TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas attorney general’s office paid outside lawyers almost $628,000 through April to defend anti-abortion laws enacted last year. The office says it paid more than $327,000 to Foulston Siefken, a Wichita firm helping defend a budget provision denying federal family planning dollars for non-abortion services to Planned Parenthood. The group has a federal lawsuit against the measure. The attorney general’s office paid about $193,000 to Thompson, Ramsdell Qualseth, of Lawrence, to help defend health and safety regulations for abortion providers. Two Kansas City-area physicians challenged the rules first in federal court and then in state court.…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators have cleared the way for final votes in the House and Senate on a plan for cutting income and sales taxes. Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler said those votes could come Wednesday. Two Democratic lawmakers involved in negotiations over the plan refused to sign off on it. The Legislature’s rules mandate unanimous agreement among House and Senate negotiators, but both chambers voted Monday to suspend that requirement. The plan would reduce individual income tax rates, exempt 191,000 businesses from taxes and lower the sales tax to 5.7 percent from the current 6.3 percent in July…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House is trying to revive Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to start requiring first-time voters to produce proof of their U.S. citizenship next month. House members expected to vote on a bill Tuesday. Kansas has adopted a proof-of-citizenship requirement for people registering to vote for the first time in the state, but it doesn’t take effect until January. Kobach wants the rule in place June 15, in time for a normal surge of registrations before a presidential election. Critics say the requirement will suppress voter turnout. The House approved a version of Kobach’s proposal…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) A northeastern Kansas woman accused of leaving her 2-month-old son alone in a stroller in a dark alley has told a judge she’s a good mother. Twenty-eight-year-old Elizabeth Michaud made the statement Monday during an appearance in Leavenworth County District Court. The Leavenworth woman is charged with aggravated child endangerment. The Leavenworth Times reports a judge refused to release Michaud on her own recognizance, which would have let her leave jail without paying money. She remains in custody. A Leavenworth resident spotted the stroller and the baby late on the night of May 3 in an alley…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House is preparing to debate a proposed $14 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Tuesday’s debate will focus on spending priorities proposed by the House Appropriations Committee, including more money for social services to meet increased demand. The Senate has already passed its own version of the budget. The Senate plan would spend some $14.4 billion and increase spending for public schools. Legislators are quickly approaching the 90-day limit of the session. Once the House approves a budget, negotiators from the two chambers will begin meeting to work out their…
Arrests Randy Darnell Bodwin, 28, Junction City, Kan., for failure to appear. Bond set at $119. Rolando Santiago Cantu, 39, 605 Laramie St., Apartment 2, for failure to appear. Bond set at $100. Brian James Gasswint, 29, Junction City, Kan., for driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. Bond set at $1,500. Jeffrey Thomas Gasswint, 25, Junction City, Kan., for driving under the influence. Bond set at $500. Benson Joe Neal Jackson, 19, 514 Kearney St., for failure to appear. No bond. Kenny Lee Malone, 27, 1114 Garden Way, Apartment B, fopr theft of property. Bond set…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Will Middlebrooks homered down each of the lines, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia also went deep, and the Boston Red Sox pounded the Kansas City Royals 11-5 on Monday night to snap a five-game losing streak. Middlebrooks, called up last week when Kevin Youkilis went on the disabled list, hit a three-run shot in the first inning and a two-run homer in the eighth, becoming the first player in Red Sox history with at least one extra-base hit in each of his first four major league games. He also hit a grand slam in Boston’s…
HOUSTON (AP) Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, who oversaw the school’s upcoming departure from the Big 12 and everything from national championships to the end of the storied football rivalry with Texas, is retiring. Byrne will discuss his decision at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in College Station, a school official with knowledge of the decision. The school said only that Byrne would make an announcement “regarding his future” and the person spoke to The Associated Press late Monday on condition of anonymity because details had not been released. The 66-year-old Byrne was hired at Texas A&M in…