State health department refuses to turn over abortion records
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A Kansas agency has refused to turn over abortion records subpoenaed by the Johnson County District Attorney.

Kansas medical board's top staffers resign under pressure
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The top two staffers for the state board that regulates doctors have resigned. Executive Director Larry Buening says he will leave July 1. General Counsel Mark Stafford plans to step down June 1. The Board of Healing Arts was under pressure to fire both from legislators who believe it's not protecting patients enough from bad doctors.

Merrick shows leadership for the people
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Effort by House Majority Leader Ray Merrick would have overturned Overland Park’s annexation of 8.5 square miles and put the issue to a vote of the newly annexed residents.

War over porn endures
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Kansas' war over porn may never end. Every year, family values advocates, politicians and countless local governments try to push strip clubs and adult video stores farther away.

New measure allowing coal-fired plants
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A new proposal for allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas has emerged, this time in the Senate. Like a House bill drafted last week, the measure would let Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build the plants outside Holcomb, in Finney County. It also strips the secretary of health and environment of some power.

Grass Roots Group wins big in Westwood City Elections
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In Westwood, challengers also defeated incumbents in mayoral and City Council races. Teresa Elder defeated Mayor Karen Johnson with 62 percent of the vote. In a three-way race for two council seats, Paul Day and John Ye won seats, defeating incumbent council member Vicki Ross. Day received 39 percent of the vote and Ye received 36 percent. Elder, a chiropractor and business owner ran on the same slate as Ye, a financial services company president, and Day, an attorney.

Bronze eagle stolen from war memorial
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A 200-pound bronze eagle was recently stolen from Wyandotte County’s Korean/Vietnam War Memorial, and local authorities are turning to the public for help.

Missouri Senate passes strong immigration bill on voice vote
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A wide-ranging illegal-immigration bill glided through the Missouri Senate on Tuesday with surprisingly little debate. Senators spent just over an hour debating the bill, which includes an array of measures aimed at denying state resources to illegal immigrants, preventing them from finding work and identifying those who commit crimes.

KCMO School District graduation rate below 50 percent
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Fewer than half of Kansas City School District students make it to graduation, according to a national study that ranked Kansas City 40th out of the nation’s 50 largest cities.

Should FIVE JoCo Commissioners recuse themselves in Morrison decision?
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The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners is considering a vote on withdrawing $25,000 for DA Phill Kline to investigate former AG Paul Morrison. One of the issues is Kline's appointment of attorney Tim Keck, who gave Kline $250 in 2006 in Kline's bid for re-election as Attorney General. There is speculation that Keck's contribution shows he is biased. If Keck's contribution to Kline is relevant, what about these contributions?

Commissioners should demonstrate leadership
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This August, commissioners are pushing yet another unnecessary sales tax: two-thirds of it will presumably go to crime-related reasons, and one-third of the money will be presented as a blank check to cities. Commissioners Toplikar and Lindstrom opposed the tax. Because millions of dollars of this "jails tax" will in fact not go toward jails, etc., county voters should vote down this tax.

House passes right-to-hunt amendment
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The Kansas House today passed a resolution that would place before voters a proposition to amend the state’s constitution to preserve the right to hunt, fish and trap.

Corn at Record $6 a Bushel, Driving Up Costs for Food, Alternative Energy
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Corn prices have shot up nearly 30 percent this year amid dwindling stockpiles and surging demand for the grain used to feed livestock and make alternative fuels including ethanol. Prices are poised to go even higher after the U.S. government this week predicted that American farmers -- the world's biggest corn producers -- will plant sharply less of the crop in 2008 compared to last year.

Beasley unanimous AP All-America team selection
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North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Kansas State's Michael Beasley were unanimous selections to The Associated Press' All-America team Monday. For the first time, no senior was chosen.