Daily Archives: April 29, 2007

Open thread

April 29, 20071:10 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (83)

Brownback and Biden architects of a new Iraq?

April 29, 20071:04 a.m.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is interested in joining with fellow presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to introduce legislation related to Biden’s “unity through autonomy” idea for allowing Iraq’s Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds to each have a state within one Iraq. Under a “three-state, one country” solution, Brownback thinks Baghdad neighborhoods could be divided between Sunnis and Shiites. “I wish it didn’t have to be that way,” Brownback told ABC News. “But it’s the nature of human history.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Iraq | Comments (62)

Payback for complaining sex offenders?

April 29, 20071:03 a.m.

Complaints from sexual predators about inhumane conditions at Larned State Hospital led to inspections by the state and a national accreditation organization, to Eagle stories and to legislative scrutiny. All of that, patients say, led to retaliation, including the covering up of windows. It was up to state lawmakers to do something. But the Legislature sent a measure to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius last week that further curtails patients’ rights, including their ability to communicate with the media and other outsiders. In the process, it sent a bad message to the public. Lawmakers’ first priority should have been to safeguard these individuals’ rights and ensure their living conditions are humane.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Crime | Comments (14)

Too slow to charge DUIs

April 29, 20071:01 a.m.

The longer those accused of drunken driving go without being charged by prosecutors, the more risk they pose to public safety. KWCH Eyewitness News 12 found this out firsthand when reporter Alana Rocha was struck in February by a driver police say was drunk — and who’d been arrested but never charged for a hit-and-run DUI last summer. Last week, KWCH reported on more cases, including one in which a year and a half passed before the man was charged. Clearly, the system needs to work more quickly. Kim Parker, chief deputy district attorney for Sedgwick County, told KWCH she’s working “to try to streamline those processes” for charging DUIs. But as she noted, state lawmakers could be more mindful of the local consequences of the tough-on-crime bills they love to pass. If justice is to be swift as well as tough, it needs more money.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Health and safety | Comments (42)

A glimpse of emerging Bio-Belt economy

April 29, 20071:00 a.m.

The response to climate change doesn’t have to be doom and gloom — the crisis is an opportunity for Kansas and the country to unleash a renaissance of innovation and jobs by developing clean, green technology, as we argued in an Earth Day editorial.
In a related story that underscores the possibilities, Kansas Agriculture Secretary Adrian Polansky announced that 12 Midwestern states have joined forces in a consortium to develop biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts as the basis of a new 21st-century economy that moves away from fossil fuels.
Polansky points to countless opportunities for innovation in everything from bioplastics to cellulosic ethanol, which uses sustainable sources such as switchgrass.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Business | Comments (14)