WE Blog

From the cries of concern in Wichita and around the state, it’s clear that lawmakers didn’t understand the potential impact of a recent decision to save money by capping tax breaks for historic renewal projects. And now it’s hard to trust that they know what they’re doing by waiting until January to address the problem. “It’s important to take our time and get it right,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, as the Senate declined to attempt a fix at last week’s “sine die” session. Times are tough, of course, but it will be tragic if the change proves to be the undoing, for example, of the Broadview’s renovation as a Drury Plaza Hotel or of other reinventions of historic properties in downtown Wichita.