Wichita’s largest abortion clinic remains closed more than a month after it stopped seeing patients, amid a dramatic shakeup in leadership and mass resignations by doctors and other key staff.
Internal tensions preceded sweeping changes at closed Wichita abortion clinic
Posted inEducation
Wichita school district takes heat for not involving more people in its $2.1 billion plan for fixing buildings
Shana Balton expects a bigger say before endorsing Wichita Public Schools’ big buildings plan. “The board needs to be willing to meet the community,” she said, “so that board members can understand how we are feeling.” Balton, a teacher at Pleasant Valley Middle School, learned more about the long-range, $2.1 billion plan for school district […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
How The Beacon helped bring attention to Wichita USD 259’s school district voting process
Beacon reporter Trace Salzbrenner published a series of articles in the summer and fall of 2022 that explored how Wichita elected school board members — and the ways that tended to stifle the votes of minority neighborhoods. His reporting showed that a citywide voting system essentially diminished the political influence of Wichita’s Black residents.. “I […]
Posted inKansas
Experts: U.S. hospitals prone to cyberattacks like one that hurt patient care at Ascension in Wichita
In the wake of a debilitating cyberattack against one of the nation’s largest health care systems, Marvin Ruckle, a nurse at an Ascension hospital in Wichita, said he had a frightening experience: He nearly gave a baby “the wrong dose of narcotic” because of confusing paperwork. Ruckle, who has worked in the neonatal intensive care […]
Posted inEducation
No zeros: How a new KCPS grading policy is meant to improve equity
Tricia McGhee, a KCPS parent, backs the 40% grade minimum. But she said the late work policy has been unclear and inconsistent in her daughters’ middle school.
Posted inLocal Government
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu supports nondiscrimination ordinance, but faces skepticism
Chris Pumpelly, founder of Proud of Wichita, said the LGBTQ+ community needs convincing that the mayor elected less than a year ago has their back.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Marcus Clem joins The Beacon as the new Wichita education reporter
The Beacon welcomed Marcus Clem as its new Wichita education reporter last week. Clem has worked as a multimedia journalist with a concentration in education for News-Press & Gazette Company and as copy editor for The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Augusta Chronicle through Morris Communications. He’s been a member of the Education Writers Association for […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas might use STAR bonds to lure Chiefs and Royals. Here’s how they worked on other projects
Kansas lawmakers have returned to Topeka for a special tax-cutting session and are expected to vote on a STAR bond proposal to finance a new stadium.
Posted inKansas
Kansas prisons will give doses of opioid antidote to some inmates when they’re released
Some inmates leaving Kansas prisons are returning to civilian life with a potentially lifesaving tool in hand. The Kansas Department of Corrections recently launched a program that provides the outgoing inmates with naloxone, the opioid antidote that can quickly reverse the effects of an overdose. The medication, which is also sold under the brand name […]
Posted inState Government
Two years after Roe v. Wade fell, what’s changed around abortion in Kansas?
It’s been two years since the U.S. The Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and remade the national landscape of abortion law. That ruling cleared the way for many states to ban abortion or enact restrictions on the procedure. Kansas voters, meantime, voted convincingly less than two months later to protect abortion rights, and […]