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Peterjohn, Ranzau were right about cell tower
Good for Sedgwick County Commissioners Karl Peterjohn and Richard Ranzau for not being satisfied with a $280,000 local offer to buy a county-owned cell tower at the former Wichita Greyhound Park. They...
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Norton’s experience will be needed
Sedgwick County voters in District 2 wisely gave a fourth term Tuesday to Tim Norton, the sole Democrat on the County Commission and its current chairman. That keeps the current commission voting...
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Southwest flights are great news for Wichita
It is great news – both for business and leisure travelers – that Southwest Airlines has committed to operating five daily flights from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, starting June 2. The discount...
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Too many were disenfranchised by voter-ID law
Of the 80 Sedgwick County voters who showed up at the polls this month without a photo ID, 61 failed to later provide proof of their eligibility to vote and saw their ballots disqualified – not many,...
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Good work on unified code enforcement
Merging the inspection and code enforcement departments of the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County has proved no quick or simple task, as exemplified by the 263 pages that the new Wichita/Sedgwick...
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Safe interchange coming to Kellogg and I-235
Good for the four Sedgwick County commissioners who voted Wednesday to approve an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation and the city of Wichita to rebuild the dangerous interchange at...
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So they said
“Where I come from in Kansas, if you want to stab a guy, you look him in the eye and say, ‘Hey.’ Don’t go behind closed doors and send out your aides to say, ‘This is what happened.’” – Rep. Tim...
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Words of gratitude, reflection from Foulston
Sedgwick County is seeing the end of an era with the retirement of District Attorney Nola Foulston, a Democrat first elected in 1988 and the first woman to hold the job. Foulston has written a...
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Good trend on jail numbers continuing
At Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting, County Manager William Buchanan summarized the many measures the county has taken to better manage the jail population and avoid another expansion of...
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Ranzau won’t rest on Agenda 21
What might have been a routine contract approval at Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting turned into a 30-minute debate revisiting the county’s participation in a $1.5 million regional...
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So they said
“It’s not a long walk across the rotunda.” – House Speaker Ray Merrick (in photo), R-Stilwell, promising better communication and less conflict between chambers in the 2013 Legislature “Given that you...
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New judges, assignments at District Court
As the Legislature debates judicial-selection reform for the appellate courts, the Sedgwick County District Court is going through major change as well. Two newly elected judges, Dave Dahl and Steve...
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Save money by meeting less
Good for leaders at the Statehouse and the Sedgwick County commissioners for trying to reduce costs by trimming the time spent in session. Legislative leaders of both parties have endorsed plans to...
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Sex-trafficking law could cost county $255,000 a year
Because of the aggressive measures taken by Sedgwick County officials, including a staffing reduction of more than 10 percent in the past couple of years, the county’s chief financial officer, Chris...
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WATC proving value of its degrees
The Wichita Area Technical College is demonstrating the impressive value of its degrees among employers, even in a lackluster economy. WATC’s survey of 90 percent of its fall graduates revealed that 97...
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Hearing on accreditation was a waste of time
At least state Sen. Michael O’Donnell, R-Wichita, backed away Monday from his bill to prohibit health departments from becoming nationally accredited. But he wasted people’s valuable time by giving...
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County right to push back on public-lobbying bill
Good for the majority of the Sedgwick County Commission for passing a resolution Wednesday stating the commission’s official opposition to Senate Bill 109, which would criminalize the direct or...
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Delegation helped protect affordable airfares – for now
Good for area members of the House Appropriations Committee for fighting off an attempt to defund the Kansas Affordable Airfares Program. The $5 million in funding recommended by Gov. Sam Brownback had...
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Brownback fails his own ‘democracy test’
Gov. Sam Brownback at least brought some badly needed gender diversity to the all-male Sedgwick County District Court Monday by choosing Wichita attorney Faith Maughan to fill the spot left empty by...
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After sale, Lincoln Elementary still will serve kids
It looks like something great for the community will come from the Wichita school district’s decision last year to close Lincoln Elementary School, thanks to the school board’s vote Monday paving the...
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