Community Bridge, Manhattan's alternative to talk radio, is now entering its fifth year on the air with another season dedicated to informing the public debate on issues of interest to Kansans.

When I started this program in June 2006, it was mostly to provide some balance to the other talk shows on KSDB 91.9 and commercial radio in the Manhattan area. Every talk show was presented from a rabid right-wing perspective.

For over a year, the K-State's Progressive Coalition had been trying to get a moderate to left of center show on the air waves, but were blocked by the executive staff of the station. Only after a talk show host had had a guest who on air referred to the film "Brokeback Mountain" as "bareback mounting" and used other expletives to describe gay and lesbian people, that resulted in a formal complaint being filed with the FCC, did space become available for an alternative to the toxic talk of Rush Limbaugh wannabes.

Community Bridge began with one goal: to provide community with quality programming from a progressive point of view. To that end the show has worked hard to inform the public debate and provide listeners with content that is not available on other local stations.

GREAT BEND, Kan. - A new poll released by KWCH-Channel 12 in Wichita shows that Mike Pompeo's TV ads, coupled with his attacks on Wink Hartman regarding Hartman's vacation home in Florida, have paid off.

A similar poll taken by KWCH-Channel 12 taken in February showed Hartman leading with 36%, State Senator Dick Kelsey at 11%, and Pompeo and State Senator Jean Schodorf at 10% each. Both polls were done by SurveyUSA at the request of Channel 12.

Actually, in the new poll, Hartman gained a point from the February poll, from 36% to 37%. But Pompeo gained a whopping 29% percentage points, from 10% in February to
39% now.

While the Pompeo/Hartman race is a statistical dead heat, Pompeo has the momentum now.

TOPEKA, Kan. - On Thursday, long-time Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley endorsed Chris Biggs for Secretary of State.

That is not very surprising in itself. After all, Biggs is the incumbent Secretary of State, appointed to the position by Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson. What was notable was that Hensley also called on Wyandotte County Senator Chris Steineger to withdraw from the primary and give his full support to Biggs.
Chris Biggs

In an open letter to Kansas Democrats, Hensley wrote:

Now Kris Kobach wants to be our next Kansas Secretary of State. Should he become the Republican nominee, Kansas Democrats need a strong candidate who will bring professional conduct to the office.

I believe the man to beat Kobach is our current Secretary of State, Chris Biggs.  Chris is a lifelong public servant.  He has the experience and integrity needed to go head-to-head with h and win.  It is important that we unite behind the strongest Democratic candidate and in this case the choice is clear:  Chris Biggs is the man for the job.

Read the open letter after the break...

GREAT BEND, Kan. - 3rd District Republican Congressional candidate Kevin Yoder inexplicably voted against the interests of Johnson County and the entire 3rd Congressional District by voting against the 2010 Comprehensive Highway Plan, and also voting against the funding mechanism for the plan.

I was fortunate to serve on the "Project Selection Process Working Group T-Link Task Force" regarding the new highway plan this past year. Although I always tried to bang the drum for more highways for Western Kansas, it was clear that Johnson County and Eastern Kansas had more immediate needs due to high traffic counts and population growth.

A decade earlier, in 1999, when Governor Graves presented his "Comprehensive Highway Plan," Rep. Patricia Lightner voted for it. She was a practical conservative, and did the right thing for Johnson County and her constituents. She is Yoder's main opponent in the August 3 Republican primary for Congress.

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The June 10th edition of Community Bridge, Manhattan's alternative to talk radio, featured the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Kansas Free Press, in a follow-up to our 2009 show about the online newspaper. Now in its eighth month of activity with over 70 writers, the Kansas Free Press provides Kansans with an alternative to the mainstream media.

She talks about how the Kansas Free Press has grown, what some future plans include, how people can support the newspaper, the mainstream media in Kansas, and the role Net Neutrality plays in allowing the Kansas Free Press to survive and reach its public.

Just click the arrow below to begin playing audio of the radio program:

(Or, download and save the original MP3 file)

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - In her first appearance with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Tom Holland, state Sen. Kelly Kultala said that she will file paperwork to begin campaigning as the Democratic candidate for Kansas Lieutenant Governor. Kultala, 51, is in her first term in the state senate serving District 5, which includes Ft. Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Lansing, western Kansas City, and Bonner Springs.

In announcing his choice of Sen. Kultala as his running mate, Sen. Holland contrasted their moderate campaign against that of Sam Brownback, who he refers to as the "Washington Insider,"

"Sam Brownback says he's a fiscal conservative, but he forked over billions in earmarks to his campaign donors. He pretends to be a champion of Main Street, but he treated Kansas as an obstacle to Wall Street's bottom line."

WICHITA, Kan. - Four experts discussed the new health care reform legislation at Wichita State University last Saturday. The experts were: Dr. Richard Skibba, David Wilson (President, Kansas AARP), Bev White (President and CEO of the Center for Health & Wellness), and Monica Flask (Director of Project Acress, Central Plains Regional Health Care Foundation)...

2010 Candidate for Attorney General
Sen. Derek Schmidt (R)GREAT BEND, Kan. - In 2002, Republican Governor Graves faced a $300 million budget shortfall. And a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans like Senator Derek Schmidt passed a $252 million dollar tax increase to prevent massive cuts to education, social services, highways and law enforcement.

Back then, Schmidt was unashamedly affiliated with the moderate Republican party. Kansas actually has three de facto parties: Democrats, moderate Republicans, and conservative Republicans. And Schmidt's entire career, up until this year, seemed to be a homage to his former boss and mentor, Nancy Kassebaum.

The tax increases Schmidt helped pass on May 16, 2002 included a sales tax increase, an inheritance tax increase, a cigarette tax, and an increased franchise tax for businesses, among other things.

COLBY, Kan. - A few days ago, Brad asked a question in his comment on Marty Keenan's post, addressing taxes and education. "So while I like the idea of people pressing their legislatures for more funding, how can one be sure the tax increase will be targeted to the programs we want?"

Well, Brad, in a perfect world you wouldn't need to worry about it, would you? However, we don't live in a perfect world. - too many of us imperfect human beings -

When the majority of us 'adults' have progressed beyond our infantile stage, when we were aware of only our immediate needs - dry diapers - warm milk - cozy covers - etc. - and learn that we can't always be the center of attention and that by screaming louder, we can't get what we want - then maybe we can expect society to understand equity and fair treatment for everyone.

UPDATED - See Below.

TOPEKA, Kan. - Buried in the 2011 Budget passed by the Kansas Legislature last week is a cut of 50% to the public radio and television stations in Kansas.

The Kansas House included a $903,161 cut in the annual budget allocation for public radio and television. The 50% cut affects stations statewide but has particular impact on stations in the western portion of the state, where the state funding represents a larger portion of the budget.

High Plains Public Radio (HPPR) has told its listeners that the station will see a cut of more than $120,000. Being that we are the doorstep of the new fiscal year, HPPR had already budgeted to receive the same allocation as they had in 2010.

For High Plains and the other public stations these cuts are drastic, without precedent, and threaten each public broadcasting station's ability to bring high-quality, independent, informative programs the state.