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In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Was it "Trump" or "Bernie" that incited a fight, and how does the Wichita Eagle opine? Economic development in Wichita. Blight and property rights. Teachers unions. Explaining capitalism. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 117, broadcast April 24, 2016.
Tag Archives: Downtown Wichita revitalization
Articles about the redevelopment of downtown Wichita and its impact on the economic freedom of Wichitans.
How to turn $399,000 into $65,000 in downtown Wichita
Once embraced by Wichita officials as heroes, real estate listings for two floors of a downtown Wichita office building illustrate the carnage left behind by two developers.
A decade ago the "Minnesota Guys" were the darlings of downtown Wichita. With a controversial form of real estate ownership — tenancy in common — they promised to revive downtown Wichita. City officials and civic leaders praised them. The city council found them so endearing that it awarded the Minnesota Guys over $10 million in tax increment financing — later increased at their request — although the developers were never able to tap into those funds. Now the two developers are facing numerous felony charges relating to securities violations.
This week the Wichita Business Journal reports that two floors of a prominent downtown office building are for sale at very low prices. The building is Broadway Plaza at 105 S. Broadway.
In 2007 the fourth floor of this building had an appraised value of $388,000, according to Sedgwick County records. The value fell to $210,900 the next year and stayed at that value for five years. Now the appraised value is $98,000.
The value of the eleventh floor followed a similar trajectory, being valued at $399,000 in 2007, falling to $160,100 for four years, and now appraised at $82,300.
Now the asking price for each floor is $65,000. At attempt at sale at auction earlier this year failed to produce any bids. The asking price represents a cost of about $13 per square foot. That's less than the annual rent for class A office space in Wichita, downtown and suburban.
In 2011 I reported on how some downtown Wichita properties are plummeting in value:
A strategy of Real Development — the "Minnesota Guys" — in Wichita has been to develop and sell floors of downtown office buildings as condominiums. Some of these floors have been foreclosed upon and have come back on the market. Some once carried mortgages of $400,000 or more, meaning that at one point a bank thought they were worth at least that much. But now four floors in the Broadway Plaza Building, three floors of the Petroleum Building, two floors of Sutton Place, and one floor of the Orpheum Office Center are available for sale at prices not much over $100,000, ranging from $14 to $25 per square foot. Other downtown office buildings — very plain properties — are listed at much higher prices. For example, one downtown property is listed at $82 per square foot. … Some of these floors have had declining appraisals. According to the Sedgwick County Treasurer, the fifth floor of Sutton Place, which is listed for sale at $135,000, was appraised in 2008 for $530,900. In 2009 the appraised value dropped to $215,000.
Intrust Bank Arena loss for 2014 is $5 million
The depreciation expense of Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita recognizes and accounts for the sacrifices of the people of Sedgwick County and its visitors to pay for the arena. But no one wants to talk about this.
The true state of the finances of the Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita are not often a subject of public discussion. Arena boosters promote a revenue-sharing arrangement between the county and the arena operator, referring to this as profit or loss. But this arrangement is not an accurate and complete accounting, and hides the true economics of the arena. What's missing is depreciation expense.
In February the Wichita Eagle reported: "The arena's net income for 2014 came in at $122,853, all of which will go to SMG, the company that operates the facility under contract with the county, Assistant County Manager Ron Holt said Wednesday." A reading of the minutes for the February 11 meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission finds Holt mentioning depreciation expense not a single time. Strike one.
Last December, in a look at the first five years of the arena, its manager told the Wichita Eagle this: "'We know from a financial standpoint, the building has been successful. Every year, it's always been in the black, and there are a lot of buildings that don't have that, so it's a great achievement,' said A.J. Boleski, the arena's general manager." Strike two.
I didn't notice the Eagle opinion page editorializing this year on the release of the arena's profitability figures. So here's an example of incomplete editorializing from Rhonda Holman, who opined "Though great news for taxpayers, that oversize check for $255,678 presented to Sedgwick County last week reflected Intrust Bank Arena's past, specifically the county's share of 2013 profits." (Earlier reporting on this topic in the Eagle in 2013 did not mention depreciation expense, either.) Strike three in the search for truthful accounting of the arena's finances.
The problem with the reporting of Intrust Bank Arena profits
There are at least two ways of looking at the finance of the arena. Most attention is given to the "profit" (or loss) earned by the arena for the county according to an operating and management agreement between the county and SMG, a company that operates the arena.
This agreement specifies a revenue sharing mechanism between the county and SMG. For 2103, the accounting method used in this agreement produced a profit of $705,678, to be split (not equally) between SMG and the county. The county's share, as Holman touted in her Eagle op-ed, was $255,678. (Presumably that's after deducting the cost of producing an oversize check for the television cameras.)
For 2014, the arena's profit was $122,853. All that goes to SMG, based on the revenue-sharing agreement.
While described as "profit" by many, this payment does not represent any sort of "profit" or "earnings" in the usual sense. In fact, the introductory letter that accompanies these calculations warns readers that these are "not intended to be a complete presentation of INTRUST Bank Arena's financial position and results of operations and are not intended to be a presentation in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America."
That bears repeating: This is not a reckoning of profit and loss in any recognized sense. It is simply an agreement between Sedgwick County and SMG as to how SMG is to be paid, and how the county participates.
A much better reckoning of the economics of the Intrust Bank Arena can be found in the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Sedgwick County. This document holds additional information about the finances of the Intrust Bank Arena. The CAFR, as described by the county, "… is a review of what occurred financially last year. In that respect, it is a report card of our ability to manage our financial resources."
Regarding the arena, the CAFR states:
The Arena Fund represents the activity of the INTRUST Bank Arena. The facility is operated by a private company; the county incurs expenses only for certain capital improvements or major repairs and depreciation, and receives as revenue only a share of profits earned by the operator, if any, and naming rights fees. The Arena had an operating loss of $5.0 million. The loss can be attributed to $5.2 million in depreciation expense.
Financial statements in the same document show that $5,157,424 was charged for depreciation in 2014, bringing accumulated depreciation to a total of $26,347,705.
Depreciation expense is not something that is paid out in cash. Sedgwick County didn't write a check for $5,157,424 to pay depreciation expense. Instead, depreciation accounting provides a way to recognize and account for the cost of long-lived assets over their lifespan. It provides a way to recognize opportunity costs, that is, what could be done with our resources if not spent on the arena.
But not many of our public leaders recognize this. In years past, Commissioner Dave Unruh made remarks that show the severe misunderstanding that he and almost everyone labor under regarding the nature of the spending on the arena: "I want to underscore the fact that the citizens of Sedgwick County voted to pay for this facility in advance. And so not having debt service on it is just a huge benefit to our government and to the citizens, so we can go forward without having to having to worry about making those payments and still show positive cash flow. So it's still a great benefit to our community and I'm still pleased with this report."
Earlier in this article we saw examples of the Sedgwick County Assistant Manager, the Intrust Bank Arena manager, and several Wichita Eagle writers making the same mistake.
The contention — witting or not — of all these people is that the capital investment of $183,625,241 (not including an operating and maintenance reserve) in the arena is merely a historical artifact, something that happened in the past, something that has no bearing today. There is no opportunity cost, according to this view. This attitude, however, disrespects the sacrifices of the people of Sedgwick County and its visitors to raise those funds. Since Kansas is one of the few states that adds sales tax to food, low-income households paid extra sales tax on their groceries to pay for the arena — an arena where they may not be able to afford tickets.
Any honest accounting or reckoning of the performance of Intrust Bank Arena must take depreciation into account. While Unruh is correct that depreciation expense is not a cash expense that affects cash flow, it is an economic fact that can't be ignored — except by politicians, apparently. The Wichita Eagle aids in promoting this deception.
We see our governmental and civic leaders telling us that we must "run government like a business." Without frank and realistic discussion of numbers like these and the economic facts they represent, we make decisions based on incomplete and false information.
No-bid contracts still passed by Wichita city council
Despite a policy change, the Wichita city council still votes for no-bid contracts paid for with taxpayer funds.
In the current campaign for Wichita mayor, one candidates says he never has voted for no-bid contracts: "[Longwell] also takes issue with the claim he has ever voted for any no-bid contract, something he says his voting record will back up. 'That's the beauty of having a voting record,' he says." Mayoral candidate Williams decries 'crony capitalism' of critics, Wichita Business Journal, March 12, 2015
We don't have to look very hard to find an example that contradicts Longwell's claim of never voting for a no-bid contract. Minutes from the August 9, 2011 meeting of the city council show that there was discussion about the no-bid contract for the garage benefiting the Ambassador Hotel. Then-council member Michael O'Donnell questioned if the city was getting the best deal for taxpayers, since the garage was to be built with public funds. O'Donnell was told that the no-bid contract was at "the developer's request." These developers include principals and executives of Key Construction and Dave Burk, all who have been generous and consistent funders of Longwell's campaigns.
But we don't have to go back that far to find voting for no-bid contracts paid for with taxpayer funds. Longwell has voted several times in favor of the Exchange Place project, starting when it was a project of the Minnesota Guys. The latest such vote was on March 3, 2015, when Longwell voted in favor of a project that contained this benefit, according to city documents: "The City will also provide TIF funding in an amount not to exceed $12,500,000 for the acquisition of land and construction of the parking structure."
