Taylor Swift Tickets Sell Out in Half an Hour

Tickets to the Taylor Swift concert at the new Intrust Bank Arena sold out in less than half an hour. Some people who had waited since six o’clock Friday morning left empty handed.

Scene Video: Waiting in Line for Taylor Swift Tickets

A lottery for the tickets began at 9:30 outside the arena in downtown Wichita. Officials decided on a lottery to ensure public safety and discourage people from camping out.

No one was supposed to start lining up until seven but people were waiting in their cars as early as four o’clock. At 9:30, officials held the drawing.

A six ticket limit didn’t slow things down. Arena officials say the lottery process went smoothly.

There was a small computer glitch when sales first started but it was quickly resolved.

Tickets from Friday’s sales and pre-orders are already selling online for three and four times their value.

SOURCE: KWCH

Tom Wiggans Still Recieves Democrat Support in Spite of Lawsuit

Prominent Kansas Democrats are still stading behind their presumed nominee for governor despite his recent settling of a lawsuit that led a top aide for the leading Republican hopeful to label him “a fraud.” An adviser to Democratic candidate Tom Wiggans said the former pharmaceutical company executive would stay in the race. In an e-mail to supporters, Wiggans described U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback’s campaign as a “smear machine.”

Brownback is the presumed Republican nominee and his campaign has attacked Wiggans over a federal lawsuit filed by shareholders in Connetics Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif., firm Wiggans once led. In October, a judge approved a settlement in which Wiggans, the company and others agreed to pay nearly $12.8 million, plus interest.

Documents filed in federal court in San Francisco said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing. The defendants denied the allegations, and Kansas Democrats suggested that such lawsuits are not unusual for businesses. “Tom is 100 percent committed to the governor’s race. No reconsideration,” Wiggans adviser Amy Jordan Wooden said in an e-mail.

Settlement would raise Kansas utility’s rates

Electric rates for 41,000 western and central Kansas households would rise an average of 7.5 percent under a proposed regulatory settlement.

The settlement involves Hays-based Mid-Kansas Electric Co., customer advocates, the Kansas Corporation Commission’s staff and other parties.

The KCC, which regulates utilities, has scheduled a hearing Friday on the settlement. The parties have asked the commission to approve it by mid-January.

The proposed changes would increase annual revenues for Mid-Kansas by about $15 million. The company initially had hoped for $20 million in rate increases.

Mid-Kansas was formed by six electric co-operatives in 2005, and rate increases would vary based on which one serves a customer.

SOURCE: Associated Press

Kansas to revise plans for Wichita area casino

TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposal for a state-owned casino near Wichita has been put on hold while the developers revise their proposal to better compete should an Indian tribe open a casino nearby. Developers had been seeking a state contract to build and operate a $225 million casino complex about 20 miles south of Wichita. But that plan was on hold Wednesday, because an earlier conference call between the developers, the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board and others raised concerns about the Wyandotte Nation’s long-standing plans for a casino north of the city.

The developers’ partnership, Chisholm Creek, asked the review board Tuesday to postpone its decision on the project, and the board agreed. Meanwhile, Doug Spangler, a lobbyist for the Wyandotte Nation, said the tribe doesn’t oppose the state’s proposal and will continue to pursue its plans, regardless of what the state does. “We wish that they would go ahead and build,” said Spangler, a former Kansas House member. “We have no objection to it at all.”

The northeast Oklahoma tribe bought 10 acres of land in Park City, Kan., in 1992 and has been waiting for more than a decade for U.S. Interior Department officials to agree to gambling there. The Wyandotte Nation already has a casino with limited gambling in downtown Kansas City, Kan., and four other tribes operate casinos in northeast Kansas with Las Vegas-style gambling. Those casinos all operate under federal law. A 2007 state law gives the Kansas Lottery authority to hire private developers to build and operate state-owned casinos.

But after two years of discussions among state officials and potential developers, Chisholm Creek is the only remaining bidder for a single Wichita-area contract. The state casino would be in Sumner County because Sedgwick County voters rejected the idea.
Chisholm Creek had planned to open its casino in September 2011, with at least 1,300 slot machines and 30 tables for games such as poker and blackjack. Nicholas Hecker, a Chisholm Creek representative, said it may now try to open sooner with a larger gambling floor. But Chisholm Creek and Kansas Lottery officials must agree on changes to the proposal, which the review board still must approve.

