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Estimates show Kansas GOP income tax plan hits poorest
Revenue estimates show that House Republicans’ income tax plan would hike tax rates only for the lowest income earners in Kansas, which GOP leaders said Wednesday was an unforeseen consequence of a newly added amendment.
The estimates show that the plan would cost Kansas more than $850 million over the next five years, possibly creating budget issues in the future. The Associated Press obtained the figures from a legislative source who wasn’t authorized to publicly release the information.
House Speaker Mike O’Neal acknowledged that the amended plan, which was changed and approved Monday by the House Taxation Committee, hit the lowest tax bracket hardest. The tax increase was a result of changes made to the state’s earned income tax credit for low-income workers.
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Kansas House OKs moving up citizen requirement for voting
TOPEKA – The Kansas House gave tentative approval to a bill that moves up the start date of an existing law that requires those registering to vote in Kansas for the first time to show proof of citizenship.
The bill moves the start date of that law from Jan. 1, 2013 to June 15 this year.
Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka, warned that county election offices and other agencies responsible for registering new voters may not be prepared for the move and that many voters, particularly women who have changed their last names, may have more difficulty registering to vote.
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House OKs bill governing use of restraints in schools
A bill intended to regulate seclusion and restraint of Kansas schoolchildren, particularly those with disabilities, won approval in the House today.
The vote was 82-41. The bill now goes to a Senate committee.
The bill, HB 2444, could do three things: better inform parents of how their child is being treated, better train teachers, and create baseline standards for all schools, according to Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas.
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Escape in retention pond was futile; man arrested in stolen-car case
A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a south Wichita car theft early Monday morning that sent a woman to a local hospital with serious injuries.
The man was arrested shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday in the 12000 block of East Central, between Greenwich Road and 127th Street East, police records indicate.
He was driving the silver Toyota Echo that had been reported stolen at about 6:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of South Madison, near I-135 and Mount Vernon. A 52-year-old woman had started her car and then returned to her house while it warmed up, police said.
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Teen critically hurt in dirt bike crash in Big Ditch
A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition at a local hospital after he was injured while riding a dirt bike along the Big Ditch on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The crash occurred at 2:20 p.m. in the 3700 block of North Meridian, near Seneca and I-235, Lt. Doug Nolte said. The boy was taken to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis with a skull fracture and numerous internal injuries.
He underwent surgery Tuesday and is expected to undergo more surgery today, Nolte said. He is currently in the intensive care unit.
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Fact-checking claims on the Ambassador Hotel vote
Both sides of Tuesday’s Ambassador Hotel vote have produced several mailers touting their point of view on the guest tax vote. The Eagle has fact-checked several of their claims.
Registered Wichita voters will decide Tuesday whether the Ambassador development group can keep 75 percent of the guest tax revenue the new 117-room boutique hotel generates over its first 15 years, an estimated $2.25 million. The arrangement was approved last year by the Wichita City Council.
A yes vote on the referendum lets the developers keep the guest tax revenue, which is levied against hotel customers and is not a general tax levy against Wichita taxpayers. A no vote would leave the revenue in the city’s convention and tourism fund.
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Charges dropped against boxer Tommy Morrison
Drug charges against former boxing champion Tommy Morrison were dropped on Tuesday, the same day a preliminary hearing was scheduled in Sedgwick County District Court.
Morrison was arrested on March 4, 2010, outside a North Market fitness club, according to police records. He was eventually charged last April with possession of marijuana with a prior conviction and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Police had gone to the club in response to a report of a suspicious person. In an interview with an Eagle reporter the day after the arrest, Morrison said he frequented the fitness club and would sit in his car, reading the Bible and meditating, before going inside to lift weights.
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B Street Design's Kansas campuses to transition to Marinello Schools of Beauty
WICHITA — California-based Marinello Schools of Beauty has purchased the five B Street Design campuses in Kansas, including the Wichita site near Harry and Rock.
The schools offer beauty education, including cosmetology, esthetics and manicuring along with salon and spa services that students provide to the general public under the supervision of instructors.
Marinello, which dates to 1905, came under new ownership in 2004 and quickly grew from 13 campuses to 63 in eight states.
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Burglar sets fire that heavily damages house in southeast Wichita
Someone broke into a house in southeast Wichita on Tuesday morning, then started a fire that caused substantial damage, authorities said.
The incident was reported at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the 2200 block of South Stoneybrook, which is northeast of Pawnee and Webb. One or more suspects came in through the front door and stole two 55-inch flat screen televisions, according to a police document.
They then went upstairs and started a fire in a bedroom, Fire Capt. Stuart Bevis said.
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Second Odd Balls Yarn Shop to open at Chisholm Trail Shopping Center and Outlet Mall; more to come
WICHITA — A year after opening her first store, Tracie Anderson is taking the next step in her plan to grow her Odd Balls Yarn Shop by opening a second store at Chisholm Trail Shopping Center and Outlet Mall in Newton.
Anderson opened her first Odd Balls in March in 4,000 square feet at Brittany Center at 21st and Woodlawn to sell high-end knitting and crochet supplies, luxury fibers, weaving looms, spinning wheels and needlepoint supplies, among other things. She also offers about 80 related classes at any given time.
This March, Anderson is opening in 3,000 square feet at Chisholm Trail next to Charlotte's Bargain Fabric & Stitchery.