This garage, to be paid for through public funds, was not competitively bid. Despite the garage being pitched as a public good, most parking spaces are for the exclusive benefit of Exchange Place.
Impetus for change
The votes by Longwell and others for no-bid contracts sparked the city manager to ask for a change in policy. The Wichita Eagle reported in 2012:
The days of awarding construction projects without taking competitive bids might be numbered at City Hall if City Manager Robert Layton has his way, especially with public projects such as parking garages that are part of private commercial development.
Layton said last week that he intends to ask the City Council for a policy change against those no-bid contracts.
Three years later, Longwell and others are still voting to spend taxpayer funds on no-bid contracts.
Minutes from August 8, 2011 meeting
Council Member O'Donnell stated and we will not being going out to bid to find the best
deal on that and are just awarding.
Allen Bell Urban Development Director stated that is the developer's request. Council Member O'Donnell asked if that is City precedent and that with a government project in the tune of $6 million dollars, does not have to be sent out for bid?
Gary Rebenstorf Director of Law stated we have Charter Ordinance No. 203 that has been adopted by the City Council, which provides a procedure to exempt these types of projects from the bidding requirements from the City and has to meet certain requirements in order for it to be used by the Council. Stated the most significant is that there has to be a public hearing and has to be a 2/3 vote by the Council to approve this development agreement that sets up this type of project.
Council Member O'Donnell stated he is glad the media is here to pick up on that because he thinks that $6 million dollars is a lot of money and to just award that to a contractor that has special ties to campaign finance reports of everyone on the City Council except himself, seems questionable.
A Wichita Shocker, redux
Based on events in Wichita, the Wall Street Journal wrote "What Americans seem to want most from government these days is equal treatment. They increasingly realize that powerful government nearly always helps the powerful …" But Wichita's elites don't seem to understand this.
Three years ago from today the Wall Street Journal noted something it thought remarkable: a "voter revolt" in Wichita. Citizens overturned a decision by the Wichita City Council regarding an economic development incentive awarded to a downtown hotel. It was the ninth layer of subsidy for the hotel, and because of our laws, it was the only subsidy that citizens could contest through a referendum process.
In its op-ed, the Journal wrote:
The elites are stunned, but they shouldn't be. The core issue is fairness — and not of the soak-the-rich kind that President Obama practices. One of the leaders of the opposition, Derrick Sontag, director of Americans for Prosperity in Kansas, says that what infuriated voters was the veneer of "political cronyism."
What Americans seem to want most from government these days is equal treatment. They increasingly realize that powerful government nearly always helps the powerful, whether the beneficiaries are a union that can carve a sweet deal as part of an auto bailout or corporations that can hire lobbyists to write a tax loophole.
The "elites" referred to include the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, the political class, and the city newspaper. Since then, the influence of these elites has declined. Last year all three campaigned for a sales tax increase in Wichita, but voters rejected it by a large margin. It seems that voters are increasingly aware of the cronyism of the elites and the harm it causes the Wichita-area economy.
Last year as part of the campaign for the higher sales tax the Wichita Chamber admitted that Wichita lags in job creation. The other elites agreed. But none took responsibility for having managed the Wichita economy into the dumpster. Even today the local economic development agency — which is a subsidiary of the Wichita Chamber — seeks to shift blame instead of realizing the need for reform. The city council still layers on the levels of subsidy for its cronies.
Following, from March 2012:
A Wichita shocker
"Local politicians like to get in bed with local business, and taxpayers are usually the losers. So three cheers for a voter revolt in Wichita, Kansas last week that shows such sweetheart deals can be defeated." So starts today's Wall Street Journal Review & Outlook editorial (subscription required), taking notice of the special election last week in Wichita.
The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is one of the most prominent voices for free markets and limited government in America. Over and over Journal editors expose crony capitalism and corporate welfare schemes, and they waste few words in condemning these harmful practices.
The three Republican members of the Wichita City Council who consider themselves fiscal conservatives but nonetheless voted for the corporate welfare that voters rejected — Pete Meitzner (district 2, east Wichita), James Clendenin (district 3, southeast and south Wichita), and Jeff Longwell (district 5, west and northwest Wichita) — need to consider this a wake up call. These members, it should be noted, routinely vote in concert with the Democrats and liberals on the council.
For good measure, we should note that Sedgwick County Commission Republicans Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton routinely — but not always — vote for these crony capitalist measures.
The Wichita business community, headed by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce endorsed this measure, too.
Hopefully this election will convince Wichita's political and bureaucratic leaders that our economic development policies are not working. Combined with the startling findings by a Tax Foundation and KMPG study that finds Kansas lags near the bottom of the states in tax costs to business, the need for reform of our spending and taxing practices couldn't be more evident. It is now up to our leaders to find within themselves the capability to change — or we all shall suffer.
WichitaLiberty.TV: A downtown Wichita deal shows some of the problems with the Wichita economy
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: We'll examine the city council's action regarding a downtown Wichita development project and how it is harmful to Wichita taxpayers and the economy. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 77, broadcast March 8, 2015.
The lights are off, and then they're off
A problem with wasteful spending in downtown Wichita is gradually curing itself, creating another problem in its place.
A bench at the heart of downtown Wichita should be illuminated at night by four lights. Only one light works, probably because the others have been left switched on 24 hours per day.
So wasteful spending on street lights during the day is being replaced by unlit streets at night.
What message does wasteful spending on street lights during the day send?
Perhaps more importantly, what impression does nonfunctioning lights at night create — three of four at this bench? And at one of our major downtown intersections? Across the street from our nice boutique hotel?
Is this the "walkable" downtown we're trying to create?
I suppose that Wichita city leaders want to be seen taking care of our larger problems, and of those, we have a few. But this long-running problem with lights at this downtown street side bench needs to be taken care of soon. Visitors to our town may not be aware of the lofty and sweeping rhetoric of our mayor, bureaucrats, and civic leaders.
But they do notice the downtown street lights.
Wichita city hall falls short in taxpayer protection
An incentives agreement the Wichita city council passed on first reading is missing several items that city policy requires. How the council and city staff handle the second reading of this ordinance will let us know for whose interests city hall works: citizens, or cronies.
This week I presented the Wichita City Council my concerns about an inadequate developer agreement for a TIF district development project, the Mosley Avenue Project.
My presentation centered on the lack of an agreement by the developer to forgo appeals of the tax valuation of the property. The applicant had done this in the past, and it caused a shortfall of TIF revenue that the city had to makeup. The city manager had said that taxpayers would be protected in future deals, but the city did not include this protection in the Mosely agreement.
The omission of this taxpayer protection was not all that was missing. The Downtown Development Incentives Policy, revised by the council on June 10, 2014, calls for several items to be supplied when seeking incentives, including tax increment financing, which was the incentive requested for the Mosely project. As I show below, many significant items related to taxpayer protection were missing.
The council approved the project on first reading, noting that the development agreement would be finalized in time for second reading.
This is insufficient. The second reading of an ordinance is usually handled as part of the consent agenda. This is a grouping of items that are voted on as a group, in bulk. There is no discussion unless a council member specifically requests. The practice of the city is that the text of the ordinances on second reading is not made available in the agenda packet, even though changes may have been made between first reading and second reading. That will certainly be the case with this ordinance, as many things are missing from the development agreement.
It's not clear why there is a first reading and a second reading of an ordinance. It may be so that details may be corrected. Or, perhaps council members would like to have a chance to reconsider their first vote. City code seems to give no guidance as to how much change to an ordinance is allowable between first and second reading.
The problem we face in Wichita is that the approval of a development plan in a TIF district has a mandated public hearing. It is not optional. But the motion passed by the council this week closed the public hearing. Yet, the city will need to make substantial changes to the ordinance and development agreement if it intends to follow the downtown incentives policy that it created. But the public will have no chance to comment on the new material. If past city practice is followed, the new material will not be made available to the public, and perhaps not to council members.
This is a conflict that I do not believe can be resolved unless the city reopens the public hearing for consideration of the revised ordinance and developer agreement on first reading. Anything else disrespects procedures that are designed to benefit and protect the public.
Except. As with many city council policies, there are loopholes. As outlined below, the council can simply vote to waive the requirements of the downtown incentives policy. That gives the council an easy out. But that makes another mockery of the city's policies, if the council waives them whenever they are inconvenient.
When I presented the defect in the development agreement to the council I asked: Is this lack of taxpayer protection an oversight, or is it by design? There was no answer.
I did not ask this question, but didn't any city council member notice the omission of significant items needed to comply with its own policies? What about the city manager? Economic development director? City attorney?
More importantly, who in city hall looking out for the interests of taxpayers? Could the generous campaign contributions of Burk and his wife be a factor in this missing taxpayer protection? Or the generous contributions of Key Construction and its executives? (Key Construction is frequently used by Burk.) This is one more incident illustrating the need for campaign finance reform in Wichita.
Missing items
Section D of the incentives policy states "parties requesting Downtown Development Incentives must submit the information listed below." Significant missing items included the following:
CEDBR Fiscal Impact Model
The idea behind the city's use of economic development incentives is that the city receives more than it spends or forgoes in future tax revenue. An analysis performed by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR) at Wichita State University is used to make this decision. This appears to have not been done for this project.
Guarantee for a proportional share of public revenue shortfall
This was not present in the developer agreement.
