Kansas news media

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Sunday July 10, 2011

by Bob Weeks on July 10, 2011

Wichita city council. This week the Wichita City Council considers these major items of interest: Capps Manufacturing, Inc. seeks to avoid paying property tax on an expansion of its plant. Under the city’s Economic Development Exemption (EDX) Program, the company, according to city documents, is eligible to avoid paying 80 percent of the property tax on the expansion for a period of ten years. The documents state: “Based on the 2010 mill levy, the estimated taxable value of exempted property for the first full year is approximately $38,387.” I believe this is incorrect; that figure is the amount of property tax that would be paid on the value of the property. If the council approves, Capps will be forgiven 80 percent of that tax — nearly $31,000 per year.

Bombardier Learjet seeks issuance of $2,564,275 in Industrial Revenue Bonds. The benefit to the company is that the property purchased with bond proceeds is exempt from property taxes, which is estimated by the city to be worth $76,966 per year in taxes that Bombardier won’t be required to pay. Also, property purchased with bond proceeds isn’t subject to the sales tax. If all the items being purchased are taxable, this means Bombardier could escape paying $187,192 in sales tax. Under the IRB program, the city is not the lender and does not guarantee that bonds will be repaid.

There will be a public hearing for a facade improvement program loan for a building at 1525 E. Douglas to house GLMV Architecture. This action will loan $500,000 for the purposes of sprucing up the outside of the building, with that amount, plus interest, to be paid back in the form of special assessments collected with the regular property tax. It’s similar to the special assessment financing used in new housing developments, but here applied to existing structures. Interestingly, the city documents proclaim a “gap,” meaning that “applicants show a financial need for public assistance in order to complete the project, based on the owner’s ability to finance the project and assuming a market-based return on investment.” In other words, private financing was not available, so the city steps in, and we have another example of the city investing in money-losing projects. Although it is likely the city will be paid back, the program also includes a $30,000 grant for this project. That, of course, is a gift from Wichita taxpayers made by the city council, and will not be paid back. In addition to assistance from Wichita and its taxpayers, GLMV also benefits from state and federal taxpayers, too. Its application for historic preservation tax credits has been approved. Under the state program, GLMV is eligible for tax credits of 25 percent of the $2 million cost of the project, so Kansas taxpayers will be giving this company $500,000.

The council will be asked to receive and file the city manager’s budget. … As always, the agenda packet is available at Wichita city council agendas.

Kansas news media criticized. Kansas University political science professor Burdett Loomis takes a look at Kansas news media, particularly its coverage of the Brownback administration, and finds it lacking. In his listing of Kansas news media, Loomis misses a few outlets, namely Kansas Watchdog and Kansas Reporter. This is in contrast to his characterization of Dome on the Range as a “serious attempt.” This is laughable. Dome on the Range, written anonymously, exists primarily to poke fun at conservatives, many times for reasons that have little to do with serious issues of public policy. After several posts in March, DOTR had no posts in May, and one each in June and July. This, combined with anonymity — meaning the author is not willing to be accountable — doesn’t qualify as serious. But DOTR meshes well with Loomis’ personal politics, and Kansas Watchdog and Reporter are sponsored by conservative groups. … Loomis is correct in his assessment of the Kansas Health Institute as a valuable resource for reporting. … The op-ed is at Insight Kansas: Covering Kansas Conservatism.

The revolving door. Between government and lobbying, that is. Latest example: The Lawrence Journal-World through the Associated Press reports that Michael White, Chief of Staff for Kansas Senate President Steve Morris, is becoming a lobbyist for ITC Great Plains, an electric transmission company. The article says that White will oversee the company’s lobbying in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Tagged as: Economic development, Kansas legislature, Kansas news media, Kansas Reporter, Kansas state government, Kansas Watchdog, Subsidy, Taxation, Wichita city council, Wichita city government

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Kansas sales tax exemptions mischaracterized in Kansas City Star

by Bob Weeks on December 29, 2010

A recent editorial in one of Kansas’ leading newspapers may lead readers to believe that eliminating sales tax exemptions holds the key to solving the state’s budget problems. But following the advice of the editorial would place Kansas at a severe disadvantage to other states in manufacturing.

The Kansas City Star editorial, titled Education should trump tax breaks in Kansas, holds this paragraph: “For every penny of sales tax collected in Kansas, the state exempts 2 cents. Brownback should be looking at ways to spread, not increase, the tax burden more fairly so everyday Kansans aren’t asked to prop up breaks for businesses.”

