May 15
Kansas prison officials charge abortion doctor's killer
Scott Roeder, who fatally shot abortion provider George Tiller in 2009, is accused of intimidating the woman who reopened his clinic.
May 15
School district takeover bill goes to Nixon
The Missouri Senate voted 32-1 in support of a bill allowing the State Board of Education to immediately intervene in an unaccredited school district. Current law mandates that the state wait two years before taking action. Kansas City Public Schools has been unaccredited since Jan. 1, 2012.
May 15
Missouri lawmakers pass bill halting the scanning of personal documents
Republicans contend that new driver’s license procedures, initiated after a fraud case in St. Joseph, invade the privacy of Missourians. They send Gov. Jay Nixon a measure to stop the scanning of birth certificates and other documents.
May 15
Kansas City diocese settles lawsuit involving Ratigan photos
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court against the diocese, Bishop Robert Finn and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan by the parents of a young northern Missouri girl, was settled for $600,000, attorneys for the girl’s family said. It is the diocese’s largest settlement in a single priest sex abuse case, they said.
May 15
Young Kansas City mother is accused of breaking baby’s bones
Police arrested Abigail C. Millican, 20, in connection with warrants filed by prosecutors last week. She remained in jail Wednesday in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
May 15
KC Council committee endorses more stringent ethics rules
The City Council’s Finance and Ethics Committee supports new rules that require more frequent disclosure of gifts and that call for an ethics compliance officer. The full council votes May 23 on the new ethics code.
May 15
Blue Summit couple is accused of locking girl in basement, denying her use of bathroom
Jackson County prosecutors charged Timothy A. Phillips, 30, and Lacey A. Chaney, 27, each with first-degree child endangerment, abuse or neglect of a child and felonious restraint. The 9-year-old girl told authorities that she had been locked in the basement, with little food or water, as punishment for a school suspension. She had been denied use of the bathroom because she had allegedly infected her father’s girlfriend with a rash.
May 15
Missouri ethics panel fines former senator $270K
A former state senator from St. Louis has been fined more than $270,000 by the Missouri Ethics Commission for violating numerous campaign finance laws.
May 15
KC police seek driver who hit 11-year-old girl
Kansas City police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck an 11-year-old girl walking home from school Tuesday. The wreck occurred about 4 p.m. in the 7100 block of the Paseo.
May 15
State officials could intervene quicker in failing Missouri school districts
Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to legislation that could allow quicker state intervention in failing school districts.
May 15
Diplomat in Russian spy scandal is from St. Louis
The U.S. diplomat caught up in a spying investigation in Russia has family in suburban St. Louis and graduated from high school there.
May 14
Angelina Jolie’s preventive step of a double mastectomy puts spotlight on genetic cancer tests
Those who test positive for a harmful genetic mutation have several alternatives for reducing their risk, experts say. Jolie chose three months of medical procedures to have her breasts removed and reconstructed. Jolie’s mother died at age 56 of ovarian cancer.
May 15
Safety board’s call to lower blood alcohol limit for drivers stokes criticism
Critics pounced immediately. “Why don’t they just outlaw drinking?” one bar owner said. But the National Transportation Safety Board says it would save lives. It’s just a recommendation, and the decision to adopt the new threshold would be up to individual states. There is precedent for political muscle, though.
May 14
KU may get money it didn’t ask for, but not what it wanted
The University of Kansas has struggled throughout the legislative session to win support for $10 million recommended by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback for a new building to train doctors at its medical school in Kansas City, Kan. At the same time, however, lawmakers eagerly embraced the governor’s proposal to fund a new adult stem cell research center for the university.
May 14
Court and legislators spar over Kansas judicial selection
Chief justice says lawmaker tied court budget to judges’ endorsement of new plan to fill vacancies on the bench, which the lawmaker denies. But selection plan is unlikely to pass because Kansas Bar Association opposes it.
May 14
School takeover bill may come too late for KC
Missouri House members have passed the bill and the Senate seems receptive to the changes they made. But only three days remain in the 2013 legislative session, so time is running short. And the long wait to get it across the finish line has left some wondering whether passage will have any real impact in the Kansas City district.
May 14
Clinton, Mo., girl may have died of painkiller overdose
Destiny Spitler, 12, was discovered not breathing and with no pulse Saturday morning. She had a Fentanyl skin patch on her hip, police said.
May 14
Northland sex offender is accused of coaching youth basketball team
Criminal charges allege that Darin Lance Mason, 46, of Lake Waukomis, coached a boys team during a March 15 game at William Jewell College.
May 14
Water boil advisory in KCK lifted
The boil precaution had been in place since Monday.
May 14
Kansas education official defends use of racial slur
Steve Roberts of Overland Park said he used the “N-word” “clinically” during a discussion of state history standards. Several black leaders in Topeka say it was unnecessary and inappropriate.
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