Spangler said the Wyandottes don’t know how soon they could build a casino. They’ve been waiting for federal approval since 1996, and last year, Kansas Attorney General Steve Six’s office sent a letter asking the federal agency to reject the tribe’s application. Six’s office noted that the tribe’s headquarters is 270 miles southeast of Park City, while federal law prefers casinos on or near reservation land.

Interior Department approval would allow the same limited gambling available at the Wyandotte casino in Kansas City. The tribe would have to negotiate a compact with the state for full, Las Vegas-style gambling. Chisholm Creek’s partners include Lakes Entertainment Inc., of Minnetonka, Minn., which has been involved in 11 Indian casinos in seven states. Others are Clairvest Group Inc., a Toronto merchant bank, and Och-Ziff Real Estate Acquisitions, based in New York.

SOURCE: Associated Press

Wyandotte County Gambling Casino Approved

The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board unanimously approved a roughly $700 million proposal for a Wyandotte County casino. The contract now goes to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission for a background check, commission spokesman Mike Deines said. The commission has 70 days to complete the check, he said.

On Sept. 10, Penn National Gaming Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) sought approval to buy The Cordish Co.’s 50 percent stake in Kansas Entertainment LLC. The other partner in Kansas Entertainment LLC is the Kansas Speedway, owned by International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA). Kansas Entertainment proposes a project that would include a casino, hotel, spa, convention center and entertainment/retail district.

Eric Schippers, senior vice president of public affairs for Penn Gaming, said in an interview that Penn effectively took Cordish’s place in Kansas Entertainment on Sept. 10. Penn’s payment for Cordish’s stake in Kansas Entertainment will change hands when the gaming license does, which is contingent on the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission’s final approval.

In the partnership with Cordish, the facility had been slated to bear the Hard Rock brand. With Penn, the facility would have a Hollywood theme.

Dennis Moore Vote For House Health Care Bill

Rep Dennis Moore, who represents Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, which includes Johnson and Wyandotte counties, plus a portion of Douglas County, vote for the legislation to reform our severely flawed health care system. H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

He says he voted for this bill because it addresses the issues of affordability, fiscal responsibility, quality and choice. We can no longer afford to do nothing. We must meet this challenge head-on. H.R. 3962 will place limits on insurance companies that indiscriminately drop individuals for pre-existing conditions, allowing the insurer to look only at the last 30 days for a pre-existing condition, instead of the current 6 month standard. Ultimately there will be a complete ban on the practice.

The legislation, he says, will begin to close the Medicare Part D “donut hole” immediately. Effective January 1, 2010, $500 per enrollee from Medicare will be used to shrink the prescription drug donut hole, closing the gap completely in 2019.

Medicare beneficiaries will also have the opportunity to reap the benefits of negotiated rates on name brand prescriptions as a result of these reforms, reducing the overall cost spent on medication every month. I have advocated this reform throughout my service in Congress. There will be NO cuts in benefits for Medicare enrollees.

The age ceiling for dependents would increase to 26, so parents can decide if they would like to extend their coverage to young adults. This is a particularly important provision given the number of young adults who lack health care after they leave college, but before they get a job.

This reform also provides for a “public option”, which extends basic, affordable health care to the 47,000 residents of our district who are uninsured, which ultimately reduces costs for their neighbors who now have insurance. The option will be available in a new health insurance exchange, where the uninsured and small employers will be able to comparison shop for standardized health packages.

He says this plan is fully paid for, so it will not add to our debt. We cannot begin to get the deficit under control without tackling the challenge of health care.

Baldwin City Voters Vote to INCREASE Taxes with ONLY 20% Voter Turnout

The first question, on renewing a half-cent sales tax that’s been in place since 1991, passed 66-33 percent. The second question, on a new quarter-cent sales tax to be used for “quality of life” projects was closer, but still 55 percent said yes, while 44 percent said no.

With 20 percent of the registered voters casting ballots, those 533 voters were more than the 381 who voted in the city’s last special election regarding Sunday sales of liquor in 2005.

I, personally, do not share the optimism that any mandate was reached in such low voter turnout. But its not unsual in these special elections. What city governments need to remember, though, is that they can pat themselves on the back for selling their increases to voters, but many of those “I dont care enough to vote” residents will show how much they care when they decide its too expensive to live there and move away.