While the numbers the editorial cites are correct, they are used in a misleading way, as we can easily see.

In 2009, the retail sales tax brought in $2,286.7 million. According to a study by the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit is titled Kansas Tax Revenues, Part II: Reviewing Sales Tax Exemptions, Kansas has 99 sales tax exemptions that cost the state an estimated $4.2 billion in 2009. That’s pretty close to the two-to-one ratio of exemptions to collections that the Star editorial mentions.

But if the Star had cared to look any farther, they would have realized that this number is an illusion. The audit report noted: “Six of those exemptions, accounting for $3.4 billion, relate primarily to taxing goods at the final point of sale, and not taxing government entities.”

An example of an exemption that contributes toward the $3.4 billion figure is exemption 79-3606 (m), described as “Ingredient/Component parts: Of items manufactured or produced for sale at retail.” The audit report estimates that for 2009, this exemption cost the state $2,248.1 million in lost sales tax revenue.

This exemption isn’t really an “exemption,” at least if the sales tax is thought of as a retail sales tax designed to be levied as the final tax on consumption. That’s because these goods aren’t being sold at retail. They’re sold to manufacturers who use them as inputs to products that, when finished, will be sold at retail.

An example would be an aircraft manufacturer purchasing a jet engine to be installed in an airplane that is being built. Most states don’t tax this type of sales. If Kansas decided to tax these transactions, it would place our state’s manufacturers at a severe and crippling disadvantage compared to almost all other states.

There are two other exemptions that fall in this category of inputs to to production processes, totaling an estimated $461 million in lost revenue. When we consider these numbers, the premise of the Star’s editorial — that there are untold riches to be collected if we close tax breaks — isn’t true. That is, unless the Star really believes we should be taxing these type of intermediate business transactions. I wouldn’t be surprised if it thinks we should.

I agree with the Star that we should be looking for ways to spread the tax burden. Then, let’s lower the rates.

Tagged as: Kansas news media, Kansas state government, Taxation

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Wichita Eagle quality control could use improvement

by Bob Weeks on August 18, 2010

When presented with evidence of errors in its stories, the Wichita Eagle, Kansas’ largest newspaper, is not being responsive in correcting its errors.

On July 12, the Eagle ran the story 84th District race a repeat for 2 candidates, highlighting the two Democratic Party candidates for a Kansas House of Representatives district. The article said there was no Republican filer, when in fact Dan Heflin had filed as a Republican. This could be seen clearly at either the Kansas Secretary of State’s listing of candidates, or at the Sedgwick County Election Office’s listing.

The article was written by “courtney looney,” a name I wasn’t familiar with at the Eagle. I couldn’t find an email address or telephone number, so I couldn’t contact the reporter directly. I, and one other person, left a comment to the story calling attention to the error. As of today, the error is still in the story. I couldn’t find evidence of a correction.

In another example, on August 10 the Wichita Eagle printed the story Kansas’ justice-selection process unique, in which the reporter wrote: “Changing the constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate and approval of the governor. Then the issue goes to voters during a general election.”

The process is described correctly except for the role of the governor. Unlike regular legislation, the governor does not sign or approve a constitutional amendment. The only parties involved are the legislature and the people voting on the amendment in an election.

In this case, I knew the identity of the reporter, so I sent an email message about this error. A comment writer called attention to the error, too. I never got a response, and the story still appears on the Wichita Eagle website with the error intact. Finally, on August 17 the Eagle printed a correction.

The story was printed in the Lawrence Journal-World under an Associated Press byline, and the error was there, too. The story may have been printed in other newspapers.

For a final example, on August 11 the Eagle printed the story Wichita City Council OKs tax districts, in which the reporter wrote: “The approval means the hotel can charge an extra cent or two of sales tax for up to 22 years, with the revenue rebated to them after the state and city remove 7 percent in administrative fees. That will mean about $9.6 million in revenue from the extra sales tax for the $12 million hotel.”

John Todd, a friend of mine with an interest in this issue, called me and asked me if it was true that the extra sales tax this hotel can charge through the Kansas Community Improvement District program would be worth $9.6 million over 22 years as reported. I said no, the CID is just one part of a package of subsidies the city created for this project, with the total package being worth $9.6 million or thereabouts. The total package is reported on at Waterwalk hotel deal breaks new ground for Wichita subsidies.

