The government has been secretly collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon under a top secret court order.
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A lawsuit by the state of Kansas to force a Topeka sperm donor to pay child support is on hold while a judge considers whether to remove herself from the case. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Shawnee County District Judge Mary Mattivi had a 25-minute hearing Wednesday but didn’t issue a decision. She said she needed to do research and read the lengthy affidavit submitted by an attorney for sperm donor William Marotta. There’s been no public explanation for the request for Mattivi to step aside. The state argues Marotta must pay child support because he is…
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) A Lenexa company has been fined about $27,000 for failing to follow federal rules on lead paint. The Environmental Protection Agency said in a release Wednesday that HarenLaughlin Construction Co. will pay $27,286 for not using required practices for lead paint while renovating a multifamily building in Kansas City, Mo. Under the agreement, HarenLaughlin will complete a $24,500 supplemental environmental project to remove lead-based paint from a nearby apartment and pay the remaining $2,786 in cash. The lead paint rule requires contractors that work on buildings constructed before 1978 to use lead-safe work practices. Lead exposure can…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Sedgwick County Sheriff says inmates are wasting too much toilet paper, so he’s reduced their supply. Sheriff Jeff Easter is limiting inmates to one roll a week. He says that will cut the amount his office is spending on toilet paper from $100,000 to $50,000 a year. Inmates are allowed to buy extra toilet paper. Exceptions will be made for those who are indigent, or inmates who are sick. Easter says inmates plug toilets and cover vents and doors with the toilet paper to absorb the smell when they are illegally smoking tobacco or marijuana. Several…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) An 11-year-old Salina girl who suffered an electrical shock while playing in a rainstorm remains in critical condition at a Wichita hospital. An uncle of Jayden Hicks told The Salina Journal the family has seen some improvements since the girl was hospitalized May 29 but he did not give specifics. The girl was found lying on two in-ground electrical junction boxes in front of the Campbell Plaza in downtown Salina. Four other children playing with her and a firefighter who was injured during the rescue were treated and released at a Salina hospital. Fire Marshal Roger Williams…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Corporation Commission will not ask an independent consultant to investigate the executive director’s complaints about the agency’s staff. On Wednesday, commissioner Tom Wright proposed a review of director Patti Petersen-Klein’s remarks to an auditor that the agency was overstaffed, inefficient and had no accountability. The motion died after another commissioner declined to support it. The third commissioner was not at the meeting. The Topeka Capital-Journal last week reported that Patti Petersen-Klein told the consultant the agency’s employees were lazy and the agency was dysfunctional. The agency’s employees complained to the auditor that Petersen-Klein’s management style…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The high demand for concealed carry permits is continuing in Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports the state had taken 22,124 applications through the first 10 months of the fiscal year, which started last July. In all of fiscal year 2012, Kansas residents submitted 12,408 applications. In response to the demand, the Kansas attorney general’s office hired more staff and temporarily reassigned workers to help process the applications. Some residents had complained the state was not processing applications within the required 90 days. Don Brown, a spokesman for the office, says applications are now being processed in 88…
WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) Relatives of a south-central Kansas woman who was killed in 1984 hope to block the parole of her husband, who was one of two men convicted in the strangulation. The Winfield Daily Courier reports petitions have been placed at businesses throughout the city seeking signatures from people opposed to parole for William P. Kessinger. Kessinger and Clifford Eugene Cox both pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Cathryn Lynne Kessinger, 22, in May 1984. According to testimony at the time, Kessinger offered Cox $1,000 to kill his wife. When Cox said he couldn’t do it…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Police in Kansas City, Kan., have recovered a stolen vehicle they believe was used in a carjacking and up to a half-dozen armed street robberies. The holdups occurred in the northeastern part of the city over a span of roughly three hours, beginning with the carjacking around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Other victims reported being confronted while walking down the street by two or three people, at least one with a gun, who took cellphones, wallets and other items. No injuries were reported, but one man told KCTV he was in his car when three people jumped…
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas lawman on trial for the death of his wife says she had mixed feelings about asking him for a divorce. Brett Seacat testified Thursday at his first-degree murder trial about his work as a police instructor and former deputy. He talked about the day he was served with divorce papers. And he recounted his last day working at a law enforcement academy before the April 2011 shooting death of his wife, Vashti Seacat, 34. Brett Seacat is also charged with aggravated arson and two counts of child endangerment for allegedly setting fire to the…