Opinion
Lawrence Journal-World l LJWorld.com l Monday, July 18, 2016
EDITORIALS
Cooperative effort Lawrence should work with Johnson County officials to preserve the beneficial K-10 Connector service.
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awrence officials may not believe the city can pay as much for the K-10 Connector bus service as Johnson County officials have requested, but it might behoove them to approach the issue with a more cooperative attitude. The K-10 Connector makes several trips each day between Kansas University, Johnson County Community College and KU’s Edwards Campus. It is a useful service for many Lawrence residents and helps reduce traffic on Kansas Highway 10. It seems like the kind of service that the city would like to support or even expand. (How about an I-70 Connector bus between Lawrence and Topeka?) However, as The K-10 budget discussions are ramping up in Connector Lawrence, deliberprovides a ations are getting a good service little testy, and turf issues are rearing to Lawrence their ugly heads. residents — a At a meeting of the service that Lawrence Public Lawrence Transit Advisory Committee on couldn’t afford Tuesday, Transit to provide on Director Robert its own — and it Nugent was quick to debunk the asdoesn’t seem sertion of Johnson unreasonable County officials for the city that former Lawto cooperate rence City Manager David Corliss with another had “approved in community to concept” a plan provide that that would raise Lawrence’s finanservice. cial support of the bus service from $120,000 per year to $327,800 per year. Without the increased support, which Nugent estimated was about a third of the total cost of operating the service, Johnson County said it would need to “revisit and reassess its support of the route.” Not only was that deal not struck, Nugent said, but he questioned how much Lawrence should contribute to a service it doesn’t operate. “They’re not running that route for us — we didn’t ask them to provide that route,” he said. “I’ve been in business for almost 30 years, and I’ve never funded somebody else’s service.” That may be true, but the city has worked hard to coordinate its services with the KU bus service and is working with KU on plans for a transit hub. The K-10 Connector provides a good service to Lawrence residents — a service that Lawrence couldn’t afford to provide on its own — and it doesn’t seem unreasonable for the city to cooperate with another community to provide that service. Nugent told the advisory committee that, according to Johnson County, 60 percent of the ridership is people going from Douglas County to Johnson County. Officials may be right that $327,800 is too much for the city’s budget to handle this year. Maybe they could help the K-10 Connector explore other options like fare increases or asking KU to help share the cost. There’s no need to draw a line in the sand. Let’s try to work together on a workable plan to continue a service that benefits both Lawrence and Johnson County.
Female leader could be spark for U.N. Paris — When it comes to Western political leaders, we have definitely arrived at The Time of the Woman. Hillary Clinton is the first serious female candidate for U.S. president, Theresa May just took over as British prime minister and Germany’s Angela Merkel remains the most powerful European politician. Moreover, the nationalist Marine Le Pen will most likely make the final round for French president in 2017. So why not a woman to succeed Ban Ki-moon for secretary-general of the United Nations when he steps down later this year? At a time of overwhelming global crises, when the U.N. is flagging and international institutions are under attack, might a female leader provide the spark to rejuvenate the world body? That’s a question member states are pondering. Even Ban has weighed in, saying it is “high time for a secretary-general to be a woman.” That would be a big jump for an organization that had a reputation for rampant sexism not so long ago. The top U.N. official is selected by the Security Council in what used to be a secretive process that generally rotated the job by region. Last year, the rules were changed to produce a more transparent selection process; six of the 12 candidates are women, and the betting is that this year’s choice will come from Eastern Europe. The Security Council will still make the final cut — and will conduct an informal “straw poll” on July 21. I sat down in a Left Bank café with Irina Bokova, one of the leading candidates, who is a Bulgarian diplomat
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trubin@phillynews.com
Even Ban has weighed in, saying it is ‘high time for a secretary-general to be a woman.’” and the first female directorgeneral of the Paris-based United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). I asked the elegant, grayhaired Bokova, who is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Russian as well as her own language, why she thought a woman secretarygeneral could make a difference. “We need a critical mass of women to take up serious positions, so it becomes natural,” she told me. “I don’t say we are better than men, (but) it changes the overall culture of doing politics.” The implication is that a woman might do better at promoting programs for mediation and prevention of war. Perhaps, although we seem to be entering a global phase in which testosterone-driven violence trumps efforts at conflict resolution. Still, there is every reason that qualified women should have the chance to show their stuff, and Bokova has become a role model for them. “I put a stress on gender equality by making half my management team women,”
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— Trudy Rubin is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Wall of Jerusalem’s Old City as part of a holy Muslim complex while ignoring its status as Judaism’s holiest location. And she successfully fought to get jihadi looting and destruction of ancient Mideast cultural sites, such as Palmyra, officially labeled a war crime. However, when UNESCO members recognized the state of Palestine in 2011, triggering a cutoff of U.S. dues, Bokova had to manage a 30 percent cut to her budget (a skill that led Ban to appoint her chair of a highlevel management committee). Whether Bokova’s experience at UNESCO and as acting Bulgarian foreign minister will suffice to manage, let alone reform, a balky U.N. staff of 44,000 is a question. She must also overcome rumors, which she strongly denies, that she is close to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. She notes that both her children live in the United States, one is a U.S. citizen, and her brief meetings with Putin were part of official U.N. delegations. Then there are the five other female candidates, including ex-Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic and the head of the U.N.’s development program, Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister. Not to mention those six male contenders. But by promoting female U.N. leadership by her example, Bokova has already done the world body a service. Men have few bragging rights when it comes to running the United Nations. So why not give a highly qualified woman the chance?
