As city prepares to bid recreation center, officials still waiting to receive cost numbers from Fritzel on infrastructure

Seriously. It's not like there's a big market for rec centers. It's not as if they're going to be able to sell it for $31 million dollars if they decide they don't like it. Who's going to buy it?

It's a bit like telling your kid that you think his art project is worth $31 million dollars when you put it on the fridge.

May 15, 2013 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: An angry rant

Unless your kid was dreaming of a career in factory labor, cheap clothing and toys from Walmart didn't steal his job.

But I have the sneaking suspicion that factory work was not the kind of job your kid was planning on after graduating from "school" (by which I assume you mean college).

Your kids likely heard you say, "Do what you love and the rest will follow." "You should follow your dreams when you're young, while you have the chance!"

What they didn't hear you say was, "Well, Marine Biology sounds interesting, but my research indicates that only 50% of graduates will work in that field and of those, most have an advanced degree. On the other hand, the accounting program at KU had a 95% placement rate last year."

They didn't hear you say, "Engineering is indeed lucrative... if you're in the top 10-20% of your class, so you're going to need to re-evaluate your dream midstream if you're not making the grade."

China didn't steal your kid's job. It very likely never existed in the first place. Boycotting Walmart won't magically create more jobs in journalism. Or sociology. Or economics. Or hotel management. Or urban planning. Or chemistry. Or biology.

20-somethings aren't dreaming of the good ole days when they could get a blue-collar union job, make a decent hourly wage clocking in to the factory line for 8 hours a day, then clocking out to grab drinks with the boys at the local bar. That isn't what they majored in.

May 13, 2013 at 1:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Wicked Broadband project seeks $500,000 city grant; downtown hotel project seeks adjustment to incentives package; historical society seeks $20k for new exhibit

If the city was going to spend 500k on showing it's committed to improving its infrastructure - why wouldn't it spend that money on trying to entice Google here instead of spending it on trying entice New York venture capitalists?

May 10, 2013 at 7:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

$1.5 billion KPERS bond proposal advances in Legislature

It's that easy if you're able to invest long-term. If you are able to leave money in the stock market for 50 years, then historical data indicates that you will see at least 8% a year.

The problem? If you need to spend that money in the short term, you may find yourself withdrawing it at a time when the market is down and end up with substantially less money.

This is why retirement portfolios shift toward bonds as you age - as you approach retirement, you're counting on that money being there at the moment of your retirement. Whether the market is up or down, you need to have it there and you will be accessing it. You don't have time to wait on historical averages.

The problem with government entities is that they're rarely able to patiently allow large piles of money to sit untouched. It will be tempting for them to assign restrictions on what it can be invested in (special interests, KS companies, etc) instead of the market as a whole. It will be tempting to "borrow" from it to fund other projects (losing the 8%). Then they lose their 8% annualized average return, because that average relies on long-term investment in a diversified stock portfolio.

April 6, 2013 at 6:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Westbound traffic blocked by rollover accident at Clinton Parkway and Inverness Drive

Accidents are often someone's fault, because they are frequently caused by stupidity or negligence.

Just because someone "didn't mean to" doesn't mean they're not 100% at fault. It just means they aren't a psycho who tried to murder someone at an intersection.

April 5, 2013 at 6:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Legislative leaders want study of tax exemptions

Well, in the case of churches, past Supreme Court decisions would probably get in their way. Churches can't be lumped in with other non-profits because of their special status, which is defended by the constitution and Supreme Court precedent.

I'll admit, that those kinds of details don't stop them when abortion is in question - but it probably should.

That said, it seems to me that all "non-profits" should be taxed in proportion to the salaries that they pay their top-five executives.

March 31, 2013 at 1:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Gay rights advocate has quarantine concerns over proposed changes in infectious disease law

Only one baby has been cured and he received treatment within a couple of hours of birth. Unfortunately, it's not a "cure" for everyone. They used the same drugs that they normally use to treat HIV, but because the child was not old enough to have developed certain blood cells, the HIV was theoretically eradicated.

Here's the problem: 1) Won't work on adults; 2) There are some ethical concerns with researching the infant cure because at what point do you decide to take the kid off the drugs and see if HIV pops back up.

This particular child was cured quite by accident because his mother had issues and stopped giving him the drugs for a period of time.

March 15, 2013 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Mexican restaurant Tapas closes as it loses lease on downtown building; Mexquisito expands into Eudora

I have seen two out of three of the dishes you listed on Tortas Jalisco's monthly special menu and probably the third - but my memory isn't serving me well.

We thought they were delicious, but I don't regularly eat at food carts in Mexico, so I can't compare.

March 13, 2013 at 9:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Candidates say it is time to move on from recreation center issue

Pretty sure I'll turn up specifically to vote against anyone who says the citizenry should "move on" from topics the commissioners don't feel like talking about.

These people are supposed to be representing us - if the Rec Center is what voters want to talk about, then that's what the commissioners should be talking about.

They might well be bored of talking about it, but clearly Lawrence isn't. No one should be moving on until the people of Lawrence are good and ready to move on.

March 7, 2013 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ITEP report says race to no income tax based on flawed theory

That's not true. The IRS has a sales tax calculator. My deduction came out as $1331 without any big purchases.

Furthermore, it's not true that Kansas income tax reduces your gross income. It's an itemized deduction. People who take the standard deduction will be totally unaffected on their 1040.

March 4, 2013 at 6:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )