The Hall Monitor

2008: A year of change ahead

2007-12-10T14:20:00.000-06:00

Wichitans got a new mayor and two new city council members this year. In 2008, the city will pick up a new city manager, and it also will see the next steps in the changing face of downtown. (Not to mention a presidential campaign, the start of council campaigns in Districts 1, 3 and 6 and a new legislative session.)

Already, from Kellogg one can see three cranes in the sky -- something Mayor Carl Brewer has often noted as a sign of progress in other cities. One crane is helping turn a once vacant field into the WaterWalk after what seemed to be an eternity to many of the projects' critics. The other two are beginning the first phases of construction on a downtown arena. These things are almost certain to face continued criticism from people who have questioned government's involvement in them from the start. But the construction also will give people a chance to see the reality of what millions and millions of their tax dollars can do. We will be watching the price tags of these projects as well as the plans to redevelop the surrounding neighborhoods.

We haven't posted here on The Hall Monitor in more than a month. But 2008 will bring a change in that, too. The blog is being redesigned, and, once it is complete sometime in early 2008, we will be back with regular posts that we hope will offer stories that aren't in The Eagle (or anywhere else) and expand your understanding of what's happening in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas and beyond.

Until then, here's to safe and happy holidays and a strong new year.

Flight Festival running a deficit with the wind at its back

2007-10-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

This year's Flight Festival at Jabara Airport lost $160,000, but city council members saw silver lining in the red ink -- the festival lost $30,000 less than it did in 2006. And with that they gave the informal go-ahead for the city to sign a new contract for next year's air show with Wichita Festivals Inc., which organized the event the past two years. The council will vote on the new contract in the next month or two.

Janet Wright, executive director of Wichita Festivals Inc., told the city council last week that rain, a late start recruiting sponsors and big spending on a musical act probably all contributed to the financial loss. Only 1,300 people attended the festival on Friday, when the Commodores played under rainy skies. Saturday and Sunday showed a recovery with a combined 7,800 in attendance, but it was not enough for the festival to make money. Wright said that if promoters can get a quicker start recruiting corporate sponsors that want to get their name out there, the event will not lose as much money. Wright also said she'll consider reducing the music budget significantly, even if it means they get something a little less marketable than the Commodores. Wright also plans to send in applications to the Department of Defense to see if Wichita can score the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels or other military planes that might help attract a larger crowd.

The long saga of writing your own rules

2007-09-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

More than a year after the city council began reviewing and rewriting the rules that govern its meetings, the tires are still spinning.

No one is quite sure how to deal with the public comment portion of the meetings, which devote up to 25 minutes (five minutes per person) to anyone who signs up two weeks ahead of time to address the council on their topic of choice. ("Choice" is relative here. The council doesn't allow people to talk about pending lawsuits.) The council, which has frequently brought up off-agenda items (meaning topics it didn't include on the public agenda), is considering barring folks from straying from their stated topic and from allowing a substitute speaker. That means if John Doe wants to talk to the council during the meeting and gets sick, his wife, brother or son couldn't take his place and deliver the public message. People only can comment once every four meetings, so the wait for a second chance can be a month or longer.

This all stems from a showdown last year when African-American community leaders, including prominent pastors and a state senator, addressed the city council in support of Sarah's Ice Cream and Bakery, a minority-owned business facing contract difficulties at the city-owned Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. One speaker was listed, but several people lined up in his place. Several council members criticized then-Mayor Carlos Mayans for not taking control of the situation.

"It turned into a real dog and pony show," council member Sue Schlapp said this week during a council workshop.

The council hasn't made any moves yet, instead appointing members Jeff Longwell and Jim Skelton to look into it and make recommendations. What is clear is that the public comments are likely to change.

"Unfortunately, there are some who want to take advantage of it," City Manager George Kolb said.

First-class flight is near ethical violation

2007-09-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

When City Manager George Kolb and Mayor Carl Brewer accepted first-class seats on a flight to Jacksonville last week, they came close to breaking the city's own ethics policy. But the upgrades, which Brewer and Kolb insist they didn't ask for, don't have enough monetary value ($40 per upgrade) to break the rule, City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf said. What's more, Rebenstorf said, is that to be a "gift," they would have had to shown some sign of acceptance. Because they didn't know about the upgrade until just before boarding, there was no acceptance, he said.

Rebenstorf said that although the city has paid AirTran to keep airfares low, the upgrades weren't a conflict of interest either.

The city's policy on gifts reads: "An occasional non-monetary gift of nominal value shall not be considered a gift, such as food at a reception generally open to employees or the public, so long as such a gift does not present any conflict of interest in fact or appearance. For purposes of this section "nominal value" shall mean having a value not exceeding $100 on any occasion, or from one person or entity in the aggregate during a consecutive 12 month period."

Brewer criticized The Eagle in a letter to the editor Saturday for printing a story about City Manager George Kolb and Brewer getting first-class seats in their flight to Jacksonville, Fla. He called the column by Carrie Rengers a "a lapse in basic journalistic standards."

Wrote Brewer: "Rengers seemed reluctant to emphasize that neither City Manager George Kolb nor I requested or expected preferential treatment. AirTran Airways officials, unbeknownst to us, assigned the business-class seating. It seemed neither prudent nor practical to interfere with the airline's seating decisions."

Several states make it tougher for illegal immigrants to get licenses

2007-08-24T11:27:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, The Eagle reported on new state law s that make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses.

For a look at what other states are doing, check out this new Stateline.org piece that explores a "handful of states that issue licenses to illegal immigrants are stepping up efforts to combat fraud and identity theft. That means stricter rules for ensuring immigrants live in-state and are who they say they are."

See Sedgwick County's 50 most hazardous railroad crossings

2007-08-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Some of the railroad crossings with the most potential for train-vehicle collisions will probably go years without an significant changes. But city council member Jim Skelton has been turning up the volume of the debate.

Known for his vocal persistence on specific projects in southeast Wichita, Skelton is pressing local, state and federal officials to elevate the tracks over Pawnee Avenue where about 38 Burlington Northern-Santa Fe trains pass each day. The intersection has flashing lights and gates, but it has the highest hazard index rating in Sedgwick County because of the volume of trains and the 20,536 vehicles that pass over the tracks on average each day. It's unclear when, if ever, a multi-million dollar project will be started to raise the tracks. But when the city council approved its 10-year spending plan earlier this month, it appeased Skelton by pulling plans for a crossing improvement for a Union Pacific crossing at Pawnee and replacing it with a generalized placeholder -- that means the dollars won't be dedicated to a specific project and leaves the door open to shift money to the BNSF crossing.

Meanwhile, the first phase of the elevated central rail corridor going through downtown will be completed sometime in September. Then the next phase will begin. When it's done, the city estimates it will reduce the area's overall hazard index by 12.5 percent.

Follow the "read more" link to see the area's 50 most hazardous crossings.

Here are the 50 crossings with the greatest potential for collisions, according to the Wichita Area Planning Organization's analysis:

The list shows the street intersection, surface type (C&R=concrete and rubber), average vehicles per day, average trains per day, warning device (Xbucks=crossbuck signs; FL=flashing lights; FL/G=flashing lights and gates), hazard weight (based on warning device) and hazard index (combination of traffic counts, train counts, crossing type and warning device).

Pawnee Avenue C&R 20,536 38 FL/G 0.1 78037
47th Street C&R 18,090 38 FL/G 0.1 68742
13th Street C&R 14,898 38 FL/G 0.1 56612
Murdock Street C&R 13,440 38 FL/G 0.1 51072
Central Street Concrete 13,371 38 FL/G 0.1 50810
Macarthur Road Rubber 13,143 38 FL/G 0.1 49943
21st Street C&R 12,912 38 FL/G 0.1 49066
31st Street C&R 1,287 38 Xbucks 1.0 48906
Harry Street C&R 11,931 38 FL/G 0.1 45338
63rd Street C&R 10,905 38 FL/G 0.1 41439
K‐15 Highway Rubber 31,407 2 FL 0.6 37688
K‐15 Highway Rubber 29,319 2 FL 0.6 35183
Lincoln Avenue C&R 8,372 38 FL/G 0.1 31814
29th Street C&R 7,744 38 FL/G 0.1 29427
53rd Street C&R 7,583 38 FL/G 0.1 28815
Mt. Vernon Street C&R 7,108 38 FL/G 0.1 27010
Hydraulic Avenue C&R 7,065 38 FL/G 0.1 26847
21st Street C&R 13,393 20 FL/G 0.1 26786
77th Street C&R 6,762 38 FL/G 0.1 25696
37th Street Rubber 6,424 38 FL/G 0.1 24411
Washington Street C&R 5,782 38 FL/G 0.1 21972
Market Street C&R 5,219 38 FL/G 0.1 19832
Wassall Road C&R 4,933 38 FL/G 0.1 18745
Seneca Street Rubber 15,383 2 FL 0.6 18460
17th Street C&R 4,639 38 FL/G 0.1 17628
21st Street Concrete 12,983 13 FL/G 0.1 16878
Pawnee Avenue C&R 22,964 7 FL/G 0.1 16075
13th Street North Concrete 15,343 10 FL/G 0.1 15343
K‐53 Highway C&R 5,126 29 FL/G 0.1 14865
17th Street Asphalt 4,515 3 Xbucks 1.0 13545
Douglas Street C&R 10,714 2 FL 0.6 12857
Murdock Street Concrete 12,577 10 FL/G 0.1 12577
95th Street East C&R 2,215 52 FL/G 0.1 11518
Main Street C&R 3,000 38 FL/G 0.1 11400
29th Street Concrete 10,851 1 Xbucks 1.0 10851
Macarthur Road C&R 14,259 7 FL/G 0.1 9981
47th Street C&R 13,824 7 FL/G 0.1 9677
1st Street Concrete 2,520 38 FL/G 0.1 9576
Meridian Avenue C&R 7,487 2 FL 0.6 8984
Maple Street Rubber 7,446 2 FL 0.6 8935
61st Street C&R 2,187 38 FL/G 0.1 8311
71st Street Timber 2,135 38 FL/G 0.1 8113
190th Street C&R 1,540 52 FL/G 0.1 8008
55th Street Timber 348 38 FL 0.6 7934
Harry Street Concrete 10,435 7 FL/G 0.1 7305
Clifton Avenue C&R 1,871 38 FL/G 0.1 7110
Maize Road Asphalt 5,335 2 FL 0.6 6402
Meridian Avenue C&R 1,680 38 FL/G 0.1 6384
5th Street C&R 1,648 38 FL/G 0.1 6262
Woodlawn Blvd C&R 10,299 1 FL 0.6 6179

The city is sending more dollars to disadvantaged businesses

2007-08-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

It has been four years since a local waste hauler secretly recorded the city's administrative services director alleging that high-ranking city officials discriminated against minority business owners. The tape aired on KAKE, and what unraveled was an audit and, eventually, a program aimed at making it easier for minority and disadvantaged businesses to win the often lucrative contracts let by the city. That mostly involved certifying new businesses and offering training classes on how to make successful bids on contracts.

Now the city is spending millions more on contracts with minority businesses, a new report out of City Hall shows. (Click on the graph above to see more detail.) Minority owned businesses received about 17 percent of all the city's contract dollars in 2005. In 2006, 19 percent of the contracts went to those businesses. City council members applauded the increases in their meeting Tuesday. And some voiced support to continue the diversity task force -- perhaps indefinitely. "I think there should be a longstanding committee," Council member Lavonta Williams said. Mayor Carl Brewer also indicated he wants the groups work to continue.

An extension of their work is expected to come up for a vote in coming weeks.

A boost for public safety and infastructure?

2007-08-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

With 17 vacancies in the police department and no plans for another police academy until January, some city council members are considering pumping more money into public safety in a last minute effort before next Tuesday's 2008 budget vote. And they're also considering more money for street maintenance (which is $900,000 shy of what it was last year) and they even batted around the idea of cameras in police cars.

City Manager George Kolb said his thinking behind keeping the police positions open is that the money that would have gone to salaries can go to planned savings. And, he notes, the department doesn't usually start its academies until there are 25 to 30 vacancies anyway -- this year they've had less turnover than expected. But with a huge upswing in murders this year and what the chief describes as a "gutted" larceny division, council members are pressing Kolb to hire police. After Kolb explained the planned savings, Vice Mayor Sharon Fearey said: "I don't think that's what our citizens want to hear." Council member Sue Schlapp said: "It seems to me the number one priority is the police." And Mayor Carl Brewer said: "I think we need to look at this before Tuesday."

On the street maintenance side, Council member Jim Skelton said he's afraid that a $900,000 cut could put the city on track to have to spend huge amounts to fix ailing streets because, like most maintenance issues, deterioration accelerates. The cut in funding is exasperated by big hikes to the price of materials used to build roads. But, as Public Works Director Chris Carrier pointed out, the cut simply brings street maintenance back to 2006 funding levels. That extra $900,000 was just a nice boost the city approved and hoped to maintain. But, he said, it didn't work out that way.

As for the cameras in police cars (a big issue last year), it's unlikely to happen quickly, especially after the council's inconclusive discussion. The plan is to ask companies to submit bids to supply the city with more cars and include a price tag for equipping at least the traffic division cars with cameras. If the price is right, Kolb said the city would start using them. But, Chief Norman Williams noted, there's a price to maintain the cameras and the video too. He said police used to have cameras in the early 1990s after getting a federal grant, but there was no money to maintain them and they fell to the wayside.

"I think this is important" Fearey said in their workshop Tuesday. "Other cities have this. I have had to be on the other end where I think that I've got citizens' calls that are telling me some kinda big horror stories about police action and, you know, there's no way to know (what exactly happened)." Schlapp said she thinks that the videos could exonerate police in many cases. But Chief Williams, who said cameras weren't even in the top 10 police department priorities, returned to the bottom line argument.

"Cameras are fine if you have ample funds to fund them," he said. And, he noted twice during his discussion that all five of his priorities didn't make the budget this year. That's because the city council wanted to focus on improving fire service, Kolb said. And that has been done -- with three new stations and more than 30 new firefighters expected to be hired.

(Meanwhile, on a fire department note, the city this week will interview finalists to replace the retiring Chief Larry Garcia. The city declined to release candidates' names.)

The report that wasn't

2007-08-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

A story in today's Eagle highlights how much of a gamble it is to vote on gambling. For example, no one knows what type of casino might be built or where it would be. Developers assure us that it will be cool, but, there's not much to guarantee that other than the state's requirement that developers propose at least a $225 million facility. The experts say voters can't expect specific plans since they're expensive to develop for businessmen who don't even know if voters will approve.

That leaves voters to trust in their local governments to support plans that would be good for the area. But the criteria that Wichita and Sedgwick County officials have developed after months of weekly meetings will remain yet another unknown. More than a dozen people involved have promised not to share the report, which, according to a half dozen sources, includes criteria to use when considering casino proposals. It also has a matrix and checklists to apply to would-be casino developments. This, so far as The Hall Monitor can find, is probably the best indicator for what might type of casino the local governments might lobby for. Sources in several local governments say this document probably won't have any headline news in it. But, they say, it does spell out a process for examining developers' ideas and what may be best for the area -- something voters will probably only hear about after the ballots are counted (if at all).

