Camera shy: KS legislators sidestep transparency

By   /  March 25, 2013  /  Featured, Kansas, News, State Government, Transparency  /  5 Comments

EYE IN THE SKY: Despite having the ability to broadcast online some of the legislature's most important committees, lawmakers have chosen to simply leave the camera off.

It seems some members of the Kansas Legislature are a bit camera shy.

In the years since its installation, the video camera in the Old Supreme Court room of the Kansas Capitol building has sat at the ready to broadcast live streaming video coverage of some of the state’s most important legislative committees.

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Ex-Hostess workers land sweet deal, taxpayers foot bill

By   /  March 15, 2013  /  Economy, Featured, Federal Government, Free Market, Kansas, Labor relations, National, News, unions  /  54 Comments

FLUFF FILLING: The U.S. Department of Labor has been short on specifics regarding its claim that Hostess went out of business because of foreign trade.

 
By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog
OSAWATOMIE — It’s been four months since the iconic Twinkie began disappearing from store shelves nationwide. While some have speculated the golden sponge cake could survive the apocalypse itself, its undoing was something else entirely: unreasonable demands from an uncompromising labor union.
Apparently the federal government didn’t get the memo.
Officials at [...]

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‘Are we subsidizing too much?’: Government worker on access to public records in Kansas

By   /  March 13, 2013  /  Featured, Kansas, News, Open Records, Public records, State Government, Transparency  /  2 Comments

Sen. Jake Laturner, R-Pittsburg, argues in favor of SB 10, which would increase access to public documents by capping fees.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog
TOPEKA — City of Wichita lobbyist Dale Goter says everyone has a right to access public records in Kansas.
He just doesn’t think everyone should.
Goter was just one of 15 school, state and local government officials who testified Wednesday against SB 10, authored by Pittsburg Republican Sen. Jake LaTurner. The legislation would increase [...]

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Kansas school spending $23,000 annually for Internet connection

By   /  March 8, 2013  /  Education, Featured, Kansas, News  /  No Comments

BITS AND BUCKS: A recent efficiency audit of St. Francis USD 297 revealed the districts $23,000 Internet connection. Superintendent Robert Schiltz says it was the districts only option.

St. Francis USD 297 is a little school district with big problems.

Like other rural schools, St. Francis administrators are battling falling enrollment. Fewer students mean less money from the state, complicating the already-thorny matter of Kansas education funding.

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Kansas maintains secrecy around state pensions

By   /  March 4, 2013  /  Accountability, Featured, Kansas, News, Open Records, Pensions  /  1 Comment

TOP SECRET: Kansas state statute has kept confidential the names of public pension recipients for nearly 40 years.

OSAWATOMIE — If you’ve ever registered a car in Kansas, your name is a matter of public record.

Ever paid a speeding ticket? Yep, that’s on file, too. And if you’re a public employee? Anyone can look up your paycheck.

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