Bob Simpson's father was head of Simpson & Associates when the construction company built Botanica almost 25 years ago ... Today, the company is embarking on what Simpson, now at the company's helm, calls the renaissance of Botanica: the new Downing Children's Garden ... Construction of the garden is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks. On Thursday, 80 children from the Independent School, wearing white plastic hard hats and carrying little green and blue trowels, joined organizers and
Wichita's business jetmakers sometimes think about Detroit ... Not that many years ago, U.S. automakers weren't too concerned about emerging foreign competitors ... Productivity was poor, costs were out of control, and they became complacent, said Cessna Aircraft CEO Jack Pelton. Eventually, they lost their dominance ... Wichita, as the Air Capital of the World, can't be in denial that what happened in Detroit could never happen here, Pelton said ...
WICHITA — Both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases this afternoon in the securities fraud trial of Thomas Etheredge ... Judge Ben Burgess will meet with attorneys from both sides Monday morning to discuss his final instructions to the jury. The jury is scheduled to return at 1 p.m. Monday to hear closing arguments before beginning deliberations ... The final day of 10 days of testimony featured sparring between Kansas Securities Exchange Commissioner Chris Biggs, who is
Defense attorney Steve Joseph had spent nearly 10 1/2 hours over the last two days questioning his client, Wild West World founder Thomas Etheredge ... As Joseph was wrapping up his direct examination Thursday afternoon, he had two final questions that went to the went to the heart of the matter in Etheredge's securities fraud trial in Sedgwick County District Court: ... "Did you intentionally lie to any of the investors so they would give you money for Wild West World?" Joseph asked ...
WICHITA — In morning testimony of the securities fraud trial of Wild West World founder Thomas Etheredge, the defense counsel laid groundwork for why a relative trusted Etheredge enough to sell him 80 acres of land and invest $150,000 in the theme park ... It was the second day of testimony for Marvin Whitson, the uncle of Etheredge's wife, Cheryl. Whitson said he had a vested interest in wanting to see Wild West World succeed because he had a son who worked for the park ... At the time he
TOPEKA – Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, announced his bid for Secretary of State on Thursday ... Steineger, has served in the state Senate for 13 years. His district encompasses southern Wyandotte County ... “I was raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression and World War II,” Steineger said. “Many of the lessons that they passed on to me are once again applicable today. Hard work, thrift and living within our means are more sustainable than excessive spending and
For the next two to three weeks the state will try to show that Thomas Etheredge misled investors and misrepresented himself in trying to convince people to give him money for his failed amusement park, Wild West World ... Etheredge's trial began Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court. He is charged with nine counts of misleading private investors ... Most of those who invested in the theme park that stayed open only two months before closing and going bankrupt were family members or
It may not surprise you that Liz and Charles Koch have laid aside a little money ... Money is sometimes problematic to those who have a lot of it. For one thing, it prompted the Kochs to fiercely guard their privacy ... He runs the second-largest privately held company in the world ...