Prime Buzz ran this headline for an AP story:  “U.S. Supreme Court: 106 white males out of 110 justices”

Washington Post:

A survey of people hospitalized because of swine flu in California has raised the possibility that obesity is as much of a risk factor for serious complications from the flu as diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy, all known to raise a person’s risk.

In all, about two-thirds of the California patients had some underlying medical condition, according to a report yesterday in the weekly bulletin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, 47 states and the District have reported 5,469 cases and six deaths since the start of the outbreak in late April, according to the CDC’s count. Yesterday, officials in Missouri reported a seventh U.S. death — that of a 44-year-old man who had no underlying medical problems, wire services reported.

From K-State:

News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu

CHRIS SORENSEN RECOGNIZED AS CORTELYOU-RUST DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN — University Distinguished Professor of Physics Chris Sorensen is Kansas State University’s newest Cortelyou-Rust Distinguished Professor. His appointment to this professorship is effective July 1. The appointment was announced today by K-State Provost and Senior Vice President M. Duane Nellis. (more…)

CNN:

Fifty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say they have an unfavorable opinion of the former vice president. Thirty-seven percent say they have a favorable opinion of Cheney, up eight points from January when he left office.

In the past two months the former vice president has become a frequent critic of the new Administration in numerous national media interviews.

“Is Cheney’s uptick due to his visibility as one of the most outspoken critics of the Obama administration?  Almost certainly not,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Former President George W. Bush’s favorable rating rose six points in that same time period, and Bush has not given a single public speech since he left office.”

The poll suggests that 41 percent of Americans hold a favorable opinion of the former president, with 57 percent viewing him unfavorably.

From K-State:

prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu

K-STATE STUDENTS WIN RECOGNITION IN COOPER LIGHTING SOURCE AWARDS COMPETITION

MANHATTAN — Two Kansas State University students were recently recognized for their design expertise during the 2009 Cooper Lighting SOURCE Awards Competition. (more…)

The Hill:

High-ranking House Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to prop up minority-owned broadcasters suffering from a lack of capital and lost advertising revenue amid the economic slump.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is leading an effort to convince Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to take “decisive action” by extending credit to this sector of the broadcasting industry.

Clyburn and other senior members, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), argue that minority-owned broadcasters are sound businesses, but that the recession could undermine the government’s efforts to diversify the airwaves.

A number of members from the Congressional Black Caucus signed the letter, too.

Reuters:

JERUSALEM, May 19 (Reuters) - Jewish settler leaders on Tuesday shrugged off U.S. President Barack Obama’s call for Israel to halt settlement building in the occupied West Bank, saying Palestinians needed to “halt terror first”.

Dani Dayan, chairman of the West Bank settlers’ umbrella organisation Yesha Council, said he felt assured that domestic political support would allow settlers to continue to live in the occupied West Bank.

“The Israeli electorate set a clear line for this government … we have strong support in the new Knesset (parliament) and the things we hear among politicians certainly encourage us that if Netanyahu (halts settlement building) the Knesset will stand at our side,” Dayan told Reuters.

CNN:

Though not new in California, Arizona, Texas or Florida, the change of demographics is a bit more surprising in southwest Kansas.

Finney County, Kansas, is one of six counties across the nation that became majority-minority between 2007 and 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced. The agency defines majority-minority as a county where more than half the population is made up of a group that is not single-race, non-Hispanic white.

Nearly 10 percent (309) of the nation’s 3,142 counties were majority-minority as of July 1, 2008.

WIBW:

TOPEKA, Kansas (Marketwire) The Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share payable July 1, 2009 on the company’s common stock.

The board also declared regular quarterly dividends on the company’s 4.25 percent, 4.5 percent and 5 percent series preferred stocks payable July 1, 2009.

The dividends are payable to shareholders of record as of June 9, 2009.

Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) is the largest electric utility in Kansas, providing electric service to about 679,000 customers in the state. Westar Energy has about 6.800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and operates and coordinates more than 35,000 miles of electric distribution and transmission lines.

Nebraska.tv:

Gov. Mark Parkinson sent the request Thursday to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s regional office. Preliminary damage assessments put the cost in excess of $18.6 million across 62 counties.

Then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state disaster emergency for the counties at the time. Assistance would cover debris removal, infrastructure repair and funds for the statewide hazard mitigation program.

Among the hardest hit counties were Butler, Cowley and Greenwood.

