Donald Damon: retired truck driver, millionaire and now state budget savior.
Last week’s budget cuts from Gov. Mark Parkinson would have been worse if not for a Damon's $3 million tax payment.
Damon won the Powerball jackpot three weeks ago and claimed a lump-sum prize of $33.8 million. The state’s share of taxes [...]
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is in hot water for commuting the sentence of the man suspected of killing four police officers in Washington state, a decision that made the suspect eligible for parole in Arkansas.
He spent in the 2008 presidential campaign in hot water for his [...]
Almost half the people living in Dunklin Co., Mo., in the bootheel, get federal food stamps, according to a weekend story in the New York Times. The newspaper says 73 percent of the children in the county are in the program.
In the last election, almost 60 percent of [...]
Bloomberg, Tiahrt continue to clash over gun trace records
St. Louis City Hall unions agree to furloughs
Term-limited Yates may step down early
The blogosphere continues to dissect the opinion of Missouri leaders on climate change legislation, an assessment of the latest poll from SurveyUSA which shows a decline [...]
It appears Rep. Dennis Moore will qualify for a congressional pension of a little less than $21,000 annually when he leaves the House in January, 2011.
(That's assuming Moore has made the required contribution of 1.3 percent of his salary. He pays another 6.2 percent of salary into Social Security; [...]
Regionalism and maintaining Kansas City's identity
Montee discusses current climate of ballot initatives
Resources for citizen journalists
Gov. Jay Nixon and Missouri Treasurer Clint Zweifel suggest a one-year tax subsidy for new homeowners, thoughts on global warming and University of Missouri President Gary Forsee's recent comments on greenhouse gas [...]
The First Couple at tonight's dinnerSen. Claire McCaskill was on the horns of a major-league dilemma today.
Invited to the big state dinner tonight at the White House, the freshman senator from Missouri wondered if it was cool to tweet during the [...]
Politico is reporting that Lou Dobbs, the populist news anchor and radio talk-show host who recently left CNN, is considering a run for president in 2012.
A long-time business reporter and anchor, he's best known today for his controverisal views on immigration.
Read all about it here .
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon bagged a deer yesterday on a hunting excursion in Pulaski County.
Following the hunt, the governor donated his doe to Share the Harvest, a public-private partnership that provides meat to food banks, homeless shelters and feeding centers.
He encouraged other hunters to do the [...]
The Kansas Department of Transportation says a $50 million funding cut will mean Kansans will have to live with deteriorating road conditions for the foreseeable future.
No major highway projects – or projects funded by the federal stimulus program – will be impacted. But many resurfacing projects around the state will be [...]
News of Rep. Dennis Moore’s decision to retire next year hit the political community like a thunderclap. It immediately rattled the china inside the Democratic Party.
Suddenly, their political prospects in Kansas next year became even worse.
With Republicans looking very strong in contests for the Senate and governor – [...]
Brownback health care town hall in Olathe today
The particulars of the Manhattan Declaration
Thoughts on Nixon and Kinder's strained relationship
The blogosphere is abuzz over the number of potential candidates running for U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore's seat, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants more information on frequent flier programs, and [...]
The White House issued a statement last night on Kansas Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore's impending retirement:
"The president joins the people of the Third District and across the state in thanking Congressman Moore for his extraordinary service and leadership over the past 11 years.
Congressman Moore has been a relentless advocate [...]
TOPEKA | More cuts to schools, roads and state programs were announced Monday by Gov. Mark Parkinson, the latest reductions designed to shore up the state’s recession racked budget.
“This is the most challenging budget time in Kansas history,” Parkinson said before announcing $258 million in budget cuts and adjustments.
Here are [...]
Here's Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican, on Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore's decision not to seek re-election:
“I want to personally thank Congressman Moore for his service to Kansas and this nation. He has been a hard-working congressman and always maintained a strong presence in the district. I wish [...]
Here's what Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said about Rep. Dennis Moore's decision to retire next year.
He called Moore a "committed advocate for his constituents in Kansas and a champion for bringing bipartisan solutions in Congress.
“On the Financial Services and Small Business [...]
It was a feel-good moment when 13-year-old Julie Brock-Garcia donated her wish from the Make-A-Wish foundation to a food pantry. The money _ $5,000 _ would go a long way to feeding the hungry.
In the ceremony, Mayor Mark Funkhouser told about the Kansas City proclamation to make Nov. [...]
WASHINGTON –Congressman Dennis Moore released the following statement today:
It has been an honor and a privilege to have been elected six times to represent the people of the Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives. I have decided not to seek reelection in 2010. It is time for [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | What do you get when you add strong opinions to ample interstate highway access?
