Another Tax! Gov Announces Carbon Tax Group
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Gov. Kathleen Sebelius named a lineup of business and industry leaders Thursday along with scientists who specialize in climate change to begin planning the state's approach to an expected federal carbon tax. Sebelius said in a statement issued by her office that experts agree Congress is likely to introduce a tax on CO2 emissions in coming years, which could raise the price on energy made by burning fossil fuels.

President honors local volunteer
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The president of the United States told Buddy Shannon to "keep up the good work" on Sunday at McConnell Air Force Base, and Shannon said thank you on behalf of Real Men, Real Heroes of Wichita.

Bush urges grads to lead lives of service
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In the first high school commencement speech he has given, President George W. Bush on Sunday called upon the 18 teenagers of the Greensburg class of 2008 to consider a life of service to others. His speech came exactly one year after the town was leveled by a tornado.

Local Government Spending Out of Control
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Overland Park City Council members approved a $12.9 million bid this week to install synthetic turf at the city’s $35 million soccer complex, now under construction at 135th and Switzer. Nearly 1.2 million square feet of synthetic turf will be installed on the 12 lighted fields, enough, officials said, to cover the average front yard of about 460 Overland Park homes.

Sheriff will face Republican primary opponent
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Sheriff Frank Denning has an opponent for Johnson County Sheriff, in Ken Smith, a lieutenant with the Mission Police Department. Smith said his largest issue is the fiscal policy of the current administration. “(Denning’s) budget in the last three years has gone from $56 to $72 million. During that time he has essentially stripped away some of the services that the Sheriff’s Office has always provided,” Smith said. “He’s basically doing less with more money. He’s also the first sheriff in history to ask for sales tax increases; he’s asked for two of them.” Smith is a Marine Corps veteran that fought in “Desert Storm” and has an MBA and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Before serving with the Mission PD he served with the Kansas City, Missouri PD.

State Supreme Court Upholds Grand Jury by Petition
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The state's high court unanimously ruled today that while a citizen petitioned grand jury is constitutional, it needs oversight from a trial judge. Kansas is one of only a handful of states that allow such a grand jury. The court said that while the grand jury can issue subpoenas, Judge Paul Buchanan needed to make more detailed legal findings before he could order records produced from the clinic of Wichita physician George Tiller.

Kansas Passes Voter ID Bill
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It requires all voters except members of the military and other citizens overseas, disabled or age 65 or older to show an ID with a photo and signature each time they vote. It calls for the state to provide free photo IDs to low-income people.

Governor Accused on Buying Votes with Free Plane Trips
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House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, recently accused Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of getting legislators to vote against the coal-fired power project by flying them to Kansas University basketball games. Of the legislators that used the Governor’s King Air the majority sided with her on the Coal Plant Bill including the following legislators: Francisco, Kelly, Wysong, Ballard, Carlin, Davis, Huntington, Kuether and Menghini. What about the carbon footprint of using such a plane, don’t they care about global warming?

“Driveway to Nowhere” causes the Kansas Legislature to go nowhere
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Senate Ways and Means Chairman Dwayne Umbarger (R-Thayer) continues to hold his fellow Senators and Representatives hostage with his insistence of an earmark for a questionable pork barrel project in his home district.?Umbarger continues to push funding a $750,000 driveway to a closed ammunition plant in Parsons. This action is one of the main issues preventing the Legislature from adjourning.

Democratic Leader Misuses Taxpayer Money
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Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley (D-Topeka) sent 43,511 newsletters with a total printing cost of $6527 and total postage cost of $14,533, but only on behalf of Senators Betts, Kelly, and Goodwin. Senator Hensley seems to have forgotten that Kansas taxpayers paid the $53,564 for these mailings instead of the Democratic Party’s “Kansas Coordinated Campaign.” With the end of the legislative session near, the main purpose of these mailings was to start the re-election efforts of these Democratic Senators using taxpayer dollars.

Day of Silence promotes Homosexuality in Shawnee Mission High Schools
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Hundreds of Shawnee Mission high school students kept their mouths shut last week. They weren’t being punished or being rude — they were participating in a national event that brings attention to bullying and harassment faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

1993 US Courthouse Shootout Revisited
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McKnight was a man on a mission and he had a plan. He was going to go to war, and he did. To this day, it was one of the most significant experiences of my life. Revisit the 1993 shootout at the Federal Building in Topeka, Kansas.