Quiet agenda -- budget looming -- management expenses

2007-07-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

Next week's city council meeting is filled with routine stuff that probably won't spark much discussion. But, there is an opening for talk on the 2008-2009 budget, which could be interesting if someone throws out a new idea or flags a flaw.

Also, we note in this week's agenda a simple record that the city has been transparent about for some time -- managment expense records. This month's is pretty routine. Just check the agenda each month if you'd like to see updates. Here's the report:

City Manager George Kolb, ICMA Strategic Planning Committee Meeting, Richmond, Texas $690.01

Kelly Carpenter, Director of Finance 2007 ICSC Spring Convention, Las Vegas Nev., $1,113.62

Law Joe Allen Lang, First Attorney Litigation, Wilmington, Del. $939.76

Jim Norris, Director of IT IS Broadband Wireless World @ Interop, Las Vegas, Nev. $1,523.32

Larry Garcia, Fire Chief, 2007 Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Conference, Los Angeles, Cali. $1,909.72

Cynthia Berner-Harris, Director of Libraries Strategic Planning for the Library Services & Technology Act, Topeka $124.90

Nancy Harvieux, Transporation Manager Partnerships For Transportation Conference, Kansas City $430.65

Total $6,731.98

Check out the new fire stations

2007-07-17T23:26:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, people from Jim Skelton's southeast Wichita district walked a picket line along Main Street in front of City Hall asking the city to build a fire station in South City. It couldn't happen soon enough for Skelton. But it will happen sometime around the end of 2008, fire officials say. Above are conceptual designs of all three fire stations that the city council approved. (Just click on the images for a larger view.) The first is Station 20, which will be built in far east Wichita. Station 21 will follow in west Wichita. And, finally, Station 22. Land hasn't yet been acquired for Station 22, but Assistant Fire Chief Mike Rudd said the city is working on that. The new stations will have separate dorm-style rooms instead of the more open rooms that firefighters sleep in at other stations. The two-bed rooms are intended to give firefighters more privacy and help attract more women to the profession. The large rooms next to the fire truck bays on Stations 20 and 21 are there to house alternative communications centers if something disables dispatch and communications downtown. Local community groups could also have meetings there.

We'll update you with new station addresses and a precise timeline soon.

(If you're curious where other city fire stations are, click here.)
(If you're interested in becoming one of the 31 new firefighters the city plans to hire, click here.)

City council will call bowling congress, examine Exchange Place plans and talk budget

2007-07-13T13:45:00.000-05:00

Real Development's plan to turn several downtown buildings into high-dollar condos is about to get one of the last go-ahead signals it needs before developers can start building. The city council votes Tuesday whether to accept the project plan.

Under the proposal, the city would buy three downtown buildings, turn them over to Real Development and build a public parking garage with 150 monthly and hourly spaces. Altogether, that would cost $6 million in property tax money that would otherwise be split among the city, county and school district. The structures included are the Exchange Place Building, Michigan Building, Lerner's Building and a parking lot near Douglas and Market. The city would buy them for $2.25 million and give them to Real Development (AKA The Minnesota Guys), which would convert them into condos that would sell for an average of $200,000. Under the proposed agreement, Real Development would have to cover any costs that the TIF doesn't generate. That is supposed to protect the city's coffers if the project falls short.
(Check out the council agenda for more on the Exchange Place project and other city business.)

And, at some point Tuesday, Mayor Carl Brewer and Vice Mayor Sharon Fearey will have a teleconference with representatives of the United States Bowling Congress, which decided to back out of their plans to have a huge tournament at Century II in 2011. The bowlers have set some ground rules about what topics they'll discuss during the conversation, so it's unclear how much information might come out of it.

Following the council meeting, there will be a discussion about the 2008-2009 budget. There are other public meetings on the budget as well.

July 16 – Evening presentation to all six district advisory boards, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the council chamber (televised live on the city’s cable Channel 7).
July 17 - Public comment at council meeting. A workshop will follow.
July 24 - Set total dollars levied and take public comment at council meeting. A workshop will follow.
Aug. 7 – Public comment at council meeting. A workshop will follow.
Aug. 14 - Official public hearing and adoption of the of the 2008 budget at the council meeting.

Old Town partiers have been holding it (or watering the shrubs)

2007-07-06T08:10:00.000-05:00

The public restrooms in Old Town have been open for about a month, but, for at least a couple weeks, some bar hoppers have had to hold it -- or find an alternate restroom (which is often an alley or some landscaping). That's because there's been a glitch in the automatic locks that were set up to close the new public restrooms down at 2 a.m. (bar closing time) on Friday and Saturdays and at midnight Sunday to Thursday.

Dale Goter, the city's lobbyist and fill-in spokesman, assures us the restroom locks are being fixed and will soon have a telephone connection to City Hall so that security officers can lock and unlock the doors as needed.

(See The Hall Monitor's first potty post here.)

On the cyber trail, Brownback campaigns, bloggers spoof

2007-07-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

In the online world, where Sen. Sam Brownback (or his campaign) has set up a MySpace page and a robust, blog-filled homepage, the Kansan is taking some apparently comedic hits for his socially conservative views.

Consider this story today in The Denver Post:

"... And if you peruse some of the blogs supposedly authored by his supporters, such as baptistsforbrownback(baptistsforbrown2008.wordpress.com), you'll see that he believes in lots of other things too. Like that the Earth is flat - and does not revolve around the sun. And that rape should be referred to as an "unplanned sexual event" in order to "eliminate the excuses given by many women" for getting an abortion." The Post also lists blogs4brownback.wordpress.com as one of the parody sites.

Later in The Post's story, Brigham Young University political scientist Richard Davis says: "Sites like these don't sway undecided voters or push away (Brownback's) supporters. I think the biggest effect is that it's embarrassing for the candidate."

New York Times' Frugal Traveler visits Greensburg

2007-07-04T12:05:00.000-05:00

"Some people find Kansas boring, flat and featureless," says The New York Times' Frugal Traveler (Matt Gross), who is traveling the country in a 1989 Volvo station wagon. "But not me. I love how oil derricks dot the cornfields and how sometimes out of nowhere you'll drive into something truly shocking. This is Greensburg. Or rather, this was Greensburg..."

That comes from a Times video taken as Gross visited Greensburg recently and got a plate of gumbo from Gulf Coast volunteers, a tour of the city and a chance to see some teenagers smash a tornado-ravaged, one-string acoustic guitar on a cement slab. The five minute video is on the Times' web site.

For comprehensive coverage of Greensburg's recovery, see The Eagle's special web section.

Pachyderms win trunkload of awards

2007-07-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

Wichita Pachyderm Club members did more last weekend than play host to their organization’s national convention. They also hauled away some of the biggest awards in Pachydermdom.

The local club was named “2006 Most Outstanding Club in the Nation,” as well has “2006 Most Outstanding Club in a Non-federated State.” Bob Aldrich, last year’s Wichita Pachyderm president, was named “Most Outstanding Club President in the Nation” and “Most Outstanding Club President in a Non-federated State.”

To be a federated state, Kansas would need to have three clubs; right now it has two, the Wichita club that meets downtown and its spun-off cousin, the Sedgwick County Pachyderm Club, which meets in west Wichita. Club president Sarah Skelton said the Pachyderms are working to establish a third club, in northeastern Kansas.

The Wichita club also picked up awards at the convention for “Best Web Site” and “Best Club Newsletter.”
The National Federation of the Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs is an officially recognized affiliate of the Republican Party, promoting party unity and citizen involvement in GOP politics.

The clubs work to recruit, train and assist Republican candidates, although they do not make endorsements in contested GOP primaries or take positions on divisive issues within the party.

By Dion Lefler

Colorful brick pulled from future Nomar International district

2007-06-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

Drivers might get a bit confused if they have to drive over the colorful brick designers envisioned at the 21st and Broadway intersection, traffic engineers say. So they're ditching the bricks. Instead of the circular design seen in the image to the left, the intersection will have brick crosswalks that use three colors of brick and form pyramids. It's not clear if the pillar will remain.

Planners consider the intersection one of the gateways into the proposed Nomar International business district, which aims to revitalize 21st Street. (Learn more about the proposed district on the city's web site.) The city will likely pay about $300,000 to have two large utility poles moved and about $1.5 million to buy the right-of-way to build a larger intersection. That will include buying Sandy's Furniture.

Is the proposed animal shelter too fancy?

2007-06-27T17:32:00.000-05:00

The city is considering building a new $6.7 million animal shelter to replace the cramped house and shelter they currently use to register, house and euthanize thousands of cats, dogs and other animals. But the discussion the city council had Tuesday got prickly when Jim Skelton questioned whether designers were adding too many amenities that drive up costs. After all, the very rough cost estimate quoted in 1999 was only $3.3 million -- less than half of the new estimate. Some of the money could be better spent on things like streets, Skelton said, particular in south Wichita. But because the building would be visible from K-96 and Hillside and the new design incorporates three leashless dog parks the public could use, Sharon Fearey said people will want a building that is at least somewhat attractive. (Click on the images above to get a larger view of the proposed layout, conceptual image and site plan.) Designers already made some cuts, though no one said what they were. And, after Tuesday's talk, they're going to look for more places to trim costs.

For years, the city's animal control officials have been working out of a house dubbed the "greenhouse" at 1024 N. Minnesota. The shelter is at 3303 N. Hillside. It was built in 1985, and Environmental Services Director Kay Johnson says the lack of space there leads to an unusually high kill rate, meaning thousands of adoptable cats and dogs are being put down shortly after the required three-day grace period. Last year, 6,300 animals were killed. "That's an unthinkably large number," Johnson said. Under the current plan, the city would pay for their building, the Kansas Humane Society would pay for a similar facility next door and the two would split the cost of excavating the land and building the roads and parking lots. The joint site would make it easier for people to find lost pets, Johnson says, and reduce the number of animals they kill. (Below are images of the existing buildings.)

In the lull of summer...

2007-06-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

...Comes a whopper of a Sedgwick County Commission meeting.

Commissioners will grapple with decisions about more than a few contentious issues this Wednesday: the interior design of the planned downtown arena, an update on the arena's budget and cost, the future of the Wichita Arena Technical College and how and when to open proposals for a casino at the Kansas Coliseum.

They will also consider whether the Eagle Valley Raptor Center near Cheney should be allowed to expand, a move owner Ken Lockwood's neighbors protest.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the county courthouse, 3rd floor, 525 N. Main. Or you can watch it live on TV on KPTS Channel 8 or check it out at www.sedgwickcounty.org/commissioners.

Lavonta Williams asks Democratic legislators for help

2007-06-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

Locked in a 3-3 vote with Treatha Brown-Foster, Lavonta Williams, an independent, is asking some of the most prominent Democrats in her district to encourage Council members to change their votes, according to an e-mail she sent last week. On the list were Sen. Donald Betts, Rep. Melody McCray-Miller and Rep. Oletha Faust-Goudeau.

"Presently there is a 3/3 vote and I need one more vote and need to make sure I maintain the 3 that I have," she wrote. "I would be a hard worker for my community, I listen and work well with people, and my word is my bond. Anything you could do would be greatly appreciated. We especially need Sue Schlapp or Paul Gray."

Council members will resume voting at the end of their Tuesday meeting and continue until they choose a candidate. It takes four votes to win. Council member Jeff Longwell, a Republican who is a Pachyderm member, like Brown-Foster, seemed to be the most likely tie-breaker. But he has said that Williams is the best candidate for District 1 and that he's doesn't plan to change his vote. Mayor Carl Brewer, who appointed both candidates to the District Advisory Board when he held the District 1 seat, voted for Williams. He has said he maintains an open mind on the candidates and that information continues to pour in. However, Williams appeared in one of Brewer's campaign ads on TV and it seems he may be returning that support now. Even some of the most connected folks in City Hall say the outcome on Tuesday is anyone's guess. But, unless they change their rules, which sometimes happens, they'll continue voting until someone wins.

Council agenda: District 1, repealing gun laws, paying DETAMC, Inc.

2007-06-16T13:42:00.000-05:00

Who will switch their vote for a new District 1 Council member? Will an $80,000 check really be the end of the DETAMC, Inc. discrimination case? Will anyone bother commenting on the repeal of local conceal carry laws that the state overruled this year?

It's all up for grabs at 9 a.m. Tuesday when the City Council meets.

Voting to break the 3-3 deadlock between Treatha Brown-Foster and Lavonta Williams will be one of the last items council members consider. Their rules require them to vote until someone is chosen. But, to do that, someone will have to switch their vote and explain why they changed their mind after voting 20 times in a row for the same candidate last Tuesday. Or, members could cast votes for one of the other three candidates -- Eugene Anderson, Michael Kinard or George Rogers. But that seems unlikely. (For more on the ballots, see The Eagle's story.)

DETAMC
The DETAMC settlement stems from a lawsuit that was settled in March. Here's a snippet from a story by The Eagle's Christina Woods:

"The city of Wichita broke its contract with a welfare-to-work program but didn't discriminate against the owners because of race, a federal jury found Wednesday.
A jury in Kansas City, Kan., ordered the city to pay more than $50,000 to George and Pamela Johnson, the owners of Diversified Educational Training and Manufacturing Co., or DETAMC.

The Johnsons, who are African-American, had sought $3.9 million in damages.Their lawsuit claimed that a city-led audit of their job-training company was racially motivated. They contended the city held DETAMC to higher scrutiny based on their race. The city's audit alleged the company billed the city for books never provided to students and failed to file required monthly progress reports, among other findings."

Conceal carry repeal
In December last year, the council unanimously passed a bill that made it illegal for people with conceal carry licenses to carry firearms on public property, such as parks. But, when Sen. Phil Journey, a Republican from Haysville and a leading advocate for conceal carry, spotted it, he penned a bill to stop cities like Wichita from further restricting people's right to carry. It passed in Topeka. Several council members now support the repeal -- despite having voted in favor of more restrictions.

And, as always, the entire city council agenda can be seen online in a PDF.

Tiahrt blasts mayors group and KAKE TV for illegal guns campaign

2007-06-15T09:57:00.000-05:00

U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt is in a showdown with a coalition of mayors (none of which are in Kansas) who say his amendment to a bill in 2003 prohibits public access to a database that tracks all firearms recovered at crime scenes. (See The Eagle's story for more details.) And the national campaign has been localized this week.

A drive-by bill board has been sweeping through downtown, television ads have aired and today there was a full page ad in The Eagle -- all urging Tiahrt to repeal the amendment. Though Tiahrt acknowledges some clarifications could be added to the bill, he stands by it, saying it protects undercover officers. And he blasted the Mayors Against Illegal Guns group that has opened a major campaign against the amendment and KAKE-TV for airing ads.

