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Data on kids is sobering

Dec. 23 at 4:59 p.m.

The recently released county-by-county specifics of the 2011 Kansas Kids Count data were sobering for Sedgwick County, identifying areas where improvement would be welcome in the approaching new year.

Kansas Views (Dec. 26)

Dec. 23 at 4:56 p.m.

Brownback – A year into his job of running Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback appears to be moving away from strict ideology and toward practicality on some topics. If so, that’s a good thing for all Kansans. It appears Brownback is relearning a central lesson of American governance – ideology is best left in Washington, D.C. Out here, the focus has to be in identifying and providing what citizens need to make a better state.

Tidings of great joy

Dec. 23 at 4:52 p.m.

Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ today. The story, as told in the King James Version of the Gospel of St. Luke 2:1-20, is simple, eloquent and beautiful.

Light of that night

Dec. 23 at 4:50 p.m.

Col. M.M. Murdock, founder of the Wichita City Eagle, wrote the following editorial, which appeared on Christmas Day 1888. It has been reprinted annually, usually on Christmas Eve, with only a few years’ interruption since.

Keep focus on jobs

Dec. 22 at 5:45 p.m.

Democrats are so outnumbered in Topeka that they can be easy to ignore. But give them credit for trying to focus the Legislature on what should be its top priority: jobs.

Why the rush on guns?

Dec. 21 at 4:38 p.m.

There was a good case to be made for letting concealed-carry permit holders bring guns into certain city-owned facilities, rather than continue to ban them across the board. But the majority of Wichita City Council members voted Tuesday to allow handguns at 111 of 390 city sites without bothering to formally consult with citizens and make that case.

License hits right note

Dec. 20 at 5:42 p.m.

During a long meeting confirming that City Hall can’t please everybody all of the time, the Wichita City Council moved the city closer Tuesday to becoming a creative place that welcomes live music at less-formal venues while safeguarding neighborhoods.

Tanker work belongs in Wichita

Dec. 19 at 5:47 p.m.

Having won the right to build the U.S. Air Force KC-46A tanker, do Boeing officials now think it will be no big deal to renege on their commitment to put a tanker finishing center and 7,500 new jobs in Wichita? If so, they need to think again.

Kansas Views (Dec. 19)

Dec. 16 at 6:04 p.m.

KPERS — A commission created to recommend potential changes to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System has approved, narrowly, a plan that will keep most current employees in the existing defined-benefits plan while shifting new hires into a 401(k)-style defined-contribution plan. Of course, nothing will change until the Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback give it their stamp of approval, but list us among those who favor a shift to the 401(k) option.

Reason to be wary

Dec. 16 at 8:01 p.m.

If Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration can hold school districts harmless while giving them more funding flexibility and also ending the cycle of school-finance litigation, it will deserve high praise. But can it? And is it fair to lock in funding after several years of cuts totaling $653 per pupil have forced districts to slash programs and teaching jobs? Wichita’s USD 259 and other urban districts have reason to be wary.

Cellphone ban won’t fly

Dec. 15 at 6:48 p.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s recommended ban on all cellphone use by drivers likely won’t fly in Kansas. But with more people texting, e-mailing and phoning while behind the wheel, state leaders should consider raising the fine for texting while driving and otherwise seek to discourage high-tech recklessness on Kansas roads.

KPERS plan still unclear

Dec. 14 at 3:15 p.m.

It makes financial sense for the state to switch to a 401(k)-type retirement plan, if it can figure out how to cover its current pension liabilities. But that remains a big “if.”

Regrettable message

Dec. 14 at 8:09 a.m.

The local Americans for Prosperity group deserves credit for finding enough signatures to force a public vote on whether the planned Ambassador Hotel should get $2.25 million in bed-tax proceeds. But it doesn’t deserve to win at the polls.

Need clear voice in Topeka

Dec. 12 at 5:23 p.m.

As the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission consider their legislative agendas today and Wednesday, respectively, here’s hoping the region’s goals will prevail in Topeka over GOP primary politics and state budget pressures.

Kansas Views (Dec. 12)

Dec. 12 at 5:54 a.m.

Pollution rule — Environmental Protection Agency officials say the agency’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule will protect millions of Americans by preventing pollution generated at power plants from drifting across state borders and jeopardizing air quality in neighboring states. It may do that, but officials with Westar Energy and other utilities contend the EPA isn’t giving utilities sufficient time to comply with the rule’s emission standards.

Kansas in question

Dec. 9 at 6:26 p.m.

In a week in which Kansas gazed into its future at a Wichita symposium inspired by 150 years of statehood, optimism and imagination were tempered by the present.

What lobbyists want

Dec. 8 at 6:20 p.m.

Kansans aren’t so naive as to be shocked — shocked! — that lobbying goes on at the Legislature. The shock is what a growing, recession-proof industry it’s proving to be, and that state law makes Kansans guess the motivation behind the wining and dining and the money behind the media campaigns.

Tax plan still unclear

Dec. 7 at 5:26 p.m.

Gov. Sam Brownback is saving the details of his tax reform plan for his State of the State address on Jan. 11. But the few hints he is dropping raise questions and concerns.

Jail work paying off

Dec. 6 at 5:13 p.m.

Because the surest way to confirm the need for a bigger jail is to build one and watch it fill up, Sedgwick County wisely reversed course on a planned $55 million expansion in 2008 and decided to try to manage its way out of a crowding problem. To the credit of all involved, it’s working so far.

Water hike hard to swallow

Dec. 6 at 5:59 a.m.

Experts have analyzed the city’s underfinanced water and sewer utility. Citizens have weighed in at multiple meetings and a public hearing. It’s time for the Wichita City Council to be as equitable and foresighted as possible as it raises rates — again.

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