November 2003 Stories

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November 2003 Stories

11/21/2003: News summary for the week of November 17, 2003
11/21/2003: Newspaper Story - The Feb. 3 primary race will be the third in Missouri history.
11/21/2003: Newspaper Story - Missouri's Department of Conservation is using an new testing method to see if the state's deer Chronic Wasting Disease.
11/20/2003: Radio Story - State Senator Jim Mathewson, D-Sedalia, has announced a plan to give the state power to regulate medical malpractice insurance rates.
11/19/2003: Newspaper Story - Leading Missouri Republicans have criticized a proposal that would require increases in sales tax rates when state revenue falls below a prescribed level. The measure, turned into the Secretary of State's office by a group of lobbyists, ignores needed reforms and simply seeks new sources of tax revenue, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gibbons said.
11/19/2003: Newspaper Story - Several legislators said MoDOT making some good changes after the departments report before a joint committee.
11/19/2003: Radio Story - MODOT will ask for toll road authority. Also, a bill passed by a committee chaired by Sen. Kit Bond would raise more than one billion dollars for MODOT if it passes through Congress.
11/18/2003: Radio Story - Army Corp of Engineer's new management plan will not alter water levels to protect wildlife, but the drought conservation plan is more conservative. Senator Kit Bond says the plan is a step in the right direction.
11/18/2003: Radio Story - Missouri lawmakers say state law contains a statue which says that a marriage can only be a union between a man and a women. A Missouri gay rights group PROMO says that this is still a victory for their community.
11/18/2003: Newspaper Story - A women's advocacy group charged Tuesday that state budget cuts are responsible for the decline in the health and welfare of Missouri women.
11/17/2003: Newspaper Story - A petition posted by republicans on the state house of representatives website raised Democrats' concerns on Monday. The petition calls on people across Missouri to support the release of $197 million in withholdings to K-12 education.
11/17/2003: Radio Story - Governor Holden blamed Republicans for misleading Missourians about the budget. He says that their lack of solving the budget problem in both special sessions is why education has suffered cuts. He says that the House leaders have been dishonest for political reasons.
11/17/2003: Newspaper Story - Some Missouri vehicle owners are driving down state revenue because they are not paying sales taxes, Revenue Director Carol Fisher said. Drivers who steal license plates or drive with expired tags have cost the state about $90 million. The Revenue Department has raised the possibility of requiring sales taxes for vehicles be paid at the time of purchase, which would alleviate the debt from those who buy their vehicles from dealerships, Fisher said.
11/17/2003: Newspaper Story - Gov. Holden accused House Republicans for skewing budget figures when they started a petition for Holden to release more money to education due to revenue increases.
11/17/2003: Newspaper Story - The Missouri Democratic Party has developed an online weblog that allows Missourians to discuss political issues facing both the nation and state.
11/14/2003: News summary for the week of November 10, 2003
11/14/2003: Radio Story - The retirement incentive law allowed state park employees to retire and avoid higher insurance rates. The law only allows the parks to fill twenty-five percent of the jobs vacated. This may lead to less maintenance, shorter hours, and the closing of some sites.
11/14/2003: Newspaper Story - It's just the trees' natural defense that's caused a boring Missouri fall, according to the state's conservation department.
11/13/2003: Radio Story - Missouri is one of five states that aren't spending any of the money they recieve from tobacco companies on smoking prevention programs.
11/13/2003: Radio Story - Missouri students score slightly above national average in reading and math
11/13/2003: Radio Story - Sixty Missouri law enforcement agencies and task forces will get funds to help stop Missouri's growing methamphetamine problem. Officials with the Missouri Sheriffs Methamapetamine Relief Team, also known as MOSMART, say that the counties will use the funds for anything from training to equipment.
11/12/2003: Radio Story - The state attorney general's office announced Wed. it is investigating phantom businesses created to abuse a state tax credit program.
11/12/2003: Newspaper Story - The Missouri Attorney General's office announced Wednesday that it is investigating tax credit fraud of a program run by the state Department of Economic Development. The program offers tax credits to businesses for computer equipment. It seeks to attract high-tech businesses to poor areas. "Phantom businesses" have allegedly abused the system. "We were not asleep at the switch," director of economic development Joe Driskill said.