Economic analysis confirms that the project is infeasible "but for" public investment
This was not present in the developer agreement.
Minimum private to public capital investment ratio of 2 to 1
Information necessary to make this judgment was not included in the agenda presentation.
Pro Forma
The incentives policy states: "Pro Forma — The project pro forma will be evaluated on the following criteria:
a. Rate of private investment return
b. Rents/prices consistent with performance of comparables
c. Projected rate of absorption consistent with performance of comparables
d. Long-term project solvency"
It appears that this analysis was not performed.
"Gap" Financing Requirement
The downtown incentives policy states: "Approval of Downtown Development Incentives will require a financial analysis demonstrating that the project would not otherwise be possible without the use of the requested development incentive ("gap" analysis). Parties requesting Downtown Development Incentives will be required to provide the City pro forma cash flow analyses and sources and uses of funds in sufficient detail to demonstrate that reasonably available conventional debt and equity financing sources are not available to fund the entire cost of the project and still provide the developer a reasonable market rate of return on investment."
There is no evidence that this analysis was performed and made available to the council.
The incentives policy contains a loophole. If the council believes it is "inappropriate to evaluate a particular request for Downtown Development Incentives" using the policy, it may vote to waive the requirements.
Wichita TIF projects: some background
Tax increment financing disrupts the usual flow of tax dollars, routing funds away from cash-strapped cities, counties, and schools back to the TIF-financed development. TIF creates distortions in the way cities develop, and researchers find that the use of TIF means lower economic growth.
The consideration this week by the Wichita City Council of two project plans in tax increment financing districts offers an opportunity to examine the issues surrounding TIF.
How TIF works
A TIF district is a geographically-defined area.
In Kansas, TIF takes two or more steps. The first step is that cities or counties establish the boundaries of the TIF district. After the TIF district is defined, cities then must approve one or more project plans that authorize the spending of TIF funds in specific ways. In Kansas, overlapping counties and school districts have an opportunity to veto the formation of the TIF district, but this rarely happens. Once the district is formed, cities and counties have no ability to object to TIF project plans.
Before the formation of the TIF district, the property pays taxes to the city, county, school district, and state as can be seen in figure 1. Because property considered for TIF is purportedly blighted, the amount of tax paid is usually small. Whatever it is, that level is called the "base."
After approval of one or more TIF project plans the city borrows money and gives it to the project or development. The city now has additional debt in the form of TIF bonds that require annual payments. Figure 2 illustrates. (There is now another form of TIF known as "pay-as-you-go" that works differently, but produces much the same economic effect.)
Figure 3 shows the flow of tax revenue after the formation of the TIF district and after the completion of a project. Because buildings were built or renovated, the property is worth more, and the property tax is now higher. The development now has two streams of property tax payments that are handled in different ways. The original tax — the "base" — is handled just like before, distributed to city, state, school district, and the state, according to their mill levy rates. The difference between the new tax and the base tax — the "increment" — is handled differently. It goes to only two destinations (mostly): The State of Kansas, and repayment of the TIF bonds.
Figure 4 highlights the difference in the flow of tax revenues. The top portion of the illustration shows development outside of TIF. We see the flows of tax payments to city, county, school district, and the state. In the bottom portion, which shows development under TIF, the tax flows to city, county, and school district are missing. No longer does a property contribute to the support of these three units of government, although the property undoubtedly requires the services of them. This is especially true for a property in Old Town, which consumes large amounts of policing.
(Cities, counties, and school districts still receive the base tax payments, but these are usually small, much smaller than the incremental taxes. In non-TIF development, these agencies still receive the base taxes too, plus whatever taxes result from improvement of the property — the "increment," so to speak. Or simply, all taxes.)
The Kansas law governing TIF, or redevelopment districts as they are also called, starts at K.S.A. 12-1770.
TIF and public policy
Originally most states included a "but for" test that TIF districts must meet. That is, the proposed development could not happen but for the benefits of TIF. Many states have dropped this requirement. At any rate, developers can always present proposals that show financial necessity for subsidy, and gullible government officials will believe.
Similarly, TIF was originally promoted as a way to cure blight. But cities are so creative and expansive in their interpretation of blight that this requirement, if it still exists, has little meaning.
The rerouting of property taxes under TIF goes against the grain of the way taxes are usually rationalized. We use taxation as a way to pay for services that everyone benefits from, and from which we can't exclude people. An example would be police protection. Everyone benefits from being safe, and we can't exclude people from benefiting from police protection.
So when we pay property tax — or any tax, for that matter — people may be comforted knowing that it goes towards police and fire protection, street lights, schools, and the like. (Of course, some is wasted, and government is not the only way these services, especially education, could be provided.)
But TIF is contrary to this justification of taxes. TIF allows property taxes to be used for one person's (or group of persons) exclusive benefit. This violates the principle of broad-based taxation to pay for an array of services for everyone. Remember: What was the purpose of the TIF bonds? To pay for things that benefited the development. Now, the development's property taxes are being used to repay those bonds instead of funding government.
One more thing: Defenders of TIF will say that the developers will pay all their property taxes. This is true, but only on a superficial level. We now see that the lion's share of the property taxes paid by TIF developers are routed back to them for their own benefit.
It's only infrastructure
In their justification of TIF in general, or specific projects, proponents may say that TIF dollars are spent only on allowable purposes. Usually a prominent portion of TIF dollars are spent on infrastructure. This allows TIF proponents to say the money isn't really being spent for the benefit of a specific project. It's spent on infrastructure, they say, which they contend is something that benefits everyone, not one project specifically. Therefore, everyone ought to pay.
This attitude is represented by a comment left at Voice for Liberty, which contended: "The thing is that real estate developers do not invest in public streets, sidewalks and lamp posts, because there would be no incentive to do so. Why spend millions of dollars redoing or constructing public streets when you can not get a return on investment for that"
This perception is common: that when we see developers building something, the City of Wichita builds the supporting infrastructure at no cost to the developers. But it isn't quite so. About a decade ago a project was being developed on the east side of Wichita, the Waterfront. This project was built on vacant land. Here's what I found when I searched for City of Wichita resolutions concerning this project:
Note specifically one item: $1,672,000 for the construction of Waterfront Parkway. To anyone driving or walking in this area, they would think this is just another city street — although a very nicely designed and landscaped street. But the city did not pay for this street. Private developers paid for this infrastructure. Other resolutions resulted in the same developers paying for street lights, traffic signals, sewers, water pipes, and turning lanes on major city streets. All this is infrastructure that we're told real estate developers will not pay for. But in order to build the Waterfront development, private developers did, with a total cost of these projects being $3,334,500. (It's likely I did not find all the resolutions and costs pertaining to this project, and more development has happened since this research.)
In a TIF district, these things are called "infrastructure" and will be paid for by the development's own property taxes — taxes that must be paid in any case. Outside of TIF districts, developers pay for these things themselves.
If not for TIF, nothing will happen here
Generally, TIF is justified using the "but-for" argument. That is, nothing will happen within a district unless the subsidy of TIF is used. Paul F. Byrne explains:
"The but-for provision refers to the statutory requirement that an incentive cannot be awarded unless the supported economic activity would not occur but for the incentive being offered. This provision has economic importance because if a firm would locate in a particular jurisdiction with or without receiving the economic incentive, then the economic impact of offering the incentive is non-existent. … The but-for provision represents the legislature's attempt at preventing a local jurisdiction from awarding more than the minimum incentive necessary to induce a firm to locate within the jurisdiction. However, while a firm receiving the incentive is well aware of the minimum incentive necessary, the municipality is not."
It's often thought that when a but-for justification is required in order to receive an economic development incentive, financial figures can be produced that show such need. Now, recent research shows that the but-for justification is problematic. In Does Chicago's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Programme Pass the 'But-for' Test? Job Creation and Economic Development Impacts Using Time-series Data, author T. William Lester looked at block-level data regarding employment growth and private real estate development. The abstract of the paper describes:
"This paper conducts a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of Chicago's TIF program in creating economic opportunities and catalyzing real estate investments at the neighborhood scale. This paper uses a unique panel dataset at the block group level to analyze the impact of TIF designation and investments on employment change, business creation, and building permit activity. After controlling for potential selection bias in TIF assignment, this paper shows that TIF ultimately fails the 'but-for' test and shows no evidence of increasing tangible economic development benefits for local residents." (emphasis added)
In the paper, the author clarifies:
"To clarify these findings, this analysis does not indicate that no building activity or job crea-tion occurred in TIFed block groups, or resulted from TIF projects. Rather, the level of these activities was no faster than similar areas of the city which did not receive TIF assistance. It is in this aspect of the research design that we are able to conclude that the development seen in and around Chicago's TIF districts would have likely occurred without the TIF subsidy. In other words, on the whole, Chicago's TIF program fails the 'but-for' test.
Later on, for emphasis:
"While the findings of this paper are clear and decisive, it is important to comment here on their exact extent and external validity, and to discuss the limitations of this analysis. First, the findings do not indicate that overall employment growth in the City of Chicago was negative or flat during this period. Nor does this research design enable us to claim that any given TIF-funded project did not end up creating jobs. Rather, we conclude that on-average, across the whole city, TIF was unsuccessful in jumpstarting economic development activity — relative to what would have likely occurred otherwise." (emphasis in original)
The author notes that these conclusions are specific to Chicago's use of TIF, but should "should serve as a cautionary tale."
