Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) President Barack Obama is recommending no additional funding in the next federal budget for construction of a new biosecurity lab in Kansas. The budget released Monday raises questions about the future of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility under construction in Manhattan near Kansas State University. The project is estimated to cost $650 million to complete and would replace an aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y. The administration requested $150 million in the current year, of which only $50 million was appropriated by Congress, which the White House says is insufficient to begin construction. Obama is asking…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former chief of staff to two past Democratic governors says he can’t remember them inviting legislators to the governor’s official residence by committee. Former Lt. Gov. Troy Findley says Govs. Mark Parkinson and Kathleen Sebelius invited groups of four or six lawmakers to Cedar Crest, the governor’s residence. He said they went through the House and Senate rosters alphabetically. Findley was the governor’s chief of staff from 2005 to 2010, serving both Sebelius and Parkinson. Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor, also a Democrat, is investigating seven gatherings in January held at Cedar Crest by Republican…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Authorities say a Topeka man has been charged with poaching a 14-point whitetail buck that could have broken a state record that has stood for more than 35 years. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says David V. Kent was charged in Osage County with eight counts related the Nov. 11 shooting of the deer. He faces charges of hunting with an artificial light, hunting during a closed season, and other charges. A message left for Kent at his business Friday was not immediately returned. The Wichita Eagle reports that the deer was unofficially scored…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Republican legislators in Kansas are growing defensive over ongoing questions about whether private gatherings they had with GOP Gov. Sam Brownback at his official residence violated the state’s Open Meetings Act. A pattern emerged from interviews by The Associated Press with three dozen of the 91 legislators invited to seven dinners in January at Cedar Crest, the governor’s residence, for Republican members of 13 legislative committees. During at least several events, Brownback made remarks that touched on legislative issues and took a few questions. Republican legislators’ irritation also surfaced during interviews. Lawmakers attending the events generally saw…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The federal trial is scheduled to begin this week in Wichita in the case of a jail inmate whose family is suing two Sedgwick County jail deputies. Relatives of 46-year-old Terry A. Bruner are seeking a total of $10 million. The Wichita Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/wD3SMN ) that the Sedgwick County jail deputies said they didn’t think Bruner was seriously ill when he was incarcerated. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Wichita says Bruner died of streptococcal meningitis. The family contends Bruner wrongly suffered without medical help before he died a “completely preventable” death in 2008.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Legislative committees have scheduled additional hearings this week to consider several plans to cut the Kansas tax rates House Republicans are expected to introduce their plan to cut individual income tax rates on Monday. The plan builds on a proposal from Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, but makes modifications in the elimination of tax credits and the state sales tax rate. Senators have hearings planned Tuesday and Wednesday on the governor’s plan, which would reduce the number of income tax brackets from three to two and cut rates. It also would eliminate the earned income tax credit for…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Barton County Judge Hannelore Kitts is expected to rule Monday on whether to move the trial of a Kansas man accused with killing a 14-year-old Great Bend girl. Attorneys for 37-year-old Adam Longoria contended at a hearing Wednesday that their client can’t get a fair trial in Barton County because most residents already think he is guilty. A survey of 400 Barton County residents conducted through Pittsburg State University found all were familiar with the case and 94 percent thought Longoria was guilty. Prosecutors say the survey is not representative and argue Longoria could still get a…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 12-year-old Wichita girl has died after she was hit by a police car. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the girl and a friend were crossing an intersection in south Wichita Sunday evening when she was hit by the police car. No further details were immediately available.