Scout.com:

* Five-year, $350,000 base … June 7, 2009 - June 6, 2014.
* Incentives to be agreed upon in the first 120 days.
* Kansas Board of Regents retirement plan.
* A vehicle and stipend of $10,000; or, a vehicle stipend of $18,000.
* One complimentary ticket per family member for all events; two complimentary tickets for all away games; and, up to six complimentary tickets for all Conference NCAA Tournament and bowl games.
* Use of a suite.
* Membership to Manhattan Country Club.

Star:

Kansas State took two of the top Big 12 postseason awards Tuesday, with Brad Hill being honored as coach of the year and junior right-hander A.J. Morris winning pitcher of the year.

Hill led the Wildcats to their best season ever with a 39-15-1 record and as high as a No. 10 ranking in the Baseball America poll.

“This award isn’t about me, it’s about the players,” said Hill, the first K-State league coach of the year since Mike Clark in 1990.

Morris, who also made the All-Big 12 first team, led the conference in wins (12), ERA (1.61) and was second in complete games (four).

The Star:

Neither sophomore guard Fred Brown nor junior guard Buchi Awaji will be back next season for Kansas State, coach Frank Martin announced Thursday.

Brown averaged 8.1 points and made 42 percent of his three-point shots last season.

Awaji struggled in his adjustment from junior college and didn’t play more than 21 minutes in a game.

Brown and Awaji join forward Ron Anderson as this season’s departures. Neither Brown nor Awaji could be reached for comment.

AP:

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Kansas State has filed a lawsuit challenging a secret deal between former athletic director Ron Krause and former football coach Ron Prince that would pay Prince $3.2 million in deferred compensation between 2015 and 2020.

Kansas State president Jon Wefald said he found out about the deal on May 11 and that nobody in the administration or athletic department knew about it. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the deal.

The Star:

The Roeland Park City Council voted 6-0 Monday night to accept the latest offer from Community Living Opportunities for the school, which will become the new home of the Kansas City Autism Training Center. Councilmember Toni Hull was absent and there is a vacancy in Ward 4.

The council rejected a $550,000 offer earlier this year. Under the new deal, the organization will pay $650,000 for the building; however, only $550,000 would be paid at closing. The city will carry a 10-year, $100,000 second mortgage on the building. The interest rate for the first three years will be 3.5 percent and then rise to 7 percent.

The city will ensure that the roof, windows, plumbing and air-conditioning work and spend as much as $15,000 on other repairs. The closing deadline is September 1.

FoxNews:

BECK: You know, I saw Barack Obama today. I think he is a - I think he’s an extraordinarily talented man - very, very shrewd, very good politician. He was giving a speech today at the National Archives. He was standing right in front of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. (more…)

BND.com:

He didn’t know how to find other veterans, couldn’t pay tuition on time because of the cycles of his military income and wasn’t able to find any scholarships for veterans.

“A lot of people support vets, ” he said. “But a lot of people, when they’re not posed with it, don’t really think about them.”

In summer 2006, Parker and a few friends decided to help reintegrate vets into college life. First, Parker created the Collegiate Veterans Association, a networking group for veterans. He said taking classes with 18-year-olds at age 23 made it difficult to make friends.

“You would think that the experience of being a veteran would be the real separating factor,” he said. “But more than anything, it was age.”

Parker wasn’t done.

During the next two years, he helped create a new tuition payment plan for veterans that allows them to pay tuition throughout the semester without penalty.

He helped establish the Kansas Military Service Scholarship, which pays for 10 full-time semesters for Kansas high school graduates returning to college from service.

And he helped create a new, easy entry-and-exit program for students who are activated in the middle of a semester.

Star:

The Wildcats have never reached the NCAA Tournament - they’re all but assured of an invitation next week - and coach Brad Hill set up his pitching rotation with regional play in mind.

K-State’s best chance to make noise in the national tournament is to keep life normal for the staff. It’s why A.J. Morris, the Big 12’s pitcher of the year who started nearly every series for the Wildcats this season, didn’t get the ball Wednesday.

LJ World:

Some media reports have cited for Kansas University professor Christine Arguello as a potential nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Barack Obama is looking for someone to replace the retiring David Souter.

Arguello, a U.S. district judge in Colorado, has received a call from people “in direct contact with the White House,” according to an article in the Denver Post.

David Klepper:

TOPEKA | The University of Kansas is proposing a 4 percent increase in tuition.

The Kansas Board of Regents today is hearing proposals from KU and the state’s other public universities.

The potential tuition hikes are prompted by large funding cuts from the state, which has seen its revenues plummet in the recession.

University officials said they would strive to minimize any increases knowing the downturn impacts families as much as it does the state’s coffers.

A final decision on tuition levels is set for June.

KU said 40 percent of students would see no increase because they are locked into the university’s tuition compact, which keeps tuition flat for four years.