11/11/2003: Radio Story - About 100 people gathered around the State Capitol for Veteran's Day. The day is especially memorable to veterans like Bob Vader, a World War II veteran.
11/11/2003: Radio Story - Missouri is one of three states with a law that bans homosexual acts. Now a Representative Vicky Riback Wilson plans its repeal.
11/11/2003: Radio Story - SSO's cause raw sewage to be dumped into rivers and waterways
11/10/2003: Newspaper Story - Instead of using tobacco prevention funds to run a program, Missouri's Health Department used its $500,000 to run a statewide survey of health risks.
11/10/2003: Radio Story - The Missouri school system attempted to get more money for education by bringing their case to a judge. The judge ruled on behalf of Governor Holden, saying that he is obligated in the state's Constitution to prevent expenditures from exceeding revenues.
11/10/2003: Newspaper Story - A Cole County circuit court upheld Gov. Bob Holden's power to withhold $190 million from state funding to local schools because of estimated revenue shortages. Attorneys for the challenging school districts said that they would appeal the decision.
11/ 7/2003: News summary for the week of November 3, 2003
11/ 7/2003: Twenty-one percent of Missouri's homeless youth do not attend school.
11/ 7/2003: Newspaper Story - Twenty-one percent of Missouri's homeless youth do not attend school.
11/ 7/2003: Radio Story - St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer decided to issue a permanent injunction against conceal and carry. Attorney General Jay Nixon issued his appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. It's up to the court to decide whether or not the law is Constitutional.
11/ 6/2003: Radio Story - After a sluggish October for the Missouri economy, figures indicate little hope that withholdings will be released to funding starved programs.
11/ 6/2003: Radio Story - Missouri is one of three states with a law that bans homosexual acts. Josh Hinkle has more on why this law may soon come off the books.
11/ 6/2003: Radio Story - A newly marketed device promises to allow drivers to change traffic lights from red to green, just like emergency vehicles do when responding to a call.
11/ 5/2003: Newspaper Story - Missouri taxpayer dollars are not as secure as they should be, a state audit reports. The state accounting system, known as SAM II, is accessible via old user IDs of former employees. The system also lacks proper recovery procedures in case of fire or computer malfunctions. Background checks have also found financially-related criminal histories for some employees who can enter and retrieve information in the system.
11/ 5/2003: Newspaper Story - Columbia's legislators plan to prefile bills concerning issues such as gay rights, rock climbing walls, and toll roads.
11/ 5/2003: Newspaper Story - Every morning, students across Missouri stand with their hands over their hearts to recite the pledge of allegiance. However, the future of a Missouri law mandating the pledge in schools lies in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, who announced its plans to review next year a court decision in California that found the pledge unconstitutional.
11/ 4/2003: Newspaper Story - While MoDOT officials continue to prioritize within tight financial constraints, one group is calling for better oversight of its operations, as well as more input from the commission that oversees it.
11/ 4/2003: Radio Story - General revenue collections decreased in October after previous months had increases in revenue. Withholdings probably won't be released according to state officials.
11/ 4/2003: Radio Story - After more than eight months of study, an independent expert panel submitted its recommendations to MoDOT for how the department can cure its ills.
11/ 4/2003: Radio Story - Gov. Bob Holden appointed Steve Gaw as the chairman of the Public Service Commission Monday
11/ 4/2003: Radio Story - State Auditor Claire McCaskill reports that state agencies are not contracting enough minority and women-owned businesses. The audit also found that the Office of Administration is over reporting its programs progress.
11/ 4/2003: Radio Story - The Missouri Department of Revenue released a report stating that general revenue collections have dropped a little over four percent in October.
11/ 3/2003: Radio Story - Attorney General Jay Nixon says the state Supreme Court cannot say that the execution of juveniles is "cruel and unusual punishment." The United States Supreme Court said last year that capital punishment for mentally retarded individuals is "cruel and unusual." However, a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1989 established the legality of executing a juvenile offender.