11 years ago
The Kansas attorney general's office told a state board that it didn't have enough lawyers to provide routine legal advice to the board. In response, the Kansas Underground Utility Notification Board says it will seek free outside legal advice. Spokeswoman Jennifer Rapp says attorney general's office would represent the board in a specific legal matter, such as ...

11 years ago
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration is proposing to revise hiring, layoff and termination policies for Kansas government workers and possibly eliminate longevity bonuses for 17,500 employees. The state Department of Administration on Wednesday described the initiatives modernizing state policies. One proposal that requires the Legislature's approval would give state agencies broader authority to hire employees into non-civil ...

11 years ago
The Kansas Board of Regents has appointed a committee to study how legalization of same-sex marriage could affect state universities. Regent Fred Logan said Wednesday he expects the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling that will "at a minimum" require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Or he says the court could ...

11 years ago
An autopsy report shows the 39-year-old driver in an August traffic accident that killed him and his teenage passenger had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports James Ford Bowen of Paxico and his passenger, 16-year-old Matthew Robert Allen of Topeka, died of blunt force injuries. Police say they were ...

11 years ago
Newly released emails obtained by The Topeka Capital-Journal show the governor's administration informed two lobbyists about budget proposals weeks earlier than previously disclosed. The emails showed they were included on a Dec. 6 email thread. President Kent Glasscock of Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization also was included. The newspaper made an open records request to the ...

11 years ago
Kansas lawmakers are considering changing the way state Supreme Court justices are selected, but lawyers say the move would politicize the court. The House Judicial Committee conducted a hearing Wednesday on two measures that would amend the Kansas Constitution. One change would select Supreme Court justices in partisan elections, while the other would allow the governor ...

11 years ago
A traffic stop leads to drug charges for a Salina man. Police arrested 19-year-old Cooper Hammersmith after officers found marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a 9mm handgun which he was sitting on in the vehicle. Police report Hammersmith was initially stopped for rolling through a stop sign in the 500 block of W. Grand at about 10:45pm Tuesday. Police ...

11 years ago
Kansas lawmakers want to lower the state's divorce rate. The House Federal and State Affairs Committee on Wednesday conducted the first of two informational hearings on marriage called by the committee's chairman, Rep. Steve Brunk. The Wichita Republican says the state has an interest in keeping marriages together. Three people testified favor of reforms, suggesting the state ...

11 years ago
Two Saline County Sheriff's deputies have returned to work after a month long probe by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation clears them of any wrongdoing in a shooting incident that fatally wounded 35-year-old Brock Nichols. Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell concluded in her review of the case, "The use of force was lawful and justified." The deadly ...

11 years ago
A Kansas state senator wants to offer more money under a proposed foster care program to married couples who don't have alcohol and tobacco in their homes and regularly attend church. Republican Sen. Forrest Knox says he's looking to provide more stability for children. His bill would set up the CARE family program, in which those ...

11 years ago
Newly released emails obtained by the Topeka Capital-Journal show the governor's administration informed two lobbyists about its budget efforts weeks earlier than previously disclosed. The emails showed they were included on a Dec. 6 email thread about the budget. President Kent Glasscock of Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization also was included. The newspaper made an open ...