Poll:

President Obama’s decision to keep the military commission system in place for the trials of suspected terrorists moves him closer to public opinion on the topic.

A survey conducted earlier this year found that 59% believe the suspected terrorists held at the Guantanamo prison should be tried by military tribunals. Just 26% thought they should be tried in U.S. courts.

Two-thirds (69%) said that the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo should not be given all the rights of U.S. citizens.

Source:

Nevertheless, concern has been mounting that the increasing U.S. debt load, as well as a potential inflation time bomb in the form of the quantitative easing, could drag down the greenback. Garnering attention is the risk the United States could lose its triple-A sovereign credit rating, which reflects the chance of the borrower defaulting on its debt.

“By many measures, the U.S. appears just a few short steps away from losing its coveted triple-A status, unless the recovery turns out to be considerably stronger than expected and the fiscal repair is faster than commonly expected,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. “A downgrade could boost the cost of funding U.S. debt at the margin, but underlying inflation and fiscal fundamentals will ultimately be the primary driver.”

McClanahan:

One of the most pleasant places in the city is a block on Eighth Street, immediately west of Broadway.

The street runs between the handsome mid-rise buildings of the Garment District, with their elegant cornices and deep-set windows. At ground level, more than half the available space is given over to a long vest-pocket park, well-shaded by mature trees.

The actual street is only wide enough for two narrow lanes of traffic, which upends the normal arrangement: This isn’t a street with a park adjacent; it’s a park with a street adjacent. The area has a quiet grace that evokes some parts of London - a place of refuge in the heart of the city, yet still part of the urban fabric.

MSNBC:

WASHINGTON - An unreleased Pentagon report provides new details concluding that about one in seven of the 534 prisoners already transferred abroad from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has returned to terrorism or militant activity, according to administration officials.

The conclusion could strengthen the arguments of critics who have warned against releasing any more prisoners as part of President Obama’s plan to shut down the prison by January 2010. Past Pentagon reports on Guantánamo recidivism, however, have been met with skepticism from civil liberties groups and criticized for their lack of detail.

Washington Post:

California’s voters are complicit in their state’s collapse. They elect and reelect the legislators off whom public employees unions batten. Also, voters have promiscuously used their state’s plebiscitary devices to control and fatten the budget. In November, as the dark fiscal clouds lowered, they authorized $9.95 billion more in debt as a down payment on a perhaps $75 billion high-speed-rail project linking San Francisco and Los Angeles — a delight California cannot afford. (more…)

NY Post:

After reviewing the new budget, I have identified the most compelling incentive of all: a major tax break immediately available to all New Yorkers. To be eligible, you need do only one thing: move out of New York state.

Last week I spent 90 minutes doing a couple of simple things — registering to vote, changing my driver’s license, filling out a domicile certificate and signing a homestead certificate — in Florida. Combined with spending 184 days a year outside New York, these simple procedures will save me over $5 million in New York taxes annually.

The Star:

Sprint customers who got their cell phone bills reduced in a fraud scheme apparently will get away with it, but two men who allegedly were the ringleaders face charges.

Johnson County prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Missouri man with stealing more than $100,000 from Sprint in a scheme that wiped out some cell phone bills.

Former Sprint employee Gary W. Morrow, 44, of Florissant, Mo., worked with a Sprint employee for almost two years in an operation that erased about $133,000 in cell phone bills, police said.

The other man, Timothy L. Flowers, 39, of Overland Park, was charged previously, and theft and computer crime charges are pending against him.

the Star:

No point in hiding our light under a bushel.

With the new Mainstreet theater, Kansas City now has one of the best movie theaters in the country.

Maybe in the world.

In every category in which you might measure the experience - sound, projection, comfort, ambience - AMC’s six-screen Mainstreet is as good as it gets.

In its first two weeks, the all-digital venue at 14th and Main has been busy with crowds of curious moviegoers.

As an AMC spokesman puts it, the theater has seen a “continuous flow of guests since opening day … guests have reacted very favorably to not only the historical building’s transformation, but also the high-tech, out-of-home entertainment experience at this incredible theater.”

Video:

Story:

There are some other pretty good young players in the club but tony has moved far beyond them all. He almost always plays way up in age category at tournaments and often plays adults.

“Because if it’s really easy then there’s no point in it,” says Tony. “There has to be a challenge.”

His brain just seems to be wired differently.

“It’s just his ability to calculate different variations 10, 15 moves ahead,” says Schuh. “The average person can’t do that.” For Tony, the allure of chess is really pretty simple.