“We might expect this from the New York Times or an East Coast liberal media outlet with an agenda, but it is very disappointing that KAKE has decided to run this misleading ad,” wrote Tiahrt communications director Chuck Knapp in a statement this week. Since The Eagle ran a print ad from the same group, it seems likely Tiahrt is also upset with the newspaper. (See the New York Times' editorial on the issue that ran in their Sunday edition and a piece by the New York police commissioner in the paper.)

Washington reporter David Goldstein reported the base of the argument like this: "Tiahrt and others say the restrictions are necessary because disclosure could reveal names of undercover officers and informants, or tip off targets involved in investigations related to those weapons. (New York Mayor Michael) Bloomberg and more than 200 other mayors counter that the restrictions handcuff their efforts against violent crime where illegal guns are involved because they can't trace their source."

For more, see the Mayors Against illegal Guns site and Tiahrt's response to the campaign.

Kansas among 22 states that don't lower flags for fallen soldiers

2007-06-14T10:53:00.000-05:00

A story in USA Today this morning says that Kansas is among 22 states that don't lower the flag every time one of the state's soldiers is killed overseas. The other 28 states have different policies -- sometimes lowering all flags, other times lowering flags only at request or in a soldier's hometown. The Hall Monitor contacted the Governor's office to see why Kansas decided to keep flags at full staff. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran wrote in an e-mail that Sebelius follows the President's lead and the U.S. code (Title 4, Chapter 1) related to flag protocol.

"In conferring with our State’s Adjutant General very early during the Governor’s first term, it was determined that the best way to honor the memories of our soldiers is to fly our flags high with pride," she wrote. "Our Adjutant General advised Governor Sebelius that some may see the lowering of the flag as defeat and that is not a message we would send to our troops fighting for freedom and the strength of our country. When we lower our flags on the morning of Memorial Day each year, and have a special ceremony with our Governor and families of fallen soldiers, that is our time to lower our flags and encourage all Kansans to do the same. (The President orders the

flag to be lowered at this same period.)"

For more on flag etiquette and efforts in Kansas, see Beccy Tanner's piece in The Eagle.

Sunflower, George Kolb and a courtroom

2007-06-13T20:57:00.001-05:00

It's been months since Sunflower Community Action members protested with residents at City Manager George Kolb's house. They were trying to force the city to clean up a chronically trash-packed yard at 10th and Volutsia. Now the yard has been cleaned. But the story continues. Sunflower will have a press conference Thursday afternoon to say that the city has spent an exceptionally large amount of money and energy to prosecute a brief protest at the doorstep of Kolb's home (as seen in the video below). Then, on Friday, three Sunflower members and a woman who lives next door to the now-cleaner property at 10th and Volutsia will be in court facing criminal trespass and illegal dumping charges for being on Kolb's property and leaving their protest signs behind.

Sunflower's media conference is at 2 p.m. The trial starts Friday at 9 a.m., but Sunflower members will be outside City Hall at 8 a.m. trying to gather support. (Read more about the case in previous Hall Monitor posts.)

Batter up: What the city wants from a baseball team

2007-06-13T10:42:00.000-05:00

As The Eagle's Joanna Chadwick reported this morning, the Northern League will be in town this week chatting with potential investors who want to bring a new baseball team to Wichita. If and when the money comes together, one of the first steps new teams will take is a tour of the ballpark. In April, Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith foreshadowed some concerns about the stadium in The Eagle. "It probably needs some upgrading to realize its full potential," he said. "When you walk in and see slabs of wood for seats, it probably needs some new seats. You can't get away with that now. People expect more, and they expect government people to supply them with more."

The city is already designing improvements to the dugouts, locker rooms, infields and concession stands at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. But whichever teams submit proposals to be Wichita's next baseball team will be asked to outline other potential improvements to the 72-year-old ballpark, according to the city's request for proposals. (See a PDF of the RFP on The Eagle's site.)

Among things the city suggests a new team check out are improvements to general seating, player facilities, the field itself, back of the house operating spaces, press facilities, fan experiences, concession and food service locations and services, merchandising locations and spaces, premium services and seating, advertising and sponsorship opportunities, parking improvements and overall site improvements.

Whew, sounds like a whole new ballpark. And the city suggests a new team identify public and private funds to pay for it.

New District 1 Council member, wireless Internet and Montel

2007-06-10T23:21:00.000-05:00

It has been six months since all seven City Council seats were filled. That ends Tuesday -- probably. Using paper ballots, Council members will choose between five District 1 candidates. On the list are Eugene Anderson, Treatha Brown-Foster, Michael Kinard, George Rogers and Lavonta Williams. First one to get a majority (four votes) wins.

City Council members have already privately held interviews with each of the candidates. At the Council meeting Tuesday, people will see only short monologues from the candidates before the voting begins. But this event might get pushed back a little so that Mayor Carl Brewer can zip over the Center for Health and Wellness to welcome talk show host Montel Williams. (See The Eagle's story about Williams' visit.) Brewer said several times Friday that the District 1 seat is his top priority despite the hoopla with Montel.

The new District 1 member, who will be sworn in a week later, will soon get thrown into the debate over luring a citywide wireless Internet provider to the city. Tuesday, the Council will vote on whether to invite the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to conduct an evaluation of the request for proposals the city let months ago, which only drew five proposals. The Council's poised to approve that. What will follow is meeting of the Knight Foundation's Jorge Martinez, City Council, Sedgwick County Commissioners and the Wichita School Board. Each government entity would be an anchor customer of the wireless company.

See more on the Knight Foundation's role in wireless.

For more, see a PDF of Tuesday's City Council agenda reports.

It's a bargain: Lunch with President Bush $500, photo $4,600

2007-06-06T17:28:00.000-05:00

A picture is worth a thousand words -- or $4,600 if you want one with President Bush. That's the going rate for a photo at the $500-per-head lunch reception Bush will attend to raise money for Sen. Pat Roberts in Wichita on Friday, June 15.

That's an expensive photo, but when Dick Cheney came to Wichita in 2002, the Vice President drew $5,000 from folks who wanted a private meet and greet and photograph. The Hall Monitor dug a little more using Lexis-Nexis and found the Wichita event is a pretty fair price -- if not a bargain -- compared to other fundraisers.
The Prez drew $1,000 a plate and $10,000 per photo at a fundraiser at a Hilton in Milwaukee last July, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
People paid $1,000 a lunch plate in Denver last year, too.
In Tennessee last year, Bush supporters paid $2,100 a plate to attend a fundraiser for Senate candidate Bob Corker, The Commercial Appeal reported.
Californians peeled off the same amount for a photo at an event near San Fransisco last year, The Contra Costa Times wrote. And, down in Phoenix, folks paid $500 for breakfast and $2,100 a photo during a cash-raising event for Rep. Rick Renzi, according to The Arizona Republic. We called the Roberts Victory Committee, which gets the cash, to see how they decided the going rate for a plate and a photo, but haven't heard back yet. The business attire lunch is near the Country Club in east Wichita at the home of Dave and Janet Murfin. Dave is the president of Murfin Drilling Company. No surprise, both Dave and Janet are registered Republicans who have voted in the last three elections. For more on the Bush visit, check out The Eagle's story. Here's a Kansas City Star story about the fundraiser. The photo above shows Roberts next to Bush, Sen. Sam Brownback and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in Greensburg.

Commissioners to hear arena plea Wednesday

2007-06-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

Sedgwick County Commissioners have started each of their last two meetings hearing from people who want a second public vote on the planned downtown arena. This Wednesday, they'll get the other side of the story -- from Joe Williams, organizer of the Web site www.forarena.com.

In his email asking the county permission to speak at the June 6th meeting, Williams said he would ask the commissioners to not consider putting the arena revote question on the Aug. 7 ballot, when people will vote on a casino. Williams directly targets an arena opposition group that has said it has garnered more than 5,000 signatures from people wanting to vote again on the arena because of changes in its cost and design.

"The reasoning why the re-vote arena group's claim is illegitimate is that the organizational members of the group deliberately miscontrued the facts and information they told to the public and people they coaxed into signing the petition," Williams wrote. Most commissioners have said they do not support a second vote because 52 percent of people approved the arena in 2004. There is talk, however, of holding a public forum to let the public air its grievances and allow the county to respond to them. Commissioners will likely discuss that option on Wednesday.

City to examine the other wireless: cell phone towers

2007-06-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

After mediating several fiery disputes between homeowners and cellular phone companies, the City Council is planning to consider amendments to their wireless communications tower guidelines. They'll vote Tuesday to open the discussion, a necessary precursor to an amendment to their zoning codes.

So what's in store? "Controversy," says John Schlegel, the city/county planning director.

Most folks expect a signal on their phone wherever they are in this city of 355,000. But, as companies try to put up new towers to handle more calls, neighbors are fighting to keep the poles out of their backyards -- and even the backyards that are more than a block away. They fear their home values will fall and their view of the big Kansas sky will be ruined. Wichitans aren't unique here -- people across the country have fought off towers and found companies willing to disguise their facilities, hide them or simply find a different location. So the Wichita-Sedgwick County planning department has drafted a plan to outline areas that are acceptable for towers. Schlegel says he expects cell phone companies to dislike that since they have a lot of freedom to place towers now. But, the plan is just a starting point, he said. This month, the City Council will review the plan. Then it will be heard by community people with the wireless industry before going before district advisory boards citywide in August and September. A Council vote on new regulations is expected in November. C heck out this PDF link if you'd like to see what the city considers "sensitive" areas. And check out this PDF link for the city's existing policy, which was created in 2000.

Baby steps toward citywide wireless Internet

2007-06-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

A little more than three weeks ago, City Council members decided not to start negotiating a deal with Michigan-based wireless Internet company Azulstar for citywide wireless service. Instead, the Council appointed members Paul Gray and Jeff Longwell to travel to a couple cities that already have an Azulstar wireless system to see how well it performs firsthand. But that's not happening yet, either.

Longwell says that the two cities he and Gray were going to visit -- Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Rio Rancho, New Mexico -- aren't fully functional. City officials in Rio Rancho have vented frustrations about Azulstar's service and failure to meet contractual obligations. Meanwhile, Winston-Salem's system has yet to be built. Longwell said setbacks in these cities further justify the Council's cautious approach. "I don't think we're doing a disservice to the public by dragging our feet a little bit," he said in a conversation with The Hall Monitor this week. Longwell hopes to see how Azulstar reacts to the complaints they're facing before moving ahead with contract talk. Futhermore, he says, the city may benefit by waiting as new technologies surface. You can't wait forever because there will always be something new, he said, but in this case a slow approach may be best. "There's no reason for us to get too excited," he said. "It's not like anybody is dramatically ahead of us." Longwell said the issue will likely be discussed at the June 12 Council meeting.

For more on Rio Rancho's problems, see this story.
For an update on Winston-Salem, check this one out.
For an overview of problems cities are having with wireless Internet, check out this AP story.

A first flush for the Old Town restrooms

2007-05-30T13:49:00.000-05:00

City Hall press releases don't get much better than this:
"Potty in Old Town!
You are invited to the...
Toilet Paper Ribbon Cutting & First Official Flush of the New Public Restrooms in Old Town!
Saturday, June 2 at 11 AM
Public Restrooms located on Mosley Street
between Douglas & 1st Street"

The Hall Monitor leaves the city's capitalization in to emphasize the excitement exclaimed in the release. After all, it's not everyday that there is an official inaugural toilet flush. The release does not specify what will be flushed.

In all seriousness, the public lavatories will be welcomed by many Old Town partiers. The city's nightlife core is notorious for having more than its share of public urination and the police have noticed. For example, in 2005, a special operation including plainclothes officers led to 26 arrests, mostly for public urination and drinking in the streets. (See the law here.)

The facility is the first of five new public restrooms in the Old Town area that the city says will be well lit, have individual locks and will be accessible to people with disabilities. They will also have a baby changing station. It all costs about $275,000 in tax increment financing funds -- which comes from the extra property tax money generated by development in that area. We're counting on former mayoral candidate James Mendenhall, who campaigned for cleaner restrooms earlier this year, to watchdog the upkeep of these water closets.

Fireworks in the sky, debris on the bridge

2007-05-20T00:42:00.000-05:00

The orchestra played, the cannons thundered and fireworks splashed across the sky to close out this year's River Festival. But for hundreds of people on the 1st Street bridge, the shells of the fireworks were also part of the show as they rained down in the steady Kansas breeze Saturday night. (In the photo to the left you see an example of some of the cardboard casings that fell from the sky, accompanied by clouds of sulfur-flavored smoke.)

But perhaps that's secondary. The closing night and the Friday evening festivities before it showcased the new paths along the Arkansas River, which were lit up with hundreds of people who were camped out for an early summer fireworks display. And, of course, the Keeper of the Plains and the ring of fire around it. The question remaining for the downtown portion of the river corridor is will that swath of land a little farther south, called the WaterWalk, one day be part of the spectacle?

What is the Wichita school board doing Monday?

2007-05-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Wichita school board meet Monday and it's a full agenda.

The consent agenda, which is usually a list of bills to pay and is voted on all at once, has some interesting items including renewing licenses for SchoolNet, a network that allows teachers to have a clearinghouse for all the information they need to know including student test scores. The cost to renew is $640,000.

Another item is the increase in student lunch prices by 10 cents starting July 1. Adult lunch prices increase by 15 cents.

Most of the rest of the agenda, which is usually voted on separately, are adjustments and changes to policies including the student code of conduct, the voluntary early retirement program, and providing unpaid leave for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.

Probably the most anticipated item is the memorandum of understanding between city and the school district on school resource officers. The document formalizes each entity's role when it comes to school resource officers. Mainly, it says that the officers are city employees, the board can't make any policies to hinder the use of any of their equipment and, with permission from their bosses, the officers can do a summer program at their school.

When politicians fumble in Favre country

2007-05-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Referencing the hometown team will almost always buy a political candidate some applause -- after all, even if the crowd isn't excited about the candidate, most people stand behind the team. The flip side to that is if you mention the competition.

Over the weekend, Sen. Sam Brownback dropped the Peyton Manning bomb in Brett Favre country. The crowd let him know, according to an Associated Press story that several news websites picked up this weekend.After he realized his analogy flopped, he backtracked. "That's really bad," he said. "That will go down in history. I apologize."

"Let's take Favre then," Brownback said later. "The Packers are great. I'm sorry. How many passes does he complete without a line?"

"All of them!" more than one person yelled from the back of the room.

City Council examines District 1 candidates, police contract and a skate park

2007-05-11T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Hall Monitor will bet its lunch that no one on the City Council can land a kick flip or pop an ollie, but that doesn't mean the elected officials are ignoring those who can. The Council is going to vote on building a third city skate park at Edgemoor Park, at 5815 E. 9th St., next Tuesday. It will cost $160,422 (See skate park contract and other Council agenda items).

The Council will also discuss how it's going to handle the review process to fill the vacant District 1 Council seat and vote on whether to approve a three-year contract with the police union. Council members will also vote on an agreement with the school district for school resource officers and a contract with The Wichita Eagle to print legal publications that are required by law. Last year, that contract was worth almost $200,000, according to the city's analysis.

