Las calles del vecindario de Orchard Breeze son donde creció Dan Warren. En esas calles montaba su bicicleta mientras crecía. Donde tiraba el periodico con las noticias de la mañana. Warren, de 67 años, todavía vive en las calles del vecindario oeste de Wichita. Pero en lugar de amar esas calles, las teme y teme […]
‘Es un problema de equidad’: Wichita no tiene un plan para sus 84 millas de caminos sin pavimentar
Posted inEconomics
Shocked by your natural gas bill? Thank last year’s winter storm.
If you live in Kansas City, Missouri, chances are your wallet just got hit with the impact of last year’s winter storm. While Kansas Citians haven’t faced widespread power outages this winter, natural gas providers are working to regain profit they lost during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. The sustained cold temperatures caused demand […]
Posted inCivic Engagement
The Beacon is hiring: Paid positions involve working with community
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? We want to know. The Wichita Beacon wants to learn how people in Wichita get the news and information they need. We’re hiring Community Representatives […]
Posted inKansas State Government, Watchdog
Child restraints, no-knock warrants, survivor benefits: Kansas justice reform bills to watch
Kansas legislators introduced several bills in the opening weeks of the legislative session that would bring reform to the state’s criminal justice system, such as prohibiting the use of restraints on children in hearings and setting a new standard for search warrants. The 2022 legislative session opened on Jan. 10. The Wichita Beacon is highlighting […]
Posted inHealth
‘Why am I still here?’: Three Wichita-area nurses on the personal toll of the pandemic
The numbers are clear — COVID cases in Kansas reached an unprecedented peak in January. Local Wichita hospitals were not spared. “Over the last several weeks, we’ve seen numbers of hospitalizations that were even higher than the peak from 2020,” Dr. Samer Antonios, chief clinical officer at Ascension Via Christi, said in January during an event […]
Posted inEducation
Deadline looms for Missouri schools to get $1.95 billion in COVID money
Kansas City Public Schools leadership is hoping lawmakers will release federal relief funding, but the district is working to make sure the state knows how important the spending could be for students.
Posted inState Government
Missouri bill would revoke medical license of doctors who prescribe gender-affirming hormones for children
Every weekday, pediatricians see patients at Gender Pathway Services of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and the Transgender Center of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. For the young patients, an appointment can mark a turning point in their lives. Transgender children visit the clinics at the onset of puberty to receive puberty blockers. These […]
Posted inLocal Government
‘Supposed to rehabilitate’: What to know about the Sedgwick County facility where Cedric Lofton was restrained
On Sept. 24, the Wichita Police Department brought 17-year-old Cedric Lofton to Sedgwick County’s Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, later describing him as “paranoid” and “behaving erratically.” Hours after his arrival, county corrections employees restrained Lofton face-down until he became unresponsive. Two days later, he died in the hospital. His death — which the district attorney […]
Posted inLocal Government
Contractors donate more than $20,000 to rip up plastic netting in Parkville’s wetlands
The plastic netting covering Parkville’s wetlands project will be gone by spring after city officials approved a $29,140 donation to remove the potentially hazardous material on the contractor’s dime. The netting is the most visible of several problems with the wetland restoration project in Platte Landing Park that the city of Parkville and U.S. Army […]
Posted inLocal Government, Watchdog
As vacancies grow, Wichita’s police review board cancels meeting
The Wichita Citizen’s Review Board canceled its meeting last week over growing vacancies on the panel and to allow more time to propose changes to its structure. The police review board was set to review two cases of alleged misconduct against Wichita Police Department officers as well as possible changes to how the board operates, […]