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WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 26 • 2011
STATE OF THE UNION
The challenges facing us Nationally and here at home
Budget would cut pay of state employees ———
House committee approves slicing salaries by 7.5 percent Green technology
Jobs
The president wants to see the amount of electricity generated from clean energy double by 2035. Today, the number stands at 40 percent. Clean energy would include electricity from solar, wind, natural gas, nuclear and clean coal plants that have carbon sequestration. Where Kansas stands: Obama’s goals are more ambitious than the renewable energy portfolio standards the Kansas Legislature passed in 2009. Under those guidelines, starting this year utilities have to meet 10 percent of their peak energy demand through renewable resources. That number jumps to 15 percent in 2016 and then 20 percent by 2020.
The president points to recently passed legislation as helping turn the economy around. Over the past year, more than 1 million jobs have been created in the private sector. In the year to come, economic forecasters project another 500,000 to 1.5 million new jobs. Where Kansas stands: In December, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 6.4 percent. Over the past year, Kansas businesses gained 4,400 jobs, a 0.3 percent increase. December was the sixth consecutive month where the number of new jobs rose from the year before, according to Kansas Department of Labor data.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA is applauded by Vice President Joe Biden, left, and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio before delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington.
By Scott Rothschild
High speed rail
Wireless network
Science teachers
Tax credit
The president vows to invest now to increase high speed rail access. His goal is within 25 years, 80 percent of Americans will have convenient access to a high speed rail. Where Kansas stands: Kansas doesn’t have any high speed rail systems and according to a 2010 state rail plan there are no federally designated high speed corridors for Kansas. The state does have some passenger rail transportation. On its longdistance route from Los Angeles to Chicago, Amtrak Train picks up passengers daily at six Kansas cities, including Lawrence.
Obama said that small towns as well as large cities should benefit from a 4G national wireless network. He is proposing that 98 percent of Americans have access to high speed Internet. Where Kansas stands: Just 14 counties in Kansas have 60 percent of households connected to high speed Internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Over the past 13 months, Kansas has received $6.4 million in federal money to boost broadband access initiatives in the state.
The president wants to train 100,000 more science and technology teachers. Where Kansas stands: According to the Kansas State Department of Education, the state doesn’t have a shortage in science and technology teachers. Of the state’s more than 44,000 licensed educators, 5,431 are certified to teach science. And, technology training is embedded in other teacher learning requirements. Lawrence also doesn’t have difficulty finding science and technology teachers, according to a spokesman.
Obama is calling to permanently extend the $2,500 tax credit for college tuition. The refundable tax credit would be available through four years of college for each student and is expected to reach 8 million to 10 million families a year. Where Kansas University stands: For 2010 freshmen at KU, the $2,500 tax credit will cover about 32 percent of their tuition. For Kansas resident freshmen, tuition stands at $7,875 a year. — Compiled by J-W reporter Christine Metz
Obama asks GOP to work with him By Steven Thomma McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Looking to boost the country’s slow economic recovery — and his own political rebound — President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address Tuesday night to pitch an agenda that he said will create jobs and to portray himself
as a leader above partisanship eager to work with the Republicans who share power. “The future is ours to win,” he said, sounding his theme. “But to get there, we can’t just stand still.” It was Obama’s first chance to speak directly to the Republicans who seized control of the House of Representatives and increased their strength in the Senate with
a landslide election in November, and he used it to try to frame the coming epic debate over the federal budget, national debt and the economy on his terms. With a Republican speaker of the House over his shoulder for the first time, Obama paid heed to the 2010 elections. He insisted, though, that the country didn’t repudiate his Democrats so
much as divide power. “With their votes, the American people determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties,” he said. “New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans.” ● More on State of the Union,
GOP response. Page 7A
Only 5 candidates file as city deadline passes Commissioners Chestnut and Johnson won’t run By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
With this economy there are cutbacks everywhere, even in City Commission candidates. Five candidates, the smallest field in recent memory, will campaign for three
at-large seats on the Lawrence City Commission. Not joining the group will be incumbents Rob Chestnut and Lance Johnson. Neither commissioner filed for re-election prior to Tuesday’s deadline. “Honestly, I just need to focus on my family and my business right now,” said
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INSIDE
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Johnson, who owns a Lawrence-based engineering firm. “That’s what it comes down to for me.” Chestnut, who is the chief financial officer for Lawrence-based Allen Press,
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TOPEKA — The House budget-writing committee on Tuesday approved a budget that would cut state employee pay 7.5 percent as well as base state aid to public schools. The measure was passed by the Appropriations Committee on a partisan vote with only Republicans supporting it. House Bill 2014 will next go to the full House for debate, but it was not clear when that would happen. Rep. Pete DeGraaf, R-Mulvane, authored the 7.5 percent pay cut, saying it was needed to help bridge an estimated DeGraaf $550 million revenue shortfall. “I realize it’s difficult, but it’s necessary,” DeGraaf said. He acknowledged it would be tough for state workers, but said that during the recession many employees in the private sector have taken pay cuts or lost their jobs. Jane Carter, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, called the proposal “disgraceful.” “The services and the jobs that they (state employees) do are not respected by the Legislature or by the governor,” she said. The measure would cut all state agencies’ Please see BUDGET, page 2A
ETHICS COMMISSION
Perkins fined $4K but admits no liability By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — Former Kansas University Athletic Director Lew Perkins on Tuesday was fined $4,000 for violating a ban on gifts to state officials by accepting free exercise equipment. But under an agreement with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, Perkins admitted no liability or any intent to violate the law. “I regret that this matter may have detracted from the attention given to our athletes, as my objective has always been to enhance the programs, facilities and the overall collegiate experience for all of KU's student athletes,” Perkins said in a statement distributed to the media Perkins by his attorney Todd Thompson. Perkins, who resigned in September, also said: “It is time for closure and to move on, and I am glad to have this matter fully and finally resolved.” Ethics Commission Chairwoman Sabrina Standifer of Wichita said the resolution of the case was in the best interests of everyone concerned. She noted that Perkins self-reported the issue to the commission, cooperated fully with the investigation and returned the equipment.
CITY COMMISSION
Please see PERKINS, page 2A
COMING THURSDAY Law school graduates are hurting financially during this recession.
Vol.153/No.26 26 pages
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