What happened to the school board meeting?

2007-05-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

This past Monday there was no Wichita school board meeting because they only meet every second and fourth Monday. But this week, board members attended the retirement and longevity banquet honoring employees who have served in the district for several years.

Among this year's retirement list are some pretty big heavy hitters. Galen Davis, the district's safety services executive director will be leaving. Along with Mary Ellen Isaac who is in charge of the district's curriculum focus and Emile McGill in charge of early childhood education. John Updegrove, who is one of the district's statistics guru will be retiring as well. Updegrove is best known for reciting numbers such as enrollment, percentage of minorities students, and how many parents deferred in the busing lottery, by memory.

The next board meeting is May 21 and the agenda for that will be available the afternoon of May 17.

New state education guru appointed

2007-05-09T10:19:00.000-05:00

In their second day of meeting, the Kansas State Board of Education appointed Alexa Posny as the state's new education commissioner.

Posny was one of two finalists for the job. Marilou Joyner, executive director of the CEO Blackwell Education Support Team, an educational consulting firm was the other finalist.

Posny was the former deputy commissioner of education in Kansas before becoming director of the office of special education for the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.

She also applied to be commissioner before but, the then-conservative board chose Bob Corkins.

"I am pleased to be back in Kansas and I look forward to working with Board members, administrators, teachers, and others involved in the education of our children. All students in Kansas deserve an education that allows them to be competitive in the 21st century," said Posny in a statement.

Her first day is July 1 and she'll be paid $165,000.

Aging Minisa Bridge will wait a year for a facelift

2007-05-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

The city has doubled the money it will spend to rebuild the historic Minisa Bridge that carries 13th Street traffic over the Little Arkansas River. But it will probably be 2008 before the facelift begins and Riverside drivers are forced to detour around the heavily traveled bridge. That's because the city is trying to make sure North High School is on summer break at least part of the time the bridge is closed. And it's expected to close for six months. During that time, most traffic will be re-routed to 21st Street. Neighborhood traffic will take a shorter cut over the N. Bitting Avenue bridge.

Since it takes more than a month to get state approval and let bids for the construction, the city can't get it started this summer. The Feds will still pay $1 million, but the city has increased their budget from $800,000 to $1.6 million due to the rapidly rising cost of construction. That, the city is hoping, will lock a price in and prevent them from raising the budget for the bridge even more. The city's long-term capital budget is already getting squeezed and this will just add to that, reducing the number of capital improvement projects they can handle in coming years. Once the bridge is complete, it will have all the historic features it has today -- minus the cracks in the pillars and potholes in the red brick surface. The Minisa Bridge was built in 1932.

MySpace the land of fertile political ground

2007-05-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

If you're running for president there are several things you have to have in your campaign:

A communications director to help craft your message to the American people
Tons of volunteers to help run the campaign
A myspace page

A myspace page? Yes. Candidates vying for their party's nomination have a myspace page and Sen. Sam Brownback isn't any different.

A voter can learn alot about Brownback from his page such as he's a married, Virgo, Catholic with more than 6,000 friends on the social networking website. Voters will also be able to view a video of Brownback speaking on what he stands for and what the country needs in their next president. And if voters are confused at all by the video, 15 clickable icons will tell his stance on a variety of issues including marriage, the Iraq war, culture and values and education.

And yes there's a blog and a list of interests like his favorite movie (Amazing Grace) and books (Lord of the Rings and the Bible).

A walk through Greensburg three hours after the storm

2007-05-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

The nurse stood in the middle of the street as the steady and strong breeze pulled her curly hair around her head. Her flowery nurse's shirt and blue pants fluttered like a flag in the wind. She had what has become known as "the stare." She told photographer G. Marc Benavidez and I that she could hardly recognize the faceless and crumbling businesses that stood next to her on Main Street. She said she had helped splint someone's compound fractures in the back of a pickup. She said her family was OK. She said the hospital and clinic were destroyed, but that all the patients were moved to the basement in time. She had heard the last patient got in at the last second and that the first destructive gust of wind to hit the building slammed the door of the basement in the face of another nurse.

She didn't know what she would do next. No one did, including us.

We just kept walking into the wind, specks of debris sandblasting us. We couldn't open our eyes enough to see all the details. Just saw flashing red lights and big search lights ahead, to the left, to the right and behind. The beeping of trucks backing up, the scraping of snowplow blades clearing the streets and shouts of people's names filled the air. All around us people were walking over mounds of twisted houses looking for any sign of life. Some guys from Texas were in the basement of a house (pictured above). The house had shifted entirely off its foundation, exposing the basement below. The Texans shouted and lifted boards that probably used to be ceiling or wall. Nothing. But, they told us, if somebody was in this house, they'd probably be down here. It's hard to imagine how they might have survived, yet hundreds did just that and emerged from rubble.

Moving west, I jumped over a stream of draining water, which were at most intersections and many were about ankle deep. Marc followed. And something caught my attention from the corner of my eye in a tree. It was what appeared to be a bloody bed sheet with something inside of it. It can't be a body, I thought out loud. Marc agreed. Couldn't be -- not with all these search teams around. But it looked like it could be until we saw it from the back side. We walked on, just saying 'oh my God' or some expletive that newspapers don't print. It was like we had to empty some of our thoughts to take in new ones. It's not a Katrina. It's not a 9/11. But it is devastation. It is destruction. It is tragedy. It is 10 lives gone and more than a thousand altered forever. It is millions of pieces of other people's lives forced into a blender and ruthlessly dumped in a pile. It's Greensburg. And everybody we've talked to says it used to be a great little town.

We walked for several more hours, talking to residents as they wandered the streets of what used to be their town. People had had their prized possessions destroyed. Some didn't want to be quoted because they didn't want to look vain worrying about their life's projects and memories and possessions when there could be unthinkable death among the ruins.

It was past 4 a.m. when I spotted a boat trailer and sat down for the first time. Marc wondered where we might find the boat. We were about a quarter block from some emergency crews, who were quietly planning. I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes. The sheets of tin, fluttering plastic and thunderous street scrapers across the city sounded like how far off battle fields sound in the movies. After five minutes, we walked on, thinking we should get an hour's rest before the sun exposed this disaster. As we walked through the north part of town, my legs began to ache after perhaps 5 to 8 miles. It got quieter as we walked north, near the grain tower in what appeared to be an industrial part of town. Many trees remained standing, but their branches were all gone. They looked like mangled forks -- the way dead trees look years after they die. This is what hell must look like, I told Marc. Nothing but stressed out heroes, crying families, lost dogs and a strong, wet wind blowing from the south and carrying smells of wood, chemicals and things I couldn't identify.

We got back to our car on the east edge of town about 45 minutes before the first hues of morning exposed the hedge line in front of us. Marc and Dan Close (a journalist who is a Wichita State University professor and volunteered to help) got about 30 minutes of rest before going back out. I couldn't sleep and started typing my story. It was about the first place we stopped as we walked into the town. It was a bar. I saw about 10 people gathered inside next to candles. The building lacked most windows, but it had walls and roof. I approached cautiously, but was greeted warmly, even after I explained I was a journalist and had never been to Greensburg until now. A woman told me that this bar was to become the morgue. Within 10 minutes the first body bag was being unloaded. The floor was cleared in case it got worse. People could only assume the worst with such destruction.

Marc and I stopped back at the Bar H Tavern hours later before taking our break. The woman said another body had been brought in, but was taken to a nearby hospital or morgue after a few hours. It was quieter now than the first time we stopped. The 54-year-old woman was still shocked, but in good spirits considering the situation. We joked lightly about insurance and clean up. And she said you have to laugh a little. You have to smile, she said, otherwise, it's just too much.

How did Brownback fare in the GOP debate?

2007-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

One way to gauge a candidate's impact at a debate like the Republican presidential debate Thursday night is to see how many of their words made it into major news stories from outlets such as the Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

On this front, Sen. Sam Brownback did better than many in the crowded GOP field. The Kansan, who trails several candidates in polls and fundraising, was largely in the shadows in most national wire stories last night. But a Republican political consultant with Politico.com, which sponsored the debate, wrote that Brownback "had a particularly strong night. He talked with passion and elegance about the social issues that are the backbone of his candidacy." Brownback also picked up some quick hits in an Associated Press story where he raised his hand to show he doesn't believe in evolution and when he said the day the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade would be a "glorious day of human liberty and freedom." McClatchy's Washington Bureau quoted Brownback when he said he could support a more liberal GOP candidate. "Somebody who is with you 80 percent of the time is not your enemy," Brownback said, citing Ronald Reagan's philosophy.

Based on his comments to the Christian Science Monitor last week, he probably won't worry about the coverage too much. When the newspaper asked him about debates, he said: "I think it's important to get candidates side by side. I don't think you make the candidacy or lose it over a debate or two, [but] I think they're very helpful to have."

See coverage of the Democrat's debate last week.
See what Eagle readers had to say on WE Blog.

The dust hasn't settled on paving the city's dirt streets

2007-05-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

Five months after the City Council first discussed ways to make it cheaper for people to get dirt streets paved, the conversation continued this week. It wasn't much more than an echo. They even saw the same PowerPoint -- complete with thrilling photos of empty gravel roads and bar graphs. As one long-time City Hall official put it in a different context this week: "Things in City Hall have two speeds: 0 MPH and 1,000 MPH."

Council member Jim Skelton has anxiously advocated for a solution to get more of the city's 96 miles of dirt roads paved, including dozens in his district in southeast Wichita. It's clear from listening to him that he feels this is one of those 0 MPH issues. Skelton got little support for his ideas to use more bar ditches to reduce costs drainage costs in areas that aren't flood-prone and extending the time people have to pay off the special assessments (a state legislature issue). But, when he suggested the city could let more people low incomes defer paying special assessments by increasing the city's poverty guidelines, he got some support. As it is, a family of four must make less than $30,600 a year to qualify for deferral (it's an annual process). That's considered "very low income." City finance officials said the city could use the "low income" level instead, allowing a family of four that makes less than $48,950 to forgo payments until they move or exceed the set income level.

City Manager George Kolb said the issue will get more serious consideration when the Council prepares its capital budget in June. Council members already say they expect things to be tight. It won't help if the Council approves a three-year contract with the police union next week that pushes them $6.5 million beyond what they had budgeted for (See story). And things could get even tighter with Sedgwick County Commissioners' decision to charge the city for the suspects it houses in the county jail (See story) and revenue lost from statewide business property tax exemptions. (See a PDF about petitioning for paving here.)

District 1 race stocked with names and experience

2007-05-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

Maybe it’s because they won’t have to raise any money. Maybe it’s because only 15 people (the District Advisory Board and City Council) will be voting. Or, maybe it’s just the most politically active district.

Whatever the case, more people filed to fill the Distinct 1 City Council vacancy than ran in any of the other districts during this spring’s elections. And with a state representative, former state representative, former Council member, a pastor and three District Advisory Board members, the District 1 roster may also include more experience and name recognition than any of the races voters saw this spring. Some in City Hall say that Rev. Lincoln Montgomery, the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church, was also going to submit a petition -- and probably be a top candidate. But his name wasn't on the list by the noon deadline.

“There’s no doubt, it’s a strong bunch of people,” said Carl Brewer, who left the seat to become mayor four weeks ago.

Brewer said that he doesn’t think there is a clear front runner.

Starting tonight, the advisory board will begin interviewing candidates, then it will forward four or five names to the City Council, which will vote until a majority agrees on someone. They could also agree to reject the candidates and appoint any other District 1 resident for the position. Click the "Read more" link for a glimpse of the 11 candidates who filed petitions with at least 100 signature by the deadline noon Tuesday...

Eugene Anderson, 63, is a building contractor who was former Democratic state senator (1984-1991) and house representative (1972-1976). He said he wants to add jobs to the city’s economy by encouraging young people to get into the building industry and by making sure downtown arena building and concessions are locally operated.
James E. Barfield, 67, is the organizer of the Citizens for Arena Re-Vote and a host of River City Forum on KCTU Channel 5. He’s a former metropolitan Planning Committee member and also served on the city’s district 1 advisory board years ago. He wants to create more interaction between police and District 1 residents to improve community relationships and reduce crime.
Lonnie Barnes, 51, is a former Boeing engineer who is now unemployed. He has been involved in the NAACP, Urban League and Northeast Heights Neighborhood Association. He said he wants to encourage more neighborhood revitalization by increasing home ownership and making people more aware of existing city programs that help people improve their homes.
James M. Benage, 53, is a program manager at Nex-Tech Aerospace. He returned to Wichita in January after living in Hutchison, but lived in Wichita for more than 20 years. He said he wants to encourage more citizen involvement in city government to improve services and help people take advantage of what’s already available.
Treatha Brown-Foster, 61, is a District 1 Advisory Board member and is in the Northeast Millair Neighborhood Association. She said she wants to create new jobs and retain young people by improving downtown and using ideas that have proven successful in other cities.
Earl Burkhalter, 52, is the pastor of Strangers Rest Missionary Baptist Church and has worked with numerous boards that have examined policing and spiritual issues. He said he wants to improve reinvestment programs to improve District 1 and make people more aware of programs that the city already offers.
Oletha Faust-Goudeau, is a a current Democratic state House representative. She has said she would resign from the position if she is appointed to the Council seat. She wants to address people’s neighborhood problems by being more hands-on and by encouraging citizen involvement in city government.
Michael Kinard, 46, is a former Wichita School Board member and former director of the Kansas Minority Business Development Council. He said he wants to find ways to retain young people and increase efforts to reduce blight in District 1.
Steven Roberts, 47, is a District 1 Advisory Board member. The Hall Monitor couldn't reach him Tuesday.
George Rogers, who is 71 and retired, served eight years on the City Council before leaving in 2001 because of term limits. He said he had the experience and qualifications to deal with a variety of issues, including employment and taxes.
Lavonta Williams, 57, is a District 1 Advisory Board member. The Hall Monitor also couldn't reach her Tuesday. But she is on the Visioneering Wichita's Racial Diversity, Opportunity and Harmony Strategic Alliance and a former teacher, middle school after-school program director and secretary for the local and state NAACP.

Do Kansas Democrats have a problem with their primary colors?

2007-05-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

Late Tuesday, the Democratic members of the Kansas House lined up for their annual group picture in matching t-shirts.

Red t-shirts.

Of course, as anyone familiar with recent political history knows, the color red is inextricably associated with the Republican Party and blue is the property of the Democratic Party. In fact, years of election maps on TV have reinforced the associations so strongly that the terms “red state” and “blue state” are now an enduring
part of the national political lexicon.

So why were Democrats smiling for the camera wearing their adversaries’ colors?

Rep. Raj Goyle, D-Wichita offered this diving catch: “because we’re taking over red America.”

But Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, who organized the photo, said the reason for red was a lot more mundane than that. “We wear a different color every year,” she said.

