wichita to Salina” that will “make Kansas the renewable energy leader of the country.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Energy, Parkinson | Comments (568)