Latest news with #TheWichitaEagle
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Kansas magistrate judge, former journalist retiring
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (KSNW) — He went from covering the courts from the gallery to sitting behind the bench. District Magistrate Judge Ron Sylvester has announced his retirement. Sylvester spent four decades covering news, including a 12-year stint with The Wichita Eagle. Following his time at The Wichita Eagle, Sylvester worked for papers in Las Vegas and Southern California before returning to Kansas as managing editor for the Hutchinson News. In 2019, after his position was eliminated at the paper, Sylvester filed to fill the Magistrate Judge position in the 30th Judicial District, which was being vacated by Magistrate Judge Roseanna Mathis, who retired. Though he did not have a law degree, Kansas law does not require magistrates to be attorneys, only that they pass an exam within 18 months of taking office. Sylvester was appointed and has served in that role ever since. Hutchinson man sentenced for child pornography case 'The judges I covered as a journalist in both state and federal district courts while in the newspaper business were inspirations, especially those who showed patience and a deliberate approach to justice,' says Sylvester, in a news release from Kansas Courts. 'Judges and journalists have a lot in common, really. We look at both sides of a situation and try to effectively seek answers to problems.' Sylvester has served on the Access to Justice Committee and the Pretrial Justice Task Force, and is a member of the education committee for the Magistrate Certification Program, which helps non-law-trained magistrate judges pass their legal certification. In addition, Sylvester has served on the board of the Kansas District Magistrate Judges Association, most recently as second vice president, overseeing the group's annual continuing legal education conferences for the past two years. Sylvester and his wife Gaye have five adult children and three grandchildren. The couple plans to travel following his retirement. His final day on the bench is April 30. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wichita mayor getting racist emails after not signing transgender proclamation
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said in a recent Facebook post that she's receiving hateful emails since not signing a proclamation that recognized Transgender Day of Visibility last month. In the post, Wu said the emails are due to the 'media's misreporting' on how she handled her insistence on not signing or reading the proclamation. One email used a racial slur for Asian people. Another email from the same account threatened the mayor, who is Asian American, with deportation, according to a screenshot posted on her account. The mayor read the same email during Tuesday's city council meeting while a speaker during the public agenda pushed back against a censure resolution for Republican council member Becky Tuttle. That email is the only one shared by the mayor publicly. The email itself did not cite any media reporting on the proclamation. In the post on her account, Wu also said she's been targeted in social media posts and 'in-person confrontations.' In the same post, Wu shared an email from a supporter that said the proclamation was 'unneeded.' 'Gay community members would benefit most if elected leaders would focus on important issues,' part of the email reads. The city's charter ordinance explains that the mayor has several duties, including presiding over council meetings and signing all resolutions and proclamations. Proclamations are requested by residents and then issued during council meetings if approved by the council. Wu did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Wichita Eagle's requests for comment. Wu has repeatedly insisted the media 'misreported' how she handled issuing the proclamation, saying she didn't 'refuse' or 'decline' to sign it. Instead, she blamed her signature line being removed as a 'clerical error.' The mayor and city staff have yet to go back and add in her signature line, which she signs with an electronic signature. This is not the first time Wichita's mayor has received threats while in office. Former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, who lost reelection to Wu, received death threats during the COVID-19 pandemic over the city's mask mandate. One threat named the mayor as a 'viable target for elimination' and said Whipple 'has a date with the hangman.'
Russia Today
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Russia Today
Russian skating stars on board crashed American plane
Several prominent figure skaters and coaches were reportedly on board the passenger plane which crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC following a mid-air collision with a military helicopter. The list of victims reportedly includes Russian world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. Flight 5342 was carrying 60 passengers and four crewmembers from Wichita, Kansas to the American capital when it hit a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. There were reportedly no survivors. The passengers included athletes, coaches and family members from the National Development Team, a training program for top juvenile figure skaters, The Wichita Eagle reported, citing US Figure Skating. The city hosted the national championships for the sport last week, and some elite young athletes attended advanced classes there, the outlet explained. READ MORE: US military helicopter collides with passenger jet in Washington DC (VIDEOS) Some of the skaters have connections with Russia, according to media reports. Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, a married couple who won the 1994 world championship pair event, were on board the flight, according to TASS. So, reportedly, was Inna Volyanskaya, who won medals at several Soviet and international skating events with her partner and husband Valery Spiridonov. Some outlets claimed that most of the young athletes came from the Russian-American figure skating community. There were fears that American skater Ilia Malinin, whose family came to the US from the USSR, was among the victims, but he confirmed that was not the case. Prominent athletes have expressed their shock in the wake of the tragedy, including Malinin, Luke Wang and Ethan Peal.
