Monday, May 30, 2011

Nuclear energy bombs

I had been a convert to nuclear energy recently, but after Japan it looks like even the most pro-nuclear counties are having rolling back their nuclear energy plans. Maybe the environmentalists are right on this one:

Germany decides to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2022 in the wake of Fukushima

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's coalition government agreed early Monday to shut down all the country's nuclear power plants by 2022, the environment minister said, making it the first major industrialized nation in the last quarter century to announce plans to go nuclear-free.

The country's seven oldest reactors already taken off the grid pending safety inspections following the catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant in March will remain offline permanently, Norbert Roettgen added. The country has 17 reactors total.

Roettgen praised the coalition agreement after negotiations through the night between the governing parties.

"This is coherent. It is clear," he told reporters in Berlin. "That's why it is a good result."

Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed through measures in 2010 to extend the lifespan of the country's 17 reactors, with the last one scheduled to go offline in 2036, but she reversed her policy in the wake of the Japanese disaster.

GE strike fears

A long strike of GE could be a disaster for our area. Even worse could be the end results -- closing or downsize facilities. I believe Strother Field is the last, or one of the last, remaining engine overhaul facilities in North America.

GE is probably the last remaining manufacturing facility in our area that offers a high wage and complete benefits — health care, pension. Unfortunately, the high paying manufacturing jobs that one could raise a family on and retire comfortably (without the spouse working, too) are going by the way side. Let's hope they work this out and think of the future. GE workers will probably have to take some cut in health benefits, like most of America has. Sad, but, true.

It looks like GE workers struck for 2 days in 2003 to protest increases in employee health care contribution, but ended up agreeing to a contract that includes some wage increases and other benefit increases, while accepting some of the health care increases.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Paternal city

The money quote in this story is toward the end and not available online, but I will give it to you.

"The city has very good employees," Chesney said, "but we have low expectations of them. There's too much paternalism."

Wow. Chesney being an interim city manager, with no loyalties nor fear about his job future, can shoot straight and tell it like he sees it. He's painting a picture of a city human resources system that has kept wages low but provided goodies and benefits here and their to keep people happy and loyal.

Sounds more like a small private business than a large public one. I also think this could be fodder for the two lawsuits against the city that claim unequal treatment by their supervisor. Mary Bartlett and Trence Robinson both claim their dept. head mistreated them and ignored rules and procedures.

Hospital red ink

I don't think we should be too worried about this, with moving expenses, fewer primary care doctors, and just the whole transition to a new facility could slow down business at the hospital.

CEO Steve Perkins sounds like he is taking the right approach, a total review of procedures to see where revenues can be shored up. The concern, over time, is that the hospital has to make some money to make its bond payments for the new facility, because the sales tax revenue doesn't cover it all.

Bucking the trend

I'd have to agree with Lee Gregg, a Cowley College trustee, that Cowley College isan "economic powerhouse"s for our area. (although I don't think its a secret)

Although economic stimulus is not its primary purpose, imagine what Ark City would be without the college.

The trustees provided raises to all faculty and staff, totally $175,000, which appears to buck the trend for government/public entities in this day of budget cuts and spending reductions. It seems counter intuitive, but the growth of the college and increase in enrollment appears to be a sunbeam through the clouds.

Cowley has had its share of cutbacks the past several years with the loss of the southside center in Wichita.

It is transforming the east side of south Summit street near the River, where the sports complex is being built and ragged building are being removed. It might do something with the old hospital building, which would be great.

On the academic side, it was ranked in the top 120 of community colleges by the Aspen Institute. This appears to be largely based on graduation/completion outcomes. It's web site lists these three criteria


* Performance (retention, graduation rates including transfers, and degrees and certificates per 100 “full time equivalent” students)
* Improvement (improvement of completion performance over time)
* Equity (institutional record for completion outcomes for disadvantaged students)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Legalize it?

There's quite a spirited debate going on in the comment section of this story about a drug bust in Ark City. The discussion turned toward whether marijuana should be legalized.

It is intermixed with comments about the police being overzealous and harassing young people for having a little pot (or anybody having a little pot).

You can support legalizing, as more and more people do, and which in my opinion will happen eventually, even in our conservative heartland.

But the police are doing their job by investigating and arresting people, regardless of their age, for possession, using and selling pot. Don't get mad at them for doing their job.

Yes, I suppose they could de-prioritize non violent marijuana crimes, and I don't know that's not the case now, but as long as its an illegal drug that can lead to other problems, they are doing what our society is asking.

The ire should be directed at state lawmakers, national lawmakers, and perhaps even local lawmakers. I suppose a city or county could decriminalize pot to some degree, but that ain't going to happen before something happens on the state level.

Medi-scare

No doubt Democrats are using scare tactics when it comes to GOP plans for cutting back Medicare spending.

Kill Medicare
Punish Seniors
Abandon promises

But what's good for the goose is good for the gander in politics.

Scare tactics, right worked to score politic points during the health care debate, helping the GOP take back the House of Representatives.

