WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of a Wichita man who offered a friend cash and drugs to kill the pregnant 14-year-old girl who was carrying his child. The court ruled Friday that Elgin Ray Robinson is not entitled to a new trial or sentencing in the death of Chelsea Brooks. She was nine months pregnant at the time. Brooks disappeared on June 9, 2006. Her body was found six days later. Robinson was convicted of capital murder and other charges. The Supreme Court rejected defense arguments that the trial court should have suppressed evidence…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A flurry of map-making by Kansas House members has left the chamber’s Redistricting Committee with 18 proposals for redrawing the state’s congressional districts. The committee accepted 10 new proposals Friday. Lawmakers must adjust the boundaries of the state’s four U.S. House districts to account for population changes over the past decade. House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican who’s also the committee’s chairman, says the panel will have hearings on the proposals next week and vote on a plan March 12. One of the proposals is a bipartisan plan approved last month by the Senate, but O’Neal…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Public employee groups in Kansas have misgivings about a new legislative proposal for overhauling the state pension system. Their representatives expressed misgivings Friday even though the proposal backs away from starting a 401(k)-style plan for new teachers and government workers. The proposal was unveiled during a meeting of the House Pensions and Benefits Committee by its chairman. Its key feature is a new retirement plan for public employees hired starting in 2014, one designed to limit financial risks both for the state and the workers. The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System projects an $8.3 billion shortfall between…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) State officials want to raise awareness of a fund that helps people with gambling addictions, which is getting little use. Just over 100 Kansans have sought help from the fund in the year since it became available. It gets 2 percent of gaming revenues from state-owned casinos. The Wichita Eagle reports that the fund has just more than $3.5 million for this fiscal year and is projected to have $7.3 million in the fiscal year 2013 budget. Paul Hahn is the problem gambling services coordinator for the state. He says the state knows the need for treatment…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) An 84-year old man died after his motor scooter ran into the back of a car that had stopped at a northwest Wichita intersection. Wichita police identified the man killed in the Thursday afternoon accident as Guy D. Rhodes. Police say Rhodes tried to swerve to avoid the car but hit it from behind. He and his motor scooter catapulted over the length of the car and the motorcycle landed on top of him. Rhodes was wearing a helmet.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The U.S. Postal Service will keep its central repair facility in Topeka. Sen. Jerry Moran announced Thursday that the postal service plans to consolidate work from another repair shop in Grand Prairie, Texas, with work at the Topeka repair shop after Dec. 31. Moran said in a news release that the move would bring jobs to Topeka but it was not immediately clear how many jobs will be created. The announcement came about a week after the postal service said it was moving work from its mail processing center in Topeka to Kansas City, Mo. That consolidation…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A University of Kansas researcher says that gay marriage bans may have generated empathy for same-sex couples and their families. Political science professor Don Haider-Markel has researched gay and lesbian political movements in the United States. He also wrote “Out and Running: Gay and Lesbian Candidates, Elections and Policy Representation.” Haider-Markel says that without states pushing to ban same-sex marriage in the 1990s, people might not have been exposed to stories about the difficulties gay couples experience without marriage. Haider-Markel called that opinion-changing coverage “an ironic outcome.” Today, six states and the District of Columbia have made…
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Pittsburg State University wants to become a little greener by better monitoring utility usage. Workers have been installing devices that will record and transmit real-time information about electric, water, gas and steam use to an on-campus server. The southeastern Kansas school says the information will be used to track campus utility use, evaluate energy conservation efforts and identify other ways to save energy. All data can be viewed instantaneously and recorded for historical comparisons and analysis. Pittsburg State also plans to install one or more kiosks around campus this spring. They’ll give students, faculty and staff a…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Three Kansas organizations have launched a petition drive against Gov. Sam Brownback and legislators over proposals for public education. The online signature drive is led by Kansas Families for Education, Kansans United in Voice and Spirit and the Kansas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. They’re asking that the Republican governor and legislators increase funding for public schools. Kansas has cut education funding in recent years because of tight state revenues. The groups behind the petition say the cuts have resulted in larger class sizes, lower academic achievement and less time for students to be with…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee is already considering a half-dozen proposals for redrawing the state’s congressional districts, but it’s likely to review even more. Friday’s meeting of the Redistricting Committee was scheduled to give members an opportunity to present more ideas before the panel begins its discussions. Kansas lawmakers must redraw the state’s four U.S. House districts to account for population changes. The 1st District of western and central Kansas is nearly 58,000 residents short of the ideal of about 713,000 and must gain territory. The Senate has approved a bipartisan plan. But many Republicans don’t like it…