Month: May 2021

Federal funds available to help restaurants recover from pandemic losses

Federal funds are available to help restaurants rebuild and recover from losses experienced in the pandemic.

The funds are through the U.S. Small Business Administration. They are part of the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress.

About $28.6 billion has been appropriated nationally for restaurants that qualify to receive the SBA award funds, according to Michael Barrera, SBA district director for the Kansas City area. He discussed the program during a Facebook video presentation with U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist.

Restaurants are all competing against one another throughout the country for the funds, and millions of businesses serve food, Barrera said.

It’s important for restaurants to apply as early as possible, because of the competition for funding, and to follow the directions as closely as possible, he said. Several documents are required, and it is necessary to include them.

Among those businesses eligible for the funds will be restaurants, food trucks, bakers, caterers, snack shops, coffee shops, bars, brew pubs, tasting rooms, breweries, wineries and others, he said.

Those businesses that are permanently closed are not eligible, although those temporarily closed may be eligible, he said.

Applications are made directly to the SBA, a federal agency.

To apply for the restaurant revitalization funds, visit the Small Business Administration website at restaurants.sba.gov or https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/restaurant-revitalization-fund.

A video with tips on how to file the application is online at https://www.facebook.com/RepDavids/videos/1574984196023089.

KCKCC’s all-Kansas golf team qualifies for national tourney

The 2021 KCKCC golf team headed for next week’s NJCAA Division I national tournament is made up of, from left, Keegan Ellington, Carson Towey, Mark Towey, Blake Mullen, Colby Unruh, Dylan Freund and Jacob Hall. (KCKCC photo)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information

Playing in the toughest NJCAA Division I golf conference has some benefits – for Kansas City Kansas Community College, a berth in the 2021 national tournament.

Six of the 20 teams in the national will come out of the region – Jayhawk members Hutchinson, Garden City, Dodge City and KCKCC and two Iowa powers, Indian Hills and Iowa Western.

The national will be played on The Rawls, the home course of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Practice rounds are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with the 72-hole stroke play tourney to be held Monday through Thursday, May 9-12.

The Blue Devil squad will be made entirely by Kansas players, sophomores Blake Mullen of Olathe West, Mark Towey of Bishop Carroll and Dylan Freund of Cheney and two freshmen, Colby Unruh of Overland Park and Carson Towey, younger brother of Mark.

In his 21 years of coaching, Gary Shrader has taken 10 teams to the national tournament. And it’s a good bet the Blue Devils will be the most followed team in the tourney.

“The last time we were at the national tournament in Foley, Ala., the keynote speaker asked if any of the schools had all their players living in their state,” Shrader said. “We were the only ones.”

In all likelihood the Blue Devils are doing it again with their all-Kansas squad because of the heavy influx of international players on the other national qualifiers.

“We’ve had a great following all season with parents and grandparents at our meets, something other teams don’t have,” Shrader said. “It’s kind of refreshing.”

The Blue Devils earned a berth in the national by beating out Barton County for sixth place in the district tournament played at Crestview in Wichita. Hutchinson nipped Indian Hills by one stroke for the district championship followed by Iowa Western, Garden City, Dodge City and KCKCC, which edged Barton County by five shots.

Mullen, who won two tournaments early in the season, led KCKCC, finishing 18th (225) followed by Carson Towey, 31st (232); Unruh, 34th (235); Mark Towey, 38th (238); and Freund, 40th (240).

“We just got a little better every tournament with some of our most competitive rounds in the district,” Shrader said. “We beat some good teams and were probably about a half a stroke a round from having a real good season. We’re real happy to have a chance to play in the national, especially with Kansas kids reaching that level. Although we’ve had some ups and downs, it’s been a good year. The kids have been very good ambassadors for the college.”

Legislature overrides vetoes of COVID federal funding administration, election reform, concealed carry and tax cut bills

A number of veto overrides have come out of the Kansas Legislature in the past few days on bills ranging from election laws to COVID-19 funding.

The GOP-controlled Legislature voted mostly along partisan lines to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes.

One that wasn’t overridden was a veto of a bill barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

On the override of the tax cut veto, Gov. Kelly issued a statement, “Senate Bill 50 is reckless, shortsighted, and jeopardizes our ability to fund education and will leave Kansans on the hook for another tax-cut that we can’t afford. It’s as if legislative leaders want to return to the days of budget crises, gutting transportation spending, and 4-day school weeks. I’ve never met a Kansan who wants that. While some may treat today’s vote as a partisan victory, I’m going to continue to fight to keep Kansas schools funded and to protect our economy.”

As reported by the Kansas Reflector website, the veto overrides have included:

COVID-19 federal funding. https://kansasreflector.com/2021/05/04/house-hits-veto-override-button-to-strip-governor-of-covid-19-funding-oversight/
The House overrode the governor’s veto of a provision putting a small group of legislators in charge of allocating $1.6 billion of federal COVID-19 funding. Formerly, the governor and a task force was in charge of this, with recommendations then going to the State Finance Council, which included the governor and legislative leaders. Under the override version, the governor is left out.

Election reform bills. https://kansasreflector.com/2021/05/03/kansas-house-overrides-governors-veto-of-two-election-reform-bills/
The House and Senate overrode the governor’s veto of two election bills. Under the bills, advance ballots applications sent to voters would have to have more information about the sponsors and declare it wasn’t sent by an official government agency. Candidates could not assist voters directly. Non-candidates could not help more than 10 advance voters, making it a misdemeanor to help an 11th voter. The courts and state administrative offices could not change deadlines for submitting ballots without the permission of the Legislature. County election offices would have to confirm registration addresses. Organizations could not provide grants to county election offices to conduct elections. Opponents claimed these are voter suppression efforts.

Tax cuts. https://kansasreflector.com/2021/05/03/kansas-republicans-restore-tax-cuts-after-both-chambers-spike-governors-veto/
Legislators overrode the veto of Senate Bill 50. The bill has tax breaks for multinational corporations, increases the standard deduction for state income tax returns and allows those with high incomes to claim a standard deduction on federal taxes while itemizing contributions or deductible expenses on their state income tax return. The state sales tax would apply to online retail sales. The governor had said the state can’t afford these tax cuts.
Critics also pointed out that the tax cuts could affect education funding, see https://kansasreflector.com/2021/05/04/senate-republicans-dismiss-kansas-budget-directors-warning-about-education-funds/.

Concealed carry age and Gadsden license plate. https://kansasreflector.com/2021/05/03/kansas-house-votes-to-override-governors-veto-of-license-plate-with-ties-to-slave-owner/
With an override of the governor’s veto of a concealed carry bill, residents 18 to 21 would now be able to carry concealed weapons in public. Firearms training, a background check and state fee would be required. It also would allow residents of other states in that age group, with licenses, to carry concealed weapons in Kansas. Critics of the bill said that teens’ brains are not yet fully developed enough for this. Legislators also overrode the veto of the “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag to be available on state license plates. According to critics, Christopher Gadsden was a major slave owner in revolutionary times, and they did not want the state to fund a license plate that would honor a slave owner.