Incendiary billboards.
For the second time in the last year, provacative signs have cropped up along Interstate 70 near Kansas City.
This one seems to advocate against paying taxes, encourages voters to toss out incumbents and, [...]
TOPEKA | Eric Rucker, Phill Kline’s former top assistant, faces a formal ethics complaint that he made misleading comments before the Kansas Supreme Court.
The state’s disciplinary administrator, who investigates complaints against attorneys, today released the complaint against Rucker, who served as chief of staff when Kline was attorney general.
The [...]
TOPEKA | Today’s the day for more budget cuts in Kansas.
Gov. Mark Parkinson will unveil his plan to reduce state spending by some $260 million at 3:30 this afternoon, his office says.
This round of cuts – at least the fourth since the year began – comes as state revenues continue [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | It's been a bad, bad few months for Missouri House and Senate Democrats.
State Rep. Don Calloway, a St. Louis Democrat, turned up on the front page of the Post-Dispatch this morning in handcuffs, and has apparently been charged with second-degree robbery. He's just the latest of several [...]
Congressman Dennis Moore
UPDATE, 3:25: Statement from Patricia Lightner: "Now that the political winds in the 3rd District have shifted, I'm sure everyone that has ever dreamed of running for Congress will consider entering the race. While I welcome any new competitors, I think the [...]
By STEVE KRASKE
The Star
U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who confounded the GOP by winning six consecutive elections in a heavily Republican district, will not seek re-election next year, key Democrats said Sunday.
Moore, who represented Johnson, Wyandotte and a portion of Douglas counties, will issue a statement today explaining his [...]
Why Cauthen's out and Schulte's a better fit
Bond: Health care bill something Madoff would envy
Which Dems might run for Moore's seat?
Everybody wants to weigh in on former Gov. Sarah Palin's new book, a look at what the Missouri Senators had to say in relation to Saturday's vote [...]
The weekly missive from Gloria and Mayor Mark Funkhouser discusses the day that Cauthen fell, calling it "dramatic and difficult."
Funkhouser predicts a seamless transition with Troy Schulte at the helm. And he notes that he and KC Councilman John Sharp stood side by side for the city's benefit less than 24 [...]
The political fallout from Thursday’s blood-letting at City Hall?
A whole host of possibilities loom. Let’s rack ‘em up:
1. The City Council gets a rare shot at a fresh start. Could be good.
2. Council members are at each other’s throats again. Councilman Ed Ford is saying publicly that he’s [...]
U.S. Senate candidate Todd Tiahrt said today it's time to halt TARP, otherwise known as the Wall Street bailout program.
All unobligated TARP funds remaining after Dec. 31 would be applied toward reducing the national debt, Tiahrt, a Republican, said. It is estimated that $200 billion in unspent TARP funds could be returned to [...]
TOPEKA | Kansas unemployment rate went DOWN in October to 6.4 percent. Down?
Yes, but don’t get too excited. The state’s Department of Labor says the dip (September’s jobless number was 6.8 percent) is mostly due to seasonal factors.
The monthly job data was released this morning by the Department of Labor.
Kansas [...]
From Talking Points Memo:
The new national poll from Public Policy Polling (D) has an astonishing number about paranoia among the GOP base: Republicans do not think President Obama actually won the 2008 election -- instead, ACORN stole it.
Behind the scenes of the Cauthen suspension
Blogging the divide between U.S. and Cuba
A blogger contends that if we stop offering fair trials in the United States, then we have become terrorized, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill offers up a hand-drawn map of Missouri for [...]
Sen. Claire McCaskill yesterday twittered this:
"If we printed the health care bill in regular size font it would be same legnth as Sarah Palin's book, but with more meat on the bone."
Snappp!
from washingtonpost.com
Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.
Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment [...]
Updated to include email exchange with Stigall and mayor's office *.
For more years than he can remember, Bill Grigsby was the master of ceremonies at the Mayor’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Crown Center.
Good ol’ Grigs. Smiling. Jovial. Kansas City’s biggest booster, and entirely non-controversial.
“I did it for a lot of [...]
Gov. Jay Nixon is at 42 percent approve, 25 percent disapprove.
Sen. Kit Bond: 41-34 percent.
Sen. Claire McCaskill: 42-45.
Don’t panic yet, Democrats. The 2010 elections are still a year away.
But the respected, nonpartisan Cook Political Report just lowered - slightly - the chances of Rep. Ike Skelton winning re-election for the 17th straight time.
Its latest assessment of the race shifted Missouri’s 4th Congressional District from a “likely” [...]
