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WEDNESDAY • JUNE 22 • 2011
LJWorld.com
Abortion clinics worried about possible shutdowns By John Hanna Associated Press Writer
HEALTH
T O P E K A — Kansas officials have taken only a few weeks to draft new abortion clinic regulations and plan to decide by July whether to give the state’s three existing clinics the licenses they
Breezy
High: 82
Low: 61
Today’s forecast, page 8A
INSIDE
need to continue operating, according to documents released Tuesday. The top executive for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid Missouri said he’s concerned imposing the new regulations so quickly will force all three clinics to shut down. The Planned
Parenthood chapter operates one of the three clinics, all of which are in the Kansas City area. Kansas Department of Health and Environment is imposing the rules under Republicanbacked legislation that was signed into law last month by
GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, a strong abortion opponent. The department sent Planned Parenthood a letter earlier this month saying its clinic would be inspected and notified by July 1 whether it would have a license. The other clinics received similar letters.
The Associated Press filed an open records request last week, seeking copies of the department’s correspondence with the clinics. Planned Parenthood provided its copies of the letters shortly before the agency Please see CLINICS, page 2A
Turnpike among roads going up to 75 Some worry about more accidents and reduced fuel efficiency By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Spice up your salads with some new flavors We are in prime salad-eating time. Don’t spend it with the same-old, same-old of lettuce, carrots and tomatoes. Page 8B SPORTS
Former KU players await NBA draft The NBA draft starts Thursday, with former Kansas University players Markieff and Marcus Morris and Josh Selby in the mix. The Morris twins’ stock has gone up in recent days. Page 1B
“
QUOTABLE
My father credited KU for how his life turned out. If it wasn’t for the university, he wouldn’t have had the education to bring forth all that he accomplished during his lifetime.” — Stephen Davis, in a statement about how important Kansas University was to his parents, William and Virginia Davis. The Davises bequeathed a $1.2 million estate gift to the School of Pharmacy. Page 3A
COMING THURSDAY A new fund has been established by six Douglas County residents to support local youth.
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T O P E K A — Travelers in Kansas will get to their destinations faster as the state increases the speed limit on most freeways from 70 mph to 75 mph. The change, announced Tuesday by the Kansas Department of Transportation, will take place July 1 just as the roads start filling up with motorists for the July 4 holiday weekend. Almost all of the Kansas Turnpike — from the Kansas-Oklahoma border to K-7 in Wyandotte County — will be 75 mph as will most of interstates 70 and 35; and U.S. highways 69 and 81. In all, 807 miles of roadway will graduate from 70 mph to 75 mph. All are freeways, which have controlled access and interchanges. No expressways, which have cross traffic, were selected for the increased speed limit. The routes were picked by a task force made up of KDOT representatives, the Kansas Highway Patrol and Kansas Turnpike Authority. “We considered a number of factors, such as traffic volumes, crash history and roadway geometrics, to determine where to raise the limit,” said Chris Herrick, director of KDOT’s Division of Planning and Development. “We will continue to monitor these routes under the new speed limit and consider whether it makes sense to increase the maximum speed on other highways.”
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
TRUCKS PASS A SPEED LIMIT SIGN Tuesday in the westbound lane of Interstate 70 just west of Lawrence. Beginning July 1, the speed limit on the Kansas Turnpike from the Oklahoma border to Kansas Highway 7 in Wyandotte County will increase to 75 mph from 70 mph, the Kansas Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. Not on the increased speed limit list was Kansas Highway 10. Steve Swartz, a spokesman for KDOT, said K-10 was too heavily traveled for 75 mph. “It’s such a heavy commuter route,” he said. The changes were prompted by legislation approved in the recently completed legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Sam Brownback. Rep. Marvin Kleeb, ROverland Park, drove the bill through the Legislature, hitting few bumps along the way. Kleeb argued the increased limit would help the economy by making Kansas more attractive to vacation travelers and truckers. Most western states have already adopted 75 mph. No groups opposed the measure. Jim Hanni, a spokesman for AAA in
Kansas, said the bill seemed like a “done deal.” Although he added, “There is nothing positive about it from a safety standpoint, and there is nothing positive about it from a fuel efficiency standpoint.” The website fuelecon my.gov, run by the U.S. Department of Energy, states each 5 mph over 60 mph is the equivalent of paying an additional 30 cents per gallon of gas. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety cites studies that show states that increased speed limits saw an increase in traffic fatalities. “For practical reasons, there are limits to the amount of crash energy that can be managed by vehicles, restraint systems, and roadway hardware such as barriers and crash cushions. The higher the
Commissioners serious about likely tax increase ———
Money sought to add more police officers By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
A property tax rate increase came a little closer to reality at Lawrence City Hall as commissioners did nothing to rebuff the idea at a Tuesday budget study session. In fact, one more commissioner said strong consideration would have to be given to a rate hike, especially to address concerns he has about a shortage of police officers in the city. “I think there is only so much time you can put off expenditures and reduce overhead, especially when you do have inflation to deal with,” said City Commissioner Mike Dever, who has lobbied against raising property taxes in the past. “At this point, it is hard to see how we’re going to find the revenue if we don’t raise taxes.”
