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It’s the beginning of a new year and time to take annual stock of the past, present and future.By almost any standard, 2017 was a tough 12 months for most Americans.We’re stressed. The American Psychological Association’s 2017 annual Stress in America survey reports that “compared to ...
A century ago, William Allen White made Emporia famous because it embodied the can-do spirit of small town America. The Veteran City has been in the news again lately, and now the messages are decidedly mixed. Forbes calls it a “charming, walkable and bikeable town with 14 buildings on the ...
Hello, United States. Hello from Kansas. It appears that Congress and the president are about to enact a Kansas-style income tax cut for the nation. Good luck with that.Kansas went down that road six years ago and ended up with a budget-busting, economic-deadening disaster. Our reputation got ...
Next month the 2018 Kansas Legislature begins its annual session. It will face a host of major issues, starting with school finance and including constructing a new prison, funding KPERS and addressing the endemic secrecy within state government, comprehensively documented by the Kansas City ...
April Fools!In 2008, Lawrence’s sales tax rate was 7.3 percent. That year Lawrence voters approved three special sales taxes for an increase of .55 percent that we’ve been paying since April 1, 2009. Also during that time, the state has increased its rate 1.2 percent, and three special ...
Friends of Lawrence Transit, a group of Lawrence citizens, supports the renewal of a sales tax of .2 percent for public transportation. A special question election will be held with the general Lawrence election on Nov. 7. A “Yes” vote on Question Number One will provide funding for ...
You might expect that as the director of Douglas County’s food bank, I am writing to ask you to give food, money or time to my organization, Just Food. But as much as I would appreciate any of those commitments, today I’m asking you to consider fighting hunger in our community in a ...
Kansans, we have been riding an income tax roller coaster. In 2012 the “Kansas experiment” brought lowered income tax rates and a full tax exemption for business income. Last June those policies were rescinded. Income taxes went down, then up.Some have been calling the June tax changes ...
We have the opportunity to vote yes Nov. 7, and thereby largely solve the severe, systemic shortage of affordable housing in our community. A yes vote to Item 3 would give a 0.05 percent (one penny for every $20 spent) through a reallocation sales tax for the affordable housing trust fund from ...
Helping people stick around long enough to learn skills that help them get to #LifeWorthLiving is my passion. Some people call that suicide prevention — and call September Suicide Prevention Month. The week with Sept. 10 is USA National Suicide Prevention Week; and Sept. 10 is World Suicide ...
Our hearts and thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of the Aug. 13 murder-suicide, an act of domestic violence carried out by the victim’s ex-partner.Physical violence is the most visible form of domestic violence, but it is not the only form. In Kansas, one woman is ...
As Congress works to make improvements to our health care system, we should make certain we continue to prioritize medical research and its ability to save lives tomorrow through today’s investments. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plays a critical role nationwide in directing our ...
If the United States attacks North Korea for whatever reason, the result may be a global economic and humanitarian crisis like the world has never seen. While the military and diplomatic experts remind us of the risks and massive loss of civilian and military life, the aftermath of such a ...
I’ve recently returned from Germany. I was there for nine weeks studying abroad, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. As I reflect on it now, though, I still can’t quite believe I made it there. I don’t know a lot, and the longer I live the less that I feel I know. There is ...
As the Kansas Child Welfare System Task Force is about to begin its important work of examining in a holistic way the entire child welfare system, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the role of the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) on the task force and some ...
In the waning days of this year’s legislative session, Kansas lawmakers agreed to put together a task force to determine how best to shore up the state’s reeling foster care system.This is good news. Advocates for abused and neglected children should be thrilled. They’re not. They’re ...
An editorial published in the Lawrence Journal-World on July 13 raised concerns about the proposed property tax mill increase given the growth in assessed valuation. Those concerns need to be addressed for all city taxpayers to understand the 2018 recommended budget. The statement that “the ...
Recent articles have acknowledged Peaslee Tech’s benefit to our community and the value for economic development to Lawrence and Douglas County. Several aspects of the July 17 editorial, however, missed the point about Peaslee Tech’s role for Lawrence and the county. The editorial stated ...
At this moment, two events crowd my consciousness, requiring some comment. First, Donald Trump Jr.’s dalliance with a Russian lawyer in hopes of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton. Second, the Trumpcare bill pending in the Senate.An email chain unabashedly reveals the Russian government’s ...
For all the focus on our nation’s schools, community colleges get short shrift. In the debates about the role education plays in our nation’s economy and democracy, we too often overlook our two-year colleges.Created more than a century ago, arising from a variety of forces including ...