Senate Passes Coal Plant Bill
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A western Kansas utility won a major battle Thursday in its bid to build two coal-fired power plants. Sebelius has strongly criticized the Senate bill, which passed 33-7, six more votes than the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto.

Sprint HQ Coming Home
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Sprint Nextel Corp. said Wednesday it is returning its corporate headquarters to Overland Park. The move comes nearly three years after the company established its top offices in Reston, Va., which had been the home base of Nextel Communications Inc.

Crime Continues to Increase in Johnson County
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In Lenexa auto thefts surged 123 percent last year. Other area cities reporting increases include Overland Park, Prairie Village, and Shawnee, despite a national decline.

Secretary to compile CO2 Emissions: Oops, I just exhaled
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A state regulator who angered many legislators by rejecting a permit to build a $3.5 billion coal plant today said a catalog of all carbon dioxide pollution emitted in the state is being compiled. Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said the report would be the state’s first complete inventory of CO2 emissions and would help guide future consideration of energy policy options. Carbon dioxide is produced by all animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms during respiration and is used by plants during photosynthesis to make sugars, which may either be consumed again in respiration or used as the raw material for plant growth. It is, therefore, a major component of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is generated as a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels or vegetable matter, among other chemical processes. Inorganic carbon dioxide is output by volcanoes and other geothermal processes such as hot springs.

Marijuana Bill Debated in Kansas
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Dr. Eric Voth, a Topeka physician who has opposed medical use of marijuana for 30 years, said no serious medical group supported the coalition's new bill. His list of opponents included the Kansas Medical Society, Kansas State Nurses Association, Kansas State Board of Healing Arts and Kansas State Board of Pharmacy. "Allowing such legislation to become law is riding a wave of emotion and mob psychology that has been carefully crafted, financed and driven by the marijuana lobby," Voth said. "It is no different than the disinformation campaign that the tobacco lobby fought for years to manipulate the public."

Statewide Smoking Ban Debated
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Several business owners spoke against the bill, saying it would hurt them. Lawrence restaurant and bar owner Tom Conroy said his city's smoking ban has reduced his sales 30 percent to 50 percent most days and his number of employees has dropped from 27 to 13. "Whatever is good for business and gives people the freedom of choice is good for me. A smoking ban, in my experience, is bad for business," The Rev. H. Setter, a Roman Catholic priest in Wichita, said the ban would prevent him from holding his annual benefit cigar dinner for local charities. "To legislate a smoking ban in private businesses by any level of government is at best an act of benevolent dictatorship and hypocrisy," he said. Alan Cobb, Americans for Prosperity's state director, said the bill infringes on business that already have no-smoking policies if that's what their customers want. "Kansas citizens can and do choose the businesses and locations they visit," he said. "We see the market has responded. Therefore intervention by the government is unneeded."

Overland Park company fined $13,200 for export to Iran
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An Overland Park maker of navigation and landing aids has been fined for selling an aircraft landing system to Iran and falsely asserting that it was destined for Italy. Selex Sistemi Integrati Inc. has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $13,200 to settle the matter with the federal Bureau of Industry and Security, a subagency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Shawnee: Councilman wants to replace tax and spend Mayor
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The two issues have driven Councilmember Dan Pflumm to challenge current Mayor Jeff Meyers for the position. Pflumm has said he can encourage more economic development in the city and reduce property taxes better than his opponent. Shawnee raised the city’s property tax rate for the first time in 13 years, an increase of about 17 percent. Meyers favored it; Pflumm opposed it.

The Harmful Effects of Special Tax Favors
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This interventionism is also harmful in that it creates a special class of firms: those firms who have asked for and received government favor. They gain a competitive advantage over their direct competitors. Firms also have a competitive advantage over other firms of all types in Wichita. That's because firms of all types that don't receive special tax favors have higher overhead, and therefore may not be able to compete with the tax-favored firms in paying attractive wages to obtain employees.

Missouri House members say Kansans should pay lower taxes
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Missouri House members acted Tuesday to forestall a flare up in an ongoing rivalry with Kansas by passing a bill that would lower taxes for many residents who work in Missouri but live elsewhere.

DA seeks ‘extra set of eyes’ in fighting drugs, porn
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The Wyandotte County district attorney is asking neighborhood leaders to help identify businesses that might be violating laws against obscenity and drug paraphernalia.

Resolution offers formal apology to American Indians from Kansas
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An Olathe lawmaker is sponsoring a resolution that offers a formal apology to American Indians for centuries of mistreatment by the state of Kansas. State Sen. Julia Lynn is sponsoring the resolution, which she says is overdue. Lynn says the state needs to acknowledge its offenses against native peoples and ask for forgiveness. The resolution says Kansas broke treaties with tribes, forced American Indians from their homelands and removed Indian children from their families in an effort to assimilate them.

Copper thieves pose as work crews
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The discovery of more copper-wire thefts in west Wichita prompts police to ask the public's help in watching for thieves disguised as utility workers.