Johnson County

Kansas City Star Thursday editorial

The Kansas Legislature’s new budget, which takes effect July 1, will force hard choices for Johnson, Wyandotte and other Kansas counties.

By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Just because something seems like a good idea in big urban cities doesn’t mean we have to fall for it here in the Heartland. Case in point: urban chickens.

For starters, there are health issues, with disease and rodents topping the list. But more significantly, what’s the point?

Tough economic times have hit Johnson County, leading to lower housing values and stagnant tax revenues. But government services for residents aren’t facing major reductions, as they are in cash-strapped Kansas City.

SurbaughEilertBy Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

At the annual State of the County Address in Johnson County today, I asked Annabeth Surbaugh and Ed Eilert the same question:

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Good job, Ben Hodge.

The Johnson County Community College trustee last week helped the public get a glimpse at the college's possible budget reductions. Hodge released a list of those potential cutbacks after hearing about them at a closed trustee meeting.

A new audit of the Johnson County Health Department contains harsh phrases that county residents aren’t used to seeing when it comes to their generally smooth-running government.

Phrases like “ineffective management,” “erroneous budget submissions,” “general lack of knowledge,” “poor or non-existent record-keeping,” and “circumventing county policy.”

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

The overpopulation of deer in Shawnee Mission Park continues to vex Johnson County commissioners and parks officials.

They don't want to say the obvious:

It is time to kill some of the deer. Now.

Johnson County parks officials have failed for years to protect Shawnee Mission Park and its visitors from an overpopulation of deer. It’s time to cull the herd.

The county needs to develop a prudent plan to control the deer population by permitting a limited hunt.

Such a move would benefit the park’s vegetation, other animals and human visitors.

Johnson County officials need to ensure fair sewer rates for more than 130,000 customers who will be affected by Kansas City’s plan to fix its sewage system.

The city’s $2.5 billion program will have a costly impact on Johnson Countians whose raw sewage is sent over the state line for treatment.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

In good news for Kansans, Phill Kline lost again on Friday.

The Kansas Supreme Court harshly criticized the Johnson County district attorney and ordered him to give Planned Parenthood records to the Kansas attorney general, Steve Six.

Here's a striking excerpt from the opinion:

By Kurtis M. Ruf, Special to The Kansas City Star

The Kansas City area, and especially Johnson County, has historically had among the country’s lowest rates of mass transit usage. Recent fuel prices and a shift in environmental attitudes, however, have turned half-empty buses into standing-room-only on many routes.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

With the help of YouTube, voters have properly ousted John Toplikar from the Johnson County Commission.

On Tuesday morning, election officials announced that final tallies showed challenger Calvin Hayden had narrowly defeated Toplikar for the 6th District County Commission seat.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

I have a late, fortunate update to an earlier post about Johnson County Commission elections: It appears Calvin Hayden has ousted incumbent John Toplikar by just 52 votes.

Final, unofficial totals: Hayden with 17,632 votes to Toplikar's 17,580 votes.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

It was strike 1, strike 2 and strike 3 for Johnson Countians Tuesday. Early returns showed they failed to elect agents of change to the County Commission Tuesday.

Advance voters -- 38 percent of all registered voters -- gave big victories to:

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Is Dennis Moore getting desperate?

By now, the 3rd District U.S. House member ought to be coasting to another victory, as he has before. And he's usually running positive ads the last week of the campaign, sometimes even strumming a guitar.

Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008 Panelist

As I sorted my mail on Halloween, I screamed at a postcard with Judge Phill Kline written across the top in big, bold letters. It's a very unsettling thought, and it could easily happen if Johnson County residents vote to elect judges. Let's vote to keep politics out of the judicial system. It works quite nicely the way it is. And perhaps Phill Kline stop pretending to live in Johnson County.

The situation is familiar to many people in Kansas and western Missouri: Cancer patients seeking life-extending treatment pack up and travel to places like St. Louis, Omaha, Houston and Rochester, Minn.

It’s an exhausting drill. The good news is that efforts are under way to improve cancer care and expand treatment options in the Kansas City area.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Given John Toplikar's sign-stealing misadventures and subsequent behavior, Johnson County voters have seen enough of his embarrassing behavior. They need to oust him on Tuesday as the county commissioner for the 6th District.

By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

The parents of murdered teenager Kelsey Smith are upset with the way a Johnson County judge handled their daughter's case. They're using their displeasure to argue in favor of the ballot initiative that would have judges in Johnson County seated through partisan elections, instead of the non-partisan nominating and appointment process currently in place.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Do Johnson County voters believe the following story told by commissioner John Toplikar on Wednesday?

He moved the political signs of 6th District opponent Calvin Hayden on Saturday so they wouldn't block Toplikar's signs.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

John Toplikar's politically embarrassing YouTube Moment came over the weekend. It could (and should) help cost him re-election as a Johnson County Commissioner.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

This is not your typical go-along, get-along election cycle in Johnson County.

That’s encouraging news, because it means people with passionate arguments are supporting — and opposing — candidates and two important issues on November’s ballot.

Kansas voters have a better tool than ever before to evaluate judges who face a “yes” or “no” vote for retention on the Nov. 4 ballot.

A new commission, established by Kansas law, has prepared detailed “report cards” for judges on the Kansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and also for district judges in counties which seat judges through a nomination process, rather than elections.

Kansas voters in the 3rd U.S. House District face a choice between two appealing candidates who know how to work with others — including those in a different party — to get things done.

Rep. Dennis Moore, however, has clearly earned another term. As the nation faces a host of difficult challenges at home and abroad, his knowledge and clear thinking on critical issues are needed in Washington more than ever.

Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008 Panelist

The proposed Johnson County Scientific Research Triangle sounds like a great idea to me, but before we cast our votes for an eternal sales tax to fund it, we need to consider an important question: will our children be qualified to work there? US high school students rank a dismal 17th on the International Student Assessment Science test and 23rd on the Math test. If we are on the verge of becoming the "Joe six-pack nation" where we revere guys who drink a dozen beers a day, the situation will only get worse. Unless we guard our science standards and work to improve science and math education, Blue Valley included, our kids will be watching foreign born scientists working with our tax dollars.

Phill Kline’s defeat in the GOP primary gave Johnson County voters the opportunity to choose between two qualified prosecutors in the district attorney’s race.

Stronger professional credentials give Democrat Rick Guinn the edge over Republican Steve Howe.

Johnson County has made tremendous gains in economic clout and population in recent years. But the fast-growing county also faces a wide range of challenges that require effective and energetic leadership.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Supporters of the Johnson County research triangle tax increase have had some pretty receptive audiences so far. City officials, business groups and newspaper editorialists have been among them. But Thursday night is likely to be a whole different story.

The Kansas City region needs a much more robust higher education presence.

And no single university has the means to make that happen.

Those two realities have emerged in recent years as leaders have sought to help the region flourish in an economy that increasingly relies on information-based and science-based jobs.

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

The marketing of a $15-million-a-year sales-tax increase has begun in Johnson County. Voters need to take a close look at this tax. Several concerns exist; I'll address one today and others in the future.