What a great example nine current and former Wichita East High School students set in running from Wichita to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur. More than 200,000 civilians in Darfur have died since 2003, and more than 2 million have been displaced, according to the Genocide Intervention Network. In addition, a column by Nicholas Kristof on today’s Opinion pages tells of the how the Sudanese government has turned Darfur into a rape camp.
Obviously, running cross country isn’t an option for most people. But neither should be sitting back and doing nothing while thousands of civilians are raped and murdered.
Phill Kline filed today to run for Johnson County district attorney - the position that the county Republican Party gave him in late 2006 after he lost his re-election campaign for Kansas attorney general. Kline said last year that he wouldn’t seek the job but changed his mind.
Kline likely will face a tough challenge, even in the GOP primary. Many Johnson County Republicans were mad when Kline was chosen to fill the district attorney position, given how badly he lost in the attorney general race. They may prefer GOP candidate Steve Howe, one of the prosecutors Kline dismissed when he became district attorney. Howe has been endorsed by Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker.
The winner of that primary will face Rick Guinn, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.
“One of the best ways to describe the current rural atmosphere is something akin to a gold rush — I’ve never seen anything like this — especially with the oil influence,†Lane County grain grower Vance Ehmke told Associated Press. But it’s not just increased oil drilling that is raising the fortunes of rural Kansas. So are high commodity prices. As a result, AP reported, farmland values are up about 20 percent from last year; farmers are making more capital investments, which also helps the rural economy; and there are high loan repayment rates, which is freeing up more money for farm loans.
As it’s become harder to find places to smoke over the past few years, more Kansans have smoked. At least that’s what seems to have happened, judging from a new Kansas Department of Health and Environment report. The number of adults who smoke cigarettes in Kansas rose from 17.8 percent in 2005 to 20 percent in 2006, after three years of declines. The increase is small statistically, but the reversal of the trend is significant — and should give lawmakers pause as they formally conclude the 2008 legislative session today without having passed a proposed statewide smoking ban or 50-cent cigarette-tax increase. Lawmakers should give both ideas another look next year. Meanwhile, the KDHE report suggests, 3,900 Kansans will die this year from smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, bronchitis and oral cancer, as smoking-related Medicaid bills cost the state $196 million.
In the upbeat new TV ads promoting Kansas attractions, the Kansas Department of Commerce blessedly limits its use of the current state slogan — “Kansas: as big as you think†— to an afterthought. We wouldn’t mind seeing the 3½-year-old phrase replaced. Those who don’t see a problem should consider the reaction of one out-of-stater, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch columnist Joe Blundo. In a recent rumination on state slogans, Blundo suggested Kansas might even be repelling tourists with the tagline: “Far from attracting me, the slogan just makes me dread having to drive through Kansas on the way to Colorado,†he wrote.
The Kansas City Star recently asked author and branding expert Steve Cone what he thought of “as big as you think.â€â€œBig?†responded Cone. “Meaning what?â€
The problem with such slogans, he said, is that “there’s nothing head-nodding about them that makes people say, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly right.’â€
Asked about one former slogan, “Land of Ah’s,†Cone said: “They probably should have kept it. Oz will always be associated with Kansas. When you get a great line, it’s intriguing. People won’t get tired of it.â€
Eagle food columnist Joe Stumpe recently suggested some tasty replacements for “as big as you thinkâ€: “Kansas: Meat. Wheat. Chew on that.†Or “Kansas: Open wide.â€
Congratulations to David Rundle for receiving the Arc of Sedgwick County Adult Achiever of the Year award. The award recognizes citizens who have overcome disabilities to find success. Kevin Fish — executive director of the Arc, a non-profit agency serving individuals with developmental disabilities — said that not only has Rundle found personal success, he has become a “wonderful advocate†for people with disabilities. Rundle, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, writes commentaries for The Eagle, primarily on disability issues. “We need to help bring the needs of the disabled to the attention of the public and government,†Rundle said. “If I help do that as a writer, I am glad.â€
Another reason to be optimistic about the future in Kansas: news of the creation of a Kansas Corps of college students who can be dispatched to help communities. “With a single phone call, this group could be mobilized to serve any area of the state,†Allie Crouse, a Wichita State University student, recently told the Kansas Board of Regents. She is among about 80 others who’ve spent 16 months planning the corps. At a recent trial run in Melvern, Kan., 50 students from six colleges built a hiking and biking trail on the site of a trash dump. No word from the regents as to whether they can oblige the group’s request to help with funding, starting in fiscal year 2010. But the Kansas Corps is an outstanding idea. Many student service groups already do great work around the state, but this one could be coordinated and deployed as needed. As Curt Brungardt, a professor at Fort Hays State University who is also involved, told the regents: “Think of the power of it.â€
As the Kansas House wrapped up its business recently, House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, thanked his colleagues for their support for his tornado-ravaged community and offered an anecdote that reflects the storm’s worldwide attention. He described how some Kansans visiting England, asked where they live, had answered “Wichita.â€
“Oh, really?†replied the Britons. “Now, where is that from Greensburg?â€
Saying that Kansas’ Big First congressional district holds “the single greatest potential for wind energy in the country,” Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson helped break ground Friday for Horizon Wind Energy’s 67-turbine Meridian Way Wind Farm south of Concordia. Parkinson noted it had been “a week of smiles in Kansas,” what with the University of Kansas Jayhawks’ NCAA championship and the Kansas City Royals’ two wins over the New York Yankees. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen smiles like I’ve seen today on the faces of the landowners that are going to have turbines on their property,” he said.
Monday was a big night for Kansans, and especially Lawrence residents — so big that the University of Kansas gave its students the next day off. But Lawrence public schools didn’t cancel classes, and 2,134 of the district’s 10,000 students missed school that day, compared with 790 absences on average on recent Tuesdays.