The paper reinforces the problem of using tax revenue for private purposes, rather than for public benefit: "Essentially, Chicago's extensive use of TIF can be interpreted as the siphoning off of public revenue for largely private-sector purposes. Although, TIF proponents argue that the public receives enhanced economic opportunity in the bargain, the findings of this paper show that the bargain is in fact no bargain at all."
TIF is social engineering
TIF represents social engineering. By using it, city government has decided that it knows best where development should be directed. In particular, the Wichita city council has decided that Old Town and downtown development is on a superior moral plane to other development. Therefore, we all have to pay higher taxes to support this development. What is the basis for saying Old Town developers don't have to pay for their infrastructure, but developers in other parts of the city must pay?
TIF doesn't work
Does TIF work? It depends on what the meaning of "work" is.
If by working, do we mean does TIF induce development? If so, then TIF usually works. When the city authorizes a TIF project plan, something usually gets built or renovated. But this definition of "works" must be tempered by a few considerations.
Does TIF pay for itself?
First, is the project self-sustaining? That is, is the incremental property tax revenue sufficient to repay the TIF bonds? This has not been the case with all TIF projects in Wichita. The city has had to bail out two TIFs, one with a no-interest and low-interest loan that cost city taxpayers an estimated $1.2 million.
The verge of corruption
Second, does the use of TIF promote a civil society, or does it lead to cronyism? Randal O'Toole has written:
"TIF puts city officials on the verge of corruption, favoring some developers and property owners over others. TIF creates what economists call a moral hazard for developers. If you are a developer and your competitors are getting subsidies, you may simply fold your hands and wait until someone offers you a subsidy before you make any investments in new development. In many cities, TIF is a major source of government corruption, as city leaders hand tax dollars over to developers who then make campaign contributions to re-elect those leaders."
We see this in Wichita, where the regular recipients of TIF benefits are also regular contributors to the political campaigns of those who are in a position to give them benefits. The corruption is not illegal, but it is real and harmful, and calls out for reform. See In Wichita, the need for campaign finance reform.
The effect of TIF on everyone
Third, what about the effect of TIF on everyone, that is, the entire city or region? Economists have studied this matter, and have concluded that in most cases, the effect is negative.
An example are economists Richard F. Dye and David F. Merriman, who have studied tax increment financing extensively. Their article Tax Increment Financing: A Tool for Local Economic Development states in its conclusion:
"TIF districts grow much faster than other areas in their host municipalities. TIF boosters or naive analysts might point to this as evidence of the success of tax increment financing, but they would be wrong. Observing high growth in an area targeted for development is unremarkable."
So TIF districts are good for the favored development that receives the subsidy — not a surprising finding. What about the rest of the city? Continuing from the same study:
"If the use of tax increment financing stimulates economic development, there should be a positive relationship between TIF adoption and overall growth in municipalities. This did not occur. If, on the other hand, TIF merely moves capital around within a municipality, there should be no relationship between TIF adoption and growth. What we find, however, is a negative relationship. Municipalities that use TIF do worse.
We find evidence that the non-TIF areas of municipalities that use TIF grow no more rapidly, and perhaps more slowly, than similar municipalities that do not use TIF." (emphasis added)
In a different paper (The Effects of Tax Increment Financing on Economic Development), the same economists wrote "We find clear and consistent evidence that municipalities that adopt TIF grow more slowly after adoption than those that do not. … These findings suggest that TIF trades off higher growth in the TIF district for lower growth elsewhere. This hypothesis is bolstered by other empirical findings." (emphasis added)
The Wichita city council is concerned about creating jobs, and is easily swayed by the promises of developers that their establishments will create jobs. Paul F. Byrne of Washburn University has examined the effect of TIF on jobs. His recent report is Does Tax Increment Financing Deliver on Its Promise of Jobs? The Impact of Tax Increment Financing on Municipal Employment Growth, and in its abstract we find this conclusion regarding the impact of TIF on jobs:
"This article addresses the claim by examining the impact of TIF adoption on municipal employment growth in Illinois, looking for both general impact and impact specific to the type of development supported. Results find no general impact of TIF use on employment. However, findings suggest that TIF districts supporting industrial development may have a positive effect on municipal employment, whereas TIF districts supporting retail development have a negative effect on municipal employment. These results are consistent with industrial TIF districts capturing employment that would have otherwise occurred outside of the adopting municipality and retail TIF districts shifting employment within the municipality to more labor-efficient retailers within the TIF district." (emphasis added)
These studies and others show that as a strategy for increasing the overall wellbeing of a city, TIF fails to deliver prosperity, and in fact, causes harm.
WichitaLiberty.TV: A downtown parking garage deal, academic freedom attacked at KU, and classical liberalism
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: While chair of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, a Wichita business leader strikes a deal that's costly for taxpayers. A Kansas University faculty member is under attack from groups that don't like his politics. Then, how can classical liberalism help us all get along with each other? View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 68, broadcast December 14, 2014.
WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita's legislative agenda, and a bit of bad news
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: A look at some elements of Wichita's legislative agenda for state government, in particular special tax treatment for special artists, problems with the city's numbers regarding airfares, and why we should abandon the pursuit of passenger rail. Then, why are people not more involved in political affairs? View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 67, broadcast December 7, 2014.
City of Wichita State Legislative Agenda: Cultural Arts Districts
Wichita government spending on economic development leads to imagined problems that require government intervention and more taxpayer contribution to resolve. The cycle of organic rebirth of cities is then replaced with bureaucratic management.
As the City of Wichita prepares its legislative agenda for 2015, an issue arises for the first year. It seems that the success of government spending on development has created rising property values, which creates higher tax bills, and that is a burden for some. Here's the issue the city has identified: "Cultural arts enterprises in certain areas are threatened by rising property values and the resulting tax burden."
Here's the solution the city proposes: "The Wichita City Council supports state legislation that would allow local governments to use innovative measures to protect cultural arts enterprises from circumstantial increases in property taxes. The intent is to nurture and preserve arts activity throughout the City of Wichita and the State of Kansas."
What are the "innovative measures" the city wants to use? Nothing special; just allowing a special group of people to shirk paying the same taxes that everyone else has to pay. The city wants to be able to use tax abatements for up to ten years. The percentage of taxes that could be forgiven could be as high as 80 percent.
So there's really nothing innovative to see here. The city merely wants to broaden the application of tax forgiveness. Which means the tax base shrinks, and the people who still find themselves unlucky enough to still be part of the tax base face increasing demands for their tax payments.
The city manager said that artists from Commerce Street came to the city looking for a solution to their problem. Which is about the same problem that everyone else has: high taxes.
Here's the nub of the problem, as explained by the city manager: "The more successful that we are with the redevelopment, the higher the value of the properties, and therefore harder for them who are on thin margins to begin with to stay in the districts, so they lose their charm of being the artistic or art districts."
The proposed solution, which will require a change to state law, is that a government bureaucrat will decide the boundaries of one or more cultural arts districts. The bureaucrat will also decide which types of business firms qualify for discounts on their taxes. Besides Commerce Street, the manager identified Delano, Old Town, and the Douglas Design District as possible districts where artists might receive 80 percent discounts on their property taxes.
After this, other taxpayers have to make up the lost tax revenue from the artists. That is, unless the city decides to reduce spending by the amount of the tax discounts. I've proposed that to the city in other similar circumstances, and the idea was rejected. I believe council members thought I was delusional.
There are many people and business firms that operate on the same "thin margins" that the city manager wants to help artists escape. We see them come to city hall seeking special treatment. As a result, the city plans and manages an increasing share of the economy, and economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and the potential for a truly dynamic economy decline.
Who will stake out the next frontier?
There are many problems with the idea the city is proposing.
One is that the city is asking poor people to pay their full share of property taxes while granting artists a discount. This is a serious problem of equity, which is that people in similar circumstances should be treated the same. Just because someone chooses art as a business or vocation doesn't mean they should be treated specially with respect to the taxes they pay.
Another problem is that the process of establishing arts districts will interrupt the dynamism of the way cities develop. Arts districts develop because artists want (or need) places with cheap rent. Unless they can persuade city hall to grant property tax discounts, this generally means artists rent space in "bad" parts of town, that is, parts of town that are run down, blighted, and may have high crime rates. Thus, cheap rent.
If things go well, that is, the artists are successful and a community develops, things get fixed up. Rents rise. Taxes rise. The artists can't afford the higher rent and taxes and have to move on. Which means the cycle repeats. The artists on the cutting edge find other places to move to, and the cycle repeats. Other parts of the city are reborn — organically — through the benefits of markets, not government bureaucracy. This is good.
Except: The City of Wichita is proposing to end the cycle by granting discounts on taxes to artists so they may remain where they are.
We replace dynamism with stagnation by bureaucracy. The city says this is innovative.
Wichita Downtown Development Corporation campaigns for higher taxes, paid for by taxes
Campaign activity by the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation appears to be contrary to several opinions issued by Kansas Attorneys General regarding the use of public funds in elections.
While the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation presents itself as a non-profit organization that is independent of the City of Wichita, it receives 95 percent of its revenue from taxes, according to its most recent IRS Form 990. While Kansas has no statutes or court cases prohibiting the use of public funds for electioneering, there are at least two Kansas Attorney General opinions on this topic.
