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