From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 18, 1916: years “With the apago pointment of A. IN 1916 E. Blair as building inspector, the city commission today took the final step toward putting the new building ordinance into operation. The appointment came after considerable discussion of what should be expected of the new official. It was pointed out that he could not be a practicing plumber, since the city attorney’s opinion was to the effect that a man could not inspect his own work.... Mr. Blair is an architect. He is at present out of the city on business. It is expected that his duties will begin here about August 1.”
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she said. Under Bokova, UNESCO has worked intensively to expand education prospects for girls and women in poor countries. Of course, the challenges facing the United Nations go far beyond gender parity. With xenophobic nationalism on the rise in the West, as well as in Russia and China, the future of multinational organizations is in question. As civil wars and terrorism increase, U.N. negotiating efforts to end the Syrian conflict have failed, and its agencies have been deluged by refugee crises and pandemics such as Ebola. Meantime, peacekeeping operations (with 104,000 troops) are in a negative spotlight after allegations of sexual abuse by some of its troops. As for the job itself, the U.N.’s chief executive must simultaneously function as mega-manager, fundraiser, mediator and global proselytizer for peace, economic development and human rights — even when members aren’t listening. I asked Bokova why she would even want the job. “My husband asks me the same question,” she replied with a laugh. But she insists — despite a world moving in the opposite direction — that she still fervently believes in multilateralism and the possibilities of preventive action. She is no stranger to uphill battles. On her watch, UNESCO, whose member states often take anti-Israel positions, developed a teacher-training program and curricula on preventing genocide and on Holocaust education. Last year, she blocked a resolution by UNESCO’s executive board to reclassify the Western
OLD HOME TOWN
LAWRENCE
Journal-World
7A
Key position To the editor: The success of events such as Final Fridays, Lawrence Buskerfest and the Free State Festival are proof that arts and culture activities pull people into our community and generate sales tax revenue. The redevelopment of industrial buildings in East Lawrence is a prime example of how arts and culture spur outside investment in the community, increasing real estate values of the whole neighborhood and generating additional revenue for the city through property taxes. The director of arts and culture is building on these efforts and will create new ones that will continue to impact the economy of our community. Eliminating the position of the director of arts and culture from the city budget seems short
sighted and would negatively impact the momentum that is bringing added revenue to our community. This position is not a luxury but a key ingredient in the mix of economic development strategies needed to have a thriving community. Countless studies have shown the impact of arts and culture in terms of economic development, quality of life and education. Forward thinking cities across the country have recognized the power of the arts as an income generator and have created whole departments of arts and culture to capitalize on the opportunities presented by thriving arts communities, organizations and individual artists. Previous city commissioners, city staff and community volunteers have recognized the value of a staff position to coordinate and expand the economic
development opportunities provided by a thriving arts community. We must stay the course set by these visionaries and continue to reap the rewards of their efforts. Jane Pennington, Lawrence
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“Bridge street is receiving its first sprinkling of the summer at the hands of city officials this morning. A team from the fire department was put to work this morning with the water wagon to settle the heavy dust that has been bothering the merchants on the north side. Early in the summer a few lengths of hose from the fire department were loaned to the merchants along the street to use in connection with the fire plugs. But the plan did not work satisfactorily according to the officers of the water company, and it was said that the damage to the fire plugs made fire protection inadequate. The hose was removed and since that time no sprinkling has been done. The work started this morning is to be permanent, according to the city commissioners, and the street will be kept in good condition during the remainder of the summer.”
— Compiled by Sarah St. John
Read more Old Home Town at LJWorld.com/news/ lawrence/history/old_home_ town.