One, opinion 93-125, states in its synopsis: "The public purpose doctrine does not encompass the use of public funds to promote or advocate a governing body's position on a matter which is before the electorate. However, public funds may be expended to educate and inform regarding issues to be voted upon by the electorate."
The "governing body" in this instance is the Wichita City Council.
While some governing bodies spend taxpayer funds to present information about ballot measures, this is not the case with the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation. It explicitly campaigns in favor of the issue. It displays pro-sales tax campaign signs at its office. It publicly endorsed passage of the sales tax.
A more recent Kansas Attorney General opinion, 2001-13, holds this language: "While the Kansas appellate courts have not directly addressed the issue of whether public funds can be used to promote a position during an election, there are a number of cases from other jurisdictions that conclude that a public entity cannot do so."
The opinion cites a court case: "Underlying this uniform judicial reluctance to sanction the use of public funds for election campaigns rests an implicit recognition that such expenditures raise potentially serious constitutional questions. A fundamental precept of this nation's democratic electoral process is that the government may not 'take sides' in election contests or bestow an unfair advantage on one of several competing factions."
The opinion reaffirms 93-125, stating: "In Attorney General Opinion No. 93-125, Attorney General Robert T. Stephan concluded that public funds may not be used to promote or advocate a city governing body's position on a matter that is before the electorate."
Given these Kansas Attorney General opinions, and considering good public policy, Wichita voters need to ask: Should an organization that is funded 95 percent by taxes be campaigning for a ballot issue?
Downtown Wichita campaigns for higher taxes on groceries and no taxes on downtown
This is the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation. It routinely advocates for special deals whereby downtown developers don't have to pay property taxes or sales taxes. Or if they do pay property taxes, they might be routed back to them for their exclusive benefit. But as you can see, WDDC campaigns for low-income households to pay more sales tax on groceries.
Say, did you know that WDDC is funded almost entirely with tax money? And that it wants to spend that money in secret?
WichitaLiberty.TV: The proposed one cent per dollar Wichita sales tax
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: We'll talk about the proposed Wichita sales tax, including who pays it, and who gets special exemptions from paying it. Then, can we believe the promises the city makes about accountability and transparency? Finally, has the chosen solution for a future water supply proven itself as viable, and why are we asking low-income households to pay more sales tax on groceries for drought protection? View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 63, broadcast October 26, 2014.
Union Station development drains taxes from important needs
Testimony of John Todd to the Wichita City Council, October 7, 2014.
I want to complement the Union Station LLC group for tackling an important redevelopment project in downtown Wichita.
I am troubled however, by the developer's request for $17.3 million in Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funding for his project because it diverts increases in future property tax revenues away from the public treasury and back to the developer for 20 years. Under current taxing levies this means that roughly one-third or $5 million plus of future Union Station property tax revenues would be diverted from the City of Wichita needed for public safety items like police and fire protection, and the building of public infrastructure. Plus, roughly one-third or $5 million plus would be diverted from the Sedgwick County treasury needed to provide for our Court System, the maintenance of property ownership records, the Sheriff's office and detention center. The last one-third or $5 million plus would be diverted from Wichita Public Schools needed for the education of our children.
The diversion of future property tax revenues away from local governmental treasuries should concern every taxpaying citizen when one considers the many needs for these funds. On the city level, $5 million over 20 years could go a long way towards funding needed street maintenance and repairs, or providing the revenue needed for a viable public bus system, and finding a long-term solution to our cities' future water needs. Sedgwick County could use $5 million to re-open the Judge Riddel Boys Ranch that helps turn boy's lives around and makes our community a safer place to live and play by reducing recidivism and crime. And, just think of how many teachers could be hired with $5 million to prepare our young people for productive lives and jobs.
I am of the opinion that Mr. Gary Oborny has the track record to prove that he is one of the most creative and exceptional real estate developers in the City of Wichita and that he possesses the professional talents needed to make the Union Station project work without TIF public funding.
I believe at some point downtown redevelopment needs to be market driven, stand on its own, and pay taxes into the city treasury like other city development projects do.
Today, you have the opportunity to exercise your leadership skills in achieving this transformation. I urge you to seize it.
Again, Wichita policies are fluid
Wichita city hall promises policies that are clear, predictable and transparent, except when they're not.
On July 22, 2104, a presentation to the Wichita City Council sought to assure the council and public that a proposed jobs fund created with money collected by the proposed sales tax would have policies that govern the spending of funds: "GWEDC – Finds businesses to expand, recruit, follows established policies for retention/recruitment."
But there's a problem. It's difficult for governments to establish policies that will satisfy everyone. How do we know today what we'll need five or ten years down the road? When governments change policies to fit particular circumstances, taxpayers are rightfully concerned that the alterations are to suit the needs of special people — the cronies that feed from the city hall trough of taxpayer money. When you couple in what public choice theory tells us, which is that the cronies who want money from government have a much stronger motive to succeed than the bureaucrats are motivated to protect citizens and taxpayers, we can have trouble.
This has happened before in Wichita. Last year when a project didn't meet the (supposedly) required benefit-cost ratio, the city simply said that it didn't apply in that case. See Wichita's policymaking on display.
Now, Wichita seeks to modify its policies again in response to the wants and desires of one person.
Here's the background you need to know. When the city passed a downtown development incentives policy in 2011, here's what the city said was its goal: "The business plan recommends the development of a prudent public investment policy that is clear, predictable and transparent, maximizes public investment and enhances market-driven development." (emphasis added)
The meeting minutes contained further elucidation: "Scott Kneibel Planning Department stated the purpose of the policy is to put in place something that is clear and predictable in terms of how the public would invest in downtown projects through partnership with the private sector. Stated that sort of statement by this governing body has not been made to date. Stated that is the purpose of this policy so that developers will know what types of investments the City of Wichita is interested in making and how the City of Wichita will make those decisions." (emphasis added)
But as in the past, we find city proposing the change the standards in the middle of the game. Here's an excerpt from the agenda packet for Tuesday's meeting, in which a large incentive package for the redevelopment of Union Station may be considered: "In the opinion of the evaluation team, the established criteria do not adequately address projects such as Union Station where the requested incentives do not involve City debt."
For this project we see that city policy is being modified on the fly to meet the circumstances of a particular project. This is not necessarily bad. Entrepreneurship demands flexibility. But the city promises policies that are clear, predictable and transparent, and city officials say Wichita has a transparent, open government.
Can you imagine conscientious developers who want to invest in downtown Wichita, but after studying the city's policies, realize their projects don't conform to the city's published standards? How many moved on to other cities, not realizing that our standards can be altered and waived?
As Wichita voters consider the value to give to promises from city hall, they should consider these episodes when the city promises there will be "established policies" for the spending of economic development funds generated by the proposed sales tax.
Errors in Wichita Union Station development proposal
Documents the Wichita City Council will use to evaluate a development proposal contain material errors. Despite the city being aware of the errors for more than one month, they have not been corrected.
On August 19, 2014 the Wichita City Council considered an agenda item titled "Resolution Considering the Establishment of the Union Station Redevelopment District, Tax Increment Financing." The purpose of the item was to set October 7, 2014 as the date for the public hearing on the formation of a TIF district. The council passed this resolution.
On August 27 Bob Weeks inquired this of Wichita city officials based on information contained in city documents that were prepared for the August 19 meeting:
"On the Union station TIF proposal, there is mentioned '$3,766,156 in monetized historic tax credits.' Do you know whether these are federal or state tax credits, and the face value of the credits? I presume that 'monetized' means the value the developers expect to receive when selling the credits at a discount."
That same day he received this response from Allen Bell, the city's Director of Urban Development.
"The Developer has not yet provided the City with details on the tax credits. However, staff analyzed the project to ascertain a ballpark estimate of how much it could generate in both state and federal tax credits and came up with a similar amount. We assume that $3,766,156 is the amount of net proceeds to be injected into the project from the sale of tax credits and that it is discounted from the face value of the credits."
On follow up, Weeks asked this:
"I was also wondering which incentive program allows for the sales tax exemptions included in the CEDBR analysis."
The response from Bell was:
"The only incentive program available to Union Station that would provide a sales tax exemption is IRBs. The Developer did not request IRBs or a sales tax exemption. I would guess that CEDBR factored it into the cost-benefit analysis to be extra conservative."
CEDBR is the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University.
In addition to Bell, other city officials participating in these emails were Van Williams, Public Information Officer; Mark Elder, Development Analyst; and Scott Knebel, Downtown Revitalization Manager.
On October 2, when the city released the agenda packet for the October 7 meeting, the tax credits and sales tax information was not changed.
By the city's admission, the value of tax credits for this project is a guess, and we don't know if the project is actually eligible for these tax credits. The sales tax exemption included in the CEDBR is an incentive this project is not eligible for and will not receive. Despite several city officials being aware of these errors, the material the city council will consider on October 7 has not been corrected.
For Wichita sales tax, concern over conflicts of interest
Supporters of a proposed sales tax in Wichita promise there will be no conflicts of interest when making spending decisions. That would be a welcome departure from present city practice.