Barry GrissomCongressman Dennis Moore's office has confirmed that it will submit the name of Overland Park attorney Barry Grissom to be the next U.S. attorney for Kansas.
Lawrence lawyer Dan Watkins had been in the running for the state's highest law enforcement position, but withdrew [...]
The Power & Light District just announced the makeup of a new board designed to quell the dress-code controversy in the Downtown Entertainment District.
From a District news release:
In follow-up to Monday’s announcement and invitation, Zed Smith, the Managing Partner of the Power & Light District and Kansas City Live!, and [...]
Mayor Mark Funkhouser has apparently suspended city manager Wayne Cauthen.
Details to follow.
The letter:
Dear City Council Members:
As you know, I believe we need new leadership for the city. As of today, I am exercising the authority given to me as the Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, [...]
Democratic Senate candidate Charles Schollenberger says he wants a federally-created "wind authority" to oversee and promote construction of wind power in Kansas and other states.
In a speech Thursday -- and a news release -- the Kansas Senate hopeful said:
"We need a new government authority like the Tennessee [...]
A Kansas City political club, the Citizens Association, has sent an "open letter to the citizens of Kansas City, Missouri," blasting the calibre of leadership in city government. Among the highlights:
_ "The public interest of Kansas City is not being represented at City Hall. The lack of leadership exhibited by [...]
TOPEKA | Former Kansas State University President Jon Wefald gave too much power to deputies who operated with too little oversight, according to a final review of financial irregularities identified in a recent audit.
“It was clear there was an awful lot of power invested in too few people,” current President [...]
It looks like Rep. Todd Tiahrt's campaign for the Senate in Kansas is borrowing strategy from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, of all places.
Specifically, the song, "Let's Do the Time Warp Again."
The Wichita Republican made a not-so-veiled allusion to fellow congressman Jerry Moran, who's also seeking the GOP nod for the 2010 [...]
KMBC's Mike Mahoney reports that the Johnson County field coordinator for U.S. Senate hopeful Todd Tiahrt has resigned after he was confronted with a set of sex charges he's facing.
Jase D. Stanton was accused of the sex charges this summer for an incident that allegedly took place in July 2008.
From Missourinet:
Missouri’s two U.S. Senators have differing views about the Obama administration's decision to have some of the Guantanamo detainees tried for terrorism in the U.S.
Senator Kit Bond, a Republican, believes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others detained at Gitmo are not run of the mill criminals and should not [...]
Here's a thumbnail comparison of the three approaches to health care reform -- House Democrats (the bill that passed); House Republicans; Senate Democrats.
(Senate Republicans aren't offering a bill.)
Wonks can consult the CBO scores attached below (CBO later updated the score on the House Dems' bill; that [...]
TOPEKA | Where has Kansas’ money gone?
That was the question posed by Kansas Secretary of Revenue Joan Wagnon Wednesday night at a provocative – for state tax policy anyway – meeting at Washburn University.
Wagnon says the state has given too much away in the form of tax breaks and incentives, [...]
NEW ORLEANS - The federal government could be vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims after a judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval on Wednesday awarded seven plaintiffs [...]
Palin should face the media at College of the Ozarks
Several pols wrote to support Smith's quest for a lighter sentence
Purgason believes grass roots Senate campaign can succeed
What Kansas City can learn from the Harlem Children Zone -- a children's wellness program in New York City, a request [...]
By DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
The Jerry Moran campaign is seething over an e-mail from Senate rival Todd Tiahrt’s campaign that implies Moran is a fellow traveler of the Communist Party.
The e-mail subject line asserts — falsely — that Moran has been endorsed by the Communist Party USA.
“The assertion that Jerry [...]
Here's what Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had to say about the new - and controversial - recommendations about breast cancer screening:
“There has been debate in this country for years about the age at which routine screening mammograms should begin, and how often they should be [...]
Obama may not run in 2012? Power and Light District needing even more city subsidies? Another health care reform bill to be unveiled in the Senate today? Let the good times roll...
The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith
They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with.
"What time is it?" said the judge, to Joey when they met
"Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says, "That's exactly what you get."
- "Joey" by Bob Dylan.
JEFFERSON CITY | OK, [...]
President Obama in China
In an interview with CNN in China, President Obama opened the possibility to not running for re-election in 2012 -- something that no president has done since Lyndon Johnson.
Here's what he said:
"You know, if - if I feel [...]
Looking at urban farming in Kansas City
Class action suit against MO Dept. of Revenue is certified
A compromise leads to a tuition freeze but future cuts in the budget for higher education, debating whether former President Ronald Reagan could be looked at [...]