U.S. Cellular to donate $1 million to schools

U.S. Cellular has taken a step to help schools as the economy’s slow recovery continues to take a heavy toll. The company is donating $1 million to schools.

“The need for additional funding has never been greater,” said Brian Ayers, spokesman for U.S. Cellular.

Calling All Communities will award $100,000 to 10 schools across the nation. Public and private schools (kindergarten through high school) are eligible to win.

From Nov. 13 to Jan. 15, individuals 19 years or older can visit any U.S. Cellular store to get a code to vote online for their school. There is no purchase necessary, and you don’t have to be a U.S. Cellular customer to vote. The 10 schools with the most votes will receive $100,000 to use however they choose.

Last year, seven of the 10 winning schools were from communities with less than 20,000 people, including one school from a town of 790 people. Any school truly can win, Ayers said in a press release.

Andover City Council Meeting Goes Into the Toilet

C.R. Nelson’s sense of humor usually provides some of the lighter moments during Andover’s city council meetings. That was the case yet again this week, when the Councilman brought up a public urination ordinance.

Nelson was told it wasn’t yet time to address that ordinance. “Sorry,” Nelson said. “As usual, I will do my best to hold it.”

That led to a few snickers, and there was a minute or two when mayor Ben Lawrence was trying so hard not to laugh he was unable to speak. But when the ordinance finally came up on the agenda, it was no laughing matter. Nelson made a motion to have the ordinance reworded by the city attorney with some leeway toward private golf courses. His reasoning was it was unrealistic to think the Andover police would come running every time a golfer relieved himself.

Caroline Hale of the City Council said she thought people would take advantage if the ordinance was reworded, and didn’t share Nelson’s concerns about wasting the time of the police. “I don’t think they’re going to be going out to enforce the golfers, who are hopefully hidden … if they’re doing something like this,” Hale said. “On the other hand, if there was someone on a golf course who was up close to a clubhouse or something in real public view, and maybe their behavior was affected by drinking or something anyway, that they would be saved because of that ordinance. … I think it’s common sense.”

Responded Nelson: “I appreciate the common sense the city has and I expect that to remain. However, I cannot think of a worse decision by a city council to pass an ordinance because it won’t be enforced.” J.R. Jessen of the Council, who is a golfer, then joined in.

“My thought process here is that it would be private golf courses,” he said. “In public golf courses you could get someone walking in someone’s backyard …. Private golf courses people have more respect than on public golf courses.”

Council member Julie Reams had a quick response, “Not when they’re drunk,” she said. “With all due respect, they don’t care where they are. They’ll pee wherever.”

Said Nelson: “Is this the liquor license statute? What are we talking about here? … It has nothing to do with alcohol.”

When it came to a vote, Nelson and Jessen voted to change the ordinance, while Hale, Reams and Sheri Geisler voted to keep it the way it was written. (Councilman Dave Tingley was not there.) Because it needed four votes to pass, Lawrence was asked to vote, he sided with the women, and the ordinance passed 4-2. “Sorry guys,” Lawrence said. “I do understand your point. … But my mother would kill me.”

“The reality is that both men and women will relieve themselves when necessary on a golf course whether they drink or not,” Nelson said. “I hate to get a law on the books where an overreation could occur. I know some people who can’t wait to find a violation of the law so they can call the cops, and here we go. What does a police officer do? In my opinion, he can’t ignore it. … I think there’s a tendency to say that anybody who has enough time to play golf – something bad ought to happen to them. The reality is a lot of people play golf and it’s a four to five hour program and (restrooms) aren’t available.”

Andover Police Chief Mike Keller said there hasn’t really been a problem with public urination – or window peeping, which was on the same ordinance. “We were just cleaning up a mistake that was made probably several years and ago and get it on the books,” Keller said. “I didn’t anticipate this kind of discussion. But I think it was good discussion. I think all the city council members made some good points. We don’t want have an ordinance that’s going to put an officer in a position where they have to make a choice. Either it’s illegal or legal. But police officers use discretion all the time on what the intent of the law is.”

SOURCE: Andover Scoofire

Dedicated to Carol Morgan; a Friend I once Knew but Lost…..

…sometimes our own lives interfere with living……….and the person who said that it is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all was a moron…