February 22, 2012

OUR VIEW: Recording should be allowed

Cameras, recording should be allowed in Capitol committee hearings Give anyone an ounce of power, and it goes directly to their heads. Nowhere is that more apparent this week than in the state Capitol where committee chairs are attempting to keep the people, at least electronically, out of public meetings. A Lawrence pastor was asked [...]

Journalism’s changes represent a need for professional training

Corbin H. Crable Columnist I got the news on Tuesday afternoon: The Johnson County Sun had closed its doors. My initial thought was perhaps a selfish one. “Drat,” I said to myself. “I have one of The Sun’s employees scheduled to speak to one of my reporting classes this semester, and I just sent the [...]

Revolution with the turn of a digital page

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com It was a day I had been dreading for a long time – the day I betrayed my beloved books. Roughly three weeks ago, I gave in to the so-called “cult of Apple” and bought an iPad, a device on which I could surf the Web, check email, watch videos, listen [...]

You can beat the heat, but it’s a two-way street

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com I hate the fact that I even have to write this column. Kansas City, like much of the rest of the nation, is squirming in the grip of a stifling heat wave, and there are far too many of the sick, elderly and economically disadvantaged who are suffering in silence. When [...]

Permanent memorial for skywalk tragedy long overdue

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com Thirty years is too long to wait for a permanent memorial to those who died in the Hyatt Hotel skywalk collapse. But this weekend’s planned activities to mark the disaster certainly are a start in the long, arduous healing process. Kansas Citians – and engineering students as well – are familiar [...]

OPINION: Writer seeks local voices of generations

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com I’ve always been a sucker for history. I love hearing other people’s stories about where they grew up, how they grew up, how the world around them changed as they came of age, and how, possessing the knowledge they’ve amassed over the years, they view their world now. It just so [...]

OPINION: Carter book reminds of similarities to Obama

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com I have something to admit to you: I’m probably going to buy Jimmy Carter’s new book. Not because I am a fan of the man widely panned as the worst president in the history of our country, but because I want to see Carter at least try to admit, in his [...]

OPINION: Massive traffic jam highlights challenges of overpopulation

Corbin H. Crable chcrable@gardnernews.com And you thought I-35 during rush hour was bad. Chinese media – with the government’s unnecessary blessing, of course – released images of a massive traffic jam on a highway in Beijing earlier this week. Motorists’ cars were at a standstill as road construction crews held up the flow of traffic. [...]

Teachers excited, anxious for new school year, too

When you’re 10 years old, it’s difficult to put yourself in the teacher’s shoes on that first day of school. You enter your new classroom on that first day, and your heart races. Your palms sweat. Your eyes dart from one end of the room to another, looking for your friends who ended up in [...]

OPINION: Roommate sparks war over junk food

But don’t get between a chubby kid and his junk food. Just don’t.