Forget the strikeouts; Self's still landing top recruits

The right type of talent is critical. Look at the list of McDonald's players and you do not see a number of players who have contributed signficantly to our success. The 2008 team was a veteran team with a mix of players. About 20% of the McDonald's players signed in the Williams/Self era never contributed significantly to the program.

September 26, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter to the Editor: Tax fairness

Federal taxes are clearly progressive. However, analysis of the tax burden on households should be done by reviewing the average tax burden across federal, state and local taxes including contributions to Social Security and Medicare.

Property taxes can be argued to be progressive since it is reasonable to assume that higher household incomes have more valuable residences. However, sales tax is flat.

The result will show that taxes on the whole are still progressive, but not to the extent found by looking only at federal income tax. This discussion is somewhat moot. Everyone is going to pay more in the future given current deficits and the growing population of retirement aged Americans accessing Social Secuity and Medicare in the future.

September 26, 2012 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Voting mission

A well deserved recognition. The LWV provides valuable information on local issues in the community at a depth not provided by local media.

September 11, 2012 at 6:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Don’t give up just yet

Remember 1967? KU head coach Pepper Rodgers had a coaching staff including John Cooper (Tulsa, Arizona State and Ohio State), Dick Tomey (Arizona), Terry Donahue (UCLA), and Dave McLain (Wisconsin).

They also had a few players of note including Bobby Douglas, John Riggins and John Zook who went on to great exploits in the NFL.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This was one that got away and we may not have another win this year. It is how far down the program got under Turner Gill. The unfortunate thing about this loss was that we had more talent and actually executed for about 2 1/2 quarters. Then all of a sudden we forgot to run the ball and played prevent defensive that caught us in the end.

September 10, 2012 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

VP candidate Paul Ryan accepts 'calling of my generation'

Talk about Republicans and Democrats is really becoming moot. Regardless of your political position, the math is beginning to get in the way of "spinning" anything of either side of the aisle.

It makes no sense to think about tax breaks for households over $250k when marginal rates are at some of the lowest levels in history. It also makes no sense to discuss entitlement programs as though they will be available in their current form within the next 10-20 years.

Ryan is discussing some important issues related to the federal budget. But, the solution is not going to be lower taxes that stimulate the economy. That playbook grew stale about 10 years ago.

Neither party has anything close to a solution. That is why at some point they will be forced to give and take their ideals in order to construct some type of way forward. Let's hope it is soon for all of us.

August 30, 2012 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Rec center vote

The issue with this proposal is not about need or opportunity, it is about who should bear the ongoing cost of maintenance. The current proposal puts the City of Lawrence at risk of sinking more and more annual funding into supporting the operation of the complex. The other participates have a fixed obligation over time.

Use of recreation sales tax is definitely appropriate since it was the original intent of the funding. But, I believe it will take more funding from other sources to sustain the operation that the City is agreeing to operate. If the projections related to increamental fees generated from events fall short and/or the operating costs are higher than anticipated, the taxpayers of Lawrence will be on the hook.

I do not hear any of our leaders discussing how this future funding will be secured. The options are a) take it from somewhere else or b) raise the mill levy. Frankly, I am not thrilled with either option.

This is about counting the cost, being transparent and making a decision that citizens understand. I do not see these steps being taken for the benefit of the people who will ultimately pay for the facility.

August 9, 2012 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Saga continues

"The city continues basically to stand mute. Now, instead of relying on “personnel issues,” the decision not to release substantive information in the case is attributed to “pending litigation.” That stance might be tolerable in some situations, but this involves the city’s police department, and Lawrence residents need to have confidence in the officers on the street, the organization and its leadership, and the governing body behind it."

This paragraph is exactly the reason that the City has its hands tied regarding disclosure. Whether you are the police department, utilities, solid waste or the park/rec department the rules of disclosure regarding employee/employer relations is the same.

I agree with the sentiment that the LPD has not become transparent as discussed under Police Chief Khatib. It remains very closed, and this is not an acceptable position for a department that has so much power over citizens. With delegated power comes responsibility. I hope that this incident will prod our leaders into creating a meaningful process of review regarding police department activites that will provide more understanding for citizens.

August 3, 2012 at 7:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Doubling up

Washburn received funding from the State of Kansas, but not at the level of the other public institutions in the state. It is governed by a separate board, but the appointments are made by city and state officials.

The problem with merging schools is endowment. Private dollars funding higher education contribute to their alma mater, not a generic law school for the state. The Board of Regents made several runs at combining law schools, engineering schools and other disciplines. The same obstacle exists > How much private funding is compromised as a result?

It makes perfect sense to have one law school, but since when does academia look at things from a tax efficient standpoint? They build separate ivory towers.

July 24, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Extended service

If the overnight service can be funded with the budget alloted by the sales tax referendum passed several years ago, I have no issues with expanding the service. However, I have concern that the result of the "experiment" will be a request by transit to fund additional service outside of what the taxpayers voted for in the first place.

Overnight service may need to come at the expense of a reduction in fixed route service during daytime or evening hours. Use the resources that have been provided to serve the greatest amount of people.

July 9, 2012 at 7:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Slow down

The athletic facilities upgrade was a decision by the school board. The City Commission is tasked with the rec center and the other large expenditures. I think the rec center decision should be about the responsibility of the City to be the ultimate risk-taker in the venture. I do not think it makes sense for the taxpayers to take the ultimate risk on the deal if private development is involved. It should be the other way around. However, I do think that adding facilities on the west side is not being unfair. The indoor aquatic center is the only public facility that has been added West of Lawrence Avenue since the early 1980s.

As far as the police facilities, I do not accept the alternatives presented which is $0 or $30 million. It is unreasonable to assume that less costly alternatives would not improve their situation dramatically.

July 9, 2012 at 7:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )