Sedgwick County is coming off a summer COVID wave as it heads into cold and flu season. Health officials hope that surge prompts far more people to sign up for the new COVID vaccine, which is recommended annually for people 6 months and older. Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported […]
covid
Posted inEducation
Pandemic learning: Federal money allows Wichita Public Schools to invest in summer programs
More than 2,800 students participated in the daylong summer programs that ran through June. Participating students in kindergarten through eighth grade regained knowledge they had lost, according to pre- and post-summer school assessments of their math and language skills. And nearly all parents of participating children felt teachers were well-prepared and made the experience fun for their children.
Posted inLocal Government
Is the city of Wichita understaffed? The Wichita Beacon analyzes a public sector staffing problem.
Gretchen Lenth, The Wichita Beacon’s Dow Jones News Fund data intern, contributed data analysis and graphics to this story. On the morning of June 28, Jeff Erker stood outside Wichita City Hall with his daughter and a sign that read “Support Wichita Firefighters.” Trucks and cars sped past, honking their support for the higher wages […]
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Kansas has $56 million to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage following pandemic
In the first quarter of 2022, the state of Kansas had nearly 10,000 past-due mortgages. Six of 10 of those mortgages were at least three months late and considered seriously delinquent, according to Marilyn Stanley, the program director for the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund. A new $56.6 million statewide program funded by the federal American […]
Posted inLocal Government
Wichita City Council approves $5 million affordable housing fund
The City Council voted on Tuesday to allocate $5 million for the creation of Wichita’s first affordable housing fund. The fund, which aims to increase the quality and quantity of affordable housing in Wichita, will be paid for with a portion of the city’s $72.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. The federal […]
Posted inLocal Government
Sedgwick County allocates all $100 million of its COVID recovery funds — to itself
Since COVID-19 began, the nonprofit Cairn Health has struggled to maintain its budget to provide health services to low-income individuals in Sedgwick County. “We have seen a decrease in our revenues because we’re primarily funded through what would be considered fundraising, either through the United Way’s fundraising or through our own,” said Aaron Walker, executive […]
Posted inLocal Government
The secret sauce behind Wichita’s success in distributing emergency housing vouchers
At the grocery store, pick up barbecue sauce, a jar of spaghetti sauce, elbow noodles and a chicken breast — without the bone. When you get home, boil water for noodles and add some barbecue sauce to the pot, for flavor. Fry your chicken. Pour the noodles into a bowl. Add chicken. Add spaghetti sauce. […]
Posted inCivic Engagement, Watchdog
Wichita nonprofit strives to vaccinate at least 400 unsheltered people by June
Social distancing is not a homeless shelter’s strong suit. But several mobile clinics are popping up in shelters in Wichita to vaccinate as many unsheltered people as possible against COVID — especially as winter temperatures force scores of people inside. The city of Wichita approved a $50,000 grant for United Way of the Plains to […]
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 inWatchdog
Hurdles too high for some Kansans seeking emergency rental assistance
Sheila Sager doesn’t know if she should pack her bags. Her twins caught COVID. The electric company was threatening to shut off the lights. Her landlord was preparing to sell the house she rented, irritated with her pleas to get his cooperation on rental assistance paperwork. Sager was unemployed and behind on her bills — […]