News

The barber pole has come a long way to be stationed above old brick shops, to repeat and repeat its lonely spins. In fact, the barbers themselves have a strange past, their title once denoting a more taxing profession.

In the middle ages, if you required dentistry, surgery, fire cupping, or a session of leeching, you’d visit the barber-surgeon. It was hundreds of years before the roles we now know as doctors and barbers diverged completely.

Westar Energy has installed about 52 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state of Kansas.

The company is participating in a pilot program to see who’s using the stations, and how often.

Spokesperson Shane Batchelder says the stations are getting a lot of use, but not by people who drive fully electric cars.

“They charge at night while they are asleep, and that certainly gets them through the day,” says Batchelder.

“I don’t think they billed into the plan a need to have to charge throughout the day.”

Each week, Fletcher Powell finds the independent and non-commercial films showing in Wichita and the surrounding areas and brings them to you in this handy guide.

Coming up: a handful of movies and a filmmaking competition.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will halt some water releases from three Kansas reservoirs next month. The Corps says they’ll stop releasing water from Tuttle Creek, Milford and Perry lakes. Kansas Senator Pat Roberts supports the move.

“I am pleased to report the Corps will stop releasing waters August 7th, and will not draw down an additional three feet from the reservoirs in October, despite the authority to do so,” Roberts said.

Inmates in the Sedgwick County jail who allege they were sexually assaulted by a deputy are seeking $20 million from the county.

Attorneys for the inmates filed two notices of claims with the county commissioners.

Prosecutors allege that six inmates were assaulted by a jail deputy, 21-year-old David Kendall, who resigned in late June. Kendall faces 12 charges, including aggravated criminal sodomy and misdemeanor sexual battery.

It wasn’t clear how many inmates are included in the claims because the county redacted the names from the notices.

State insurance regulators have started closely reviewing health insurance premiums that increase by 10 percent or more.

In the past, the state insurance department didn’t review rate hike proposals of less than 12 percent.

The change complies with a requirement in the federal Affordable Care Act, which Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration strongly opposes.

The Kansas Department of Insurance is led by an elected commissioner, who is not part of the executive branch.

Pauls Toutonghi has a way with words. He writes about the unique circumstances surrounding smart, quirky, and loveable characters. At Watermark, we found his first novel, Red Weather, so endearing that we named a sandwich after it. Toutonghi’s newest book, Evel Knievel Days, features a protagonist named Khosi Saqr from Butte, Montana—Evel Knievel’s hometown. Khosi is an obsessive-compulsive Egyptian-American trying to find his identity. Well, half of his identity, anyway.

With the August 7 primary approaching, voters will have the opportunity to hear from some of the candidates.

The Wichita Voter Empowerment 2012 Committee will sponsor a Community Candidates Forum at a church near Wichita State this Sunday.

Candidates running for office on the National, State and Local level have confirmed their attendance at the forum.

Several candidates will participate in a question and answer period after their platform presentations.  A meet the candidate reception will follow. 

I have been curious about the new Delish Deli at Food For Thought since they opened a few months ago. Food for Thought is a locally owned natural food store that’s been in business since 1971, so they know what they are doing in the healthy food department.