Written by Dion Lefler

Carlos Mayans: No regrets and exploring new paths

2007-04-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

When former Mayor Carlos Mayans goes to Sam's Club to pick up a couple racks of ribs, people still put out their hands and open their arms like they did a few months ago. The sprinkler guy comes up to his door with wet hands, eager to shake hands. Letters have filled his mailbox and his supporters, friends and family are as close as ever.

"How can you be saddened by that?" Mayans asked in a wide-ranging conversation with The Hall Monitor on Friday.

People ask if he'll run for another public office. He tells them the rumors about a run for a state senate seat are just that -- rumors. But, he said, "I'm not saying I will never run again."

He's been meeting with a lot of people about opportunities in business and other organizations, but he's not interested in publicizing that, except to say he's not getting back into the insurance business. For now, he's trying to find something challenging that he can have fun with, he said. He's reading Foreign Policy, the Washington D.C.-based global politics magazine, as well as books about American cities and China's complicated rise. He's even explored work with the human rights group Amnesty International. "My biggest challenge is trying to rest," said Mayans, who, as mayor, was known to keep himself so busy he'd just drink a Slim-Fast shake for lunch.

Mayans said he has no regrets about the April election, where he was easily ousted by Carl Brewer. "It wasn't one thing," he said. "Not the money, not the media, not the organization. It just didn't feel right the whole time. But I've got a lot to be thankful for."

"How many people can say they're in the annals of history?" said Mayans, who also spent a decade in the Kansas House of Representatives. "There's not a lot of people that get to do that."

Finalists annouced for top education spot

2007-04-27T14:43:00.000-05:00

The Kansas Department of Education announced today two finalists to be the top education guru in the state.
The finalists are Alexa Posny, director of the office of special education in Washington, D.C and Marilou Joyner, executive director of the CEO Blackwell Education Support Team, an educational consultanting firm. She is also a former executive director of the Kansas City Missouri School District Higher Education Partnership and a former assistant education commissioner in Missouri.

Those in Kansas education circles will remember Posny as the former deputy commissioner of education here in Kansas.

The two finalists were narrowed down from five. The names of the other three were not released.

Here's the skinny on the two finalists:

Alexa Posny

Posny was a finalist during the previous search for commissioner. The board chose Bob Corkins.
During her leadership, Kansas was viewed as a "national leader in the inclusion of students with disabilities in the statewide accountability system" according to the U.S. Department of Education website.
Posny started her career as a teacher for students with disabilities. She has been a director of special education in school districts in Kansas, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Marilou Joyner

Joyner helped develop guidelines for a statewide district comprehensive improvement plan for Missouri.
She's had experiences with different types of districts such as those in rural, suburban and urban areas.
Joyner conducts seminars and training for teachers, administrators and board members

The two candidates will be interviewed again May 7, 2007, at the Kansas State Department of Education. Interviews will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Sciortino sells his expertise

2007-04-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Ben Sciortino is now working from the other side of the commission bench. The man who lost his seat in November to Commissioner Gwen Welshimer is now starting up his own lobbying business: Sciortino & Associates.

So far, the only associate is his wife Mary, who will act as his secretary. Sciortino will lobby and advocate for businesses trying to cut through the city and county's bureaucratic red tape.

"After eight years in the county, I have a very good idea of how things work," Sciortino said. "I have maintained excellent relationships with the electeds on both sides of the street. If a company needs help with a zone change or help lobbying a particular item, that's what I'll do."

Sciortino will attend every Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission meeting and will keep tabs on current and upcoming projects, he said. Most of his services will be geared toward businesses, not individual citizens.

"Probably more companies than everyday citizens because I probably won’t come real cheap," Sciortino said with a chuckle.

Have Wichita and Sedgwick County found peace?

2007-04-19T12:35:00.000-05:00

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the day Wichita and Sedgwick County made peace.

On April 17, 1987, city and county officials gathered in the middle of Central Avenue dressed as American Indians, laid down the hatchets they were carrying and signed a peace treaty to symbolize a new era of govenrment cooperation. The event was the brainchild of former Commissioner Dave Bayouth who said the newfound peace would help bring jobs to the area, the Wichita Eagle-Beacon reported at the time.

"The event, billed as the 'Central Street Summit', began with the 10 officials moving up to a table draped with Indian blankets. There, they put down their hatchets - a symbol that city-county strife is now buried in the past. Truman Ware, the chairman of the board of the Mid-America All-Indian Center, presided over the passing of the peace pipe, reminding officials of its significance," the paper reported on April 18, 1987.

Click the "read more" link to see The Eagle's full front page story from that day.

GOVERNMENTS LAY DOWN HATCHETS
CITY, COUNTY SUMMIT FEATURES SYMBOLISM, PROMISES

ALISSA RUBIN, STAFF WRITER

It was a grand show for the city and the county.

In front of about 2,000 city and county employees and guests - including the governor - the five City Council members and the five county commissioners stepped up to a table in the middle of Central Avenue on Friday, laid down the hatchets they were carrying, passed an Indian peace pipe and signed a treaty with pens passed out by the acting county administrator.

The ceremony, the brainchild of County Commissioner Dave Bayouth, was to symbolize what government officials say will be a new era of cooperation between the city and the county and commitment to work together to bring jobs to the Wichita-Sedgwick County area.

Employees from both sides of the street agreed it was great to spend some time outdoors on a beautiful spring day, but as for long-term cooperation, well . . . time will tell.

It's nice; it lets the public know that we're willing to stand across the table from one another and smile at each other," said County Commission Chairman Tom Scott.

It does show people we're willing to sit down and talk about our differences," he added.

Councilman Sheldon Kamensaid the celebration showed the community and state legislators that we're willing to work together."

The event, billed as the Central Street Summit," began with the 10 officials moving up to a table draped with Indian blankets. There, they put down their hatchets - a symbol that city-county strife is now buried in the past. Truman Ware, the chairman of the board of the Mid-America All-Indian Center, presided over the passing of the peace pipe, reminding officials of its significance.

Wichita was always a place of peace for all the Indians of the plains," he said.

Mel Kahn, professor of political science at Wichita State University, who served as master of ceremonies, gave a brief speech complete with biblical references. He said the city and county were fingers of the same hand and had to work together for the greater good of the community.

After Kahn spoke, Gov. Mike Hayden sounded the gong of economic development with comments of the mutual interests of the state and local governments. Our plans for economic development will fit with your plans for economic development . . . we want to work with you hand in hand," Hayden said.

After the ceremony there was a free lunch for all city and county employees and the guests. Food and soft drinks were donated by Skaggs Alpha Beta, Burger King, Wendy's of Wichita, Long John Silvers, New York Hotdog Company, 7-Up Bottling Company, Rainbo Bakery, Pizza Hut, Ohse Meat Products and the Canteen Corporation; other services were donated by Browning Ferris Industries and Superior Sound.

All content © 1987 WICHITA EAGLE-BEACON
and may not be republished without permission.

How political will filling Council District 1 vacancy get?

2007-04-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

This morning, the race for District 1 officially begins, reviving a political season that ended just two weeks ago with a citywide election. Several people have already made their interest in the seat known, including at least two from the District 1 Advisory Board.

But the process is open to a lot of politics. Council members learned Friday that they can select whoever they want to sit on the screening board that reviews candidates and forwards names to the Council for a final vote. So it may not just be the DAB Carl Brewer selected and the Council confirmed vetting candidates -- especially if several DAB members are in the running. And the Council doesn't have to select from the people the screening committee forwards to them either. They can nominate whoever they want and the first candidate to get four votes wins.

That seems to bypass the petition requirement, but, in a meeting Friday, City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf said the Council can nominate whoever they want so long as they live in District 1 (as outlined in the map above). District 5 Council member Jeff Longwell suggested the council allow candidates to come to a Council meeting and give a short speech. Longwell said that worked well when he was on the Maize School Board. Other Council members agreed, indicating they'll probably set a date to hear from candidates.

"It gives us an opportunity to understand where they're coming from a little bit," Longwell said.

A candidate could be voted on as soon as May 15.

$10 million behind, Brownback leads the local money race

2007-04-16T00:40:00.000-05:00

Sen. Sam Brownback trails Republican presidential hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain by more than $10 million in campaign fundraising, according to recent finance reports. But the Kansas Republican easily leads all presidential candidates in the Sunflower State and the Wichita area. That's according to analysis by The New York Times that came out over the weekend. Perhaps not surprising, Brownback's home state gave the largest share of the $1.3 million he has raised in contributions of $200 or more. In all, more than $123,000 -- or 9 percent -- of his money came from Kansas --$44,182 from western and central areas, including Wichita (Zip codes 67000 to 67999) and $79,307 came from the northeast part of the state. (See Federal Election Commission reports here.)

Top donors in Wichita include Adam Beren, who frequently funds campaigns, Larry Flemming of the LDF Companies, James S. Kastens, and Gerald and Priscilla O'Shaughnessy. All gave $2,100 or more. The second best Kansas showing was from Giuliani, who took in $32,100 statewide.

Despite recent momentum from Democrats in this mostly red state and their dominance on the national fundraising scene, Brownback out-raised all the top Democratic candidates combined. Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards led the way in Kansas with $23,155; Sen. Barack Obama drew $15,716, including two $250 donations from Urban League of Kansas President Brian Black, and Sen. Hillary Clinton collected $14,720.

What's the Council up to next Tuesday? Dirt roads n' beer

2007-04-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

It looks like the big issue at the Council meeting will be Sunday sales -- that's right, your representatives may let liquor stores sell you a bottle of wine, a fifth of whiskey or a six-pack of brew on Sundays. Sharon Fearey has made it clear she supports it, but she won't be there Tuesday. And the rest of the Council has been as clear as a pint of Guinness stout on this issue. They say they have no hardline opinions and want to hear what everyone has to say -- although the absence of strong opinion says members are probably leaning toward voting in favor of it. Otherwise it probably would have been yanked off the agenda Friday. Which ever way it goes, a group of 6,701 registered Wichita voters could force the issue to a ballot with a valid petition. (For more, see The Eagle's story and voter poll.)

After the Sunday suds are voted up or down, the council will reopen its discussion on paving dirt roads. That's an issue that Council member Jim Skelton says the city needs to look at. He and the city's street engineers say many of the dirt roads remaining in the city may stay dirt forever if the city doesn't reduce what it costs homeowners to pave streets. There's no vote -- it's just something Skelton wants addressed publicly. It should be an interesting first full meeting under Mayor Carl Brewer and newly-elected District 5 Council member Jeff Longwell. And there's more than just booze and dirt roads...

The Council will hear from John Kemp about his opposition to the Boeing landfill near MacArthur and K-15, which the company wants to either give to the city or close.

Members will vote whether to sign off on a grant agreement that could give the Kansas Food Bank $297,000.

They'll vote whether to adopt a new neighborhood revitalization plan that could allow some tax rebates for some income-qualified people to use to fix up their homes. (Read more about it in this PDF.)

And they'll review an annual report that shows compliance with their tax breaks, like industrial revenue bonds.

See the entire agenda and related reports here.

Is the Solar Field religious?

2007-04-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

Two artists' proposal for a Solar Field in Sedgwick County Park has riled some Wichitans who say the solar calendar, sundial and American Indian labyrinth might be more than just a scientific exhibit.

After a story appeared in Tuesday's Eagle, three Sedgwick County Commissioners received e-mails and phone calls from constituents questioning whether artist Steve Murillo's outdoor art installation might be religious or cultish.

Murillo's proposal includes arranging about 120 stones in three separate circles. One circle would act as a sundial, one as a solar calendar and one as an American Indian medicine wheel or labyrinth. He was scheduled to appear at Wednesday's commission meeting to ask permission to use 1 acre of land in the park for the exhibit.

Commissioners deferred their decision, saying they needed to develop a long-term plan for the park. The decision was made either late Tuesday afternoon or early Wednesday morning, despite the fact they had first heard of Murillo's proposal nearly eight months ago.

The Rev. Peggy Elliott was at the meeting prepared to speak against the installation, but left when the issue was deferred.

"What these exhibits tend to attract are kids into the Gothic, people who are on the edge of living and because of that they tend not to attract enough of the city who feels comfortable enough to go there," she said. "Gangs, sometimes, will tend to be attracted there because it has a very mystical connotation. It’s not a positive thing."

Commissioner Kelly Parks said he received a few phone calls and e-mails from people asking what "metaphysical" means and another woman who said she thought it was a cult.

"The other (caller) said she thought it would open the door for many other religions, and I said, 'This is not a religious thing.' I certainly did not perceive this as a religious thing," Parks said.

Murillo said his only purpose is to create a respite in a busy city. "These pause points, these places of reflection and meditation, are opportunities to increase our enjoyment of life and our 'well-being'," he wrote in an e-mail. "These stone circles with centers offer us a place in the park where we can 'center' ourselves."

What happens now to Murillo's proposal is up in the air. Developing a master plan for Sedgwick County Park could take as long as a year.

Brewer backers get their donations back -- and convictions

2007-04-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

At least one of the men convicted yesterday of underpaying Wichita Police detectives for scrap metal during a sting operation also gave a maximum $500 contribution to Mayor Carl Brewer's campaign on Feb. 27 while he was awaiting his court date. Louie Marks is one of five men from Kansas Can who gave Brewer $500 campaign contributions on that day in February. Not all of them faced charges, but Sheryl Wohlford, Brewer's campaign treasurer, tells The Hall Monitor that all five maximum contributions from Marks and his family members were returned "several weeks ago." (See a PDF of Brewer's campaign report)

Louie and John J. Marks face probation when they are sentenced on May 18. Another family member who apparently did not donate, Bobby Marks, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for stealing scrap metal and selling it back to the family business. (For more on the scrap metal case, see a story in today's Wichita Eagle by Tim Potter and Ron Sylvester.)

From District 84 to District 1? She might try

2007-04-11T00:19:00.000-05:00

Add State Rep. Oletha Faust-Goudeau to the list of people who might take a shot at filling the District 1 City Council seat that Carl Brewer gave up yesterday. The third-term Democrat said she is seriously considering the position and has a petition that she'll need 100 people to sign in order to be eligible. (See rules here.) But, she tells The Hall Monitor, she's not yet certain. If she did run, she says she would step down from her District 84 House seat, leaving it up to the precinct committee to appoint someone to complete her term in the Legislature.

So why consider giving up one seat for another? Faust-Goudeau says when she's talking to her constituents in District 84 (See District map PDF), they're often looking for quick fixes to their problems -- be it repairing sidewalks or eliminating blight. And in her district, which contains "Beat 44" the area widely known as having some of the worst crime and blight in the city, she feels she could have more immediate impact on people's problems than as a lawmaker in Topeka. "I am a more hands-on type of person, and I interact with people on a regular basis," she said. But she said she doesn't want the race to fill Brewer's spot to get messy. There are a lot of qualified candidates, she said, noting some of those those mentioned in The Hall Monitor's previous posts. "I'm certainly not trying to create any friction," she said. "I'm a lover, not a fighter."

The race begins next Tuesday when the vacancy is officially announced during the Council meeting. "By the last day, we'll probably get 101 names thrown in the hat," Faust-Goudeau said.

Black men examined, local examples shine

2007-04-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

While many organizations in the nation are examining the state of black men in America, Wichita has several examples of black men succeeding in the highest levels of government.

Carl Brewer was sworn in today as mayor at the Wichita City Council meeting. He adds to the diversity of local government officials. African-Americans are serving as city manager, assistant city manager, city spokesman, chief of police, assistant county manager and director of the city's visitors and tourism department.

It's a line-up that shouldn't be taken for granted.

The swearing-in comes days before the National Urban League plans to release its State of Black America report, which will focus on the status of black men in America. Sen. and presidential hopeful Barack Obama even wrote the forward to the report, which is set to be released April 17.

"Although many black men are doing well, glaring gaps continue to exist between black men and their white counterparts," a press release for the report reads. "These gaps are caused and aggravated, in large measure, by the underperformance of a disproportionate number of black men in a variety of areas and for a variety of reasons."

Grading Kansas

2007-04-07T14:41:00.001-05:00

The US Chamber of Commerce released their state-by-state report card on education and it looks like Kansas might need some tutoring.

The state received high marks in overall academic achievement and for students of low-income and minority students.

The organization also gave Kansas a high score in the return on investment category because "student achievement in Kansas is high relative to state spending on education."

But then the report card gets grim.

Kansas receives a D for rigor of standards mainly because of math and science curriculum standards and high school graduation requirements not aligned with college and workforce needs. Also adding to the low grade was the state's lack of high school exit exams.

Coming out of the woodwork...

2007-04-07T14:10:00.000-05:00

As mayor-elect Carl Brewer thanked his constituents at his final neighborhood breakfast this morning, The Hall Monitor couldn't help but notice two familiar faces in the crowd - Lavonta Williams and Treatha Brown Foster.

These two names have popped up before on The Hall Monitor as possible candidates for the district 1 seat vacancy.

Williams who is a teacher in the Wichita school district said she was thinking about the possibility. Brown-Foster said she was "seriously considering it".

For whoever fills Brewer's old slot, it's not going to be an easy job, he told the crowd today.
"There are going to be high expectations," he said. "You'll have to perform like I did or better. It's going to take alot of commitment and time away from home. Don't think it's going to be an easy deal."

For more on the requirements to be considered for the council seat, see our previous post here.

Live from the 10th floor? Maybe

2007-04-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

You won't see it on TV, but every other Thursday at 1:30 p.m. the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meets on the 10th floor of City Hall to decide what this city will look like. It's often decided in pieces -- such as can a subdivision expand or can someone sell a house and turn it into a business. Other times, it's not so simple. For example, can a Wal-Mart SuperCenter move in or is it OK to relocate some wetlands to make way for development?

Some of the city's most contentious issues are first ruled on at the MAPC. The City Council can always overrule, but the MAPC's decisions usually set the tone. Now some City Council members, such as Paul Gray and Sharon Fearey, think it would be best to broadcast the meetings since the decisions can change the face of a neighborhood. But a $67,225 remodel of their meeting room that the Council will vote on Tuesday doesn't include broadcasting capabilities -- just audio and visual additions to improve the information flow during the meetings. Fearey and others are asking for broadcasting capabilities. In a meeting Friday, City Manager George Kolb said he would bring back some new prices with broadcast included. "We will do the TV wiring," he said after Fearey questioned it.

As it stands today, here's what's on the city's purchase list:
21 wireless microphones
Receiver and mixer for the mics
22 4 inch speakers (two-ways with woofers and tweeters)
A 60x80 inch fabric screen
Sanyo projector with computer interfaces
A podium
Hook-ups for reporters to patch into the system with audio/visual recorders

Going green... and building up downtown at the same time

2007-04-06T08:15:00.000-05:00

City Council members say there's no doubt that more parking is needed downtown, especially with the forthcoming arena and all the commercial and residential developments that have been envisioned in the blocks around it. But they're also thinking about green space for playgrounds or just benches and trees to give people a place to chill out. Green roofs even came up.

City planners are proposing that 5 to 10 percent of each development, be it a shopping area or office building, should be green space. City Council member Sharon Fearey said in a workshop last week that she's hoping the city can convince developers to put their pieces together to make larger open areas in the heart of downtown. She also advocated for green roofs, a concept used in many cities to cut down on the heat generated by all the blacktop, cut energy costs in the buildings and offer grassy space in the most unlikely of spots -- several stories above ground. Fearey said green roofs could be integrated into parking ramps since many people don't like parking on the top level anyway because there's no protection from summertime heat or weather.

Read more about green roofs at this industry website. Read more about these types of concepts in this National League of Cities article. See the green roof atop the new Minneapolis Library here.

Wanted: someone to lead Kansas education

2007-04-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

The Hall Monitor has learned that the Kansas State Board of Education has chosen five candidates in the search for the state's next top education guru.

The board members met in late March with the National Association of State Boards of Education. The national organization is helping the board conduct a nationwide search for the next commissioner. Former commissioner Bob Corkins resigned last November after some conservative members of the board lost their re-election campaigns. That changed the board majority from conservative to moderate.

For the moment, the identities of the five candidates is hush-hush. Board vice-chair and Wichita's representative Carol Rupe said that the board read all the applications that were presented to them by the search firm but she couldn't give out any of the candidate's names. "I don't know if that's public information yet," she said.

All five candidates will be interviewed April 26.

What's the Council up to next? Lots of ceremony

2007-04-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

Here's what Tuesday's City Council meeting looks like: Pray, Pledge of Allegiance and then ceremony (swear in the new mayor), ceremony (swear in a new council member), ceremony (tribute to Bob Martz). Oh, and once the new Council lineup is in place, they'll dive into several issues.
Here are the hottest items:
Pick a new vice-mayor to replace Paul Gray, who is finishing his one-year term. (See procedure here.)

Vote to sign an agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers to do a massive, $4.5 million flood protection project on the Cowskin Creek that will essentially cut a 300-foot wide overflow shelf into the shoreline. City drainage engineers say it could reduce flooding by more than a foot in some residential areas during the type of downpour that comes about once every 100 years. (See previous Eagle story.)
Consider a $45,000 contract for drug and alcohol testing of transportation, police and fire employees. That kicks in some new random tests agreed the unions agreed to about a year ago, and it comes at a time when both the police and fire unions' men and women are working under an expired contract.
Decide whether to OK a $67,225 remodel of the planning department's meeting room that includes audio/visual components.
Rename Harvest Park, 9500 Provincial Lane, as "Bob Martz Park" in honor of former District 5 City Council member Bob Martz, who died of an apparent heart attack in January.
Vote to rezone an oddly shaped swath of land near McConnell Air Force Base to "Air Force Base District" as part of the city's massive rezoning around the base to show military officials who may be preparing the next round of base closures McConnell is prepared for future expansion and has terrorism safeguards.
See the full agenda.

Kansas health: truth in numbers

2007-04-05T10:18:00.000-05:00

Want to know how long people are staying married in Kansas, what people in Kansas are dying from or what age group is having more babies out-of-wedlock?

Don't look to the gossip columns. Look to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which released its 2005 Summary of Kansas Vital Statistics Tuesday. It's the most up-to-date information on Kansas birth, deaths and marriages available from the state agency.

Among other interesting facts:
- Kansans are continuing to delay marriage.
- Slightly over half of the Kansans seeking abortions were 15 to 24.
- The black infant death rate continues to be over two times higher than the rate for whites.

For the inside scoop, see the PDF report here.

A long night... and it's not getting any easier

2007-04-04T17:13:00.000-05:00

It was 2 a.m. by the time Mayor-elect Carl Brewer got out of his election party at the Courtyard by Marriot in Old Town. And he was up before sunrise and working by 7:30 a.m. today to figure out how he'll leave his post at Spirit AeroSystems in the next few weeks and responding to a batch of congratulatory e-mails.

At his neighborhood city hall, he got hit with TV interview after TV interview after Hall Monitor interview this afternoon. He even picked up a cold somewhere along the way. It's not getting any less hectic. He's setting up meetings with the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce (to talk about bringing in new businesses), City Manager George Kolb (to talk about a citywide wireless internet system), newly elected Council member Jeff Longwell (to get to know him better) and others.

Saturday morning, he'll be at Ryan's Grill Buffet & Bakery, 3323 N. Rock Rd. (See map.), for his monthly breakfast with community residents -- only this time near record attendance is expected. Some of them are likely to be people who want to fill the District 1 seat Brewer is leaving. "I think you'll see who's interested if you come there," Brewer said.

(People interested in petitioning for Brewer's seat can learn how the city fills vacancies here. See the full city ordinance here.And see a map of District 1 here.)

Who should fill Brewer's City Council position?

2007-04-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

As people sipped Coronas and sodas and mingled among the crowd at Carl Brewer's campaign party Tuesday night, The Hall Monitor was working the scene, trying to find out who's going to fill Brewer's shoes in District 1. We've got a list of potential contenders and we're hoping you'll add to it by clicking on the "comments" link below. The right person will need 100 signatures from district residents, an affirming vote from the District Advisory Board and a majority vote of the City Council. Let us know what you think and see what we heard by clicking "read more."

Here's a glimpse of people's reactions to the now-pressing question:
Asked about the vacancy, former mayor Bob Knight pointed to Rip Gooch, the former state senator and former City Council member. Gooch, however, said, "I've done that." He said maybe his daughter Bonita Gooch, publisher of The Community Voice, could take it on. She has a background in public administration, he said. Several people have urged her to step in, he said. Rev. Titus H. James came up too. He's the pastor of North Heights Christian Church.

Brewer said there's "an ocean" of good people who could fill his seat. He said many of them are on his District Advisory Board. Lavonta Williams seems to be high on the list. She appeared in Brewer's campaign ads, boasting Brewer's neighborhood clean-up efforts. She's also a teacher and is on the Visioneering diversity task force. James Thompson's name also surfaced -- as did the rest of the DAB, which includes: Gerald Domitrovic, Shane Dundas, Treatha Brown-Foster, Steve Roberts, Debra Miller-Stevens, Inga Taylor and Shontina Tipton.

Tell us who you think will be able to get 100 signatures, support of the DAB and four votes from the City Council.

Want another sales tax?

2007-04-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

Struggling with rising costs for the Sedgwick County Jail and the new aviation training center at the Jabara Airport, county commissioners debated this morning whether a sales tax could solve their debt problems.

The Hall Monitor knows what you're thinking: We already have a 1 cent sales tax and it's for the downtown arena. True enough, but that sales tax ends Dec. 31, 2007. Commissioner Tim Norton wondered if the county could simply start another sales tax after that.

"I don't think people want to hear about a property tax increase," Norton said. "We either wait for the Legislature to allow us to impose sales taxes on our own or we wait for the arena sales tax to end. That could pay for a whole lot of public safety."

Norton likened a sales tax to paying cash out of your wallet.

"At least the pain is over in 30 months," he said. "It's like digging into your pocket and saying, 'Let's pay cash instead of putting it on a credit card.'"

Commissioner Gwen Welshimer shook her head at Norton's suggestion. "I think we should cut down on things that aren't mandated (by the state)."

She suggested downsizing costs for museums, minority businesses and consultants.

"A sales tax is the lesser of two evils," she conceded. "If you don't want to spend it, don't buy it. At least there's a choice."

Where to party with the candidates

2007-04-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

Want to see the face of victory or defeat? How about listen to a consolation or victory speech? How about free pretzels and punch? It all happens Tuesday night -- when candidates rise and fall.

Carl Brewer's watch party will be at 7 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott in Old Town, 820 E. 2nd St. Mayor Carlos Mayans' party starts at 7:30 p.m. at The Broadview Hotel, 400 W. Douglas. Les Osterman isn't planning on a party. Sue Schlapp's party will start at 7 p.m. at BG Bolton’s Sports Grill, 11423 E 13th Street. Paul Tobia will be at his home.

School board candidates Karl Peterjohn, Cindy Duckett and John Stevens will have a watch party at Oscar's Sports Box at 353 N. Mead. Jeff Davis, Barb Fuller, and Betty Arnold, will be at the River City Brewery at 150 N. Mosley. Kevass Harding will make an appearence there but will spend most of the night at his church with his supporters at 1502 N. Dellrose.
The Hall Monitor reporters will hit as many of these places as possible. Stay tuned.

Church stakes claim in future gambling zone

2007-04-01T12:31:00.000-05:00

During the Hall Monitor's weekend watch, the Rev. Terry Fox, a vocal gambling critic, announced that his church has purchased one acre of land in the heart of what could become a gambling hot-spot.

Summit church plans to build in the commercial development district at Wild West World Amusement Park. The Park City property sets across the street from the Wichita Greyhound Park where a new bill would allow slot machines to be installed. The bill also allows destination casinos in four areas of the state - in either Sedgwick or Sumner Co., Ford County, Wyandotte County and either Cherokee or Crawford County. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has promised to sign the bill into law.

Fox said Summit Church is now in a prime position to minister to people with gambling addictions.

"We want to be a church that - rather than criticizing and complaining - will be here to help people," said Fox, who added that the church could break ground before this year ends.

Read more about the church's plans in Monday's Eagle.

Mayoral candidates agree: shopping bags on heads don't make sense

2007-03-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

Mayoral candidates Carl Brewer and Carlos Mayans say those people with shopping bags, tickets and a dinner plate on their heads don't make much sense to them.

"I probably would have used something a little different myself," Brewer said, laughing. "I've never been able to figure out exactly what the catch was to it."

"I think you said it all, it's a little different," Mayans said.

Their comments came during the candidates' last face-to-face debate on KNSS NewsRadio 1330 this morning after host Gene Countryman asked whether the taxpayer-funded signs, which are on billboards all over the state, were a good idea.

"It just seems baffling to me," Countryman said.
(Get a podcast of the show here.)

The Greater Wichita Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Greteman Group, which made the ads, also took some heat in 2004 when the ad campaign was first displayed. The slogan -- "We got the goods" -- didn't sound right to some grammar hawks. Ad writers, however, said the casual wording was intentional -- like the "Got Milk" campaign.

Election Commissioner predicts 20 percent (again)

2007-03-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

In February, Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale predicted 20 percent of registered voters would cast a ballot in the primary. Only 13 percent of those registered showed up. Given general elections have better turnout, Gale is sticking with 20 percent again Tuesday. It probably won't help that the National Weather Service forecasts a slight chance of thunderstorms for Tuesday. Rain tends to keep voters home. But a barrage of last minute campaigning might counteract it.

As of Thursday evening, about 1,000 people voted in person. Another 4,800 mailed-in their ballots and another 4,000 mail-in ballots are still out and could come back by Tuesday.

Here's a historic look at turnout in spring general elections:
2005: 38 percent (same sex marriage on ballot, too)
2003: 32 percent
2001: 12 percent
1999: 16 percent

See Tuesday's Wichita Eagle for more on municipal election turnout in Wichita and across the nation.

