Opinion

THE POSTSCRIPT, Carrie Classon

In our household, my husband, Peter, and I have acquired nicknames which we imagine our cat, Felix, calls us by. To Felix, I am Mama and Peter is Mouse.

We came by these names because I spend more time cuddling with Felix — although he is not much of a cuddler. On the rare occasions when he decides he’d like to make biscuits (or whatever term you use for that endearing activity where a cat treats you like a loaf of bread and kneads you with his two front paws), I am the one he selects. But other than that, Mama has few redeeming qualities because it is Mouse who plays all the games, and Felix loves games.

GUEST COLUMN, Annette Bakker, CEO, Children’s Tumor Foundation

The tragedy of rare disease is not only measured in lives lost  —  it’s also measured in lives that could have been saved, if only abandoned discoveries had been given another chance.

Promising experimental therapies that could change or even save lives are often sidelined by companies, not because they failed but because they fell off the priority list.

When someone inside a company decides to champion an abandoned therapy, everything can change.

Enter Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall -- former chief medical officer at Pfizer.

GUEST COLUMN, Rhea Landholm, Central for Rural Affairs

This holiday season, will you shop at one of the 33.2 million small businesses that make up 99 percent of all businesses in the U.S?

Up and down rural main streets in rural America, shopkeepers are readying their stores for the season. Business owners are stocking special gifts and rolls of wrapping paper to provide added value when you spend your money with a local retailer.

Independently owned businesses are what keep our rural communities thriving. They rely on our patronage during the crucial holiday season as well as year-round.

GUEST COLUMN, Vance Ginn, Kansas Policy Institute

A new SurveyUSA poll of Overland Park and Leawood residents confirms what many Kansans already feel in their gut: people love their teams, but their desire to spend tax dollars on it declines as the taxes hit closer to home.

When asked if the state should use tax or other “cash-like” incentives to help build a new professional stadium, 58% expressed support (32% opposed). However, when the same question was applied to local property or sales tax breaks, support dropped sharply to 47%, with 42% opposed. The closer government subsidies hit home, the more skeptical voters become.

The numbers above are combinations of those strongly support and somewhat support and both somewhat and strongly opposed. Full crosstabs and details polling information is available here.