The final long weekend of the Summer is getting underway and the State Highway Patrol is ready for a busy few days. Many Missourians see this as the last chance for a long weekend at a favorite Summer getaway. And, the Highway Patrol will be doing its part to make sure folks get to and from their destinations safely. The Patrol’s Captain Tim Hull says despite all the warnings about paying attention, slowing down, and driving sober, too many Missourians are killed or hurt on our roads. There were 11 deaths and 483 injuries in more than a thousand crashes last Labor Day weekend on Missouri’s roads. This year’s counting period begins at 6 o’clock this evening and runs through Monday at midnight.
McCaskill Makes Pitch for Minimum Wage Hike, Smart Gas Pumps
August 31, 2006 By
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill is reitterating her call for an increase in the minimum wage and her push to require new smart pumps to prevent what she calls the latest big oil scam using so-called “hot fuel.” An initiative on the ballot in November aims to hike the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour with future increases tied to the cost of living. McCaskill supports that effort. The “hot fuel” is gasoline expanded under higher temperatures, resulting in less gas in consumers’ tanks. McCaskill says the oil companies should be required to install or retrofit temperature-sensing smart pumps to prevent this from happening. McCaskill wants a law requiring all newly installed gas pumps to be temperature-sensing smart pumps to regulate the price of gas based on its temperature in relation to the price set at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Related web sites:
McCaskill for Missouri
Talent for U.S. Senate
Governor Revises MOHELA Sell-Off Plan
August 31, 2006 By
Governor Matt Blunt has revised his plans for the sell-off of assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, cutting $100-Million off the proposed deal. The new plan has the money going for higher education and biotechnology projects. The Legislature refused to go for the original MOHELA plan earlier this year. The new plan circumvents legislative appropriation powers. The Blunt Administration has taken some heat for not saying how most of the money would be spent. The first draft of the latest plan specified only $15-Million in spending.
McCaskill Criticizes High Cost of College Education
August 31, 2006 By
College tuitions have risen nearly 30 percent in the last three years in Missouri and some officials are blaming a lack of state funding to higher education for the increase. The State Auditor is also attacking the latest plan to put more dollars into colleges’ hands. At a news conference blasting lawmakers for not putting in enough money into higher education – resulting in what State Auditor Claire McCaskill describes as unconscionably high tuitions – McCaskill expresses concern over the latest plan to sell Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority assets to fund some projects at colleges and universities in the state. McCaskill says Governor Matt Blunt and legislative leaders, some of whom have not yet been re-elected for this next legisaltive session, are overstepping their bounds and committing the state to a plan that could have negative effects years down the road.
Wizards’ Future Discussed Today
August 31, 2006 By
Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards will hold a press conference today to make a ‘significant announcement.’ The topic of conversation will likely be either the sale of the team to new owners or the development of a stadium in Overland Park.
MLS commissioner Don Garber, Wizards owner Lamar Hunt and Overland Park mayor Carl Gerlach are expected to attend.
The Wizards are in a dogfight to clinch the last remaining playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Their record of 8-12-6 is fourth-best, one point ahead of the New York Red Bulls.
Related web sites:
Wizards Official Website
