Letters to the editor on Wichita riverfront, city politics and Sen. Marshall

Convention space

Regarding Wichita convention and performing arts facilities: Enough of the out-of-town consultants, surveys, public listening sessions and “wait and see” posture:

Demolish the former library and replace it with a modern convention center sized to our statistical area. Supplement this center with the existing Century II theater, concert hall, balconies and a renovated Bob Brown Expo Hall. Connect these and the Hyatt via elevated skyway. (And to those convention skeptics, some said years ago that the development of telephone teleconferencing would eliminate the need for face-to-face communications. That has proven not to be the case.)

Utilize the CII convention and exhibition halls as adjuncts to the Kansas Aviation Museum. (Think the Smithsonian Air and Space facilities on The Mall and near Dulles Airport).

Then build a fantastic and dynamic performing arts center that is properly sized and fronted on the river. (Think the Kennedy Center along the Potomac).

I believe the above plan would receive considerable support from patrons of the arts and local corporations. Given the lead times for design and construction, the city should move forward without additional analysis or delay.

Whipple criticism

I was disappointed to read that Wichita City Council members criticized Mayor Brandon Whipple for participating, at his own expense, in a Democratic Party conference in Washington, D.C. (“Whipple says trip to White House was not city business,” Nov. 26 Eagle)

City Council members are wrong to demand the mayor receive their permission to attend political meetings — Whipple did not give up his rights as an American citizen when he was elected mayor.

It is hypocritical for City Council members to criticize Whipple when council members do not ask permission to participate in activities of the Wichita Metro-Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Realtors of South Central Kansas, the Greater Wichita Partnership, etc.

While these organizations are not political parties, they often advocate for Republican candidates and proselytize for tax cuts.

Whipple does not need to ask permission of the Wichita City Council to participate in a party gathering at his own expense. Could it be that the council members’ disapproval reflects sour grapes at the results of the last election?

Marshall and COVID

I read the Dec. 2 Eagle article that said Sen. Roger Marshall is against a mandate to get vaccinated (“Marshall threatens to allow government shutdown over mandate”). The senator himself is a doctor; he should know better.

He got vaccinated himself and he doesn’t want others to get the vaccine as a mandate.

I hope he knows there are many people who don’t get vaccinated who are dying when they get COVID-19. There are many patients in Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Medical Center with COVID-19 who did not get the vaccine. Now there is a new variant — Omicron. The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now wants everyone 5 years and older to get vaccinated, according to Wall Street Journal.

I hope Sen. Marshall will change his mind. We are discussing public health, not politics.