“Because it’s fun, challenging and you can meet a lot of friends,” says Tony, matter-of-factly. Tony is amassing an impressive record as a chess champion in Kansas and Missouri and is quickly moving up the ladder nationally as a top player — of any age.

“Oh, he’s done exceptionally well,” says Schuh. Tony plays in big tournaments all over the region and the nation, piling up the trophies. He captured Kansas Elementary Scholastic state championships and Kansas City Chess Club youth championships the past two years. He was in the top 20 of all 5th grade players at the 2008 K-12 National Championships. And he’s currently ranked in the top 30 of all players of any ages in Kansas.

All that hardware isn’t just for chess, though. Tony’s also a fine classical pianist, a talented youth tennis player and a regional math competition champion. And he says chess has helped him focus and do well in all of them.

“They kind of relate to each other because chess is logical thinking, technical calculations, making strategies,” says Tony. At his core, though, Tony’s a chess man, and hopes one day to be a Grand Master, with a grand winning strategy.

“Mostly just have fun and don’t get too stressed out and normally you’ll win,” says Tony. He’s doing that an awful lot.

Last month Tony competed in a huge youth tournament in Nashville, TN, The SuperNationals, where more than 5200 kids took part. It’s held just once every four years. Tony didn’t do quite as well has he’d hoped but still finished in the top 25 in the Open division for elementary school age players.

Desoto paper: City finds funds for 83rd Street project

The De Soto City Council agreed last Thursday to use unencumbered capital project funds to make up any shortfall in this year’s major city road project.

With the decision, the city will mill the existing asphalt from 2.5 miles of 83rd Street east of Kill Creek Road to the Lenexa city limits and repave the section with 2 inches of new asphalt. But it is the work that will occur between the milling and repaving that will take up the majority of what could be, depending on the weather, a 60-day project with work starting in July.

Chronicle of Higher Ed:

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that the University of Missouri system filed against one of its professors in an intellectual-property dispute, the Associated Press reported.

In its complaint, the university accused Galen J. Suppes, who is a professor of chemical engineering at its Columbia campus, and a business partner of depriving the institution of royalty income on inventions that it says were developed in university laboratories.

Digits blog:

Ien Cheng, a director for product management at Google, is leaving the Internet giant to help run the multimedia arm of Bloomberg LP.

In his new role as chief of staff for Bloomberg’s multimedia group, Mr. Cheng will oversee the financial-data provider’s television, radio, Web and mobile properties, he wrote in an email to friends and associates.

Mr. Cheng’s hire signals a continuation of a broader effort by Bloomberg to reduce its reliance on sales of the financial-data “terminals” that account for most of its revenue. The evaporation of thousands of financial-sector jobs in the past year has slowed terminal sales, prompting the company founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to focus on making money on the large newsgathering operation that supplies the terminals with news, say people familiar with the situation. Last fall the company hired former Sony BMG Chairman and NBC News President Andrew Lack to run its multimedia business.

The Digits blog:

In a research report, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that while the new products - Google Search Options, Google Squared and Rich Snippets - were “more evolutionary than revolutionary,” they demonstrated the company’s continued ability to innovate. “The bottom line is that we expect Google’s continued product improvement to allow the company to maintain its leadership position in search for the foreseeable future,” he wrote.

“Google’s longevity as the leader in search is constantly questioned by investors, bloggers, etc.,” he added. “New technologies and innovations come with the excitement of potentially dismounting Google. However, we think the reality of Google’s position atop search volume looks essentially insurmountable. Any startup wishing to challenge Google directly not only has to compete with the company’s technology, but also the company’s brand (a top 10 brand in Business Week 2008) and the company’s immense CAPEX budget (as high as $840 million in Q1 last year). We don’t deny that smart startups will develop technologies that are an improvement to Google’s offering, but we also believe Google has the resources to catch up quickly and the brand to keep users loyal.”

WSJ:

Kent Lindstrom, a Friendster executive who was its president for two years, said he is leaving the company to join technology incubator firm Ooga Labs.

Mr. Lindstrom will be working on a local-media Web startup for Ooga, which is based in San Francisco. He most recently served as Friendster’s senior vice president of corporate development.

Calgary Herald:

The beginning of May marks the end of income tax season in Canada. While the task of completing our personal tax returns and the size of those tax bills slowly fades from our memories, some Canadians may find themselves taking solace in a belief that their taxes (of which income taxes make up about one-third for the average Canadian family) at least purchased a high-quality, universal access health-care program.

