De Soto considers incentive request to add more housing north of Panasonic plant

More developers are hoping to tap into tax incentives to build housing in De Soto near the Panasonic EV-battery plant. Rick Oddo, CEO of Lenexa-based Oddo Development Co., and Dan Taylor, president of Taylor Sterling Construction Co., have submitted an application to create a reinvestment housing incentive district (RHID) covering about 67 acres north of 89th Street and south of 83rd Street between Kill Creek Road and Waverly Road. The proposed development would abut the existing Arbor Ridge subdivision. An RHID allows a city to redirect property tax gains generated by a development to pay for eligible construction and infrastructure expenses. The developers request a 60% RHID for 25 years to support creating their mixed housing development, also called Arbor Ridge.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal

info2024-11-20T09:38:36-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

What Johnson County is doing about housing after homeless shelter defeat

Johnson County has until the end of the year to spend $6 million of federal COVID relief funds that were originally bookmarked for a Lenexa homeless shelter. Johnson County Commission chair Mike Kelly wants that money to still go towards housing solutions. When the Lenexa City Council voted against approving a permit for a new low-barrier homeless shelter in September, Johnson County Commission chair Mike Kelly feared it meant a major need would go unmet. “That’s where we have our biggest gap,” Kelly told KCUR’s Up To Date. “An opportunity to help unhoused adults not only receive safety and shelter, but an opportunity for wraparound services.” Now, Johnson County has $6 million worth of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act left over. The money must be obligated by Dec. 31, or else be forfeited back to the federal government.
Source: KCUR

info2024-11-20T09:37:33-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Decision on paid parking in downtown Wichita delayed again. Here’s why, what’s next

Attempts to charge for public parking in downtown Wichita have stalled again. After four hours of discussion Tuesday night, the Wichita City Council deferred voting on a parking option until Dec. 10. Council members were in support of two different options: one that would implement paid parking uniformly across downtown, Old Town, and Delano, with up to 15 minutes of free parking. The other option would have implement paid parking downtown and likely created a new tax in the Old Town area to pay for parking. Delano was exempt from that plan until construction is completed on the multimodal center, which includes a parking garage with 400 spaces.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

info2024-11-20T09:36:18-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Wife of Sedgwick County commissioner-elect charged with electioneering

Meghan Blubaugh, wife of Sedgwick County commissioner-elect Jeff Blubaugh, has been charged with electioneering, a misdemeanor crime in Kansas. The charge stems from an Oct. 29 incident in which Meghan Blubaugh wore a T-shirt supporting her husband’s campaign while she was at an early voting location in west Wichita. Kansas statute prohibits voters at polling sites from wearing any article of clothing that clearly identifies a candidate.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

info2024-11-20T09:34:20-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

USD 259 starts talk Monday about cell phone ban for students in schools

No decision has been made on banning cell phone use in Wichita Public Schools, but school board leaders workshopped the idea on Monday. “We compared our current policy, which restricts cell phones during instructional time, versus the possibility of whether or not we need to do more,” said USD 259 Board President Stan Reeser. “There was a state task force on cell phones which dove into a little more than what our policy deals with.” Reeser is talking about a Blue Ribbon Task Force from the Kansas Department of Education. That task force made some basic recommendations in a report on screen time and students. “But what we need to do is circle back with our staff and our principals and our parents to find out whether they are satisfied with the current policy,” said Reeser. “Or whether or not there would be any marginal changes and efforts that could perhaps even make the situation with attention spans even better.” The current policy in Wichita Public Schools prohibits phone use in elementary and middle schools. However, high school students are able to use their cell phones during passing periods and lunch.
Source: KSN-TV

info2024-11-20T09:33:19-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Scholarship program boosts enrollment and community spirit in Southeast Kansas

It’s a promise, made from one generation of Neodesha High School graduates to another. For five years, the “Neodesha Promise Scholarship Program” has helped remove barriers for kids looking to go to college. But it turns out the impact goes beyond just dollars and cents.
Source: KSNF/KODE

info2024-11-20T09:31:27-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Topeka city leaders consider bringing common consumption area to new side of downtown

City leaders met Monday afternoon to discuss some changes to the downtown Topeka alcohol drinking zone. The City of Topeka Policy & Finance Committee, consisting of City Council members Spencer Duncan, Marcus Miller and Michelle Hoferer, gathered on Nov. 18 to discuss some updates to one of the local common consumption areas (CCA) or “social drinking zones.” City of Topeka Attorney Amanda Stanley was on hand to explain what these changes would look like. Duncan said the original layout for the CCA in downtown Topeka did not initially include the area in front of the Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC) located at 214 Southeast Eighth Street. He said TPAC’s board has put forward a request to be included in this area for multiple reasons.
Source: KSNT 27 News

info2024-11-20T09:29:46-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Plastic bag bans can sometimes backfire: Study

Policies aimed at curbing the use of single-use plastic bags have sometimes accomplished the opposite of their intentions, a new study has found. When two Texas cities prohibited stores from giving away plastic grocery bags for free, the sale of such bags surged in response, according to the study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research. The longer a policy was in place, the longer the behaviors spurred by those regulatory prohibitions persisted, the researchers found.
Source: KSNT 27 News

info2024-11-20T09:28:29-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

Rural Kansas highway closure to bring more than 50-mile detour for local drivers

State transportation officials say part of K-4 Highway in Dickinson County will close later this month, bringing with it a large detour for locals to follow. The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced in a press release on Monday, Nov. 18 that a road work project is slated to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 on part of K-4 Highway just south of the town of Hope. Workers will be replacing a railroad crossing that requires the highway to be closed to all traffic while the project is ongoing. Drivers will be unable to use K-4 just south of Hope and will instead be directed to take a signed detour route that uses K-43, I-70 and K-15, taking drivers through Abilene and Enterprise. The complete detour runs for 53 miles and will take about an hour to complete, according to Google Maps.
Source: KSNT 27 News

info2024-11-20T09:27:06-06:00November 20, 2024|News|

State banks seek better climate competing for local, state government deposits

The state’s banks are urging lawmakers to take steps to allow them to better compete for local and state government deposits that they say are now flowing to out-of-state financial institutions at a cost to the Kansas economy. The banks say state law is structured in a way that local and state governments are less inclined to invest their funds locally than they are with institutions from out of state, which they say reduces the amount of capital for Kansas businesses that want to expand. Source: Sunflower State Journal

info2024-11-20T09:25:51-06:00November 20, 2024|News|