News – Page 444 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lawrence ordinance meant to help people with vouchers find housing survives legal challenge

info2024-05-10T07:43:50-05:00May 10th, 2024|

A Douglas County judge has ruled against a group of landlords who sued the City of Lawrence over an ordinance that bans discrimination against some prospective tenants. The Lawrence City Commission in February 2023 approved an ordinance change that creates a protected class based on renters’ source of income... Local housing advocates have said that the protections could significantly help lessen Lawrence’s housing and homelessness crises, because many families who qualify for housing vouchers are unable to find landlords who will accept them. The full memorandum decision is here. Source: The Lawrence Times

Westmoreland cutting utility bills for residents following tornado

info2024-05-10T07:27:07-05:00May 10th, 2024|

Westmoreland residents got some relief this week when the city government announced it was reducing utility bills. “In effort to hopefully give some relief, the city has cut this month’s utility bills in half!” officials wrote in a post on social media. The announcement came Tuesday in the wake of an EF-3 tornado that hit the city last week. Source: themercury.com

Kansas plan to get Chiefs, Royals relies on billions in bonds with ‘high degree of risk’

info2024-05-10T07:25:34-05:00May 10th, 2024|

Some Kansas lawmakers want to use STAR bonds to finance new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. After Jackson County voters rejected a county sales tax for the teams in April, a Kansas proposal would authorize STAR bonds with 30-year terms to pay up to 100% of the cost of building a new stadium across the state line. Fully financing a Chiefs stadium could mean issuing $2-3 billion in STAR bonds, and potentially $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the Royals. Never before have STAR bonds of that size been issued. As of 2020, $1.1 billion total in STAR [...]

Upper Floor Housing Grants Available for Designated Main Street Communities

info2024-05-10T07:23:56-05:00May 10th, 2024|

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced $400,000 is available under the Residential Opportunities on Main Street (ROOMS) grant program to support new upper-floor housing in commercial buildings in Designated Kansas Main Street communities. ... Upper-floor investments create new housing opportunities and can play an important role in addressing the shortage of quality housing, which regularly is identified as a major issue throughout Kansas. Source: Kansas Department of Commerce

Governor Laura Kelly will call a special session to pass more modest tax relief in Kansas

info2024-05-10T07:23:03-05:00May 10th, 2024|

Kelly says she will veto the bipartisan tax bill lawmakers passed in the last hours of the 2024 legislative session. A special session to pass tax relief less impactful on future state budgets will be called, but a timeline is not yet confirmed. Source: KCUR

Feds indict Russian man tied to Wichita cyberattack

info2024-05-10T07:22:52-05:00May 10th, 2024|

The director of a Russian ransomware group named in a federal indictment this week is likely responsible for a cybersecurity attack on the city of Wichita. The U.S Department of Justice charged Dimitry Khoroshev and his company, LockBit, in a 26-count indictment on Tuesday. The counts include numerous charges of extortion and fraud. Source: KCUR News

Johnson County cities crack down on Airbnb

info2024-05-09T13:00:03-05:00May 9th, 2024|

Prairie Village is considering a 30-day minimum stay rule for short-term rentals, which would essentially ban most Airbnb and Vrbo properties. It's the latest city in Johnson County to take up the issue. Fairway, Shawnee, and Merriam have all considered the issue in recent months, especially as local governments look towards the potential influx of visitors to the Kansas City metro for the 2026 World Cup. Up To Date's Steve Kraske discussed short-term rentals with reporter Juliana Garcia, who has been covering the story for the Johnson County Post. Source: KCUR News

Voters in Valley Center, Haysville approve ballot questions

info2024-05-09T12:57:06-05:00May 9th, 2024|

Voters in Valley Center and Haysville have approved ballot questions on a school bond issue and a sales tax. In unofficial results from a special election on Tuesday, Valley Center voters approved a $59 million school bond issue that will provide for a new elementary school and improvements to Valley Center High School and the Valley Center Intermediate School. The improvements are planned to address higher enrollment in the district. The bond issue received 1,173 yes votes and 1,031 no votes in the special election. Valley Center Superintendent Greg Lehr issued a statement on social media, saying “Members of the communities we serve have determined [...]

What Wichita services have been affected by cyberattack outage

info2024-05-09T12:55:55-05:00May 9th, 2024|

Almost every single department in the city of Wichita has been impacted by the cyberattack that happened Sunday night. "Every department within the city of Wichita is just trying its best right now to go about day to day operations," said Wichita Mayor Lily Wu. The Wichita fire fighter's union says the system that alerts fire fighters when there's a call in their area is down so now the department is having to monitor their radios 24/7 to make sure they don't miss a call. "We're on for 24 hours so having to monitor the radios when normally you'd be sleeping [...]

Sedgwick County proposal would block incentives for Genesis Sports Complex apartments

info2024-05-09T12:53:37-05:00May 9th, 2024|

The Sedgwick County Commission will consider vetoing Goddard’s plan to give a developer $3.5 million in state incentives to build apartments at the Genesis Sports Complex, documents show. The commission’s May 8 agenda was published Friday afternoon, several hours after a Wichita Eagle report found $1.2 million of the incentive package would be used to fund a land transfer from an LLC owned by Rodney Steven II and Brandon Steven to an affiliated LLC with unknown ownership and unclear ties to Rodney Steven II. The land would be the site for 100 garden-style apartments near baseball and softball diamonds at the [...]