NEW YORK - Former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace says Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination."
In a statement to The [...]
Here's what Kansas GOP Chairwoman Amanda Adkins had to say today about the Democrat's new candidate for governor, Tom Wiggans:
"It is hard to imagine Kansas Democrats would actually nominate for Governor someone who has never voted in a Kansas election."
True? Yes. Wiggans left Kansas after he graduated from KU, enjoyed [...]
At the grade school musical, one kid appeared on stage a few shades darker than normal, which raises a question:
Is blackface ever acceptable in a society as racially charged as ours?
Ponder that as I report that the presentation bore no resemblance whatsoever to a minstrel show.In fact, last week’s performance [...]
If you didn't catch KMBZ's Shanin & Parks this afternoon, they had a little contest to see who could sound most like KC's favorite rail advocate Clay Chastain. Oh, if PrimeBuzz only had a tape.
Callers were asked to repeat a line from his impassioned light rail speech at Union Station a couple [...]
Judy Baker, who narrowly lost a race for Congress in mid-Missouri last year, is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' pick for regional HHS director.
Baker's Region VII includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.
"Judy Baker brings an extensive, working-level knowledge of our department’s most important issues, as well as a knowledge of [...]
Worried about Kansas City's emergency plans for tornados, floods, and other disasters?
The Mid-America Regional Council and the city of Kansas City will hold a public listening session tonight (Tuesday, Nov. 17) at the WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial to talk about the city's emergency preparedness plans.
The plans have [...]
Thousands of Kansas City residents will have a chance Wednesday night to hear and speak with Mayor Mark Funkhouser from the comfort of their own homes.
Funkhouser is hosting a “Tele-Town Hall” meeting beginning at 7 p.m., when people can discuss issues with the mayor by phone.
“This is sort of a [...]
David Plouffe hits the radio airways David PlouffeWednesday to talk about how he and Barack Obama pulled off one of the great election feats of all time -- the 2008 presidency.
Plouffe is the author of a new book, The Audacity to Win. Excerpt here.
He's [...]
If Clay Chastain thought his teleconference with regional transportation planners was "grim," apparently his meeting didn't go too well with the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce either.
In it's Nov. 13 Internet newsletter, "The City Haller," the chamber did some number crunching on the Chastain rail plan. The results weren't good.
First, [...]
It's officially a race.
Democrat Tom Wiggans filed paperwork with the state today to begin a campaign for Kansas Governor.
The political newcomer faces U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican, in next year's election.
Wiggans still hasn't spoken publicly about his interest in running for governor, or why he thinks he should lead [...]
Light rail advocate Clay Chastain reports that his hopes for "a harmonious solution" to the city's light-rail dillema are largely dashed.
Chastain met via teleconference last week with representatives of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the Mid-America Regional Council and TranSystems, which has helped Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders fashion a regional [...]
TOPEKA | Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson will announce a new round of budget cuts next week, he told reporters today.
He wouldn’t offer any hints about where he’s going to cut, but said his budget-balancing plan won’t include any tax increases.
Because of declines in revenue the state is now about a [...]
TOPEKA | Gov. Mark Parkinson today unveiled a new program that gives low-interest loans to help make homes and businesses more energy efficient.
Kansans regardless of income can participate in the program, which grants loans of up to $20,000 for homeowners and $30,000 for small business owners for eligible projects. The [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon is announcing a deal to cut higher education funding but freeze tuition for most students in a flyaround today.
Under the arrangement reached with university leaders, higher-ed funding for the 2010-11 budget year would be cut a relatively modest 5.2 percent -- about $42 million [...]
This week's Newsweek Sarah Palin reportedly is upset with the photograph that appears on the cover of this week's Newsweek.
And maybe with good reason.
The photo, of Palin in jogging togs, is an image that was apparently lifted from a Runner's World photo shoot months [...]
National Geographic asked all 100 U.S. senators to draw a map of their home state from memory and to label at least three important places.
Of good ol' KC, McCaskill wrote, "Where I came after law school and began my career in public service."
President Obama shouldn't take a bow
The idea of a KC aquarium is all wet
The argument why film tax credits aren't a good plan for spurring the economy in Missouri, a blogger asserts that we need the government to protect us from ourselves [...]
from stargazing
So much for Levi Johnston's "aspiring porn career" that Sarah Palin made a snide comment about to Oprah on Monday.
The word is out that Levi, father of Palin's grandson, did not, in fact, go full frontal in his Playgirl photo shoot.
Says Playgirl spokesman Daniel Nardicio: "He did not give [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to paying for a health care overhaul, Americans see just one way to go: Tax the rich.