Remember?

Socialism
Government takeover of health care
death panels
pulling the plug on grandma
Obamacare

While the GOP cries shame on you, they certainly recall that Democrats are taking a page out of their playbook, when they say the GOP budget would kill Medicare and make seniors pay more, while giving oil companies big tax breaks.

Of course both sides justify their rhetoric because they see the world differently. However it would be nice fi both sides would cut the fear mongering and demogogery, at least some. This is a pipe dream when it comes to politics, esp. in the 24 hour news cycle.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Public meeting on drugs

The Cowley County Drug Task will hold a public forum at the Ark City Middle School Thursday night at 6:30. Part of the goal is apparently to let folks know that people are growing marijuana in fields, getting more brazen about it. Police claimed that busting the Galindo network last year accounted for a large chunk of area cocaine activity, but of course problems persist.

Drug use/crime has ranked as the highest concern in the last two surveys of Cowley residents by Cowley First.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Jobs in Cowley

The state released April unemployment figures. It shows a large drop in the overall jobless rate in Cowley, from 6.6 in March to 5.9 in April. You can see the stats here.Both daily newspapers have seen an uptick in employment ads, including manufacturing jobs - kanpack, western industries, skyline, rubbermaid, etc. Kerri Falleti, director of Cowley First, said "the group has been talking to several of our employers that have plans to hire. Though some of the change is due to seasonal hires, many are new jobs due to growth and expansion."

The dip injoblessness could be affected by seasonal issues and might not be as good as they look, but the job picture does seem to be improving some.

The unemployment rate overall in Kansas dropped, too, but only by one percent for seasonal adjustments, according to the associated press.

Hospital board

It seems to me the size of the hospital board is less importantthan who is on it, and how well they are overseeing the operation. I'm grateful that the city does still run the facility, with the appointed board, and that we did not sell it to the the private developers as was planned several years ago.

It is the only hospital in the city and, as things are going, needs to be responsive to the citizens as much as profit driven. Of course it must make a profit to finance the debt payments, or else coming looking for more tax money. It seems the plans and strategy is in place to make the facility the best it can. We will see over the next couple years whether the promise of a sparking new facility, with new equipment, will bring more specialist (and more primary care doctors) to improve our services and health of our residents.

Friday, May 20, 2011

How to pray?

Part of my editorial on the prayer issue at City Hall. And here's the top of the story I wrote about the issue, which I find fascinating and to be a good discussion about a core debate - the role of religion in government.

I've found it interesting, and pleasant, that a fair number of online comments support Tamara Nile's efforts to have a more universal prayer and her concerns that the city not give the impression that it favors one religion over another.

I expected more outrage at her concern that Jesus' name not be invoked in the prayer. That part was kind of buried in her proposal, and hasn't been sensationalized.

I think that, in the end, the prayer before the commission meeting starts is less important that the spiritual place of individual commissioners. The problem with it is that even those most folks would call themselves Christian, others would not, or would call themselves something else. The city represents EVERYBODY, and thus condoning or inviting a religious-specific prayer can make people of other faiths/beliefs feel unrepresented or in a position of inequality.

I think the commissioners on the board right now would not do that, but what if the LDS church wanted to pray to Joseph Smith, or a Wiccan coven leader asked to pray for the commission. You couldn't, I don't think, exclude them.

To cut or not to cut

Below is part of an Associated Press story that shows, I think, that some GOP conservatives are taking advantage of the budget crisis to cut government, rather than really find fiscal discipline, which is how they cast the argument.

It's not unlike the Democrats efforts to lard the stimulus bill with some funding for favorite programs, using the crisis to push their causes, but saying we just need to spend money now to kick start the economy.

When it comes to things like education funding, I think most people/voters would favor staying put rather than cutting deeper. The anti-government philosophy does not sell well when were' talking about programs that affect the vast majority of people.

Rising revenue ups pressure to undo budget cuts
SCOTT BAUER,Associated Press


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Republican governor and GOP leaders in several other states are facing increasing pressure to back off from deep spending cuts to education and social programs in light of higher than expected revenue projections as the economy improves.

The surge in revenue is giving rise to an awkward question — are the governors making the deepest cuts because they have to or because they choose to?

The issue is unfolding in Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Colorado and several other states where tax revenue forecasts have turned up just as legislatures are working through budget reduction packages.

In Wisconsin, local school board members and superintendents are pressing lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker to scale back his proposed 8.4 percent cut in aid to public schools and 5.5 percent reduction in how much schools can collect from state money and property taxes combined. The Republican-controlled Legislature has backed Walker's agenda so far, but did not reject this appeal outright.

Miles Turner, director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, said the earlier cutbacks were based on a leaner budget outlook. Continuing with the entire reduction now, he said, would show "there's a greater interest in following through with an ideological campaign against public education than there is to support public education."

Many school districts have been planning to lay off teachers, increase class sizes and cut back programs like music and foreign languages to cover the reductions.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Legislature has approved $22.5 million less in education cuts than originally proposed by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper following improvements in the state's revenue projections. In Michigan, Republicans who control the Legislature and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder are reducing their original proposed cuts to schools by as much as two-thirds.