In November Wichita voters will decide on a new one cent per dollar sales tax, part to be used for economic development, specifically job creation. "Yes Wichita" is a group that supports the sales tax. Language on its website reads: "Conflict-of-interest policies will prohibit anyone from participating in decisions in which there is any self-interest." The page is addressing the economic development portion of the proposed sales tax. It's part of an effort to persuade Wichita voters that millions in incentives will be granted based on merit instead of cronyism or the self-interest of politicians, bureaucrats, and committee members.
The problem is that while the city currently has in place laws regarding conflicts of interest, the city does not seem willing to observe them. If the proposed sales tax passes, what assurances do we have that the city will change its ways?
Following, from October 2013, is one illustration of Wichita city hall's attitude towards conflicts of interest and more broadly, government ethics.
Wichita contracts, their meaning (or not)
Is the City of Wichita concerned that its contracts contain language that seems to be violated even before the contract is signed?
This week the Wichita City Council approved a development agreement for the apartments to be built on the west bank of the Arkansas River. The development agreement the council contemplated included this language in Section 11.06, titled "Conflicts of Interest."
No member of the City's governing body or of any branch of the City's government that has any power of review or approval of any of the Developer's undertakings shall participate in any decisions relating thereto which affect such person's personal interest or the interests of any corporation or partnership in which such person is directly or indirectly interested.
At Tuesday's meeting I read this section of the contract to the council. I believe it is relevant for these reasons:
1. Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer is a member of a governing body that has power of approval over this project.
2. Bill Warren is one of the parties that owns this project.
3. Bill Warren also owns movie theaters.
4. Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer owns a company that manufactures barbeque sauce.
5. Brewer's sauce is sold at Warren's theaters.
The question is this: Does the mayor's business relationship with Warren fall under the prohibitions described in the language of section 11.06? Evidently not. After I read section 11.06 I asked the mayor if he sold his sauce at Warren's theaters. He answered yes. But no one — not any of the six city council members, not the city manager, not the city attorney, not any bureaucrat — thought my question was worthy of discussion.
(While the agreement doesn't mention campaign contributions, I might remind the people of Wichita that during 2012, parties to this agreement and their surrogates provided all the campaign finance contributions that council members Lavonta Williams and James Clendenin received. See Campaign contributions show need for reform in Wichita. That's a lot of personal interest in the careers of politicians.)
I recommend that if we are not willing to live up to this section of the contract that we strike it. Why have language in contracts that we ignore? Parties to the contract rationalize that if the city isn't concerned about enforcing this section, why should they have to adhere to other sections?
While we're at it, we might also consider striking Section 2.04.050 of the city code, titled "Code of ethics for council members." This says, in part, "[Council members] shall refrain from making decisions involving business associates, customers, clients, friends and competitors."
That language seems pretty clear to me. But we have a city attorney that says that this is simply advisory. If the city attorney's interpretation of this law is controlling, I suggest we strike this section from the city code. Someone who reads this — perhaps a business owner considering Wichita for expansion — might conclude that our city has a code of ethics that is actually observed by the mayor and council members and enforced by its attorneys.
In Wichita, gap analysis illustrates our problems
Following is testimony provided to the Wichita City Council on July 1, 2014. Background on this issue may be found at In Wichita, a public hearing with missing information and Wichita city council schools citizens on civic involvement.
Thank you for providing the gap analysis that I requested.
If the gap analysis is credible, if it really is true that projects like this are not financially feasible without taxpayer assistance, what does that tell us about Wichita? Shouldn't we work on fixing these problems for everyone, rather than parceling out business welfare on a piecemeal basis?
The agenda packet material for this item says there is a need for incentives "based on the current market." But not long ago this council was told that downtown Wichita is booming. So why won't the market support a project like this without a handout from city taxpayers? And if downtown is truly booming but we're still giving out incentives, will we ever be able to wean ourselves off?
Based on my reading of the gap analysis document, I see another problem with the facade improvement program. It shifts costs from landlords to commercial tenants. Instead of paying for the facade improvement costs as part of a mortgage or other financing, these costs become additional property taxes that commercial tenants pay in addition to rent.
This is really a problem, as Kansas and Wichita commercial property taxes are high. Each year The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence survey property taxes. Considering the largest city in each of the states, Wichita property taxes are ninth highest in the nation for commercial property.
Wichita taxes are not just a little higher, but a lot higher. For example, for a commercial property valued at $100,000, Wichita property taxes are 38.5 percent higher than the national average.
Some of the reason why commercial property taxes are so high is due to the difference in assessment rates for various property classes. That's not set by the City of Wichita. But the overall level of spending, and therefore the level of taxation, is set by this council. Further, the cost of incentives like this raise the cost of government for everyone else. One thing the city could do is to reduce spending somewhere else to offset the cost of this incentive. This would mean that other taxpayers do not have to bear the cost of this incentive.
If we wonder why the Wichita economy is not growing, commercial property tax rates and this council's policy of targeted reductions are a large part of the problem.


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The best Jonjo Shelvey tweets after Swansea 2 – Liverpool 2
Jonjo Shelvey was at the centre of all the goals during Swansea 2 – Liverpool 2. After firing the Welsham 1-up inside a minute and a half, Shelvey helped tee up Liverpool's equaliser scored by Daniel Sturridge less than 60 seconds later with a terrible attempted backpass which which was intercepted with ease. Shelvey was then […]
Carra attacks G Nev on Man United legend Scholes: 'If he was so good, why was he played on the left for England?'
A fascinating argument broke out at the end of Monday Night Football over who was better: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard or Paul Scholes. Jamie Carragher was quick to give his opinion, saying "everyone knows I'd go Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes." While Carragher went on to rationalise his choices, many observers felt the ex-Liverpool defenders choice, particularly that […]
A parachutist makes Danny Higginbotham swear on Talksport
Swansea 2-2 Liverpool – Brendan Rodgers post match interview
Athletic Bilbao beat Celta Vigo 3-2 in the opening match at the new San Mames Stadium
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Elche 0 – Valladolid 0
Michael Laudrup praises his team after they comeback against Liverpool
Swansea 2 – Liverpool 2 (Alternative highlights)
Elche draw a blank with Valladolid
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Presidency
The Presidency meets regularly (every two to four months) in between Congresses and takes decisions on the daily management of the work of the PES.
The Presidency consists of the President (who chairs the meetings), one representative of each full member party, one representative of each full member organisation, the Secretary General and the President of the Parliamentary Group of the PES. The President of the European Parliament (if s/he is a member of the Socialist & Democrats Group) and one representative per associate party/organization also take part in Presidency meetings.
Ad Personam
Sergei Stanishev - President
Achim Post - Secretary General
Full Members of the Presidency
Werner Faymann - SPÖ Austria
Marie Arena - PS Belgium
Said El-Khadraoui - SP.A Belgium
Kristian Vigenin - BSP Bulgaria
Neven Mimica - SDP Croatia
Demetris Papadakis - EDEK Cyprus
Vladimir Spidla - CSSD Czech Republic
Jeppe Kofod - SD Denmark
Marju Lauristin - SDE Estonia
Tytti Tuppurainen - SDP Finland
Philip Cordery - PS France
Martin Schulz - SPD Germany
Sylvana Rapti - PASOK Greece
László Kovács - MSZP Hungary
Ruairi Quinn - Treasurer; LP Ireland
Enzo Amendola - PD Italy
to be named - PS Italy
Zigmantas Balcytis - LSDP Lithuania
Claude Haagen - LSAP Luxembourg
Marc Vella Bonnici - PL Malta
Kirsten Meijer - PvdA Netherlands
Raymond Johansen- DNA Norway
Konrad Golota - SLD Poland
Sergio Sousa Pinto - PS Portugal
Rovana Plumb - PSD Romania
Katarina Nevedalova - SMER Slovakia
Tanja Fajon - SD Slovenia
Iratxe Garcia Perez - PSOE Spain
Andrine Winther - SAP Sweden
Pat McFadden - LP Great Britain, United Kingdom
Alasdair McDonnell - SDLP Northern Ireland
Full Member Organizations
Gianni Pittella - S&D Group in the European Parliament
Catiuscia Marini - PES Group in the Committee of the Regions
Zita Gurmai - PES Women
Laura Slimani- YES
Ernst Stetter - FEPS
Associate parties
Sasa Magazinovic - SDP Bosnia Herzegovina
Sveltina Yolcheva - PBS Bulgaria
Radmila Shekerinska - SDUM FYR Macedonia
Árni Páll Árnason - Samylkingin Iceland
Nils Usakovs - Concord Latvia
Adrian Buligari - PDM Moldova
Dusko Markovic - DPS Montenegro
Ranko Krivokapic - SDP Montenegro
Bojan Pajtic - DS Serbia
Mario Carera - SP Switzerland
Eyyup Doru - HDP Turkey
Kader Sevinç - CHP Turkey
Associate Organisations
Konstantin Woinoff - Progressive Alliance
Andreas Gross - Socialist Group in the Council of Europe
Aurelien Mazuy - Rainbow Rose
Michele Nicoletti - Socialist Group in PACE


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We have 10 beautiful shots of this new Atlus game known as Rondo of Swords. Will it bring the harmony of joy or discord of agony while you play it? Who knows, but you have some pictures here and now to whet your appetite!
