Legislators in Topeka are working hard to try and fill a $350 million hole in the state’s school budget. When combined with the $400 million requirements for schools, this creates a $750 million deficit. Representative of the 66th district Sydney Carlin stated that it was decided in the house appropriations committee on Tuesday to make a 4% cut across the board from the state’s universitys, for a total of $31 million. As a result of these cuts, Carlin said student’s will experience a tax increase, as higher education costs will inflate. Carlin also says that numerous options have been explored in the…
Author: KMAN Staff
A helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan has killed five American service members, officials said Tuesday.
The small town of Nelson, Georgia is set to pass a law on April 1 requiring that the head of each household is armed with a gun. But law enforcement tells the Associated Press they will not enforce it.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police are investigating the discovery of a body in an apartment damaged by fire more than two months ago. KSNW-TV reports construction and maintenance workers found the body Tuesday afternoon. The Sedgwick County coroner and homicide investigators were called to the scene. Police say the body appeared to be that of a middle-aged male. The apartment was the scene of a fire in December. Investigators said maintenance crews had been cleaning out the unit for some time.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee has approved a plan from its Republican chairman to cut sales and income taxes. The proposal approved Tuesday by the Taxation Committee rejects key elements of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan for following up on individual income tax cuts enacted last year. The proposal from Chairman and St. Marys Republican Richard Carlson allows the state sales tax to fall to 5.7 percent in July, as scheduled by state law. Brownback wants to keep the sales tax at its current 6.3 percent rate to stabilize the budget while pursuing further income tax cuts. The…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has advanced a bill changing the way judges are chosen for the state Court of Appeals. The measure would give the governor the authority to appoint judges to the court, subject to confirmation by the Senate. It would abolish a special commission that now screens applicants for the Court of Appeals and submits the names of three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment without Senate confirmation. Senators gave the measure first-round approval Tuesday. The bill has already cleared the House, and Senate passage on a final vote expected Wednesday would send it…
HAYS, Kan. (AP) Voters in a northwest Kansas county will decide May 14 whether to approve a half-percent sales tax to repair and expand their jail, courthouse and law enforcement building. The Hays Daily News reports Ellis County commissioners set the date for the special election Monday. Revenue from the tax would also fund a new EMS-rural firefighting building. For residents of Hays, the tax would not be new. A half-percent sales tax for construction of a sports complex expires at the end of this month. Officials say the Ellis County jail is designed for 30 prisoners but has an…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Democrats’ leader in the Kansas Senate says the party will push to decrease the state’s sales tax and to provide additional tax relief for the poor. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka said Tuesday that Democrats will propose expanding tax legislation before the chamber for debate this week. Hensley shared details with The Associated Press. One proposal would allow the sales tax to drop to 5.7 percent in July, as scheduled. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback wants the sales tax to stay at 6.3 percent rate to stabilize the budget as he pursues individual income tax cuts.…
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) A Garden City man is charged with second-degree murder in a fatal stabbing in Dodge City. The Ford County Attorney’s Office on Monday charged Alfredo Gasca-Aldama, 52, with reckless second-degree murder in the death of Jesus Ortiz, 22. Gasca-Aldama is being held on $250,000 bond. Dodge City police say both men were taken to a hospital Saturday night suffering from stab wounds. Ortiz later died. Gasca-Aldama was arrested after being treated for his wounds. Police have declined to release information on the circumstances surrounding the stabbings. It was not immediately clear if Gasca-Aldama had an attorney.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 34-year-old Wichita man is charged with first-degree murder in a fatal accident that occurred while he was fleeing from police. Keith Ritz was charged Monday in the death of Venancio Perez, 38. Police allege Ritz was fleeing in a stolen pickup truck when he ran a stop sign last Tuesday in south Wichita and hit a pickup driven by Perez, who died at the scene. The murder charge accuses Ritz of unlawfully killing Perez while fleeing from or trying to elude an officer. Ritz remains in Sedgwick County jail on a $250,000 bond. A preliminary hearing…