GOP's Nick Jordan attempts to catch up with Democrat Dennis Moore in the Third District

Roberts builds huge fundraising lead over Slattery in Senate race

Expect to be seeing and hearing a lot of Sen. Pat Roberts in the next few months. A decided fundraising advantage will allow him to saturate the airwaves leading up to the November general election.

The longtime U.S. senator, a Republican, has amassed a campaign war chest that dwarfs those of the Democratic candidates who are seeking to challenge him in the November general election.

The Roberts campaign collected $971,000 in the second quarter, bringing his total campaign fund to more than $4.9 million, a record for a Kansas office-seeker. [ Read more...]

Analysis finds commission's list 'doesn’t accurately reflect political strength.'

Report: Powerful PACs not being disclosed by state ethics commission

The annual list compiled by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission intended to inform the public of which Kansas Political Action Committees donated the most money to Kansas candidates may be misleading, according to a report.

The list, identified by the commission as the top twenty PAC contributors with 2007, does not reflect money spent, money in the bank or money raised.

Using more complete criteria would mean half the commission's published list would include PACs such as ProKanDo, Kansans for Affordable Energy and the Kansas Realtors, some of the most influential political donors in the state. [ Read more...]

But Burroughs, Flora, Henderson and Kuether all score zero

Five Republicans earn perfect scores from Kansas Taxpayers Network

Which Kansas legislators supported taxpayer friendly policies in the 2008 legislative session?

According to the Kansas Taxpayers Network, which released its ratings of legislators today, eight Senators and 63 house members achieved a score of 75 percent or higher, based on votes they cast during the 2008 session. Lawmakers who score 75 percent or higher are considered taxpayer friendly.

Not a single Democrat in the House or Senate scored 75 percent or better. [ Read more...]

Reviving the 55 mph national speed limit is all the rage - in the East.

A lower speed limit? Kansans say, 'Not so fast!'

The proposal by Virginia's Republican Sen. John Warner to revive the double-nickel national speed limit launched a debate that so far hasn't persuaded many Kansans that slow is better.

In a recent survey 63 percent of Kansans said they would oppose a nationwide law creating a maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour.

The poll sampled the perspectives of 500 Kansans.[ Read more...]

If so, how much? Two groups reach startlingly different conclusions

Will climate change impact Kansas?

Two purportedly scientific organizations have come to starkly different conclusions about the impact of climate change on Kansas.

A study released on Wednesday predicts that global warming could cost Kansas more than $1 billion in losses by 2017.

The study was performed by the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Environmental Research on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures.The study was financed in part by the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental activist group. [ Read more...]

The Native American on the roof can only watch in envy

Statehouse renovation budget rises higher and higher

With the stock market going down and poverty in Kansas rising, what's the safest bet for tripling your money?

Become a state renovation project.

It was just over ten years ago when the state first discussed making a much-needed $90 million repair job on the Kansas statehouse in Topeka. Work started in 2001, and so did the spending.[ Read more...]

In Kansas, the number of murders went down, while rapes and robberies increased

Sedgwick County recorded most murders, rapes and robberies in 2007

For the second year in a row, Sedgwick County, the second largest county in Kansas, recorded more murders, rapes and robberies than any other Kansas county.

According to 2007 crime statistics released by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, 44 murders, 313 rapes, and 586 robberies were reported in the county last year.

In 2006, there were 28 murders in the county, with 265 rapes, and 532 robberies.[ Read more...]

Other Kansas natives finding success in the big leagues, too

Two players from Kansas will watch the House that Ruth Built close this fall

Two major leaguers who hail from Kansas will be on hand to witness a melancholy moment in baseball history: the last ball thrown at Yankee Stadium – the "House that Ruth Built."

Johnny Damon, a native of Fort Riley, and Karl Farnsworth, originally from Wichita, will be there when the lights are doused for the final time.

The baseball cathedral that hosted the likes of Mantle and Dimaggio and Gehrig and Berra and Maris, not to mention Babe Ruth himself, is being replaced with a new stadium next door.[ Read more...]

