No strike?

This is as good as economic news we've had locally in a while. Sounds like GE workers and company officials have settled on an 4-year contract agreement, if union members ratify it. From the sounds of it, the union workers came out better than predicted, with a small increase in health care costs and even raises over the life of the contract.

The savings in health care, early retirement options and new hires moving to 401K plans probably help the company save costs in the long run.

Home National Bank

What's missing from this story is more detail about the alleged credit "improprieties" the former Home National Bank employee says occurred at the Bank. Brian Ruisinger, the former chief financial officer suing the bank, makes these accusations but does not outline them in his lawsuit, and his attorneys have not returned calls for comment.

The Treasury Department Audit of why HNB failed use the words "fraud" or credit irregularities, like Ruisinger's lawsuit does, but it does say that it failed to stop risky credit practices and that its actions were considered "egregious."

Alsup moving on

What do folks think of Leroy Alsup's tenure as the first Cowley County adminstrator, now that he's moving on to a job in Oklahoma?

I think that overall he has been a very good one. Newspapers and Alsup have had a few clashes, as you might expect, but the benefits of having a professional manager seems to make the county run more efficiently and brings a focus to major projects. Leroy's speciality is economic develop and budgeting/spending issues, which proved important in setting up Cowley First, handling the GE tax crisis, and the budget crunch when the recession took hold. He helped get the new jail built after the first attempt failed.

He also seemed to gain the trust of the county commissioners, expect Carmelita Clarkson, by staying very close to them and keeping them well informed. Not as outward and visible to the public as say, a Curt Freeland, but that would be hard for a county administrator.

Critics see him as rather imperial, my way or the highway, type of manager, who doesn't always play well with others. There may be some validity to that, but overall I think Alsup has served the county and its residents quite well, setting the pace for county administrators yet to come.

Another Main Street benefit

With a group that focuses on downtown renewal, these type of things happen. Be nice if such were the case in Ark City.

Jobs drop

Actually a net 54,000 were created in the U.S. in May, but much fewer than expected/hoped for. Government jobs are being hacked off all over the country: Here's the top of the AP story:

Few jobs added in May; unemployment up to 9.1 pct
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER,AP Economics Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers in May added the fewest jobs in eight months, and the unemployment rate inched up to 9.1 percent. The weakening job market raised concerns about an economy hampered by gas prices and the Japanese nuclear disaster.

The key question is whether the meager 54,000 jobs added last month mark a temporary setback or are evidence of a more chronic problem. That total is far lower than the previous three months' average of 220,000 new jobs per month.

Private companies hired only 83,000 new workers in May — the fewest in nearly a year.

Stocks on Wall Street fell for the third straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 76 points in late-morning trading. Broader indexes also dropped.

Among the deepest job cuts were in local governments, which cut 28,000 jobs last month, the most since November. Nearly 18,000 of those jobs were in education. Cities and counties have cut jobs for 22 straight months and have shed 446,000 positions since September 2008.

I think the uncertainty, much of it, is tied to the debt default scare going on in Congress. There's already enough fear out there and Congress should not be adding to the problem by threatening a debt default.

This also raises the question of how fast you want to cut government to get to a balanced budget. Going too fast could slow the economy even more. Sure, markets liked balanced budget and good fiscal policy, but Europe is on an austerity path and things are sluggish there, and now the U.S. appears to be on one.

Will it darken the entire economic picture, at least for a few months or even years. I think it would help if both political sides reached a compromise fast on a path out of debt and stabilized the mood.

But that won't win you a primary back home.

Brownback sacks art funding

This is too bad. I still wonder why Brownback is picking a fight with the arts community over a measley $776,000 in the state budget, with pretty good evidence that its money well spent.

Massey's new job

I wish him well in Larned.

You had a feeling there was much more Lane wanted to say about his dealings with city commissioners, etc. during the turmoil earlier this year.