Fox News host Glenn Beck has said many times that he won’t run for president, noting he isn’t electable. But Beck and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had fun at a rally Saturday playing to the desire of some conservatives for a “dream team” pairing of the two. “Glenn and I are supposed to make some big 2012 announcement or something,” Palin said. A few minutes later, Beck responded: “We would like to announce that in 2012” — pause — “that we will both be” — another pause — “voting!”
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce may withdraw its membership from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. “I am going to recommend to my board that we do not renew until some more moderate and leveler heads are in charge again,” Shelley Hansel-Williams, executive director of the Wellington chamber, told the Topeka Capital-Journal. She is frustrated that the Kansas Chamber is targeting state Rep. Vince Wetta, D-Wellington, for defeat because he supported the sales-tax increase. During the past legislative session, 16 local chambers representing most of the major business centers in Kansas (with the notable exception of Wichita) signed a letter supporting a tax increase. Some businesses also are leaving the chamber because of its narrow agenda and hardball politics, including J.E. Dunn Construction, the 11th-largest general building contractor in the United States. But Kansas Chamber officials dismiss the defectors as being out of touch with the business community and being too connected to universities and social service agencies that depend on government funding. “We don’t kiss babies and cut ribbons like a lot of local chambers do,” said Kent Eckles, vice president of government affairs at the Kansas Chamber. Maybe they should try it.
Because of the railroad bridges now at Wichita’s core, drivers don’t have to think about train traffic, let alone sit and stew while it passes. But it was nice to be reminded of how great the $105 million railroad corridor project has been for Wichita, with news of its inclusion among the nation’s 10 best transportation projects by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As the association noted, because two miles of railroad track were raised and five bridges were built, “vehicles can now pass freely below the tracks, improving safety and reducing vehicle emissions, traffic congestion and crashes.” Now the rail corridor will vie for the grand prize and a people’s choice award, to be presented next month in Biloxi, Miss.
