Kansans can wish Kansas State University men’s basketball coach Frank Martin well in his new endeavor of trying to pull South Carolina out of the SEC basement, and cheer on KSU president Kirk Schulz and athletic director John Currie as they seek a new coach who’ll be a positive and lasting asset for the Wildcats, the state and the Big 12. Seeing Martin ditch KSU after five seasons, four NCAA Tournaments and a 117-54 record, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s any loyalty these days between coaches and colleges. But Wichita State University fans just saw proof of its existence in the announcement that men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall (in photo) plans to stay and build on his five seasons and 109-61 record, which have included a Missouri Valley Conference title and NCAA Tournament bid this season and the NIT Championship last year. Marshall said: “Wichita State is a special place, with great resources, from facilities to academics to people.” And a great men’s basketball team, thanks in large part to Marshall.
Norton Bonaparte Jr., the Sanford, Fla., city manager caught in the harsh spotlight of the Trayvon Martin shooting, looks familiar to many Kansans. From 2006 until last July, Bonaparte was the city manager of Topeka, exiting after a challenging tenure marked by power struggles with elected officials and controversies over a police helicopter, the city zoo and more. In 2008, Bonaparte was one of five finalists for the job as Wichita’s city manager, which went to Robert Layton. In taking the job in Sanford last September, noted a Topeka Capital-Journal editorial, Bonaparte unknowingly went from the frying pan to the fire. On Friday, the day after the Sanford police chief stepped aside temporarily, Bonaparte acknowledged: “The issues that have been brought to my attention regarding the black community and the Sanford police department go back 10 years. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done there.”
Sam Brownback made an odd choice for his first bill to veto as governor – one that the Legislature approved unanimously. After using only his line-item veto last year to nix some expenditures including state arts funding, Brownback blocked a bill last week that would give individual counties control of the $20.2 million tied to the Kansas Oil and Gas Valuation Depletion Trust Fund. The House had passed the bill 124-0, and the Senate had approved it 40-0. Brownback doesn’t necessarily disagree with the bill but thinks it “needs to be considered in the context of a comprehensive pro-growth tax and budget package.” In other words, the Legislature seems to be passing bills and cutting taxes willy-nilly without a plan for how it all fits together. The next question: Will the Legislature override the veto?
Kansans can wish Kansas State University men’s basketball coach Frank Martin well in his new endeavor of trying to pull South Carolina out of the SEC basement, and cheer on KSU president Kirk Schulz and athletic director John Currie as they seek a new coach who’ll be a positive and lasting asset for the Wildcats, the state and the Big 12. Seeing Martin ditch KSU after five seasons, four NCAA Tournaments and a 117-54 record, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s any loyalty these days between coaches and colleges. But Wichita State University fans just saw proof of its existence in the announcement that men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall (in photo) plans to stay and build on his five seasons and 109-61 record, which have included a Missouri Valley Conference title and NCAA Tournament bid this season and the NIT Championship last year. Marshall said: “Wichita State is a special place, with great resources, from facilities to academics to people.” And a great men’s basketball team, thanks in large part to Marshall.
