info2023-03-16T09:48:42-05:00March 16th, 2023|
Cities and counties came out Wednesday against a proposal by Senate President Ty Masterson to fill a budget hole caused by a bill that would eliminate millions of dollars in local sales taxes on groceries. While they liked the intent of the Masterson's proposal, they said they were disillusioned by years of promises from the Legislature to reinstate revenues that it's taken from local government. Source: Sunflower State Journal
info2023-03-16T12:30:47-05:00March 16th, 2023|
The City of Lawrence on Wednesday announced the location for its planned Pallet Shelter Village site: 256 North Michigan St., pending Lawrence City Commission approval. “The City is committed to working with the surrounding neighborhood to make the Pallet Shelter village a successful addition,” according to a news release. In December, the Lawrence City Commission approved using $4.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money — federal COVID-19 relief funds — to purchase the modular homes for people experiencing homelessness from Pallet, a “Public Benefit Corporation.” Source: The Lawrence Times
info2023-03-16T12:31:05-05:00March 16th, 2023|
Jason Johnson has been announced as the new superintendent for Clearwater USD 264. The announcement was made Tuesday morning. Johnson was chosen at a Monday night board of education meeting. The search for a new superintendent culminated with interviews last week with four finalists. The Kansas Association of School Boards assisted in the search. Johnson will replace Chris Cooper, who will retire at the end of June. Johnson will take over on July 1, although it is common for new hires to do some work ahead of time to acclimate themselves to their new districts. Cooper came to Clearwater from the [...]
info2023-03-16T12:31:37-05:00March 16th, 2023|
Council members discussed plans they have been presented for a summer concert event in the park called the “Big Sexy Summer” planned for July 21-23. The event calls for three days of music in the park with seven bands performing on stage from 2 to 11 p.m. No official acts or plans were presented but city council members discussed logistics such as alcohol sales and camping rentals. Despite the risqué sounding title, Mayor Chris Dumler said that he had been assured in an email by organizers that the event would be family friendly though he himself still had concerns regarding the [...]
info2023-03-15T12:19:42-05:00March 15th, 2023|
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on so-called forever chemicals in public drinking water, a move that is expected to cost water utilities billions of dollars to filter out substances that have contaminated the water supplies of millions of people. The EPA is proposing maximum allowable levels for two compounds in a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Known as forever chemicals because they take a long time to break down, they were used for decades in carpeting, clothing, food packaging, firefighting foam and other consumer and industrial products. Once prized [...]
info2023-03-15T12:18:42-05:00March 15th, 2023|
The new sign is up at City Hall and so far the response has been all positive, according to the Halstead City Manager Ethan Reimer and the Halstead city council. “I don’t think the crew had been gone ten minutes and we started getting calls and people stopping in to say how great they thought the sign was,” Reimer said. Source: Harvey County Now
info2023-03-15T12:17:32-05:00March 15th, 2023|
Wichita will no longer criminally penalize people under 21 for possessing tobacco products, although police can still confiscate cigarettes, vapes and chewing tobacco seized from minors. The legal age for purchasing tobacco products will remain 21 under the revised ordinance approved by the City Council on Tuesday, but the biggest enforcement shift aims to hold tobacco retailers accountable for underage sales rather than penalizing individual employees. Under the previous ordinance, clerks found to have sold to minors were charged with a misdemeanor but tobacco license-holders and store managers were not punished. Wichita’s municipal court saw 25 cases of selling to minors [...]
info2023-03-15T12:12:52-05:00March 15th, 2023|
Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi thinks the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates at its March meeting as there is a "boatload of uncertainty" around the recent bank failures. The financial turmoil of the past few days will certainly affect monetary policy decision making when the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, he added. "I think they're focused on the bank failures that roiled the banking system and markets over the last couple of days," Zandi told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday. "There's a boatload of uncertainty here," as a result the Fed will want to [...]
info2023-03-15T12:13:11-05:00March 15th, 2023|
Tense relations between China and the U.S. are trickling down into agriculture and more scrutiny into who owns farmland. It became a hot topic after the U.S. Air Force determined that a proposed Chinese-owned corn mill in North Dakota would be a significant national security threat. Now there are proposals restricting foreign ownership of farmland making their way through Congress and many state legislatures, including Missouri and Kansas. Source: KCUR News
info2023-03-15T12:13:39-05:00March 15th, 2023|
Chick-fil-A Inc. is planning a new $31 million distribution center in Olathe. Chick-fil-A Supply, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Atlanta-based company, will be at the Lone Elm Commerce Center off 167th Street, and and will service Chick-fil-A restaurants in the region. “The Kansas City area is a prime location to invest in our business, create jobs, and grow our supply chain operation,” Josh Grote, executive director of Chick-fil-A Supply, said in a statement. “The region has a deep pool of skilled talent that we know will excel in serving the franchise Operators, licensees and team members delivering an authentic Chick-fil-A [...]
