Posts

Change starts at home

The only politics that matter are the streets of Topeka. Everything else is noise. Your world-politics posts aren’t filling a pothole or collecting a single unpaid tax bill. Until we take back this city and this county, nothing changes. And nothing changes in Kansas until real estate is valued honestly instead of whatever the connected players need it to be that week. Until we stop the fraud Braxton Copley and the consultants have engineered for years. Until we stop Go Topeka from dumping our money into economic-development theater that produces nothing but press releases and invoices. Until we stop a government that still can’t collect what’s owed at Lauren’s Bay while average people get nickel-and-dimed. Until we stop handing sales-tax dollars to AT&T projects and calling it progress. All the posting, all the outrage, all the “awareness” is just wasted air. The problems are sitting in our faces and most people refuse to look at them. Everybody loves to talk about the sa...

Really

**This is a process dispute over bronze sidewalk plaques on the Kansas Statehouse grounds, not a major policy or funding fight.** House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi (both Wichita Republicans) accused Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly of violating state law by unilaterally selecting eight people for the Kansas Walk of Honor, directing installation of the plaques, and holding a ceremony without proper legislative involvement. Kelly (whose second term ends in January 2027) says she followed state law and longstanding past practice. The plaques themselves are privately funded. ### What happened On October 29, 2026, Kelly held a ceremony at the Capitol adding eight honorees (seven women and one man). Representatives from the Kansas Historical Society, the Capitol Preservation Committee, family members, and private donors attended. The new inductees are: - **James Naismith** — Invented basketball in 1891; University of Kansas’ first head coach. - **Lucinda...

Elon

Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has requested a pause on a potential land sale involving about 1,300 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX. Making the announcement during her first post-election news conference on Thursday, November 5, 2026, Hinojosa signaled a major shift in the state's relationship with Elon Musk. [1] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-05/texas-governor-elect-requests-pause-on-land-talks-with-spacex), [2] (https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/hinojosa-spacex-state-park-land-sale-22516892.php), [3] (https://mlq.ai/news/texas-governor-elect-hinojosa-gets-spacex-land-sale-talk-pulled-and-pledges-to-freeze-data-center-approvals/) The latest updates regarding the paused land transaction include: • The Request to Halt: Hinojosa contacted the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to request that "no action be taken" regarding the 1,300-acre land transfer in Cameron County during her transition to power. [1]...

Good seeing you today

Charles Baylor and The Oakland Express Public and professional record research for Henry McClure. Checked November 7, 2026 (Central Time). Confirmed records, self-reported history and remaining verification gaps are separated. Bottom line and identity The Oakland Express identifies Charley Baylor as its editor. The matching Topeka lawyer is Charles Clinton Baylor: Kansas admitted him in 2001, administratively suspended him in 2019, and disbarred him in March 2024 after accepting his voluntary surrender. A law degree and permission to practice are different matters. The April 2026 issue’s masthead names Charley Baylor as editor; Henry’s contact export names Charles Baylor, Editor, THE OAKLAND EXPRESS. The newspaper and Avvo lawyer listing use the same business mailing box, while the contact export and Justia share an older office location. These overlapping professional identifiers strongly connect the editor and lawyer; an independent interview would close the identity loop before a se...

Re: please review

I will not be attending that meeting -  I declined the invitation  Take all the time needed  These a policy changes.  I see Braxton is copied on this email and to avoid any involvement with him I'm happy to wait after his retirement.  H  MCRE, LLC 3625 SW 29 th  Street Topeka KS 66614 762.291.2765 From: Leigha Boling <lboling@topeka.org> Sent: Saturday, November 7, 2026 5:06 PM To: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com> Cc: Dan Warner <DWarner@topeka.org>; Michael G Hall <mghall@topeka.org>; Braxton Copley <bcopley@topeka.org>; City Manager <citymanager@topeka.org> Subject: RE: please review   Good afternoon, Henry.   We have received your email and are seeking guidance from Legal regarding your requests.   I see that a meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, at 3:00 p.m. Please be aware that this timeline ma...

Title: Topeka’s Tax Base Problem: Why the Capital Carries More Than Its Share

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Opening: Topeka is Kansas’s capital. That status brings prestige, jobs, and visitors—and a large volume of property that never appears on the tax rolls. The exemption reality Under Kansas law, property used exclusively by the state is exempt. So are qualifying hospital and charitable properties. Stormont Vail Health, a major nonprofit system with substantial assets, owns multiple parcels that qualify. The practical effect is a smaller taxable base that still funds local services used by everyone, including state agencies and large nonprofits. What other capitals do Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have statutory PILOT programs that send money back to communities hosting state property. Montpelier receives meaningful annual payments. Kansas has no comparable requirement. Federal PILOT payments for federal land exist but are minimal in Shawnee County. How the remaining dollars have been used Public reporting on Hotel Topeka shows a multi-year investment in the $14–17 million r...

What Trump can do in Texas ..... will we be safe?

Yes. The primary mechanism is straightforward federal authority over the border itself. A Democratic governor (in this case, Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, and similarly the new or continuing Democratic governors in California, Arizona, and New Mexico) cannot unilaterally “open the border.” Immigration enforcement, border control, and related operations are federal responsibilities under the Constitution. What a governor can and cannot do A governor can withdraw state resources that previous Republican governors (especially Greg Abbott in Texas) had committed: state National Guard troops under state control, state troopers, state-funded barriers or operations like Operation Lone Star, and voluntary local law-enforcement cooperation (e.g., ending or limiting 287(g) agreements). They can also pursue sanctuary-style policies and challenge federal actions in court. A governor cannot stop federal agents (Border Patrol/CBP, ICE) from operating on the border or in the interior, alte...