A couple of positive economic indicators are reported by the State Economic Development Department. The number of businesses in Missouri is at an all-time high – 156,000, up about 2,300 from 2001. And, the average pesonal income in Missouri has gone up two-and-a-half percent, almost a percentage point more than the national average. The average annual wages in Missouri are $33,260.
Conservation Department Releases Guide To Water Fun
August 29, 2003 By
For almost 40 years, canoeists in Missouri have relied on Oz Hawksley’s guidebook – “Missouri Ozark Waterways.” Now, the Conservation Department has published a new guide. It adds about 20 new streams, many in north Missouri. Editor Joan McKee says she does not want the book to be justt for canoeists, either. The book is called “A paddler’s Guide to Missouri.” McKee admits she has missed a few things – but the book includes a form at the back that invites readers to suggest additions, corrections, and improvements.
Highway Patrol Working For Safe Holiday Weekend
August 29, 2003 By
Missouri State Highway Patrol officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s deadly Labor Day weekend when 10 people died on Missouri’s roads and nearly 600 more were injured. Lieutenant Tim Hull they expect plenty of drivers out this weekend. Hull says driver inattention is still the biggest cause of accidents. He says pay attention to your driving, buckle up, and of course don’t drink and drive.
Division Of Highway Safety Changes Name … Maintains Mission
August 29, 2003 By
The mission doesn’t change, but the place within the structure of state bureaucracy does for the Division of Highway Safety, now the Office of Highway Safety. State Highway Safety Director Joyce Shaul says little will change within her office now that it is moving from the Department of Public Safety to the Missouri Department of Transportation. She says the mission stays the same: changing driver behavior. Shaul says the office likely does make a better fit in MoDOT. The change comes as a result of the executive order by Governor Bob Holden. The Office of Highway Safety uses millions of federal dollars to pay for its programs.
Holden Launches Quest For Tort Reform Package
August 29, 2003 By
Governor Bob Holden has started the wheels in motion to come up with a litigation reform package for the General Assembly to consider during a September session of the Legislature. But the effort is not without controversy. Governor Holden vetoed the litigation reform bill sent to him by the General Assembly – a bill that would have given doctors and the business community relief from trial attorneys. The Governor has brought medical practitioners and trial lawyers together to try to come up with a reform package that could be presented to the Legislature in September. Representative Richard Byrd of Kirkwood, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says the Governor is trying to divide the doctors and the business community by just focusing on medicine because the problems affecting doctors are easier to explain. Byrd says doctors realize, however, that their interests in this regard are tied to those of business and the divide and conquer approach is wrong. This exercise becomes moot if the Legislature can muster the votes to override the Governor’s veto.
