The Journal-World headline read “Jail’s daily population fell in 2017, reversing a 5-year trend.” The article continued: “The decrease stems from the introduction last year of behavioral health court, pretrial release and home arrest programs.” As a member of the Criminal Justice ...

False narratives are attempting to confuse Douglas County voters about the upcoming Proposition 1 vote. This is not a vote for or against expansion of the Douglas County Jail. The county is statutorily responsible for providing a humane jail that promotes prisoner reform: after several years of ...

Raising revenue is tough, especially in red states.Kansas tax receipts nose-dived between 2013 and 2016, placing great pressures on public services. The 2017 income tax revisions have staunched the bleeding, and revenues have consistently exceeded estimates since July, to the tune of $275 ...

Kansas entrepreneur Greg Orman formally launched his independent bid for governor recently and in doing so is challenging the two-party structure that has dominated U.S. politics for well over a century.Orman believes that voters are ready to break from the political status quo. They see ...

Opening his State of the Union Address, President Trump acknowledged the heroic first responders who came to the aid of victims in the floods that devastated south Texas and in the wildfires of California. Too bad he didn’t mention what made these natural disasters so deadly and costly: ...

It has often been noted that Kansas doesn’t have mountains or an ocean coastline, but what Kansas does have are strong public schools. And our quality schools didn’t happen by accident.Since the founding of our state, generations of Kansans have committed their work and taxes to funding ...

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 ...