ITEMS IN THE NEWS

To truncate Shakespeare, "all's well that ends".
And, with the passage of the omnibus budget bill this morning, the 2007 Kansas Legislature is over.
The most important thing that needed to get done, got done--sort of. Legislators approved a five year $654 million package for addressing the issue of deferred maintenance at higher education institutions, which some people--especially those associated with the University of Kansas--felt wasn't enough, and others felt it was too much.
Wichita fared well in the budget, with $4.5 million coming to the National Institute for Aviation Research at WSU, and additional money for expansion at ElDorado State Prison. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in Old Town can receieve $250,000 in lottery money if they can match the grant.
One possible fly in the ointment--to appease key conservatives, a proviso was added to the KDHE budget to require the department to obtain more information on the medical necessity of abortions by July 1, or have their funding frozen for the year.
But all in all, a heck of a lot better than expected.
No doubt, anti-tax conservative Republicans will come back and blame Democrats for all of it, but voters need to take it with a grain of salt--and a stiff shot of bourbon. There are only 10 Democrats out of 40 in the Senate, and 47 out of 125 in the House.
Democrats can only succeed when Republicans can't get their act together--which in Kansas, is most of the time.
--R.J. Dickens

Tell us what's on your mind as the new month arrives.

A total of 11 candidates, including our own James Barfield, have filed for the District I position on the Wichita City Council vacated when Carl Brewer was elected mayor.
There are quite a few familiar faces in the group: former State Senator Eugene Anderson; African-American Republican Party activist Treatha-Foster Brown, the Reverand Earl Burkhalter; State Representative Oletha Faust-Godeau; former Wichita School Board Member Michael Kinard; former City Council Member George Rogers; and District Advisory Board Members Lavonta Williams and Steven Roberts.
Also running are Lonnie Barnes and James Benage.
--Rogers and Anderson face allegations (albeit none legally proven) from their pasts;
--Kinard has a recent bankruptcy;
--Foster-Brown was trounced in her only bid for public office;
--Area residents wonder why Faust-Godeau wants to swap what most people perceive is a more powerful position in Topeka;
--Williams and Roberts are little-known outside their neighborhoods.
The District I Advisory Board will meet tonight and Thursday at the Atwater Neighborhood City Hall to interview the candidates, then recommend five to the City Council.
The Council will then pick one at their May 15 meeting.
--R.J. Dickens