Partisan support for nonpartisan offices

2007-03-30T09:57:00.000-05:00

Want lower taxes, better jobs, accountability, economic growth, personal freedom and limited government? The Sedgwick County Republican Party says their folks can do it -- even in the non-partisan offices of mayor, city council and school board.

That's the message in a recent Sedgwick County Republican Party mail-out flier that says "Wichita wins with Republican principles." It lists Republicans Carlos Mayans, Sue Schlapp, Paul Gray and both Paul Tobia and Jeff Longwell for city races. Also on their list: Cindy Duckett, John Stevens, Karl Peterjohn and Jeff Davis for Wichita School Board positions. Then, the tiny asterisks: "*We encourage you to support the candidate of your choice."

It's not just the Rs showing their party colors, though. Mayoral candidate Carl Brewer, a Democrat, has also had help from his party -- most notably from former Lt. Governor Tom Docking, who was one of three prominent Democrats to endorse Brewer in a letter sent to local Dems.

For more on the partisan nature of non-partisan elections and list of candidates' registered party affiliations, see this previous post.

Party on: ticket prices drop for R&B show

2007-03-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

Want to see Earth, Wind & Fire on Saturday, but your money is funny and your change is strange?

Don't fret, you've got people. No, not H&R Block, but organizers of the Downing Concert Series, who have made more $35 tickets available.

Talk about a discount.

And if you paid more for your Kansas Coliseum seat, there's no need to complain. Every dollar raised through ticket sales from the concert, a pre-party and gala dinner will benefit the Center for Health and Wellness, the Boys and Girls Clubs of South-Central Kansas and The Opportunity Project school. These are organizations that are investing in children and healthcare in our community.

Now that's worth singing about.

Catch Friday's Eagle for more information or visit www.downingfoundation.org.

10th and Volutsia clean-up cost the city $12,000

2007-03-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

The dump of a yard at 10th and Volutsia was probably the strangest and most controversial clean-up in the city's history. It wasn't cheap either.

It cost the city $12,000 to clean up the mess. (Watch Sunflower's video of the clean up at this link.)

Here's what Environmental Services Director Kay Johnson had to say about it, according to the District 1 Advisory Board minutes: "Basically, we could not go behind the fence and the property suffered years of neglect, which was an issue. Turn over in staff was another issue. Municipal Court had no jurisdiction to enforce the law and it was not until the District Court intervened those things changed. It cost the City $12,000 to clean up that property." (See it all in this PDF of the minutes)

Who's speaking for whom?

2007-03-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

A letter sent out to about 50 West Wichita residents on behalf of District 5 City Council candidate Jeff Longwell says he will propose a city ordinance to freeze senior citizens' property taxes. It also requests you send him money to pay for a $500 a day ad in the Wichita Eagle proposing his "FREEZE THE TAXES" campaign.

Longwell says the letter is bogus.

The letter was sent out by Patrick Quaney, a District 5 primary candidate who has since endorsed Longwell since losing the primary. He says he "misunderstood" Longwell's stance on freezing property taxes.

"I will lobby the Legislature to freeze property values, but I know I can't, as a city councilman, do that," Longwell says.

Read the letter here. You can also read a full story on the Eagle's website.

Fight against blight gains unlikely "partners"

2007-03-28T14:05:00.000-05:00

The City of Wichita and Sunflower Community Action's working relationship is improving after the nonprofit group's meeting with city officials to discuss run-down properties.

The city agreed to provide updates to Sunflower in April and May after Sunflower revealed its "Dirty 20" list of properties to City Spokesman Van Williams and the city's Office of Central Inspections and Environmental Services department leaders. Both sides considered the meeting a success - the city was pleased with Sunflower's grassroots efforts to clean up blight in Central-Northeast Wichita and Sunflower was pleased the city started cases on several of the properties.

"We got to talk to each other, and not through the media or other groups," Williams said, "and the communication benefited from that."

Still, four Sunflower members are going to trial on misdemeanor charges the city pressed against them for illegal dumping and trespassing during a protest at City Manager George Kolb's house in December. The group hoped to pressure Kolb to clean up dumping at a house at 10th and Volutsia.

And the retirement clock goes to...

2007-03-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

At nearly every Sedgwick County Commission meeting, one county employee who is about to retire is honored and thanked for her public service. Most days, the longtime employee graciously accepts his retirement clock, a certificate and words of appreciation from county commissioners.

This morning, though, Sheriff Sergeant Shane Brazil, who will retire April 1 after 22 years of service, used his opportunity to speak to point fingers at an administration that he said does not value the sacrifices law enforcement officers make every day. He said the county doesn't pay a fair wage or offer incentives to keep officers from taking other jobs.

Watch the video of this morning's commission meeting and what Sgt. Brazil says about County Manager Bill Buchanan. (Click on the video for March 28. When the video window appears, click on "C. Presentation of Retirement Clocks.")

Mayans doesn't like polls, polls don't like him

2007-03-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

Ask Mayor Carlos Mayans about polls, and he'll tell you he hasn't taken any in six campaigns (five for state representative, one for mayor). A self-described populist, he says there's only one real poll -- Election Day. Mayoral candidate Carl Brewer, meanwhile, spent $14,000 on polling and phone banks.

Now a poll has been taken by KWCH Channel 12 and The Wichita Eagle. It shows Brewer up 22 percent over Mayans in the race for mayor. The automated phone survey polled 470 likely voters and was conducted by Survey USA a week before the April 3 election.

Of those asked, 58 percent plan to vote for Brewer, 36 percent plan to vote for Mayans and 6 percent said they were undecided or planned to pick someone else, presumably a write-in. There's a 4.6 percent margin of error. In the poll, Brewer leads among all age groups as well as among men, women, black and white voters.

Brownback: Iraq withdrawal timeline "like March Madness for terrorists"

2007-03-27T19:50:00.000-05:00

Sen. Sam Brownback, who opposed President Bush's troop surge in Iraq, says "now is hardly the time to set a date for retreat."

That comes just a day after he was campaigning in Iowa and told The Des Moines Register that his opposition to the surge is a problem for some conservative voters.

Brownback's answer is to split Iraq three ways and lead the country into federalism. "If the surge works, federalism can provide the framework necessary to stabilize Iraq over the long term," he said in a press release. "If the surge fails, and Iraq’s sectarian violence deepens, a federal Iraq will be the only choice available to separate the warring factions while keeping Iraq from breaking apart – something that we cannot allow to occur in such a vital region."
See his full statement:

"U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today released a statement regarding the upcoming Senate vote on whether Congress should impose a deadline for withdrawal of troops from Iraq:

"We have arrived at a key moment for U.S. policy in Iraq. History recalls Operations Desert Shield and Storm in 1990 and 1991. It recalls the no-fly zones we maintained in the 1990s. It recalls the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. It recalls our sanctions against Saddam Hussein. And when history records Operation Iraqi Freedom, it will remember whether Congress provided the direction necessary to complete the mission or chose to cut it off prematurely. History will judge today s vote.

"The American people await this vote. The Iraqi people await this vote. Al Qaeda awaits this vote. A timetable for withdrawal is like March Madness for terrorists. The terrorists envision a timetable for withdrawal advancing through the House and through the Senate. They even have a timetable for withdrawal beating a presidential veto and becoming law. We need to break that bracket this afternoon.

"The surge is now underway. I did not support the surge, but I hope it works. The first reports have been encouraging, but the fog of war remains thick. Over the next few months, we will be able to assess whether the surge is working or not. Now is hardly the time to set a date for retreat.

"I am not saying we should have an open ended commitment, but I am saying that our mission over there - and not politics over here - should drive our policy. I know many of my colleagues believe we have nothing to gain by staying. But I believe there is a way forward.

"Everyone agrees that a political solution is crucial to success. And it turns out that the political solution Iraqis ought to pursue is the most American of all: Federalism.

"Thankfully, in the early days in America, we did not have the kind of factional violence and terrorism we've seen in Iraq. But it certainly included rivalries between the colonies and different visions of the future.

"The great solution chosen by the founding fathers was federalism - something embodied by the Senate itself. An Iraq with several federal regions, with Baghdad as a federal capital represents the best chance for Iraq to achieve stability.

"If the surge works, federalism can provide the framework necessary to stabilize Iraq over the long term. If the surge fails, and Iraq s sectarian violence deepens, a federal Iraq will be the only choice available to separate the warring factions while keeping Iraq from breaking apart something that we cannot allow to occur in such a vital region.

"I believe that instead of giving the terrorists a reason to be hopeful and sending mixed signals to our forces in the field, we should be talking about the possibility of a federal Iraq. The Iraqi Constitution calls for it. The Iraqi Parliament passed a law supporting it. The Kurdish region proves that it can be successful. Yes, a federal Iraq may require the presence of U.S. forces for some period of time. But as we have seen in Bosnia, our deployments in support of a political solution endorsed by all sides can bring lasting peace and a chance for a brighter future.

"For this reason, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Cochran amendment. We need to stop talking about how to retreat and start talking about winning in Iraq. A conversation about a federal Iraq is the best way for the Senate to contribute to success in Iraq."

Wichita may tone down the LED signs

2007-03-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

People who own bright LED signs, like the one at a car dealership and car wash on North Rock Road, may soon have to dim them -- at least at night.

In a City Council workshop today, Council members voiced support for an ordinance that would require new LED signs to have dimming controls and require existing signs to reduce their brightness. Sign owners who can't control the intensity of their signs would have to come into the City Hall and talk to the Office of Central Inspection about modifying their signs or getting an exception to the rule. This decision is far from over, though. In workshops, the Council just gives city staffers some direction on what kind of ordinance they'd like to see.

John Lay, with George Lay Signs Inc., said requiring dimming controls won't be a big deal since most new signs have them. He said most of the signs that people are complaining about also have dimming controls.

It's your decision

2007-03-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

After reading an earlier post on The Hall Monitor about a letter sent out to Wichita district employees, Superintendent Winston Brooks is clarifying a paragraph he wrote about the election.

In a email he shared with The Hall Monitor, Brooks wrote that employees should educate themselves on the candidates. He also wrote that there are other groups besides United Teachers of Wichita that they can contact to learn more.

Click below to read the full email.

Dear Colleagues:

I apologize for adding to your list of emails today, but clarification is needed regarding the intent of my email that I sent to you last night. First, the intent was to thank each of you for the great work you do in the Wichita Public Schools and on behalf of our nearly 49,000 students. Once again, I say thank you for your dedication, your passion, and your commitment.

Second purpose was to encourage you to stay focused on student learning for the remainder of the year. Finally, I encouraged you to go vote on April 3rd. I also suggested that you should educate yourself on the candidates who are running for the School Board and if in doubt, call UTW for recommendations. Unfortunately, this has been misconstrued as an endorsement of certain candidates by the Superintendent, not true.

In fact, if you choose to not contact UTW (which I thought was a logical choice since they are the bargaining agent for teachers); there are other agencies that you can also contact for recommendations. For example, you could contact the Wichita Eagle editorial board for their endorsements, or you can contact the League of Women Voters, or the Pachyderm Club, or the Chamber of Commerce, or the Wichita Independent Business Association. I suspect you could also contact both the Republican and Democrat local offices, although the School Board races are to be non-partisan.

I have no intent to unduly influence this election one way or the other and I apologize to anyone who might think that I have.

Once again, thank you for your work.

Winston C. Brooks
Superintendent

More on cameras on police cars

2007-03-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

We reported in The Eagle today about Mayor Carlos Mayans and City Council member Carl Brewer supporting cameras in police cars. Both men supported it in their comments. But, as Sunflower Community Action members are pointing out this morning, that's not the full story.

Mayans asked Brewer to make a motion on the cameras during budget negotiations last year, but Brewer didn't. Later, Mayans made a motion of his own to shift $150,000 from the city's long-term spending to start a pilot project. Brewer voted against that. Only Mayans and Paul Gray supported it. See the full minutes in a PDF file here.

I'm not telling you what to do but....

2007-03-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

Wichita schools superintendent Winston Brooks is happy that everyone is back from spring break but he wants to remind everyone to vote on April 3.

Not sure who to vote for? Call the union.

In an email given to the Hall Monitor, Brooks, who sent it out a district wide, thanked teachers and staff for their work during the year.

At the end, he urges everyone to do their civic duty and vote. Brooks writes:

"Finally, let me remind all of you that you owe it to yourself, to our students, to the District to go vote on Tuesday, April 3. As you all know, we have contested races in four out of seven School Board seats. Contested races are in District 1, 3, 4, and At Large. I strongly recommend that you educate yourself about the candidates in each of these races. If in doubt, I would encourage you to contact Paul Babich or Larry Landwehr of UTW should you need recommendations on who to vote for. I also want to remind you that those of us who reside within the boundaries of USD #259 will be able to vote for all four races."

The UTW or the United Teachers of Wichita, the teacher's union, endorsed incumbent Kevass Harding, district 3 candidate Barb Fuller and district 4 candidate Jeff Davis. The same candidates endorsed by a majority of the school board members.

So who really is responsible for Core Knowledge?

2007-03-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

An item that didn't fit in yesterday's school board race story, puts district 4 candidate Cindy Duckett and Chip Gramke at odds. It starts out with a phrase in Duckett's literature that quotes Gramke. The quote said:

"Cindy was tremendously helpful in getting me the information [on Core Knowledge]," She did a tremendous job. If you look at the test scores of these two schools, it works."

Hold on says Gramke. That might not be entirely accurate.

"Did we discuss core knowledge? Yes," Gramke said in a conversation with the Hall Monitor last week. "Was she instrumental in starting the school? The people that were instrumental were Chip Gramke and Marty Marshall. They talked to the parents and pushed it through the board agenda."

Core Knowledge is a magnet concept for two schools in the district.

After calling Duckett for comment, a series of emails were sent out to school board members, including Gramke, and of course to the Hall Monitor. In one of them, she outline her exact contribution to the magnet concept:

"If asked, Chip may recall that I -- alone -- secured the donation of phonics and math textbook from Saxon Publishers in Norman, OK for every Bryant Core Knowledge student. He might also recall that I -- alone -- secured a large donation for the Bryant Core Knowledge library from Don and Faith Bell at Security Savings Bank in Olathe. He might also recall the numerous meetings at the UTW office with me, Greg Jones, Barb Fuller, David Payne and former school board member Marshall Jones to get this project going. Chip can be a sweetheart but I think his memory might be getting a bit cloudy."

Gramke, fellow board member Lynn Rogers, and businessman Fred Berry, will hold a press conference at 2:30 today in the 3rd floor boardroom in the central library. The gentlemen will endorse Duckett's opponent, Jeff Davis.

And in another twist Berry is listed as one of the contributors for CEO First, Duckett's non-profit that gives scholarships to low-income students to attend private schools.

Also on that list is at-large candidate Karl Peterjohn, the Kansas Taxpayers Network which Peterjohn heads, and state board of education member Steve Abrams.