Tales from the Borderlands July 31 • 9:00am PDT/12:00pm EDT
Sword Coast Legends Aug 7 • 9:00am PDT/12:00pm EDT
Breath of Fire IV Continues! Every Monday • 5:00pm PDT/8:00pm EDT
Star Wars: KotOR Continues! Coming soon...


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The Aventuro Carbon Wins Helmet Shootout!
The Adventure Brothers told us they'd be pitting the Aventuro Carbon against a couple of industry behemoth's dual sport helmets and handing out grades in the latest issue of BMW MOA Magazine. We said, "Go for it."
Zegavision is here!
Touratech is always on the cutting edge of accessories for motorcycle travel and after months of speculation, Zegavision is finally here.
The East Coast Rally Meal Ticket is Here!
If you're attending the Touratech Rally in Huntingdon, PA on August 18 – 21, 2016 your food questions have been answered! There will be catered meals provided by Tops Diner and Catering of Huntingdon.
12 Reasons You Should Volunteer for the Touratech Rally
Volunteers are needed at Touratech Rally East and Touratech Rally West! These events are a great time and we count on volunteers to help us keep things running smoothly. We need you and here are twelve reasons why you should volunteer at one of the rallies this summer.
Hello Zega Pro: Next Generation
This year we've made a few upgrades to the Zega Pro and we're really excited to announce the availability of Zega Pro-Next Generation.
See Spain on 2-Wheels with Hertzride!
With ready-to-ride solutions and personalized customer service, travellers can choose from a wide selection of tours across the Iberian Peninsula, the Alps, Morocco and Italy.
Archambaults Angle: Finding Nemo (sleeping bags)
Nemo has updated their line of sleeping bags and pads for 2016, and the new inventory has just arrived. There are some new names in the line-up, and some improved versions of older models.
Meet Kenny Hitchings: Touratech Adventure Expert
Kenny is the newest member of Touratech's team of Adventure Experts.
Top 6 Touratech Videos: Number 1
Here it is! The most viewed Touratech video of all-time!
Top 6 Touratech Videos: Number 2
In this video, the guys at Touratech give you the straight scoop on what it's like to ride KTM's new 1190 Adventure R.


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The silly, one-joke story is reason enough to find Whammy (not a movie about Press Your Luck!) so inspiring. Leary plays a cop who, only through some fault of his own, is never able to bust a perp. It starts out in a fast food joint, when a gunman drives through the wall and starts shooting. Leary slips and hits his head, and a little bespectacled kid uses his gun to save the day. Later, his apartment supervisor is killed while he's oblivious in the building. Various quirky characters (like Hurley's masseuse) try to distract you into thinking this movie is actually about something, but the deception never works too well.
Continue reading: Double Whammy Review
The 1969 session, including the only known recording of 'Sunshine Woman' by the band, will be included on a re-issue of 'The Complete BBC Sessions'...
The 55 year old actor joined Chris Martin and co. on stage in New Jersey to perform 'Earth Angel' and 'Johnny B. Goode'.
Bjork Digital comes to London's Somerset House in September, along with a single live show at the Royal Albert Hall.
Kim Kardashian released an audio excerpt from a phone call between Kanye and Taylor Swift over the lyrics of 'Famous' - but if it was recorded...
There's very much a strength of conviction in remaining what you were, but arguably more so in becoming what you want to be.
The BBC drama starring Aidan Turner returns to BBC One on September 4th.
Guns N' Roses were detained at the Canadian border last week for gun possession but they're adamant the weapon didn't belong to them.


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Hourly - Intermediate ($$) - Est. Time: 3 to 6 months, 10-30 hrs/week - PostedSkills: 2D Design Android App Development App Store Optimization (ASO) In-Game Advertising
We are a small but professional app developer, currently preparing for the re-launch of our iOS trivia game "Knowledge Trainer" (goo.gl/Z82itN) using Unity for the first time. To assist us with this new and exciting journey, we are looking for an independent and experienced Unity publisher who can be our mentor from day one. Not a programmer, but rather a person who has explored a variety of different platforms and app stores, and is currently an expert at multi-platform Unity publishing. NB: NO PROGRAMMERS – This is not a programming role. NB: NO COMPANIES or AGENCIES - We're looking to work with one person ie: independent free-lancers Have you published several Unity projects with a focus on phones, tablets, PC's, TV devices, as well as consoles in the past? Were you in a position with a general overview of the complete production process? Did you also take care of professional placements in different App Stores; and have you succeeded in getting featured in some of those? In that case, we would love to hear from you and ask you to be our Unity & multi-platform mentor on an hourly basis. While we have a limited budget, we will make an effort to reimburse you fairly – you will get to know us as an agile and curious, international team working all over Europe, and in South Africa. If you think you can help us on our journey, please contact Roland Albertson at email@example.com. The first things we would love to receive from you are: references for your current Unity projects; and links on where we can find and download those on different platforms. -------------------------------------------------------------- the binary family Berlin – Cape Town http://thebinaryfamily.com http://thebeautifulweathercorp.com


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This is your resource to discuss support topics with your peers, and learn from each other.
I have some, but not all, appointments on my Blackberry Bold showing up 4 hours earlier than in Outlook/Exchange.
It appears that what these have in common is that they are "invites" from someone else...For example "Afternoon Tea (2:30)" in Exchange is "Afternoon Tea (10:30)" on the Bold, that were recived before I migrated my PST file to Exchange.
If I create a new apointment on the Blackberry, it shows up at the correct time in Exchange. Same if I create a new appointment in Outlook.
The Desktop and Exchange Server are both set to US/Canada Eastern (GMT -5) and so is the Bold. And so is the other person's PC.
I'm new to BPS, and can't figure out if there's another hidden TZ setting I've missed somewhere in there, or another way to correct these on mass (there are rather a lot of them)?


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toyota motor corp
(7203:Tokyo Stock Exchange)
7203 On Other Exchanges
7203 is not on other exchanges.
BOARD MEMBERS AFFILIATED WITH Kiyotaka Ise *
Chief Safety Technology Officer, Senior Managing Officer and President of Innovative R&D & Engineering Company
*Data is at least as current as the most recent Definitive Proxy.
The information and data displayed in this profile are created and managed by Capital IQ, a Standard & Poor's company. Bloomberg.com does not create or control the content.
MOST CONNECTED PEOPLE TO Kiyotaka Ise
|Takahiko Ijichi
|82 Relationships
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|38 Relationships
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|34 Relationships
|Tadahiko Shimazu
|27 Relationships
|Masaharu Hamakawa
|24 Relationships
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Permanent opportunity for Nurse Practitioner to do case reviews in southern California.
Stanford Health Care continually recruits for Advance Practice Practitioners (Nurse Practitioner)
The Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) is a registered nurse, a member of the Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service, who conducts comprehensive history and physical examinations of Veterans and separating/retiring service members.
Internationally acclaimed. Award Winning. World Class. For nursing professionals seeking to work at the absolute peak of clinical care, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is the place to be.
We're looking for dynamic individuals to join our team! CareMore is a leading healthcare system specializing in providing a complete, pro-active health care experience to Senior Americans.
Beaver Medical Group is a physician-owned and physician-managed multispecialty group founded in 1945, now with 200 physicians and 50 mid-level practitioners in 13 practice sites in and around Redlands, California.
Nurse Practitioners needed for Inpatient, Outpatient (adults/pediatrics) and House Calls opportunities at HealthCare Partners in Southern Nevada
Family Medicine Nurse Practitioners Needed Near Salt Lake City, Utah
Employed Licensed and experienced Nurse Practitioner to join established discharge clinic IN an area world-famous for its beauty, arts, culture, wineries and year-round recreation.
Perform patient assessment to obtain a complete and accurate record of the patient's clinical information and medical symptoms.
Permanent Nurse Practitioner in Idaho
Pacific Northwest Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner opportunity work four days a week with no call
Nurse Practitioner Opportunity - Float Nurse Practitioner - Pacific Northwest - $120,000 Base Salary - $100,000 Loan Repayment
The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, North Idaho Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Coeur d'Alene, ID is actively seeking a Nurse Practitioner to join our Primary Care team.
FT positions for a NP to join the H2U Wellness Center at Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, TX.
Work clinic hours, no evenings, no holidays, no weekends. Great place to live and work.
Children's provides a dynamic environment in which compassion and expertise combine to provide a superior patient experience.
Nurse Practitioner - Short Drive to Dallas - $116,100
Join one of the Top 100 health care systems in the nation. With 38 locations throughout Central Texas, Seton Healthcare Family is a growing center for medical research and education and is home to the region's only 4 Magnet® recognized hospitals.
We offer a competitive salary and a benefits package (to positions that are benefit eligible), mileage reimbursement, relocation, job share options, paid malpractice and a commitment to provide exceptional patient-centered care.
We're here to care at Allina Health.
NP needed for Wound Care. Helena, AR
Wexford Health Sources, one of the nation's leading innovative correctional health care company, provides clients with experienced management and technologically advanced services, combined with programs that control costs while ensuring quality.


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Investors need to see things from different angles
Are you being fiscally responsible?
Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, real-time alerts, and more!
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - March 29, 2012 - Zacks.com announces the list of
stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity
Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting
stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the
blog include
Tyson Foods Inc.
McDonald's Corp
Kroger Co
. (
Safeway Inc
. (
) and
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the
free Profit from the Pros newsletter:
Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst
Pink Slime Fuss Irks Tyson
The world's leading meat manufacturer and packager
Tyson Foods Inc.
