Alvin Sykes, a human rights activist in Kansas City, Kansas, will receive the 2019 Peace Builder Award on Saturday, Jan. 26, from the Global and Multicultural Education organization.
The award is for Sykes’ lifelong efforts in peace building.
“I’m very pleased and humbled to be recognized for what I have done over the years in Kansas City and throughout the nation,” Sykes said.
The award recognizes Sykes’ wide range of activities in law, politics and education, and his commitment to a more just and equitable society.
Sykes has been the driving force behind the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Reauthorization Act of 2016. He also has been involved in other human rights and social justice campaigns, including human rights legislation in the Kansas Legislature.
He also was the Scholar-in-Residence in 2013 at the Kansas City (Missouri) Public Library.
Sykes said he plans to keep on making contributions to the human rights field in the future.
“Ultimately, by achieving absolute happiness, that leads to world peace,” Sykes said. “I’m one of those that dared to believe world peace is possible, even in the midst of all the chaos we’re currently in.”
G.A.M.E. is a nonprofit organization in Kansas City, Missouri, promoting peace and understanding, and educating for diversity, human rights, the environment and peace.
The organization was co-founded by Manouchehr (Manny) Pedram, Ph.D., in 1982
The awards luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Grand Street Café, 4740 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Missouri.
The Peace Builder Award also will be presented to Cultural Crossroads Inc. , an organization in Kansas City, Missouri.
The guest speaker at Saturday’s luncheon will be Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn, who practices family medicine in Kansas City, Kansas, and has been involved with Physicians for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit organization that works for peace.
Tickets for the May 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the May 10 NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series races under the lights are now available, according to an announcement from the speedway. Prices begin at $64 and $25.
On May 10, children 12 and younger are free with an adult admission. Youth tickets are available in select sections starting at $29 for the May 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
In the fall, tickets for the Hollywood Casino 400 playoff race start at $64 for adults and $29 for youth 12 and under in select sections.
For the Kansas Lottery 300 on Oct. 19, tickets start at $40 and children 12 and under are free with an adult ticket.
On. Oct. 18, tickets for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards series finale are $10 for general admission.
Fans can upgrade their experience with a pre-race pass, Ignition Garage hospitality, and a reserved tailgating space.
Kansas Speedway also has reserved camping spots for the season that start at just $230, or tent camping that is $190 for the season. A limited number of weekend camping spots are available in Kansas Speedway’s Phoenix and Richmond campgrounds, along with tent camping.
In preparation for the upcoming Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Kansas Speedway is giving fans a chance to predict the Daytona 500 winner, with one contest winner receiving two Hot Passes to their choice of one of Kansas Speedway’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races (May 11 or Oct. 20). Fans can register at www.kansasspeedway.com/500Winner. One winner will be selected at random from the correct predictors. Official rules can be found at www.kansasspeedway.com/500winner.
Kansas Speedway, a premier motorsports facility in the Midwest, plays host to two NASCAR race weekends a year, in addition to being host of approximately 200 other events throughout the year. Kansas Speedway’s first race weekend of the season is in May with the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series under the lights. In the fall, the NASCAR playoffs return in with the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. To purchase season or single day tickets, call 866.460.RACE (7223) or log onto www.kansaspeedway.com.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (File photo from Kansas News Service)
Analysis
by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service
Lawmakers, lobbyists and citizens following the goings on in Topeka should buckle their seat belts.
The 2019 legislative session is going to be a bumpy ride.
It looks like an obstacle course of sorts that will test the political skills, patience and resolve of new Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Republican legislative leaders appear determined to put Kelly to the test right out of the gate. They want to quickly restore state income tax deductions eliminated by recent changes in federal tax law.
In her State of the State speech, Kelly pointedly asked lawmakers not to propose any major tax changes. She wants them to hold off until she — and they — get a better handle on the state’s revenue outlook.
Waiting, GOP leaders said, would deny money that rightfully belongs to Kansas taxpayers. It would be tantamount to a $60 million tax increase. So, Republicans are charging ahead. That sets up an early confrontation with the governor.
To Republicans, that might seem like a win-win scenario. If Kelly signs the bill, great. They can take credit for cutting taxes.
If she vetoes it, also great. They can say, “Look, it’s only been a few weeks and she’s already broken her campaign promise not to raise taxes.”
A short-term political win, but one that could backfire in the long run.
Here’s why.
Kelly won the governor’s race for a reason. Exit polls clearly show that voters preferred her to Republican Kris Kobach because they saw her as someone who was less partisan. She appeared as someone who could deliver on her promise to work across the aisle to fix the damage that they agreed had been done by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts.
More than 75 percent of voters polled said the tax cuts were “a bad thing” for the state.
Based on those results, voters might agree with Kelly’s cautious approach. They might agree that cutting taxes again now could hinder the recovery from the Brownback years. That’s a recovery that, Kelly contends, requires responding to urgent needs while maintaining healthy balances in the state’s checking account.
To be sure, the tax-relief ideas Republicans are proposing now aren’t really comparable to the Brownback tax cuts. They’re much smaller.
But their $60 million to $100 million annual price tag would preclude spending on other things that Kelly, at least, views as higher priorities.
Kelly’s performance in the districts of Republican legislative leaders might also be instructive to Republican leaders as they plot a path forward.
Kelly won Senate President Susan Wagle’s Wichita district by 14 points. Her margin in Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning’s Johnson County district was a whopping 20 points.
There is another benefit to Kelly drawing a line in the sand. Relevance.
Vetoing the tax-relief bill while inviting lawmakers to revisit the issue later in the session would give her a bargaining chip. That’s important leverage to use when negotiating with Republican leaders on the issues at the top of her priority list: Medicaid expansion, funding schools and fixing a foster care system that isn’t adequately protecting vulnerable children.
All of this suggests that the biggest issues of the session won’t be resolved until the very end when the governor and Republican leaders strike some sort of grand bargain.
