Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Public Service Commission wants to take over enforcement of the state's laws designed to protect underground utility lines.
Currently, the State Attorney General's office has the authority to go after people or companies that damage underground power or natural gas lines. The PSC's Natelle Dietrich says it makes sense for the commission to have that authority.
Jefferson City, MO – Two ballot initiatives sponsored by opponents of abortion and human cloning have been approved for signature circulation in Missouri.
The first ballot question would bar state tax dollars from being used to fund abortions or to fund the procedure known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, which is considered to be human cloning by the sponsoring group Missouri Roundtable for Life. GOP Congressional candidate Ed Martin heads the group:
Kansas City, MO – Missouri officials are getting ready for the 2010 U.S. Census. And one of their main concerns is that some residents are afraid or apathetic when it comes to filling out census forms.
The state Office of Administration will chair the public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging Missourians to take part in the census. O.A. Commissioner Kelvin Simmons says no one should be afraid to fill out a census form:
Jefferson City, MO – More than 100 jobs are being cut from the Missouri Division of State Parks, due to the ongoing decline in tax revenues.
The job cuts will range from administrative positions in Jefferson City to jobs at various state parks, according to Travis Ford with the Department of Natural Resources:
Travis Ford: "There are a lot of details that still have to be worked out on exactly who is affected, how many vacant positions are being eliminated, versus positions that are occupied by full-time and part-time employees."
Jefferson City, MO – Mark Templeton is still on leave from his job as Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director, even though it's now been two weeks since his two-week suspension was handed down by Governor Jay Nixon.
Templeton was suspended without pay after the governor learned E-coli-contaminated beaches at the Lake of the Ozarks remained open during Memorial Day weekend, despite being told after the fact that they were closed.
Nixon says he's waiting on the results of a review he requested into Templeton's role in the matter:
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri State Senator leading an inquiry into the delayed release of the Lake of the Ozarks E-coli report says there appears to be an organized cover up in progress.
Republican Brad Lager chairs the senate committee that oversees environmental issues. He says there's been a clear effort by Department of Natural Resources staff to mislead senate investigators:
Jefferson City, MO – A group of military veterans is taking a cross-country bus tour to tout climate change as a national security issue. They met with reporters Wdnesday in Jefferson City, across the street from the State Capitol Building. Matt Victoriano ( served in the Marine Corps in Iraq. He says clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, are better alternatives than both domestic and foreign oil production.
Victoriano: "Oil is still an unclean energy source, and directly contributes to climate devastation, so that wouldn't solve our problems."
Jefferson City, MO – AT&T Missouri has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accuses the company of violating the False Claims Act in connection with an internet access program for schools.
The E-Rate program enables schools and libraries in low-income neighborhoods to gain access to the Internet. Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller says the suit accused AT&T Missouri of colluding with school officials in Kansas City to engage in non-competitive bidding practices:
Jefferson City, MO – The state of Missouri has borrowed $150 million from its budget reserve fund, as state revenue collections continue to decline.
The latest dip into the fund brings the total borrowed this fiscal year to $350 million. State Budget Director Linda Luebbering says the $150 million borrowed this week will cover several current expenses.
Kansas City, MO – The first batches of swine flu vaccine have begun arriving in Kansas.
Health departments in Saline and Franklin counties reported Thursday that they had received their first allocations of the vaccine.
Midge Ransom, director of the Franklin County Health Department, said her department received 100 doses of the aerosol mist vaccine. The mist is appropriate for healthy people ages 2 to 49.
The Salina/Saline County Health Department received 300 doses of the vaccine, also in the aerosol mist form.
Jefferson City, MO – The chair of the state Senate Appropriations committee is calling on Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to consider providing more money for the Career Ladder program this year when new revenue estimates come in.
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder is sounding off on the controversy over the delaying of an E-coli report from the Lake of the Ozarks.
Kinder calls the uproar over the delayed report a crisis of confidence. And he says if the State Senate committee investigating the matter decides to issue subpoenas, he'll sign them.
Jefferson City, MO – A transcript released Tuesday (October 6, 2009) quotes Missouri's Natural Resources chief as saying there was no health risk over the delay in releasing an E-coli report from the Lake of the Ozarks earlier this year.
According to the transcript, DNR Director Mark Templeton said that delaying the release of the report for a month did not pose a public health risk because bacteria die in lake water after about four days. Templeton added that he didn't learn about the results until eight days after the E-coli samples were taken.
Kansas City, MO – About 50 residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities gathered in Jefferson City Monday to kick off a statewide tour designed to recognize their rights and needs.
The tour will highlight rights possessed by long-term care residents, which include having a say in their treatment and filing complaints without fear of retaliation. State Health and Senior Services Director Margaret Donnelly says these rights are already embedded into state law.
Jefferson City, MO – A State House committee studying the impact of autism in Missouri took testimony yesterday in preparation for crafting legislation next year.
Lorri Unumb of Lexington, South Carolina, is the mother of an autistic child, and helped get an autism insurance bill passed in her home state.
She told Missouri lawmakers that passing similar legislation here would be cheaper than letting taxpayers foot the bill.
