In more than 60 years, no Kansas Supreme Court justice has been ousted by voters. But that hasn’t stopped campaigns from trying. And while no such campaign has made itself known yet this election cycle, one expert told The Beacon that attack ads might begin to appear around mid-October, and would likely oppose keeping the […]
Kansas Supreme Court election: What’s at stake?
Posted inState Government
Follow the money: Tracking campaign finance in Missouri
If your mailboxes are already flooded with shiny election postcards and you can’t escape the political ads during commercial breaks, there are easy ways to use online resources to find out the groups who are paying for them. Online campaign finance portals allow you to follow the money from the time someone donates it to […]
Posted inKansas State Government, Local Government
A greyhound track without greyhounds featuring slot machines that aren’t slots
When Sedgwick County voted down a proposal to allow slot machines at billionaire Phil Ruffin’s dog racing track in 2007, the Wichita Greyhound Park shut down. For 15 years, it sat dormant while Ruffin tried to bring it back to life in some shape or form. He repeatedly — and without success — lobbied the […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Wichita Beacon is hiring: Manage our Community Engagement Bureau
How well does local news serve you and your community? What information sources do you trust, and why? What do you wish people understood about your life and your community? Who in your community needs to be heard? We want to know. The Wichita Beacon wants to learn how people in Wichita get the news […]
Posted inHealth, How To
PrEP is a drug 99% effective at preventing HIV. Here’s how to get it in Wichita
“We can stop the spread of (HIV) if we do two things: get people who are engaging in high-risk behavior on PrEP and, for the people already infected, get them in therapy and keep them on therapy,” Sweet said.
Posted inHealth
CDC recommends new bivalent COVID boosters to prevent common omicron strain
The new boosters target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the COVID-19 virus which are currently the most prevalent in the United States. Two versions of bivalent boosters are available: The Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and Moderna for people ages 18 years and older.
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Subsidized development in Waldo has 296 new apartments but no affordable housing
Residents of Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood may soon see changes along a popular commercial strip, where the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s development arm has recommended the first of three approvals for tax incentives for an apartment development at 74th Street and Broadway. The six-story project, called Waldo74Broadway, is expected to contain 296 apartment units as […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
Rideshare drivers in Kansas City’s gig market want more protections from companies
April Shabazz began driving for Uber full time this summer. The job wasn’t new for her. Rideshare driving had been her side gig for three years, along with work as a tax preparer. Shabazz, a member of Stand Up KC and the Missouri Workers Center, likes Uber’s flexible schedule. It enables her to work around […]
Posted inKansas State Government, Local Government, Uncategorized, Watchdog
One year later, Wichita works through 60 recommendations to avert another tragedy like Cedric Lofton’s
In response to the death of 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton a year ago, Sedgwick County asked 23 community members to form a task force to explore what systemic problems in foster care, emergency response and law enforcement contributed to his demise. The group was officially called the Community Task Force to Review Youth Corrections Systems […]
Posted inLabor, LEA EN ESPAÑOL
A pesar de la tarifa gratuita del transporte público, muchos trabajadores que usan RideKC enfrentan dificultades a lo largo de sus rutas diarias.
Esta historia fue traducida por Claudia Yaujar-Amaro. Esta historia también está disponible en ingles. Lea aquí. De lunes a viernes, Melissa Douds toma el autobús de la calle 35 a las 5:48 a.m. para llegar a su trabajo en el Centro de Convenciones Bartle Hall. Comenzando en la parada de Armour y Gillham en el parque […]