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Budget cuts could have been worse

Today at 12:05 a.m.

Many Kansans who rely on state funding will find nothing to be thankful for in Gov. Mark Parkinson's latest round of budget cuts, the fifth time this fiscal-year budget has been downsized.

  • Kansas views

    Nov. 23 at 12:36 a.m.

    Dirty campaigning —Did you know Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, was a communist? No? We weren't aware of it, either, until a release from the Senate campaign of Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, pointed out that Moran has been endorsed by the Communist Party USA. Sort of. The intention of the Tiahrt camp is clear: Paint Moran as "not conservative enough," feeding on the socialism/communism paranoia that's running rampant since Barack Obama took the reins. We would like to remind those running Tiahrt's campaign that voters in northwest Kansas are not amused by the McCarthy-esque red-baiting. By the way, in case facts matter, the Communist Party USA has not endorsed Moran. It simply offered thanks to a handful of Republican members of Congress who co-sponsored a bill lifting the travel ban to Cuba. How are we ever to expect bipartisan — or, gasp, nonpartisan — politics to rule the day in this nation if candidates in the same party play so dirty?— Hays Daily News

  • Focus on getting Americans working

    Nov. 22 at 3:14 a.m.

    A jobless recovery is no recovery for the jobless, which is why President Obama, members of Congress and other leaders at all levels still need to focus on getting Americans working again. Like the layoffs, the problem solving should cut across party lines.

  • Wise to update development focus

    Nov. 20 at 12:03 a.m.

    The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition commissioned a study five years ago that identified industries to target for growth and to help diversify the local economy. Given new economic and market conditions (including the emergence of the green-energy sector), GWEDC is wise to update that study and re-examine the region's competitiveness.

  • Coliseum delay should be short

    Nov. 19 at 12:06 a.m.

    The Sedgwick County Commission was right last summer to want to chart a productive future for the Kansas Coliseum complex. But especially with county staff warning that even the better of two proposals would put taxpayers at significant financial risk, the commission also was right Wednesday in declining to pick a developer and start contract negotiations.

  • Kansans fearmongering on reform

    Nov. 18 at 12:05 a.m.

    In the absence of formal legislation on health care for much of the year, members of Congress and others could itemize grievances about the reform effort freely, without regard to any facts.

  • Lawsuit has merit but is not helpful

    Nov. 17 at 12:06 a.m.

    School districts certainly have grounds for suing the state again. After all, they won an earlier lawsuit over inadequate school funding, yet the state is reneging on that funding obligation.

  • Kansas views

    Nov. 16 at 1:13 a.m.

    Plant closing —It's hard to gauge the extent of damage from losing the Hawker Beechcraft manufacturing plant in Salina. But there's no doubt it is far- reaching. This closure means a loss of nearly 240 of the best-paying jobs in Salina. According to government reports, the average annual earnings for Kansas aircraft workers outside of Wichita is $53,004, including both entry-level and management employees. By the time doors close on Hawker Beechcraft operations, $12.6 million in payroll will be lost from Salina and surrounding communities. We estimate a similar amount has disappeared already since the plant started losing workers a year or so ago. At one time employment was up to 500. Those losses are a big blow to local economies, no matter how one looks at it.— Salina Journal

  • Lord’s Diner decision still leaves need

    Nov. 15 at 2:58 a.m.

    What began as polite resistance to the idea of opening a satellite Lord’s Diner in central-northeast Wichita had turned defiant in recent days. So it seemed inevitable, if regrettable, when the Lord’s Diner dropped its proposal Saturday and asked Mayor Carl Brewer to pull the item from Tuesday’s City Council agenda.

  • Lift up neighbors, community

    Nov. 13 at 12:04 a.m.

    The usual festive adjectives will have some sobering company this year, as the season of giving in the Wichita area follows a year of layoffs.

  • Roeder's 'defense' is nonsense

    Nov. 12 at 12:07 a.m.

    Scott Roeder dwells in the Sedgwick County Jail these days, awaiting trial early next year on charges that he gunned down George Tiller in a Wichita church in May. But judging from Roeder's unrepentant confessions to the murder this week in the media, Roeder also lives in some other world in which a cold-blooded killing can be justified by the cockamamie excuse of his choosing.

  • Honor veterans by keeping promises

    Nov. 11 at 12:03 a.m.

    Last week's violence at Fort Hood set a shocking new standard for the potential risks faced by U.S. military personnel at stateside facilities. Yet the rampage, which left 13 dead and 29 wounded, also demonstrated why Americans can and should take tremendous pride in the courage and skill of their armed forces, on this Veterans Day and every day.

  • Hurdles remain for health reform

    Nov. 10 at 12:04 a.m.

    Health care reform still faces some high hurdles to becoming law, but its passage Saturday in the House of Representatives was a major achievement — hence the cheering by Democrats following the vote and the grousing by GOP lawmakers, including those in Kansas' delegation.

  • Kansas Views

    Nov. 9 at 6:46 a.m.

    Tax increase —No one wants to see taxes raised or restored, but neither can the state afford to cripple important budget areas that may help lead it out of the current recession. Economic development efforts are still vital, as is maintaining the quality of the state's public schools and higher education system. Providing some level of service to people who are struggling in the current economy is both humane and an investment in the state's safety and security. The challenge, of course, is to balance the state's financial needs against the taxpayers' needs. We can't afford to cripple state government, but we also can't afford to pass taxes that will cripple businesses that provide tax revenue and jobs in the state.— Lawrence Journal-World

  • Prevent another financial debacle

    Nov. 8 at 3:20 a.m.

    The usual indicators of economic well-being remain on a roller coaster. Any hopes raised by the third quarter’s 3.5æpercent growth dipped with Friday’s news of the

  • Good luck with school consolidation

    Nov. 6 at 12:07 a.m.

    In general, state Rep. Jason Watkins, R-Wichita, is correct: The people of Kansas don't "buy into the argument that this is the way we have always done it so we have to keep doing it."

  • Trust eroding in jail consultant

    Nov. 5 at 12:07 a.m.

    Maybe in the end, the results from the Justice Concepts Inc. consulting firm will prove the majority on the Sedgwick County Commission right. County taxpayers certainly can hope so, because the county's control of the population of the Sedgwick County Jail is the only thing standing between them and another multimillion-dollar jail expansion.

  • Roundtable illuminating, frustrating

    Nov. 3 at 11:03 p.m.

    Put suppliers and potential buyers in a room for an hour anytime, and the talk is guaranteed to be illuminating. Do it at a time when expectations far exceed resources, and frustration will follow, too.

  • City-county pay gap hard to justify

    Nov. 2 at 11:05 p.m.

    Most observers of the Sedgwick County Commission and Wichita City Council would be hard-pressed to explain why a seat on the commission should draw more in annual salary than a seat on the council — let alone nearly $50,000 more.

  • Kansas views

    Nov. 2 at 6:20 a.m.

    Stimulus —A picture-perfect example of the Republican criticism of the Democratic administration's stimulus program came from the lips of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.: "Unfortunately, it is much more of a government stimulus than an economic stimulus and the bill will be left to be paid by our grandchildren," he said. His separation between the government and the people would be funny if it weren't so exasperating. How irritating it is to have a U.S. senator suggest that money spent on public schools, public highways and to care for the indigent is somehow less important to the state's economy than money spent in the private sector — as though public employees weren't people; as though state spending was somehow robbed of any impact on the economy.— Iola Register

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