A simple back-of-the-napkin calculation can confirm this, using publicly available sources of data: The hotel may have up to 130 rooms. A study commissioned by the city regarding this hotel found that “In 2008, the proposed Fairfield Inn’s competitive set’s average daily rate was $86.31.” In January, Goody Clancy, the firm planning the revitalization of downtown Wichita, said that Wichita hotels are doing well with an occupancy rate of about 67 percent, with a companion chart showing downtown hotels at about 70 percent.

Doing the arithmetic (130 rooms times $86.31 daily rate times 365 days per year times 70 percent occupancy factor times two percent CID tax rate) results in about $57,336 in revenue per year from the CID tax. Or over the 22 year life of the CID, about $1.3 million. It’s possible the hotel might generate additional CID revenue through sales of drinks or other incidentals, but this would likely be a small amount.

Even if one disputes the assumptions and substitutes a higher room rate or occupancy factor, there’s no way the CID will come close to generating the revenue the Eagle article reports.

Todd called the reporter, and the reporter was insistent that the reported figures are correct, saying he received them from Wichita economic development director Allen Bell. I think this means we shouldn’t expect a correction.

It’s part of human nature to make mistakes. I do, and when I do, often I get an email from someone at the Wichita Eagle notifying me of such. When I realize I have made a mistake, I correct it, as can be seen in this example.

But the Wichita Eagle isn’t doing the same in a timely manner, and sometimes not at all.

It’s not as though I’m disagreeing with opinions presented in editorials on the opinion page (and people in Wichita have enough trouble with those). The problems here are with facts that can easily be verified. In particular, when the Eagle mistakenly reports the governor’s role in amending the constitution, and then doesn’t quickly issue a correction and leaves the erroneous story on its website, I think we have a problem.

Tagged as: Kansas news media, Wichita news media

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Anderson, former Congressional candidate, to host Wichita radio show

by Bob Weeks on August 16, 2010

Today former candidate for United States Congress from the fourth district of Kansas Jim Anderson announces that he will host a weekly talk radio program in Wichita.

The show, titled “The Jim Anderson Program” will air on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on KNSS radio, 1330 AM.

This is a step forward for Wichita, as it is one of the largest cities without local talk radio that focuses on public affairs. Following is the press release from KNSS:

WICHITA, KS — Entercom Radio Wichita is proud to announce the formation of South Central Kansas’ newest live and local talk radio show, “The Jim Anderson Program”, which will debut on Saturday, August 21st, from 1-3pm on NewsRadio 1330 KNSS.

Former 4th district Republican congressional candidate, Constitutional Conservative, and small business owner, Jim Anderson, will host this live and local talk show program that will address wide-ranging issues from politics, culture, history, current events, and discussing their implications on the local, national and international scene. The program promises to be a no holds-barred and nonpartisan mouthpiece as well as demand accountability and seek truth. “We are going to hold people’s feet to the fire,” Anderson stated. He continued, “for too long, we the people have been to blame for not holding our local, state, and national representatives accountable, it is and has been our fault. My goal is to provide a voice and a platform so regular citizens, like myself, can do just that with the powerful and influential who have forgotten that power is derived from the consent of the governed”.

“It is our hope that Jim’s passion, fire, and genuineness will create a program that people can’t miss, a program where they have a voice, and one that is not too far away to interact or gain attention of,” says KNSS Program Director, Tony Duesing.

The Jim Anderson Radio Program can be heard every Saturday, from 1-3pm on NewsRadio 1330 KNSS.

Tagged as: Jim Anderson, Kansas news media, Politics, Wichita news media

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Wichita Eagle editorial endorsements: helpful, or not?

by Bob Weeks on August 4, 2010

Yesterday’s primary election in Kansas provided a measure of the influence of the Wichita Eagle editorial board. Voters ignored many of its endorsements, indicating that the newspaper — its editorial side, at least — is increasingly out of touch with its readers.

Starting from the top, here’s how the Eagle endorsed and what the voters did. An endorsement is a recommendation to voters, and not intended to be a prediction of the outcome.

For the Republican Party nomination for United States Senate, the Eagle endorsed Jerry Moran. He won. For the Democratic Party side of this race, the Eagle picked Kansas Senator David Haley. He finished in third place.