Dever’s comments come one day after Mayor Aron Cromwell said he thought it would be difficult for the city to avoid a mill levy increase. At Tuesday’s session, City Manager David Corliss essentially told commissioners that he plans to recommend a mill levy increase as part of his recommended budget, which will be released in early July. “Raising the mill levy is never my first option,” Corliss told commissioners. “Cutting expenditures is what we look to do first, but I’m looking and not seeing anything significant that I can recommend.” Commissioners didn’t give any indication of how large of a mill levy increase may be in store. A 1.7 mill increase is assumed to fund an expansion of the Lawrence Public Library, which previously was approved by voters. But Please see TAXES, page 2A
Routes switching to 75 mph ● The Kansas Turnpike from the Kansas-Oklahoma border to K-7 in Wyandotte County. ● I-70 from the Kansas-Colorado border to just west of Topeka in Shawnee County. ● U.S. Highway 69 from just six-tenths of a mile north of the north junction of U.S. 54 in Bourbon County to the 199th Street Interchange in Johnson County. ● I-135 from a half-mile north of the 85th Street interchange in Harvey County to I-70 near Salina. ● I-35 from U.S. 50 just east of Emporia to a mile east of the Sunflower/Edgerton Interchange in Johnson County. ● U.S. 81 from I-70 near Salina north to K-106.
speed, the higher the likelihood that these limits will be exceeded in crashes, limiting the protection available for vehicle occupants,” according to the institute. Swartz, with KDOT, said state officials are satisfied with the safety of raising the limit and had no qualms
starting the increase right before a heavily traveled holiday. “If we didn’t think these roads could handle it during holiday traffic they wouldn’t have been boosted up,” he said. — Statehouse reporter Scott Rothschild can be reached at 785-423-0668.
City wants to crack down on ‘unscrupulous’ landlords planning and development services department, said that is because the city usually does not pursue fines if a landlord City commissioners on Tuesday said agrees to comply with the regulations. they want to get significantly tougher on But that mindset may be changing. landlords who illegally allow too many He said Fort Collins, Colo., has adoptpeople to live in rental housing, perhaps ed a policy that requires its city officials imposing even $100 to $500 per day fines. to pursue a fine regardless of whether the Commissioners unanimously directed landlord reduces the tenant levels and the city’s planning and developpromises to comply in the future. ment services staff to put togethFort Collins has a $1,000 fine. er a plan that would create stiffer The city’s fine provision currentpenalties for landlords who rent ly is written in a way that allows to more than three unrelated for it to be as low as $10 or as people in single family homes or much as $500. more than four in multifamily City commissioners said zoned properties. Lawrence may want to consider “This is an economic situaa policy similar to Fort Collins’ CITY tion, and you have to turn the COMMISSION because there’s evidence some economics inside out on the perlandlords come into compliance petrator,” City Commissioner Bob and then over-rent the unit again. Schumm said. “These landlords aren’t According to the city’s figures, 22 percent doing this because they don’t know any of the over-occupancy cases the city has better. You’ve got to make it so they are investigated since 2005 involved eight losing money on this.” property owners. Thus far, landlords aren’t paying much Commissioners heard from several in the way of fines in Lawrence. The city members of the public who urged them confirmed it has had only one case that to stiffen the regulations. has gone through the process to the point “We’re being infested in residential that Municipal Court levied a fine. And neighborhoods by unscrupulous landthat fine ended up being only about $100 lords who are just packing these houses,” total, city officials said. Please see LANDLORDS, page 2A Scott McCullough, director of the city’s
By Chad Lawhorn
clawhorn@ljworld.com