Unfortunately, Canadian taxpayers are not receiving the same sort of value that their counterparts in other nations are when it comes to universally accessible health care, despite the fact nearly 60 per cent of personal income taxes paid in aggregate are required to cover the cost of Canada’s taxpayer-funded health-care program.

Politico:

Democrats could have another Kennedy in the Senate chamber.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last night that businessman Chris Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy, will be running for the Senate in Illinois.

And Kennedy’s pollster John Anzalone confirmed to POLITICO that Kennedy will soon be entering the race, joining a Democratic primary against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and, possibly, Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.).

For his part, Kennedy told Lynn Sweet Tuesday night: “I’m keeping my options alive and working through a whole series of issues still.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson are also mulling over campaigns.

Politico:

Major corporations are arming for a brawl over overseas tax breaks that could be the year’s biggest clash between business and the White House.

“We’re going to spend whatever it takes,” said Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn, senior director of congressional relations for the Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs of the nation’s largest companies.

Obama last week announced a “Leveling the Playing Field” plan aimed at overseas tax shelters and other provisions that he calls loopholes for corporations. Combined with other international tax reforms planned by the administration, the crackdown would raise $210 billion over 10 years.

The most hotly contested issue is known as “deferral” - a provision in the existing tax law that allows companies to “defer” paying U.S. taxes on the profits they make from overseas investments until the money comes back home. Obama’s plan would curtail deferral rules.

Prime Buzz:

Sen. Sam Brownback just returned from a recent inspection of Guantanamo and again pledged to block the use of Fort Leavenworth as a replacement prison for its alleged terrorist inmates.

“I assure you that this is not simply a case of ‘not in my backyard,’” the Kansas Republican told a news conference Tuesday. “There is a world of difference between what Fort Leavenworth is designed for and what a detainee mission entails. And on Friday, I saw the difference with my own eyes.”

He said that housing the detainees involves “unique national security concerns” and “unique facilities and…arrangements.”

While Fort Leavenworth has a military brig, he said, “I’ve seen first-hand that it is not equipped to handle the detainee mission. It is not equipped, period.”

HT Club for Growth

Richard Gannon’s Liberty Sentinel:

PATRICK HENRY ONCE SAID THAT LIBERTY IS NEVER SECURE AS LONG AS GOVERNMENT DOES BUSINESS IN SECRET.

Unfortunately, events do occur in Kansas that our Founding Fathers would deem unacceptable. So, from time to time, you will be receiving “The Liberty Sentinel,” an article about open government that may be of interest to you. If you have questions regarding the following information, please contact the contributing newspaper or Kansas Press Association at rgannon@kspress.com.

The Liberty Sentinel

Regents won’t release KSU audit
Board says it’s exempt from open-records law

(The Manhattan Mercury - by Sarah Nightingale)
The Kansas Board of Regents has declined to release the findings of an audit it commissioned to mark the transition of Kansas State University presidents, claiming an exemption to the state’s open-records law.

The Manhattan Mercury filed a formal request for the audit last month. According to a May 12 response, the Board conducted a “2009 exit analysis of Kansas State University President Jon Wefald focusing on certain non-state accounts administered or controlled by the President or his direct subordinates.”

The Regents, however, said the findings of the study are off limits.

This is believed to be the first time the Regents have conducted such an audit, though the new practice will mean similar audits of outgoing Kansas University chancellor Robert Hemenway and president of Pittsburg State University Tom Bryant.

According to Board of Regents attorney Theresa Marcel-Bush, the exit analysis is considered confidential because it “addresses the President’s handling of certain non-state funded accounts, a matter involving an employee of the Board acting within the scope of that employment.”

State law says that “public records shall be open for inspection by any person…and this act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote such policy.” But the law also allows for a long list of exemptions. The one claimed by the Regents in this matter is for “personnel records, performance ratings or individually identifiable records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment…”

Mike Merriam, an attorney for the Kansas Press Association, contended in an interview Wednesday that the Regents’ logic was flawed.

“This is not a personnel matter,” he said. “This is examining policy considerations, funding sources, things like that. The purpose of the exemption is to protect the privacy interests of the employee…But this has nothing to do with Wefald’s privacy.”

…..

Records showed bills from Grant Thornton amounting to almost $126,000. It was not immediately clear if that was the total cost of the audit.

While the audit was not released, certain pieces of information have become public as a result of it. KSU officials disclosed to the Mercury in February documents related to overload payments authorized by Wefald to Bob Krause, the vice president for institutional advancement and athletics director, for his work related to athletics. Those payments totaled nearly $250,000, from 2001 to 2008. Records related to those payments were uncovered in the process, officials said.

Do you have an Open Government experience to share? E-mail it to rgannon@kspress.com