For the Republican party nomination for United States Congress from the Kansas first district, the Eagle picked Kansas Senator Jim Barnett, noting his “balanced legislative record.” The Eagle dismissed challenger Kansas Senator Tim Huelskamp, calling him a “hard-right conservative with a hard edge.” This race was in a three-way tie in the last poll, but voters chose Huelskamp with 35 percent of the vote to Barnett’s 25 percent and Tracey Mann’s 21 percent.

(There is a pattern here. According to the Eagle editorial board, conservatives are “hard,” while liberals are portrayed as soft and cuddly — or “balanced” and “nuanced,” at least.)

For the Republican party nomination for United States Congress from the fourth district, the Eagle chose Kansas Senator Jean Schodorf. This had the potential to be a close race, with some polls — her own, mostly — showing Schodorf in the lead. But the race turned out to be not close, with Wichita businessman Mike Pompeo gathering 39 percent of the vote to Schodorf’s 24 percent and Wichita businessman Wink Hartman‘s 23 percent.

On the Democratic side, the Eagle endorsed Kansas Representative Raj Goyle, and he won handily over a little-known and inexperienced challenger with no experience in elective office.

For the Republican party nomination for Kansas Governor, the Eagle endorsed Sam Brownback, whose only competition was from a candidate with some very peculiar beliefs. Brownback won handily.

For Kansas Secretary of State Democratic Party nomination, the Eagle backed appointed incumbent Chris Biggs over opponent Kansas Senator Chris Steineger, who the Eagle faintly praised for his “out-of-the-box thinking and independence.” Biggs won.

On the Republican side, the Eagle endorsed career bureaucrat Elizabeth Ensley over Kris Kobach. The Eagle — Rhonda Holman, mostly — has criticized Kobach steadily on the editorial page for his contention that voter fraud is a problem in Kansas. Voters overwhelmingly chose Kobach. He got 51 percent of the vote to Ensley’s 27 percent.

For Republican Party nomination for Attorney General, the Eagle chose Kansas Senator Derek Schmidt, and he won handily over the capable but little-known Ralph De Zago.

For Republican Party nomination for insurance commissioner, the Eagle chose incumbent Sandy Praeger, and she easily won.

Sedgwick County Commission voters ignored Eagle recommendations

In primary contests for Sedgwick County Commission, voters didn’t give much weight to Wichita Eagle endorsements.

In the contest for the Democratic Party nomination for District 1, Eagle-endorsed Betty Arnold won. She’ll face unopposed incumbent Dave Unruh in the general election in this heavily Republican district.

In District 4, two Republicans ran to replace Kelly Parks, who chose not to seek re-election. The Eagle endorsed Lucy Burtnett, who served two years in this position when she was appointed by the precinct committee system to replace Carolyn McGinn, who won election to the Kansas Senate. When Burtnett ran for election to that position in 2006, she did not win. Instead of backing the Republican primary winner, she ran a write-in campaign that had the potential to contribute to a possible Republican loss.

Despite her loss in 2006, the Eagle endorsed her over Richard Ranzau, praising her “thoughtful” voting record, which I — after looking at her past votes — characterized as thoughtless. Ranzau won with 55 percent of the vote to Burtnett’s 44 percent. She told the Wichita Eagle that she will not support Ranzau in the general election, which naturally leads to speculation as to whether she’ll run another write-in campaign.

For the Democratic party nomination for the position, the Eagle endorsed former Wichita city council member Sharon Fearey. From the council bench, Fearey had blasted the Eagle for uncovering problems with a real estate developer’s past dealings, blocking passage of a project she supported. Besides the editorial board endorsement, the Eagle also ran a last-minute news story embarrassing to her opponent, Kansas Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau. As of now, Faust-Goudeau has won by a margin of 60 votes out of 3,450 cast.

In District 5, the Eagle endorsed Chuck Warren in a three-way race for the Republican Party nomination. Wichita city council member Jim Skelton won with 42 percent of the vote to Warren’s 36 percent.

Kansas House of Representatives endorsements

In an open seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, the Eagle endorsed Jim Howell for the 82nd district, which is primarily the city of Derby. He won.

In the Republican party primary for Kansas House of Representatives district 83, parts of east Wichita, veteran legislator Jo Ann Pottorff faced a challenge from the right in recent college graduate Kyle Amos. Pottorff had to run a last-minute ad in the Eagle attempting to burnish her conservative credentials. She won with 53 percent of the vote. This qualifies as a squeaker.