) expressed concerns about a fall in beef demand amidst the
pink-slime controversy.
Pink slime, created from low quality beef trimmings, is an
industrial byproduct and is usually treated with ammonia gas to
qualify it for food health standards.
Critics argue that several cheap ground beef and frozen-marketed
hamburger patties contain pink slime as an additive. Although the
food watchdogs certify that they meet the food standards, some
critics argue that the addition of the pink slime is not disclosed
on the labels as soy and oatmeal added to beef have been.
Since the additives have not been disclosed on the labels, the
ground beef, containing pink slime, have been routinely included in
school lunches and other cafeteria.
The "lean, finely textured beef," as referred to by the meat
industry, seem to be extremely unpopular as a lot of consumers,
schools and grocers are shying away from the product.
Moreover, the US Department of Agriculture recently ruled that
school districts may stop using government meat that contains pink
slime. This sparked the controversy even more.
Many food stores like
McDonald's Corp
Kroger Co
. (
Safeway Inc
. (
) and Food Lion stopped purchasing ground beef with the
controversial meat filler.
Moreover, Beef Products Inc., renowned maker of pink slime in
Lubbock, Texas, suspended three of four plants on the onset of the
controversy of the cons of eating pink slime.
The confusion regarding the effect of pink slime has reduced the
consumption of ground meat to a considerable extent. Tyson's
management has forecasted that there will be a 2% to 3% reduction
in supply, which in turn will drive up costs for consumers.
Currently Tyson holds a Zacks #3 Rank which implies a short term
Hold rating.
Accenture Poised for Growth
Technology and consulting company
) recently won a contract from a non-profit organization Out &
Equal. The tech major is poised to work in sync with Out &
Equal and the other stakeholders to help them invest in new
technologies for establishing an IT system within the
Accenture is expected to streamline the organizational structure
of Out & Equal as well as help them to reach out to people
across the globe. The new digital platform will create a
significant impact on the IT infrastructure of the company, while
also promote the idea of workplace equality irrespective of
Apart from winning new contracts, Accenture recently witnessed a
top management churn. The company appointed Christopher L. Smith as
the U.S. federal chief technology and innovation officer. We
believe that Accenture will benefit from his rich federal
government experience as he had earlier served in several senior
positions with the General Services Administration and the Internal
Revenue Service and was associated with the Air National Guard for
nearly 25 years.
Some industry experts believe that the
consulting/outsourcing/offshore combination continues to support
global enterprise's demand for high-end but cost effective service
delivery. Given its global footprint and client base, Accenture
remains well positioned to benefit from multiple technology drivers
including cloud initiatives, SaaS, mobility, digital marketing,
analytics and others.
Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free
Profit from the Pros newsletter:
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and
qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and
which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly
traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives
them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and
stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month
time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides
highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research.
Subscribe to this free newsletter today:
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc.,
which was formed in 1978 by Leon Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew
he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to
superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was
the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks
Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1
margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations
and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our
free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's
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text:
New ink promotes new world tour.
New Guy for Carrie?
Carrie Underwood appears to have a new love interest, Ottawa Senators hockey star Mike Fisher.
Carrie was spotted watching Mike in action against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Jan. 3, from a VIP box with members of his family. The two reportedly met in March when Carrie played a concert at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Mike has not commented on the relationship to the media. This would not be Carrie's first foray into the sports arena, as she was previously linked with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Don't miss an issue! Subscribe to Nash Country Weekly.
More News
The Gambler's Last Deal begins May 13 in Mahnomen, Minn.
Video features his Wife Alex and Dog Writer as the main characters.
Sam Hunt leads the field with nods in three categories.
New single, "Outskirts of Heaven," has youngsters thinking.
The faith-fueled tune is part of Blake's new album, "If I'm Honest."


text:
May 7, 2012
Hard to say. I have been away from riding for many years. I have owned bikes from a Whizzer motor bike to an Indian Chief and many in between.
Near Tarpon and 41 in Port Charlotte.
Burgman 650 step through motorcycle
Hi, My names Marv Marcus and my ride is a Burgman 650. I live in Port Charlotte and am looking forward to riding with your group.
They seem to be a nice bunch of people with a common desire to ride!
Meetup members, Log in
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text:
Engine Performance problem
2003 Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 93000 miles
my care has been idling rough when I come to a stop at a red light. It will usually go completely dead at a stop unless I put it in park. I put in some fuel treatment but this has not helped. Please let me know what you think the problem may be. Also, my check engine light is on.
Thank you,
Sunday, October 12th, 2008 AT 10:36 AM


text:
How To
BlackBerry Leap now on sale in the U.S., UK, France, and Germany
Apr 25, 2015 09:28 AM EDT
The BlackBerry Leap has officially gone on sale in the U.S., as well as the UK, France, and Germany.
Read More
BlackBerry Oslo leaks as Passport successor with similar specs, design
Apr 17, 2015 10:13 AM EDT
An unannounced BlackBerry Oslo handset has leaked online in a new image, along with some purported specifications.
Read More
BlackBerry unveils $2,300 Secutablet version of Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, modified for extra security
Mar 15, 2015 11:35 AM EDT
BlackBerry has unveiled a new slate called Secutablet, built on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, but modified with extra security in mind so it's suitable for enterprise and government use.
Read More
BlackBerry Classic Non Camera goes up for pre-order as Verizon exclusive – Pricing & Availability
Feb 27, 2015 09:18 AM EST
Verizon Wireless has started taking pre-orders for a new BlackBerry Classic Non Camera, exclusively offering the smartphone on-contract, with Verizon Edge, or contract-free.
Read More
BlackBerry Passport Valentine's Day weekend special: $100 off in the U.S., $125 off in Canada
Feb 12, 2015 09:21 AM EST
The BlackBerry Passport has kicked off a special Valentine's Day weekend promotion, shedding $100 off its price tag in the U.S. and $125 off in Canada. Available color options are red, black, and white.
Read More
Boeing, BlackBerry team up for self-destructing smartphone aimed at U.S. defense & homeland security
Dec 21, 2014 10:40 AM EST
Boeing has reportedly teamed up with BlackBerry for a self-destructing smartphone to be used by U.S. defense and homeland security.
Read More
BlackBerry Classic officially launched at $449, reviving most loved design features
Dec 17, 2014 11:37 AM EST
The BlackBerry Classic has officially made its debut, sporting the beloved form factor of the Bold series while offering improved specs and business-focused goodies.
Read More
BlackBerry Classic stars in promotional clip ahead of official debut (VIDEO)
Dec 16, 2014 10:45 AM EST
The upcoming BlackBerry Classic has leaked in a neat promotional video ahead of its official unveiling on Dec. 17, so here's what to expect.
Read More
Samsung, BlackBerry team up for mobile security to boost KNOX encryption with BES12
Nov 14, 2014 06:26 AM EST
Samsung and BlackBerry have entered an unlikely partnership, teaming up to boost mobile security by integrating BlackBerry's BES12 end-to-end encryption service into KNOX.
Read More
Telus BlackBerry Passport now $199.99 in Canada from Best Buy, Future Shop – Limited-time deal
Oct 26, 2014 08:19 AM EDT
Best Buy and the Future Shop have started selling the Telus BlackBerry Passport for $199.99 on-contract in Canada, as part of a limited-time deal set to expire on Oct. 30.
Read More
BlackBerry Passport officially launches: Specs, features, pricing, availability, and a challenge to Apple (VIDEO)
Sep 25, 2014 08:13 AM EDT
BlackBerry has officially launched its weird Passport smartphone, so here's all you need to know in terms of specs, pricing and availability, complete with an unboxing video.
Read More
BlackBerry Passport U.S. launch set for Wednesday, Sept. 24 - $599 unlocked
Sep 23, 2014 07:35 AM EDT
BlackBerry CEO John Chen has revealed that the company's latest BlackBerry Passport will hit retail in the U.S. on Wednesday, Sept. 24, sporting a $599 price tag unlocked.
Read More
BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983 premium QWERTY smartphone officially unveiled (VIDEO)
Sep 18, 2014 08:16 AM EDT
BlackBerry has officially unveiled its new Porsche Design P'9983 luxury smartphone, made in collaboration with Porsche Design.
Read More
BlackBerry Passport reveals some of its specs in new promotional clip (VIDEO)
Aug 15, 2014 08:11 AM EDT
The upcoming BlackBerry Passport has leaked in a new promotional video from UK retailer Carphone Warehouse, revealing some of its specifications.
Read More
BlackBerry Passport now up for pre-registration, launch expected soon
Aug 08, 2014 06:44 AM EDT
BlackBerry has started to allow customers to pre-register their interest in the upcoming BlackBerry Passport smartphone.
Read More
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text: Chelsea Clinton's Husband Is a Ski BumJim Newell1/31/11 4:08pmFiled to: spousesChelsea ClintonMarc MezvinskySkiingWyomingMarriageGettypic139EditInvite manuallyPromoteDismissUndismissHideShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalink Chelsea Clinton's husband, Marc Mezvinsky, has apparently left his hedge fund job to go skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for "a few months." His wife, however, will visit him "every few weeks." Jeez, Chelsea, give the guy some space.Reply139 repliesLeave a reply