By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! We're reporting on the Legislature's disregard for open records law, a surge in tick bites, and private equity in youth sports.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
Lawmakers fritter away $20,000 battling Kansas Reflector. They could just admit they screwed up!
By Clay Wirestone
The Kansas Legislature treated its own law as a suggestion.
Now it wants to steal money from you to cover its tracks.
Top state officials decided to snatch $20,000 from the wallets of taxpayers in a flagrantly ridiculous quest, hiring a lawyer to defend a lawmaker over a complaint filed by Kansas Reflector. No one on our end requested such a move, but the Legislative Coordinating Council moved forward on Thursday nonetheless.
It’s absurd. It’s pointless. And it could all be solved if lawmakers took responsibility for their actions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Tick bites are surging in the US this year. Here’s what to know.
WASHINGTON — The prime time for ticks is here in the United States, and after an especially active start to the season, experts are urging the public to stay alert and take preventive measures.
Monthly emergency department visits for tick bites in April spiked to their highest level since 2017 and continued to remain high throughout May and June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tick bite tracker.
Getty Images
Bipartisan support on US House panel for examining private equity in youth sports
WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Workforce subcommittee found rare common ground scrutinizing private equity’s stake in youth sports at a Tuesday hearing.
Lawmakers from both parties on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education stressed the importance of making sports accessible to all kids and discussed ways to prevent large companies from buying up facilities and raising costs on families.
Financing from private companies can have benefits for youth sports, but can also make participation more expensive, they said.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kansas City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
5:30 p.m. July 23, Emporia Art Center. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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