Daily Archives: July 10, 2009

Ensign’s parents paid off mistress

July 10, 200912:26 p.m.

ensignThe parents of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., gave $96,000 last year to the staffer who was his mistress and to her family, supposedly “out of concern for the well-being of longtime family friends during a difficult time.” The payments roughly coincide with the resignation of the staffer and her husband, who has Ensign’s chief of staff, the Washington Post reported. Ensign  had denied that he provided any severance payments or other financial assistance for the couple _ which, I guess, is technically true.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under U.S. politics | Comments (57)

County’s checkbook is now open

July 10, 20096:04 a.m.

peterjohn3Good for Sedgwick County and commissioner Karl Peterjohn (in photo) for creating a new Web feature that allows the public to examine how the county gets and spends money. Data can be searched by function, category, fund or vendor. As Peterjohn noted, it can sometimes be difficult to get financial information from governments. The new “county checkbook” database helps create more openness and transparency.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Wichita government | Comments (8)

Open thread 7/10

July 10, 20096:03 a.m.

thread416

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (255)

Crews must be doing OK at keeping traffic moving

July 10, 20096:02 a.m.

roadrepairs3Given how much Wichitans complain about road construction, it’s impressive that the city ranked second-best of 90 cities in fewest traffic delays in the 2009 Urban Mobility Report. Apparently, construction crews are doing a pretty good job keeping traffic moving. The ranking is also impressive given that Wichita isn’t doing as well on traffic safety. Wichita dropped 23 positions, to 55th place out of 200, in Allstate Insurance Co.’s annual ranking of the likelihood of having a traffic accident. More accidents usually mean more traffic delays.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Wichita | Comments (3)

Dubious, bogus and utterly phony headlines

July 10, 20096:01 a.m.

spoofslogo19The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com and theonion.com:
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE REPORTS MENTAL HEALTH EPIDEMIC AMONG REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS; Erratic Behaviors Cited
SANFORD: ‘I’M TOO SEXY FOR MY STATE’; Latest Statement Stirs Controversy
OBAMA TO HOLD JOB PERFORMANCE REVIEW WITH EVERY AMERICAN WORKER
COMEDIANS MOURN PALIN’S RESIGNATION; Candlelight Vigils Held

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Spoof headlines | Comments (9)