In Kansas House of Representatives district 94, parts of west Wichita, the Eagle chose to endorse a challenger to incumbent Joe McLeland in the Republican primary. The Eagle criticized him as a “yes-man for GOP leadership and anti-tax think tanks” and said he “parroted misleading information about school budgets during the past session.” McLeland won with 63 percent of the vote. His two challengers received 22 percent and 16 percent.

In the Republican Party primary for Kansas House of Representatives district 96, parts of south Wichita, the Eagle endorsed first-term incumbent Phil Hermanson, and he won.

The Eagle recommended that voters chose incumbent Gail Finney in the Democratic Party primary for the 84th district, and she won by a large margin.

For election results from races in Sedgwick County, click on August 3rd, 2010 Primary Election Unofficial Results — Sedgwick County. For statewide races and other races, click on 2010 unofficial primary election results at Kansas Secretary of State.

Tagged as: Elections, Kansas news media, Rhonda Holman, Wichita Eagle opinion watch, Wichita news media

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Libertarian thinking discussed in Winfield

by Bob Weeks on April 26, 2010

A recent column in the Winfield Daily Courier illustrates just how difficult it is for some to grasp the ideas and principles of libertarianism. The column, titled Libertarians and Libertarians, makes a factual error and is wrong when describing several important aspects of libertarian thinking.

For example, he mentions Milton Friedman’s proposal that medical doctors should not be licensed by government. Instead, markets could function as regulators. Showing his disdain for this idea, he writes: “As for a cut-rate appendectomy, let the buyer beware!” The facts are that our current medical system, partly but not totally because of physician licensing, is dysfunctional. There are some clinics and hospitals that choose to operate outside the usual medical orthodoxy, and by doing so, they can offer outstanding bargains to their customers.

As an example, the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, while not offering appendectomies (at least not on its website) does offer the type of cut-rate prices that the author of this column warns us of. Its prices are very inexpensive compared to what most people pay. And in Wichita, Galichia Medical Tourism publishes its prices for surgeries such as knee replacement for $14,000, when it says the typical cost in the U.S. is $50,000.

The real problem with this column, however, lies in this passage:

Do Michael Jordan or Bill Gates owe any debt to the society which rewarded them so extravagantly? Despite the intuitive appeal of the self-ownership idea, there are complexities. Jordan worked hard to develop his skills, but he was lucky to have natural abilities and a physique that most of us do not possess. He was also fortunate to live in a society that prizes his particular ability and has leisure time and money to pay to watch him perform. Some compensation to such a society would seem appropriate.

Should we as a society extract compensation from Michael Jordan for making him rich? First of all, I imagine that Jordan has paid a lot in taxes, so various governments have already extracted something.

Beyond that, Jordan doesn’t owe us a thing. All the transactions that people undertook with Jordan — attending a basketball game, watching one on television, buying a product that Jordan endorsed — these were all voluntary, market transactions. Neither party was coerced or forced. By definition, both parties — Jordan and each individual person — entered into the transaction voluntarily, believing that they would be better off if the transaction took place.

In 1998, Fortune magazine estimated the “Jordan effect” at $10 billion. Jordan has created wealth for himself and an entire industry. He has given pleasure to his millions of fans. This is something to celebrate, not to be concerned about.

For more about the economics of Michael Jordan, see columns by Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams.

Sowell writes about the problems with trying to equalize the outcomes of human endeavor:

The problem with trying to equalize is that you can usually only equalize downward. If the government were to spend some of its stimulus money trying to raise my basketball ability level to that of Michael Jordan, it would be an even bigger waste of money than most of the other things that Washington does. So the only way to try to equalize that has any chance at all would be to try to bring Michael Jordan down to my level, whether by drastic rule changes or by making him play with one hand tied behind his back, or whatever.

The problem with this approach, as with many other attempts at equalization, is that it undermines the very activity involved.

Williams writes about the sources of income: “The reader’s inference is that there’s something unfair about income differences of such magnitude. It also reflects ignorance about the sources of income in a free society; that’s music to the ears of political demagogues with an insatiable taste for command and control.”

Another column by Williams writes about the discrepancy between teachers’ salaries and Jordan’s: “Schoolteachers are more important to society than professional basketball players. … The reason why professional basketball players earn more money is both a result of reality and decisions made by millions of decision-makers.”