Officials say state's take from slot machines was too high

Woodlands to close Aug. 24

“There goes Woody!”

The Woodlands horse and dog track in Kansas City is closing Aug. 24.

“The pari-mutuel industry has faced declining revenues for years and the Woodlands has been no exception, operating at a financial loss for quite some time,” said Howard T. Grace, president of Kansas Racing LLC, in a press release. [ Read more...]

Republicans and unaffiliated voters outnumber Democrats in Kansas

Want to vote in the August primaries? If you didn't register, it's too late!

Citizens who want to cast ballots in the Aug. 5 primary won't have a chance if they are not already registered.

Tuesday was the last day that a primary voter could change his or her party affiliation – a Democrat, for example, could not vote in a Republican party unless party affiliation was changed by the deadline. However, unaffiliated voters can wait until election day to declare their party affiliation at the polling place.

Some county election offices, such as Douglas County’s, were open until 7 p.m. to accommodate last-minute registrations. Others, including Johnson County, were following their regular office hours and were open until 5 p.m.[ Read more...]

There are as many ways to educate a child as there are children, says John R. LaPlante. Why settle for only one?

Thinking outside the classroom box

Did you know that at one time it was common for children to go to school during the summer? Like many things about today’s schools, the school calendar changed a long time ago—and then got stuck in place.

During the 19th century, urban schools tended to operate year-round. Some students had only three weeks off. Rural schools, on the other hand, tended to open during winter and summer, and close for spring and fall.

According to the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit, “Today, most high schools are organized much the same way as their early 20th-century counterparts—six periods in a day, 180 days in a school year, and a curriculum that features English, social studies, science, math and foreign language.”[ Read more...]

Editorial: Command and control is the mission - not just Missouri, but Kansas too

The KC Chamber: Enemy of Life, Enemy of Business

Historically, chambers of commerce have used their political influence to create free market, low tax, business-friendly environments.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber, however, has quietly undermined the historic chamber mission. Through its well-funded political action committees, the best funded in the area, the Chamber is working to create a high tax environment that is indifferent to small business and the free market and downright hostile to the culture of life.

Not a word of this is reported in The Kansas City Star or any other local media, save one: Kansas Meadowlark, the intrepid, unpaid, always reliable, one-man research engine that finally has the Chamber and its allies looking over their respective shoulders.[ Read more...]

The Week on the Web

Meadowlark sings. The flood of money from Missouri that swamped Kansas during the 2006 election is on the rise again, and Kansas' only actual investigative journalist, the Kansas Meadowlark - a man working part-time in his rec room who does more investigative work than all the blogging "reporters" at the Star and Eagle combined - has the story. Buying elections in Kansas has become a hobby for Missouri millionaires. Plus, organizations like the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce can be bought for pennies! Millions of pennies, but still.

Kansas casinos a bad bet? According to the bloggers at Online Casino Sphere, of all places, gambling companies are fed up to here with Kansas:

If Kansas regulators drag their feet any longer over deciding which operators will partner with the state in its proposed casino businesses, there may not be any interested applicants left. While the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board has spent the better part of a year eliminating none of its prospective partners for casinos in four counties, changing conditions have led to some applicants losing desire to build in the Jayhawk State.

Veep creep. BleedingHeartland could be the name of a really gruesome amusement park, but no. It's the name of a liberal blog. Same thing, some might say. Anyway, the name of Ann Veneman, ag secretary during George W.'s first term, somehow got tossed into the veep-vetting hopper at Obama central, and the BleedingHeartlander went into full cardiac arrest:

I can't understand what Veneman could possibly have going for her. She's executive director of UNICEF, but who cares? When she was in the cabinet, she didn't promote sustainable agriculture or sensible health protections.

We like this part: "She's executive director of UNICEF, but who cares?" The children care, that's who! BleedingHeartlesslander grouch. Get a C-clamp for that thing, would you?

A Preview of the Coming Week