“The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan belongs to the people of Missouri,” writes Missouri Bar President Patrick B. Starke of Lee’s Summit, “and we must not let politicians and out-of-state special interests with big money steal it.”
“Missouri needs a Medicaid reform plan that brings the most value for our state, including returning our citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars from Washington and addressing the health care needs of Missourians,” writes Herb B. Kuhn of the Missouri Hospital Association. “Let’s focus on what we can accomplish.”
“I will be joining the other K-State seniors graduating May 18 in Bramlage Coliseum,” Kelly McHugh writes. “But the date will forever mean something completely different to me. It will be the mark of how far I’ve come in exactly three years.”
“Now is the time for Missouri to set its alternative sentence for any future teen killer in this state,” writes Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. “So far, the Missouri legislature has sat silently. As a result, it’s unclear in Missouri what a prosecutor could seek as punishment.”
"Catholic health care has been a vital part of our city’s health care infrastructure for generations, but that’s all changing," writes John Leifer, the president of the Leifer Group, a Leawood-based health care consulting group.
The Star welcomes essays of up to 600 words. An essay and color photo of the writer should be sent by email to oped@kcstar.com. or by mail.
U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas writes that Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, which she co-sponsors would help private-sector workers by giving them the same rights that public-sector workers enjoy by giving them the option of taking paid time off or “comp time” in exchange for working overtime.
One bill would make Missouri a “right-to-work” state; the other would put right-to-work on the August 2014 ballot for voter approval. Both are dangerous. They will undermine our standard of living and democracy itself.
“Associating illegal immigration with the Boston bombing and one terrorist incident shows that Kobach was trying to capitalize on people’s fear,” Jessie Bullock writes of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s recent testimony to a U.S. Senate committee. “… How much longer does Kobach intend to drive Kansas down the wrong path?”
Missouri is the only state in the union that does not require cellphone users to help support 911. Steve Westermann, the chief of the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District, writes in support of a bill in the Missouri House that would allowi voters in each county to decide if cellphone users should be taxed to pay for 911 services.
“As a society, all of us must use antibiotics only when they are really needed,” writes Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist. “This restriction, however, should also be followed by the livestock industry, which gives tons of the same drugs used to cure illnesses in humans to food animals even when they aren’t sick.”
“Tragically for Kansans with developmental disabilities and their families, everything we have worked years to achieve is at risk because of Gov. Sam Brownback’s plans to put development disability services into KanCare, the state’s new managed care program for the Medicaid population,” writes Effie Bradley of Lake Quivira.
“The heartless, despicable animals who committed this unspeakable atrocity couldn’t have targeted a more cohesive group,” writes Susan Ortbals of Leawood, who was in Boston to watch her husband run the marathon.
“There are a number of reasons to maintain the current KCI, from the ease of use for customers to the effectiveness of the multi-checkpoint security screening,” writes U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Republican whose district includes the airport. “But the biggest reason may be the price tag of building a new airport.”
“The Great State of Kansas passed away on March 31, 2013, after a long and difficult battle with extremism that became markedly more aggressive in 2010,” writes Jason Probst, news editor at The Hutchinson News. “The struggle left the state so weakened it could no longer fight against the relentless attacks by the fatal disease.”
“Clearly, this is the time for tax reform,” writes Bev Randles, the chairwoman of the Missouri Club for Growth. “As a state, we cannot afford to sit idly by while our neighboring states become more competitive and threaten to outpace Missouri in economic growth.”
“After the losses my family endured, it’s especially troubling to me that as a community we are not able to grow and learn from the mistakes made within the ‘system’ because they are quickly covered up,” writes Nathan Ross, whose brothers, Gary and Larry Bass, died at the hands of their mother in 1999.
“As proposed, state budgets drafted by both the governor and a House committee rely on devastating changes to the circuit breaker property tax credit, a cost-effective tool that helps certain low-income individuals secure accessible housing and remain independent,” Norma Collins and Sarah Durbin write.
“Not only will the cuts fail to spur growth in Missouri, they will actually undermine Missouri’s economy now and far into the future by draining resources from the very things businesses need to thrive,” Amy Blouin of the Missouri Budget Project writes of the package of tax cuts the Missouri Senate recently passed to match those enacted in Kansas.
“A simple ball, bound in cowhide and secured with 108 stitches, can propel dreams and open up the world to possibilities, of home runs and homecomings,” writes Zoltan Krompecher, an Army lieutenant colonel and a former Midwest Voices columnist.
“While employees and visitors in other governmental buildings are afforded a workplace free from secondhand smoke toxins, the same is not true for our state Capitol building,” Stan Cowan writes, urging House Republicans to follow the Democrats’ lead and adopt a smoke-free policy.
Missouri’s independent colleges and universities agree that serving adult students is a priority for the state’s economic stability and development, but some of these independent institutions have done so for decades — at virtually no public expense, writes Michael H. Droge, the president of Park University.
“Kansas has developed a system for the legal purchase of a regulated product that has served the state well for more than 60 years,” writes Steven F. Faust, who owns MDL Wine & Spirits in Overland Park. “The changes proposed by Uncork Kansas only serve the interests of the world’s largest retailers at the expense of Kansas small businesses and their employees.”
"Since the last health levy vote in 2005, our patient population has gotten sicker and older with fewer available dollars to pay for their care," John W. Bluford III, the president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers, writes in support of the levy, which provides resources to Kansas City’s safety-net health care providers for the patients they serve.
“We need to increase public awareness by educating health professionals and patients about osteoporosis, the importance of building strong bones and how to maintain good bone health,” writes Lynda F. Bonewald of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