It’s hard to get three-quarters or even two-thirds of Kansans to agree on much these days, but the Air Force succeeded: In a SurveyUSA poll sponsored by KWCH, Channel 12 in Wichita, 80 percent said the contract to build a U.S. military airplane should not go to the lowest bidder if it’s a foreign company, as it did in the case of the refueling tankers. Asked if Boeing’s loss of the refueling tanker contract will have a major impact on the local economy, 68 percent said it would. Plus, 62 percent said they thought such a plane would be less safe if built by a foreign company.
Judging from the TV commercial touting Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s proposed expansion of “Holcomb station,†coal-fired power plants make sunflowers grow and families grow closer. They also involve wind turbines. “The visuals overwhelmingly show images of a clean, healthy, sunflower-filled Kansas, hoping viewers will actually associate the Holcomb coal-fired power plant with beauty and health rather than what many may normally associate burning coal with, which is dirty air,†observed Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty.
Sunflower president Earl Watkins said: “We think the public’s entitled to know both sides of the debate.â€
Speaking of how the Kansas Senate started its Tuesday, chaplain Fred Hollomon’s Kansas Day prayer bears repeating:
“One hundred and forty-seven years ago today, Kansas moved from territory to statehood. From the very beginning Kansas wore a label: If anything could be done, Kansas folks were able. We have been described as being both hit and miss, ‘from the heights of ecstasy, to the black abyss.’ We’ve been called ‘anomaly,’ hard to understand. ‘Peculiar, but interesting,’ a ‘problematic’ land. We once were ‘Bleeding Kansas,’ fighting to be free. Finally winning the battle, and statehood came to be. Yes, you saw it all, O God, but you play a greater role: Through your many ministers you can save Kansas’ soul!â€
Many a Kansas schoolchild knows that today is Kansas Day, the 147th anniversary of the Kansas’ entrance into the Union as a free state. The older folks among us tend to think of it as an excuse for Kansas Republicans to party (which they did over the weekend in Topeka). But Kansans of all ages could be better acquainted with their fascinating state, which is more than the sum of its “bleeding,†cattle-herding, wheat-growing, planemaking and ball-playing parts.
We’ll get a good gauge of what Kansans value most about the Sunflower State today, when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and the Kansas Sampler Foundation announce the Eight Wonders of Kansas, as chosen by more than 24,000 people online.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius isn’t the only member of her family getting media attention; so is one of her sons — albeit in the “news of the weird†category. John Sebelius, 23, is selling “Don’t Drop the Soap,†a prison-themed board game he created as part of a class project at the Rhode Island School of Design, Associated Press reported. The description of the game on his Web site (which also lists the governor’s mansion in the contact address) says: “Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss’ lasagna in the Cafeteria, steal painkillers from the nurse’s desk in the Infirmary, avoid being cornered by the Aryans in the shower room, fight off Latin Kings in Gang War, and try not to smoke your entire stash in The Hole.â€
Nicole Corcoran, the governor’s spokeswoman, noted that the game — which sells for $34.99, plus packaging, shipping and handling — isn’t intended for children.
UPDATE: As of late Monday, John Sebelius’ Web site no longer listed the governor’s mansion as the contact address, using a Lawrence address instead.
The Eagle identified nine people “to watch in 2008†— Matt All, Rod Bremby (in photo), Winston Brooks, Joey DeLeon, Peter Gustaf, Kim Janzen, Jack Pelton, Mary K. Vaughn and Bill Warren — and left a 10th spot open to represent the key posts currently vacant.
Meanwhile, the Topeka Capital-Journal named the residents of Greensburg as its Kansans of the Year, an honor that’s richly deserved. Among that newspaper’s Distinguished Kansans for 2007 were Iraq surge architect Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, KU football coach Mark Mangino, NASCAR contender Clint Bowyer and Google Earth creator Brian McClendon.
Any WE Bloggers feel left out? Or see obvious omissions from either list?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Most of the critics of Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby’s rejection of permits for two coal plants in western Kansas have been from western Kansas. So there’s no gauging how the full Legislature would vote on any measure aimed at overruling the decision, let alone trying to override a governor’s veto of such a bill. But at least one key Johnson County lawmaker, state Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, appears ready to stand with plant proponents. “The Legislature needs to take legislative action to overrule Bremby’s decision,†Vratil said this week, arguing the state’s action could deter businesses from investing in Kansas.
That seemingly puts Vratil at odds with Sen. Jim Barnett (in photo), R-Emporia, a physician who recently said Bremby was right to consider the health effects of carbon emissions when he denied the permit (but also said there are more serious air-quality issues in other parts of the state).
Posted by Rhonda Holman
When it comes to marketing to potential tourists, Kansas’ spending is about as big as you’d think: 44th among states for funding of its tourism office ($4.5 million last year) and 48th among states for marketing and promotion ($1.1 million). All agree the Sunflower State can do better. At a legislative meeting last week, the question was how. One idea: a new semi-independent tourism authority, patterned after the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
No jokes here about Derby’s designation designation by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Place to Retire” (49th place), just three months after Family Circle counted it among America’s “10 Best Towns for Families.” Derby stands out among American suburbs for being less a bedroom community than a full-service city that just happens to be next to Wichita. With 20,000 residents and a high quality of life and leadership, Derby is due congratulations — and imitation.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
What a great example nine current and former Wichita East High School students set in running from Wichita to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur. More than 200,000 civilians in Darfur have died since 2003, and more than 2 million have been displaced, according to the Genocide Intervention Network. In addition, a column by Nicholas Kristof on today’s Opinion pages tells of the how the Sudanese government has turned Darfur into a rape camp.
