Kansas AG finally turns over Tiller Abortion Records to Grand Jury
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Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six has turned over 34 redacted abortion records to the Wichita-based grand jury investigating late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. The records, from 2003, will help the grand jury determine if Tiller broke state abortion laws. A Six representative told AP that 34 of the 61 abortion records he possessed were turned over to the grand jury on May 20 and that the rest fell outside the statute of limitations. "Kansans for Life interprets this report to mean the Attorney General's office is sitting on 30 ready-to-use redacted files from 2003, one month after the court eased the standard for relevancy, and four months after being subpoenaed by the grand jury," said Kansans for Life director Mary Kay Culp.

Johnson County Spends into Deficit
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When Johnson County number crunchers began work on their 2009 spending plan, they were staring at an $18 million deficit.

AFP makes plea to Kansas Politicians to stop overspending
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Review American’s for Prosperity’s television ad urging state legislators to keep state spending increases at a minimum.

JOCO Commissioners Approve yet another TAX
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Johnson County commissioners Thursday approved putting on the Nov. 4 general election ballot a proposal to increase the Johnson County sales tax by one-eighth of 1 percent for higher education programs, including those for Kansas University.

Judge delays KC’s ban on smoking
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Nine establishments sued to challenge that law, and Circuit Judge John O’Malley issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday preventing enforcement until he could hold a hearing June 20 on the merits of the lawsuit.

Prairie Village passes Smoking Ban
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The Prairie Village City Council preliminarily passed a new smoking ordinance Monday. The ordinance is similar to the city’s current law except it would not have a trigger mechanism that prevents the ban from taking effect in bars and restaurants until six adjacent cities pass similar restrictions.

Shawnee lawmaker gets NRA award
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Rep. Judy Morrison of Shawnee has received the 2008 Defenders of Freedom Award from the National Rifle Association. Morrison, a Republican, received the award last month at the NRA’s national convention in Louisville, Ky. The award was established in 1995 to recognize state legislators and governors support of the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Morrison was a major supporter in the Kansas Legislature in 2006 during efforts to pass a bill allowing permitted citizens to carry a concealed weapon. Morrison and other supporters had to override a veto before the measure could become law.

Stilwell’s second attempt to become a city fails
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In the end, a populist vision to incorporate the city of Stilwell failed to materialize Thursday in Johnson County. County commissioners could not unanimously agree to create the county’s fifth-largest city, so by state law the idea failed — again. For more than a decade, residents in southeast Johnson County have wanted to control their future, free from the threat of annexation by Overland Park. Residents filed incorporation papers in February to create a 23-square-mile city. Stilwell’s proposed boundaries shrank once Overland Park annexed part of the area. “We want to control our own destiny and keep our tax money working here,” incorporation organizer David Webb told commissioners. Commissioners Ed Peterson, John Toplikar and Dave Lindstrom were willing to welcome the new city, but the rest of the commission saw it differently.

Another Teacher Charged in Molestation Case
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A Kansas teacher will stand trial on charges he molested a 15-year-old foreign exchange student. Richard Young, 68, a teacher at Buhler High School, is charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of indecent solicitation of a child. He is accused of fondling a male foreign exchange student from South Korea in August 2007. The teen testified that Young started sexually abusing him within two days of his arrival in Kansas.

Local mom shows others how to live frugally
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She feeds her family of five on $350 a month, serving favorites such as fajitas, tacos and beef Stroganoff. The local mother has made a business -- and a name for herself -- living frugally.

Copper Thieves wreck havoc on new homes
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A Lawrence couple moving in to their first house got an unwelcome surprise of thousands of dollars in damage caused by someone looking for scrap copper.