Mayans still supports WSU football

2007-03-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

WSU football isn't Carlos Mayans' favorite topic these days, since it's led to such outcry from other City Council members. But Mayans still stands behind Wichita State University football as a way to boost the school's lagging enrollment.

"It's no secret that Wichita State University has lost students, in part, because of not having football," Mayans said, responding to a question at a voter forum Sunday. "This is not a true, full university. The football would bring a return of... more African American students," he said. When he said that, someone in the crowd at the Tabernacle Baptist Church said "that's stereotyping."

"Football is economic development to the city," Mayans said. The 1.5 mills of tax money was intended to pay off buildings and now those buildings are paid off, he said.

Mayan's opponent, City Council member Carl Brewer, has criticized the idea from the start. He response to the question was to say a mayor has "more things to do" instead of trying to convince a university's president to start a football program. "We have other things to be doing," he said.

Thank you, come again

2007-03-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to The Eagle's newest blog. Keep coming back and you'll see more of what goes on behind the political scene and more of what The Eagle's metro reporters hear as they walk the halls of power both in Wichita and around the state.

Sometimes we'll write about the first whispers of a larger plan, like a mayoral candidate's plan to make Wichita a wireless internet city. Other times it will be a glimpse of someone's life, like Sedgwick County Commissioner Tom Winter's fishing trip. We'll put out rumors, like those about Wichita School District Superintendent Winston Brooks becoming the next education commissioner. And we'll share the news we're tracking, like Sen. Sam Brownback's campaign to become the next president.

And it's not just politics. We'll track city organizations large and small, telling you about the scene at community events, like the Urban League of Kansas rally.

We're also hoping you'll vent your views, give us new ideas and have open discussions on the posting boards. So, enjoy. We have 50 posts below this one to get started.

What's all the fuss about? See for yourself

2007-03-24T15:14:00.001-05:00

Sunflower Community Action members are awaiting their April 19 criminal trespass trails in municipal court. The charges stem from a well-publicized protest at City Manager George Kolb's house.

See what it's all about in this 8-minute video.

After Kolb's wife closed the door on them, Sunflower members (with megaphone in hand) sang "jingle bells, this town smells, take it all away, if you don't next Tuesday, we'll be here everyday."

"Are the police going to come?" someone asked. J.J. Selmon, a Sunflower leader who has advocated on behalf of upset neighbors, said even the police are upset with Kolb over their stalled salary negotiations.

Another YouTube video shows the mess at 10th and Volutsia before the city took the property owner to court and got the go ahead to clean it up and bill the property owner.

Wireless in Wichita? Brewer hints at it

2007-03-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

He's not giving details. Not about who he's talking to. Not about what type of wireless system they'd try to bring in. But mayoral candidate Carl Brewer has said he's in discussions with an undisclosed company about a wireless internet deal that could allow Wichitans to browse the web while having a picnic at the park or sipping coffee at home.

And he's not just talking about the wireless that City Manager George Kolb has discussed with the Council to allow city workers to do work on the road. (See the PowerPoint here.) The Council decided against that plan with Sedgwick County and the Wichita School District. But Brewer says this idea would allow access for anyone with a computer -- not just government employees.

It's a popular idea nationwide. For example, the Los Angeles Times recently reported that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to make L.A. the biggest wireless network around. Also noteworthy, a story in The Eagle this week pointed out that large wireless networks also have their problems with privacy.

Brewer and Mayans on their favorite topic: Business, business, business

2007-03-23T17:53:00.000-05:00

It's the opening line of every mayoral forum between Mayor Carlos Mayans and Carl Brewer, and it sounds something like this: 'we need to diversify the economy, train our workforce and keep young people from leaving Wichita.'

It's certainly a key issue. But how does government pave the way for something that hinges so much on the private sector? The candidates have a similar line there, too -- keep doing what we're doing. Continue to take on some risk for the businesses by issuing bonds to pay for expansions and give tax breaks -- even though recent studies at Wichita State University show tax exemptions (state and local) have shifted tax burden from business and other special interests to homeowners and consumers. (Check out that study in a PDF file) Then, candidates say, cut down on regulations -- though no one is saying which regulations.

Need more? Check out how candidates responded to the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce questions.

Fearey has had enough

2007-03-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

Sharon Fearey, the north-central Wichita City Council member, has had enough of Mayor Carlos Mayans' campaign claims. And, The Hall Monitor has noted, she's had enough of people putting words in her mouth.

She penned an editorial that ran in The Eagle this week, scolding Mayans for claiming that Council members are never in their offices. She countered too, saying that Mayans misses his share of city meetings. The tension also showed last Tuesday when Fearey didn't get a chance to explain her 'no' vote on move to overrule the city's historic preservation board decision that the proposed downtown Kelly Hotel and Conference Center doesn't fit in with nearby historic buildings. (See The Eagle's story here.)

In the meeting, Fearey said she hit her button, indicating to the mayor that she wanted to talk. But Mayans wrapped up the hearing quickly and called the vote. Fearey, a former preservation board member, never said 'yes' or 'no,' but went on record as a 'no' vote because, she said, architects and city planners could have come to a better compromise.

What's the Council up to next Tuesday? Lots.

2007-03-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

It may be campaign season, but the City Council trudges on. Next Tuesday, your representatives will decide whether to fill in 18 acres of wetlands to make way for a big commercial development near 29th and Maize. Residents there have serious concerns about how this will affect flooding. Developers point to a recent consultant study that shows that if the city recreates the wetlands in the Cadillac Lake area, it should solve some of the existing flood hazards. But many people are not convinced.

And there's much more... The Council is also going to hear from Sunflower Community Action about eliminating blight. This public address follows shootings this week in some of the most blight-filled parts of town (See The Eagle's story). The address also follows a long battle to clean up a property near 10th and Volutsia, trespassing charges after Sunflower visited City Manager George Kolb's home and a citywide tour where Sunflower pointed out the 20 worst properties. They say they can't get Carl Brewer, who represents the area with all 20 homes, or Kolb to meet with them. So they're using the public agenda -- as they've done in the past to bring attention to issues.

Also noteworthy: Jennifer Lee gives an update on the struggling Old Cowtown Museum and the Council decides whether to overturn a Historic Preservation Board opinion about the design of the Kelly Hotel and Conference Center on East Douglas.

And if mayoral race politics flare up again like they did last week, hold tight and keep a lot of coffee handy if you plan to watch on Channel 7.

Need more? See the city's agenda.

Mayans the Spartan

2007-03-14T13:56:00.000-05:00

It's a rare day when Hollywood action finds any reference in the bureaucracy of City Hall. But Mayor Carlos Mayans, the council's current protagonist, found a link -- at least in explaining himself.

Expressing frustration about an Eagle editorial and his opponents this week, Mayans likened the uphill electoral battle he now faces to the new movie "300." Asked if he knows how the movie ends, Mayans said 'yes.' He's a self-described history buff. Mayans said he admires the Spartans for fighting off thousands of invading soldiers with only 300 men in an epic battle (see this USA Today story for some history perspective). As he said in Tuesday's debate, it's about principal. In the movie, the Spartans end up perforated with arrows and lose an impossible battle. But their courage is the story.

Mayans, who fled Cuba at age 13, said he groups the Spartans with other people he admires, including philosopher Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr.. Mayans has said his life has been about overcoming obstacles, which he has clearly done several times and made friends and enemies along the way. The question that lingers is will he clear the next bar on April 3.

Brownback's lean campaign

2007-03-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

The New York Times reports this morning that as Sen. Sam Brownback tours Iowa in the early phases of his presidential campaign that he "is struggling to make himself known to most voters, and to convince them that his views on the issues are more important than the name recognition enjoyed by his better-known rivals in the crowded field seeking the Republican nomination."

And the paper notes that Brownback, who is traveling only with two aides, faces a crowded field of more popular candidates who, like Sen. John McCain, roll into town with busloads of reporters and staff members.

Brewer's got a friend in Sciortino

2007-03-01T12:16:00.000-06:00

Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Ben Sciortino isn't done with politics just yet. Rather than sit on the sidelines after voters ousted him from the commission last November, he told The Hall Monitor he's going to help Carl Brewer run for mayor.

"I'm going to use what little influence I have left to see what I can do for him," Sciortino said simply.

What does Sciortino like about Brewer?

"Well, you need three things to be a successful leader: vision, a plan, and the courage to actually run for office," Sciortino explained. "I just think that Carl can work with the city council to get things done. He can bring everyone together. So I'll just see what I can do for him."

Brewer, Harding and the African American vote

2007-03-01T10:25:00.000-06:00

Since city council member Carl Brewer announced his run for mayor, many have asked Barely Eagle if he would be the city's first African American mayor. He would not. A. Price Woodward Jr. (see photo on the left) was a city commission member from 1967 to 1970 and mayor from 1970 to 1971.

But Brewer would be the first African American elected by citywide vote -- like Carlos Mayans was the first Hispanic elected by popular vote. The historic possibility could galvanize African American voters more than in previous city elections, Ken Ciboski, a political science professor at Wichita State University told Barely Eagle.

"Poor African Americans who often do not vote will vote," Ciboski said. "I think people see a possibility for him to pay attention to their needs and their concerns. They see this as an opportunity to be recognized and have their voices heard." And, Ciboski said, if the city at large again has low turn out in April, a strong showing in the African American community could make it easier for Kevass Harding, an African American, to beat Karl Peterjohn in the race for at-large school board. As a total, African Americans make up 11 percent of the city's population, according to 2005 Census estimates.

Brewer took the top 33 precincts

2007-02-28T12:01:00.000-06:00

Not only did city council member Carl Brewer win big in Tuesday's primary, he won almost every major precinct in town. That means Mayor Carlos Mayans did not have any significant strongholds in the city -- at least among the 23,892 people who voted for a mayoral candidate. Mayans' best showing Tuesday was in precinct 524, according to a quick spreadsheet analysis by The Hall Monitor this morning. Mayans had 134 votes there, but Brewer had 205.

But, it's worth noting that Mayans logged nearly 29,000 votes in the general election in 2003, which means the potential for him to gain significantly in the April vote is there. But it would probably take a 32 percent turnout like 2003 when there were big name write-in campaigns. This year, it appears no big names are jumping into the race. So turnout could again be a problem for the incumbent in April.

Mayans may be right that many of his would-be supporters stayed home, contributing to Tuesday's dismal 13 percent voter turnout. And it's likely that Brewer's Democratic support brought the party faithful out to the polls. But it appears Mayans will need significant Republican party help to boost him enough to compete with Brewer in April. And it's not yet clear if the county Republicans are going to push hard on Mayans' behalf.

I'm so excited! No, really. I am.

2007-02-28T08:34:00.000-06:00

In the at-large Wichita school board race, Kevass Harding after a day of campaigning was ready to do cartwheels.

Karl Peterjohn? Well, let's just say he was awake.

When The Hall Monitor called to interview him about winning a slot in the April 3 election, he saved his excitement and was more reserved than usual. Peterjohn, the taxpayers advocate, isn't animated by nature but a drop in excitement was still noticeable.

So why no excitement? It's really about being cautious saying that his "campaign continues" and they will "continue to get the word out."

And we'll continue to keep tabs on you Mr. Peterjohn. YEAH! Or should we say... yeah.

Party with the candidates

2007-02-26T10:53:00.000-06:00

Want to stand around and drink punch and exchange gossip while the primary election results roll in?

Here's where to do it -- at least with the big campaigns.

Carl Brewer: Courtyard by Marriott in Old Town, 820 E. 2nd St. Starts at 7 p.m.

Carlos Mayans: Broadview Hotel, 400 W. Douglas. Starts at 7:30 p.m.

County commissioner hires consultant for fishing

2007-02-20T17:36:00.000-06:00

Sedgwick County Commissioner Tom Winters says he's thought long and hard about the issue of consultants, what with the county and city of Wichita recently releasing information about how often they're hired with public tax dollars.

In fact, he's decided to take the issue home with him: He and his son are hiring a consultant to help them go fishing in Oklahoma.

"We're going to a lake we've never been to and fishing for a fish we've never fished for before," Winters said. "Now, we know how to fish, but in order for us to fully enjoy our experience, we thought a consultant would help us."

The "consultant" is a fishing expert who will spend half a day with Winters and his son. The consultant will show them where the best spots in the lake are and how to find different kinds of fish.

"You know, sometimes you just don't know everything and you need a little help. That's what this guy is for. And, though there are areas of expertise an organization like Sedgwick County needs to have, there's some things we just don't know."

'Nuff said.

Let the campaign ads begin

2007-02-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

While the direct mail from city council and mayoral candidates have been hitting mailboxes for more than a month and signs are popping up all over town, the TV ads are just beginning.

Carl Brewer's ads started running this morning and you can expect to see more in between TV newscasts, Sunday morning political talk shows and even between snippets of Ugly Betty, the ABC show that airs before Grey's Anatomy (one of the most popular shows on TV).

The ad features a female voice over talking about Brewer's community activities and military career. Hitting TVs is probably the quickest way to develop name identification, which is, right now, the biggest problem for the Brewer camp since Mayor Carlos Mayans is well-known after four years as mayor and 10 years as a Republican state representative. No word yet on any Mayans ads. But stay tuned.

Brewer's ad debuts just a day before candidates are required to file their latest campaign finance reports. The reports will likely show how many more TV ads viewers can expect as campaigns go into full speed after next week's primary.

Candidates opine on downtown development

2007-02-16T22:04:00.000-06:00

The Wichita Downtown Development Corporation published their candidate questionnaire responses online today, giving voters their most in-depth look yet at candidates' downtown ideas. (The Eagle's voters guide is due out Tuesday. See how mayoral candidates responded to the Wichita Independent Business Assocation here and how city council candidates responded here.)

The WDDC has long been focusing on parking and that showed in their questions. Candidates, meanwhile, all seemed to gravitate toward parking plans as the most important issue facing the core of the city. All the mayoral candidates that responded said they would support city-owned parking downtown, although some, like King David Davis, said city involvement should be a last resort.

Mayor Carlos Mayans didn't respond, and he wasn't available by phone this afternoon.

Parking, however, is already in the works. The city council is weeks away from a vote on the city's biggest TIF district ever. But questions remain about who should get inside of the borders.

Charged with illegal dumping after complaining about a messy yard

2007-02-15T10:19:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, Sunflower Community Action got fed up with the mountain of garbage that was almost swallowing an entire house near 10th and Volutsia. They spoke at council meetings and they issued press releases.

They they decided to go to City Manager George Kolb's house. Kolb wasn't home, but his wife was. His wife accepted a letter from Sunflower, said it's George's problem to deal with not her's and then she closed the door, Sunflower reps. say. Sunflower left some signs in Kolb's yard with photos of the messy yard, ostensibly to show Kolb what it's like to live next to something like that. But it backfired.

Now, three Sunflower staffers and a 78-year-old woman who lives next to the trashy yard (which has since been cleaned up after a court battle), are being charged with illegal dumping and criminal trespass, according to a Sunflower press release.

Sunflower will have a press conference Friday to share their views about the charges, and, next week, they'll have court appearances.