That finding from a new Associated Press poll will be welcome news for House Democrats, who proposed doing just that in their sweeping remake of the U.S. medical [...]
Rampant rumors of committee chair changes on the Kansas City Council are finally confirmed tonight.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser has removed Russ Johnson as chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and replaced him with Terry Riley.
Johnson goes to Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee, which earlier had no Northland representation. But he's [...]
No Democrats filed to run for Kansas governor today.
Word on Friday was that Tom Wiggans would file paperwork with the Secretary of State to make a run at the governor's mansion. Wiggans is a bioscience executive who now lives in Olathe. If the political newcomer does enter the race for governor he'll [...]
This year, Johnson County started running motorcoaches on its popular K-10 route between Lawrence and Overland Park.
The buses were supposed to be more comfy and roomier to meet the exploding demand on one of the area's hottest bus routes, which averages 780 riders a day..
But today the Obama administration announced [...]
The League of Conservation Voters today launched a statewide radio ad in Missouri that takes Congressman (and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Blunt) to task for saying he didn't "know if it's true" if he had taken more than $1 million in campaign donations from oil companies and other energy interests.
The [...]
Rep. Sam Graves says he's against legislation requiring almost every business to provide paid sick leave to employees who get the swine flu or other contagious diseases.
"At a time when our nation is facing a 10.2% unemployment rate, the last thing our small businesses need is another mandate," Graves [...]
Former Gov. Sarah PalinFewer than three in 10 Americans think that former Gov. Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, a new poll concluded.
But two-thirds of the public thinks Hillary Clinton is qualified.
from Earth Times
Washington - President Barack Obama's deep bow to the Japanese emperor during a weekend visit in Tokyo has been met with sharp criticism from conservatives in the United States. Conservatives took to the airwaves and blogosphere Monday to rip Obama's gesture as subservient, inappropriate and a sign of [...]
The Senate Democrats’ campaign committee sent out a press release today that at first glance prompted this reaction:
“No way.”
It was about a poll of the 2010 Missouri Senate race that showed state Sen. Chuck Purgason, who’s running a shoestring campaign for the Republican nomination, possibly “polling in the double-digits” [...]
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas read a statement into the Congressional Record that was actually drafted by lobbyists for Genentech, a biotech company, during the health care debate.
(The Times said Missouri Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, also a Republican, also [...]
By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
The Star's Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON | Republican Rep. Sam Graves, a farmer from a rural northwest Missouri congressional district, was once a consistent supporter of easing trade and travel restrictions on Cuba.
But a campaign watchdog group said he began accepting campaign contributions from an anti-Castro, pro-trade embargo political action [...]
from TODAYshow.com
A lot of folks would pay good money to be a fly on the wall at this coffee klatch. In her upcoming memoir “Going Rogue,” former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she would welcome a sit-down with ex-Democratic presidential challenger Hillary Clinton.
NBC’s Mike Viqueira offered eye-opening, exclusive excerpts [...]
In April, Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver toured Cuba and came home saying good things about the island nation.
"To see all of these myths melt right in front of my eyes was something to behold," the Kansas City Democrat said then. "We’ve been led to believe that the Cuban people are not [...]
It’s out with the old paper notices and on with new digital notifications at the Johnson County and Olathe library systems.
In an effort to reduce costs and save taxpayers money, library patrons will receive notices by e-mail and telephone for overdue materials, materials on hold and bills. The end of [...]
Maybe the snow that's coming will stimulate the local economy. Or maybe not. Either way, enjoy...
Who knew the Kerry campaign was such a hotbed of romance? (Aside from John Edwards, that is.)
Edward Sebelius married Lisa Anderson Rockefeller Saturday in Boca Grande, Florida, according to The NYT.
She's a Princeton alum who earned an MBA at Dartmouth, and a descendent of the Standard Oil Rockefellers.
He's the [...]
from nyt
SHANGHAI - Politely but firmly pressing for greater freedoms on China's own turf, President Barack Obama spoke against censorship Monday, saying tough criticisms of political leaders should be allowed and the free flow of information on the Internet "should be encouraged."
Opening his first-ever visit to China, a critically [...]
The case against Section 8 housing
The plans and details for the new KC police hub
A solid work week and some key political victories for Gov. Jay Nixon, a suggestion that Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders needs to come up with some new arguments [...]
Jonathan Bender, Dave Helling, Steve Kraske, Jason Noble, David Goldstein, David Klepper, Lynn Horsley, Mike Hendricks, Bill Dalton, Mike Mansur, Matt Campbell, Jim Sullinger, Brad Cooper, Elaine Adams