If we want to let government override the decisions made by people making free decisions in markets, we could equalize Michael Jordan’s pay with that of the local fourth-grade teacher. The cost of doing that, however, is very high.

(The factual error in this Winfield Daily Courier column is the author’s statement that Ron Paul was the Libertarian Party’s 2008 Presidential Candidate. Ron Paul ran for the Republican Party nomination. Bob Barr was the Libertarian Party candidate.)

Tagged as: Economics, Free markets, Kansas news media, Politics

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KPTS’s Kansas Week now online

by Bob Weeks on March 7, 2010

Wichita public television station KPTS has produced the weekly public affairs program Kansas Week since 1989. Tim Brown has been the host since 2006.

Now many of KPTS’s shows are available online through the station’s website. There’s a link on the main page, or click on watch.kpts.org. Both Kansas Week and the Sunday afternoon show Ask Your Legislator are available.

Tagged as: Kansas news media, Kansas state government, Politics

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The changing face of journalism

by Bob Weeks on February 11, 2010

As newspapers and other forms of traditional news media experience economic difficulty, a gap has been created that needs to be filled. One of the solutions is the rise of non-profit organizations that have stepped in to provide the watchdog service that investigative journalism provides. Jason Stverak, author of the piece below, is president of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, which funds investigative journalism in a growing number of states, including Kansas at Kansas Watchdog. This piece also appeared in National Review Online.

Corruption and scandal are not simply bred in D.C. — crooked politicians have to start somewhere. Gone unnoticed, scandal-plagued local politicians sometimes escalate to Congress or other federal positions.

The cure for a dishonest politician is an investigative reporter willing to allocate the time to expose the truth. However, the decline of resources at newspapers around the nation has increased the vacuum in state-based coverage. As such, newspapers around the country are curbing reporters’ ability to spend the time or money to investigate a story in addition to the daily beat they write. This growing hole in investigative journalism is now being filled by non-profit organizations that have the capacity to spend time becoming immersed in a story.

The formula for success for the non-profits is to hire straight-shooting professionals and provide them the opportunity and training to reemerge as the beat reporters from yesteryear. With local focuses, specific targets, a commitment to using highly trained and professional journalists, and a strategic approach to using and distributing resources, online non-profits are the future of journalism.

Just recently, a series of state-based watchdog groups have demonstrated that online news websites can churn out substantive investigative pieces. Jim Scarantino, the New Mexico Watchdog at the Rio Grande Foundation, found that New Mexico’s lieutenant governor was utilizing tax dollars to buy Christmas cards for her political committee. Joe Jordan, a dedicated state-based reporter at NebraskaWatchdog.org, uncovered that their state’s educators were using taxpayer-funded credit cards to purchase a first-class plane tickets to China for $11,000. And it was a Watchdog in Ohio that publicized a candidate’s attempt to pay for votes among college students.

Kathy Hoekstra, a watchdog from Michigan, found herself investigating a union day-care scandal when her organization, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, sued Michigan’s Department of Human Services. The lawsuit stemmed from the two home day-care owners receiving a notification that they were members of a union, and that dues would be taken out of the subsidy checks they receive on behalf of low-income parents who qualify for aid. The lawsuit alleged that these home day-care owners are businesses, not government employees, and therefore it is illegal to siphon union dues from government-subsidy checks. Weeks of investigating the details of this case paid off when Kathy’s article was welcomed with open arms in all the major news outlets in Michigan, exposing this story to millions of readers.

Although many of the state-based watchdogs are local in focus, on several occasions, one watchdog’s local discovery has led to a major news story. This past November, Jim Scarantino was doing research on Recovery.gov when he noticed that a few of the congressional districts that received stimulus funding in New Mexico did not exist. The story he wrote about that obvious error prompted a watchdog in another state to look into his own state’s information. As more and more watchdogs looked into their own state’s data on recovery.gov, more congressional districts proved to be fabricated. What came to be known as the “Phantom Congressional District Scandal” lead to the discovery of more than 440 phantom congressional districts nationwide and hearings on Capitol Hill. The Colbert Report even refashioned its popular “Better Known as a District” into a new segment, “Know Your Made-Up District.”

Non-profit journalism organizations are changing the conversation in politics, the media, and for news consumers around the nation. Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, once said that “a newspaper in every home” was the “principle support of … morality” in civic life. The decline of American newspapers might sadden Mr. Franklin, but the pursuit of greatness in journalism by online non-profits would without a doubt bring him pride.

Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity promotes social welfare and civil betterment by undertaking programs that promote journalism and the education of the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, or taxpayer abuse by elected officials at all levels of government. Founded in January of 2009, The Franklin Center is a nonpartisan organization that believes that new technology can advance the cause of transparency in government. The Franklin Center aims to educate, to advise and to train individuals and organizations from all backgrounds to become thorough, unbiased and responsible reporters well versed in new media techniques and journalistic integrity. For more information on the Franklin Center please visit www.FranklinCenterHQ.org.

Tagged as: Journalism, Kansas news media

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To Kansas school spending advocates, criticism comes fast and loose

by Bob Weeks on February 10, 2010

As the debate over the funding of Kansas public schools goes on, sometimes facts get lost in the shuffle, and school spending advocates sometimes invent “facts” in order to score political points by criticizing those working to bring inconvenient facts to light.

Besides spending advocates, journalists can get caught up in this. In a recent news story in the Hays Daily News, the paper reported a claim made by Linda Kenne, Victoria USD 432 superintendent. Here it is:

One particular corporation seems to drive the efforts. Kenne said, “Koch Industries’ address is the same as the Kansas Policy Institute.” “Do you want the state to be owned by Koch Industries?” she asked.

The reporter of this story, Dawne Leiker, quoted a government official who said something. I guess that constitutes news. But responsible reporting and journalism requires that there be at least some factual basis underlying the statement, or the reporter needs to say so. In this case, the facts are that the two organizations do not share the same address.

It’s worth noting that Leiker writes for the leftist blogs Everyday Citizen and Kansas Free Press. At Everyday Citizen you may read her poem Ode to Conservatism, in which she likens conservatives to “pit bulls, bedecked with luscious lips” who are offended by the existence of poor people, and that opportunity goes to those who beg for it, presumably from rich conservatives.

It’s tempting to feel a little empathy for school spending advocates like superintendent Kenne, as Kansas Policy Institute has uncovered and given publicity to large fund balances that schools could be using if they want to. And it’s not just KPI that says so. Kansas Deputy Commissioner of Schools Dale Dennis agrees.

But that’s not an excuse for playing fast and loose with facts.

Kenne may be taking her cue from the Kansas National Education Association (or KNEA, the teachers union). It, along with the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), is at the forefront of defending the status quo in Kansas public school spending — that being a rapid rise. Their lobbyists and publications also show little regard for facts when scoring political points by criticizing those who uncover facts inconvenient for them.

As an example, a recent edition of “Under the Dome Today” referred to the “Kansas Policy Institute whose board of directors includes Koch Industries executives.” The facts are that of the members of the KPI Board of Trustees, two are former Koch industries employees. Neither has worked there for many years.

Misreporting simple facts like this should give us reason to question the facts used to support their larger and more important arguments.

Underlying this is the puzzle as to why Wichita-based Koch Industries is the subject of so much criticism from Kansas school spending advocates. With some 2,100 employees in Wichita and owning a large amount of property, Koch Industries and its employees pay many millions in taxes that go to school districts and other functions of government.

The company is involved in other ways, too. In 1991, Charles and Elizabeth Koch founded (and a Koch Family Foundation continues to fund) Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas, which “teaches free enterprise fundamentals through hands-on experiences and encourages students to start their own business, enhance their business skills for future career opportunities and continue into higher education.” YEK is present in many Wichita and surrounding area public schools.

As another example of Koch Foundation generosity, a page on the Wichita public school website tells of Education EDGE Koch Focus mini-grants given to support classroom projects in several areas.

Further, a recent letter appearing in the Wichita Eagle told of this: “Thanks to the support of USD 259′s administration, the financial generosity of the Koch foundation, and the expertise of Gilder Lehrman and the Bill of Rights Institute, programs such as these are having a profound positive impact on history and civics education.”

We need to carefully examine the facts and arguments advanced by school spending advocates. They could also learn to say “thank you” now and then.

Tagged as: Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas National Education Association, Kansas news media, Kansas Policy Institute, KASB, KNEA, Wichita and Kansas schools

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Kansas Senate blocks new journalism

January 24, 2010

Does the application for press credentials to the Kansas Senate contain questions designed to limit or restrict the types of organizations that apply?

Tagged as: Kansas legislature, Kansas news media, Kansas Reporter, Kansas state government, Kansas Watchdog

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