A similar effort isn't getting much traction in New Jersey where Republican Gov. Chris Christie has refused to back off his program of cuts although revenues are projected to increase between $500 million and $900 million over two years.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Gone with the wind

Area lawmakers and government officials are protesing the decision by Gov. Brownback to include most of Cowley County inside a no-wind farm section of the Flint Hills. This ends plans by BP to build a large wind farm in northeast Cowley County.

From the sounds of ithopes of reviving the project are slim to none. BP even says they were folding the project before the wind farm ban, although there's some belief that Brownback worked behind the scenes to prevent anybody from buying the energy it would produce.

After construction, a wind farm wouldn't be a big economic generator for this area, but it does provide carbon free energy and would pump money into county coffers through licensing fees.

We need all the economic development we can get. If Brownback's vision of the Flint Hills becoming a major tourist destination and horseback riding capital of the world comes to past, then perhaps the concern is muted. But I kind of doubt that, too.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Archer's return

It sounds like most commissioners are handling this about like they should - keeping an open mind to appointing Steve Archer to city boards.

Archer has asked to be appointed to the hospital board, planning board, and board of zoning appeals. Looks like the hospital board is already full or has plenty of applicants, but the others might not.

His experience and knowledge would be a plus, and really there is only one existing commissioner who wanted to get rid of him — Jay Warren. So perhaps enough water has gone under the bridge.

Archer's forced resignation and the severance package controversy, though, are a lot of baggage to bring back into City Hall.

Prayer policy

City attorney Tamara Niles is worried that the prayer to open city commission meetings violates the constitution's prohibition of establishing a state religion.

She recommends adopting a policy to invite chaplains from all congregations within Ark City and ask them to not invoke a specific deity - ie Jesus Christ.

This will not fly well among most of the clergy and probably most of the public, but it would be the safest way to avoid violating the constitution and protecting from a lawsuit by someone or group.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Budget battles

Glad to see Kasha standing up for arts funding. It is a bit out of character for her as a hard core spending hawk, but she has ties to local arts council.

She is such a budget hawk that she didn't think her party's budget in the House went far enough, and she was stripped of her position on the budget negotiating team. Is this the right decision. Standing up for principles and losing influence, or sacrificing principle for the moment to try to win influence for them later on?

One thing I question is her concern about the overall budget rising 6 percent. Most of that is apparently Medicaid, which is mostly funded by the feds. Medicaid had taken hits in the past couple of years. So just because of the overall figure is larger than before, doesn't mean that the budget lacks fiscal discipline or is more disciplined than before.

Both she and Abrams, interestly, are pretty gloomy about the future of the economy. There's some real doomsday rhetoric coming out of conservative circles these days. At the federal level, the GOP is making such a case to support their dramatic cuts to entitlements - Medicaid, Medicare.

It's interesting because usually the Democrats are the worry wort pessimists, and Republicans are "morning in America."

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Arts undercut

Looks like Brownback is going to try to get his way by vetoing funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. The Senate could override the veto, but maybe not in the House.

Sen. Abrams, who voted to abolish the arts commission as part of budget cuts and replace it with a private foundation, predicted that it might lose all funding if that didn't happen.

He might be right.

Kasha Kelley, though, has spoken favorable of continuing funding for the arts commission, and could provide a strong conservative voice to restore it.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Salina TIF

Pretty interesting explanatory story on use of retail TIF in Salina, with echos of the debate here in Ark City.

What I found most interesting is that the Salina chamber of commerce ceo argues against using tax increment financing TIF for industrial development.

Abortion winds

While the state is going one way on abortion policies, the federal government is going the other.

The battle never ends.

Cut cut cut ...

With school budgets already being drastically cut, why are Kansas House Republicans holding so firmly to a budget that would carry over an extra $50 million surplus.

We certainly need to build up reserves, but not now, after huge cuts the last three years. It ss not the time to be asking for more sacrifice. State revenues are on the upswing. When things stablize is the time to start building reserves.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Restoration

Is this new Ark City commission going to systematically undue some of the policies that the previous commissioners put in place? When the three amigos were at the height of their power?

The new board has changed the work session times closer to what they were, and now want to get rid of the advisory board term limits. We all know that they are pro-TIFF, or at least four of them are. Wonder if they will expand the hospital board back to nine to get Jean Snell on there.

This does seem like a restoration of the old guard - those more comfortable with existing organizations and established procedures. These folks tend to be the ones in leadership until populists like Smith and Kuhn are elevated by discontent among voters.

Meanwhile, stuff does get done

Monday, May 2, 2011

Yea, but ....

Watching the TV coverage of celebrations about bin Laden's death, it seemed like America really needed something to cheer about and bring us together again. I wonder, though, how long it will last. Probably not too long. And you also really have to wonder just how much this really will lessen the threat or is more symbolic and will maybe even energize al qaida networks.