Kansas has almost 116,000 voters with unknown addresses
By Earl Glynn on February 8, 2010
A 1993 federal law forces about 116,000 voters with unknown addresses to stay on the Kansas voter list. That means almost 7 percent of Kansas voters have addresses where mail cannot be delivered. Kansas has about 1.7 million registered voters. (Read More)
 

Fuzzy "Facts" vs Freedom in Smoking Ban Debate
By Paul Soutar on February 11, 2010
There's almost no debate that smoking is unhealthy but the question of whether and how to implement a statewide ban on smoking in public to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke filled the Health and Human Services hearing room Wednesday.
Local media photographed Stacy Parkinson, wife of Governor Mark Parkinson, led protesters in displaying 380 pairs of empty shoes, purported to depict one year of deaths caused by second hand smoke in Kansas. Only KansasWatchdog and State of the State Kansas actually videotaped the committee hearing where total ban proponents were committee members repeatedly questioned the validity of their statements. (Read More)

Dodge City reporter found in contempt, fined for court no-show
By Earl Glynn on February 11, 2010
Are Kansas Courts overstepping their bounds in a freedom of the press case?
Claire O'Brien, a Dodge City Globe reporter, learned details from an interview with a murder suspect.  Ford County attorney Terry Malone wants to force her to reveal her sources (Read More) 

"Motor Voter" allows teens under 18 to pre-register to vote in Kansas without proposed new law
By Earl Glynn on February 11, 2010
"So we kinda have this [preregistration] then?" was the question from State Rep Scott Schwab (R, Olathe) at the House Elections Committee hearing in Topeka about allowing teens 14-17 to preregister to vote for when they turned 18.
On Wednesday State Rep Milack Talia (D, Shawnee) presented his bill to allow preregistration for young people to (Read More)

Randal O'Toole on Wichita's WaterWalk and Government Planning
By Paul Soutar on February 9, 2010
Wichita's WaterWalk development has already spent $41 million taxpayer dollars and it isn't the first city-planned and subsidized project to disappoint. Randal O'Toole, a noted critic of urban planning, accompanied Wichita's Bob Weeks, who has followed this issue closely at WichitaLiberty.org, for a quick tour of city spending.
O'Toole is the author of "The Best-Laid Plans: (Read More) 

LPA School Consolidation Audit Points the Way for Savings
By Paul Soutar on February 9, 2010
Monday's Legislative Post Audit school consolidation report found the state could save as much as $138 million per year by consolidating smaller school districts. A full report on LPA's audit is here.
Several district superintendents filed objections to the report, most citing a desire for local control of consolidation decisions and a desire to avoid the (Read More) 

Audit Shows School Consolidation Would Save Millions
By Paul Soutar on February 9, 2010
By Gene Meyer/Kansas Reporter
(KansasReporter) TOPEKA, Kan. - Consolidating the smallest of Kansas' 293 school districts potentially would save taxpayers at least $18 million and perhaps as much as $138 million, Kansas legislative auditors reported Monday.
The difference depends on which of two possible consolidation choices taxpayers and educators made, Dan Bryan, of the Kansas Legislative Division (Read More)

Kansas Congressional Candidates have $8.4 Million Cash
By Earl Glynn on February 6, 2010
In the most recent reporting period, Kansas candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate raised $8.7 million, spent $3.3 million and have $8.4 million in the bank.
The FEC Candidate Summary finally has nearly all the data for the reporting period ending Dec. 31, 2009.   Kansas data were extracted from this national file and are (Read More) 
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