Legislators, governor need to close a $188 million gap. Unrestrained spending, court-ordered education funding blamed. Senate Democrat: 'We've got old people being chased from their homes by high taxes.'

Severe budget shortfall looming in Kansas

With the state facing a budget shortfall of enormous proportions, the Kansas Legislature will be faced with some bleak choices when it convenes in January.

State budget director Duane Goossen is projecting a $188 million budget shortfall in FY 2010, and a $400 million shortfall the following year, leaving the Legislature no choice but to make the budget a top priority.

It’s also possible that if it appeared Kansas was approaching a point at which its ending balance would be less than $100 million, Gov. Sebelius could step in and order reductions in spending in the current fiscal year budget, as Gov. Bill Graves did in the late 1990s.

300,000 in poverty: Charities coping with increased demand from the working poor

In Kansas, poverty rises despite the state's spending spree

Some legislators as well as taxpayer advocates say excessive spending has put Kansas on a collision course with fiscal disaster, and the state budget director has been warning legislators and agency heads that the state is on track to rack up a budget deficit of $188 million by the end of FY 2010 and of $400 million the following year.

But despite its recent habit of spending more than it earns, Kansas has seen a startling increase in the number of citizens living in poverty during the administration of Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

That’s according to the 2007 Kansas Economic Report, a report by the state’s department of labor, which reviewed conditions in Kansas in 2006. [Read more...]

The numbers: 52% say Obama is too inexperienced; 23% say McCain is too old

Obama even with McCain in Kansas fundraising, but lagging in polls

If dollars were votes, Sen. Barack Obama would be in a dead heat with Sen. John McCain in Kansas.

The Center for Responsive Politics, using data released June 2 by the Federal Election Commission, reports that McCain has raised $355,443 from Kansans, while Obama has collected $345,377.

Despite his fundraising success, however, Obama continues to lag behind McCain in polls of Kansans. [Read more...]

Kansas Constitutional amendment could be rendered moot, despite overwhelming voter support

California Supreme Court ruling could pave the way for same-sex marriages in Kansas, other states

Opponents of same sex marriage in Kansas fear a ruling by the California Supreme Court could pave the way for same sex unions here, despite overwhelming opposition by Kansas voters.

On Tuesday, a gay couple from Lawrence took advantage of the California high court ruling and was married in California. The couple indicated in the Lawrence Journal World that they believed Kansas should recognize their union because of the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution, which requires states to recognize the actions of other states. [Read more...]

Court grants Tiller's fourth request for a new trial date.

Late-term abortionist's Wichita trial delayed again

For the fourth time, a Sedgwick County District Court judge has delayed the trial of late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller.

Judge Clark Owens said last Wednesday that at Tiller's request the trial would be postponed until July 28.

Tiller is charged with performing late-term abortions without obtaining the signature of a doctor unaffiliated with his Wichita abortion clinic. State law requires that an abortionist, prior to performing a late-term abortion, must find a second unaffiliated doctor to concur that the abortion is medically necessary. [Read more...]

Analysis: The future of education is all online, says John R. LaPlante.

Disruptive changes may invigorate education

Will the online world change the business of education? It better, says a Harvard professor. Clayton M. Christensen, author of “Disrupting Class,” says that schools will face “disruptive changes” as half of all high school classes will be taught online by 2020.

Online education offers many educational benefits, including individualized, self-paced lessons and access to world-class instructors. Students who don’t have access to advanced classes now will then, and students will become active participants rather than passive listeners.

But these benefits will bring disruptive changes to schools. That’s because when a technology is widely adopted and improves our lives, it changes some organizations and creates others. Fred Smith practically created the idea of overnight delivery when he started FedEx. Wal-Mart grew from Sam Walton’s single store because it used technology to track customer preferences. Bill Gates changed offices everywhere when he started Microsoft. [Read more...]

The Week on the Web

Political fiction: Remember Sebelius' embarrassing grandstanding in Greensburg, where she took advantage of a disaster to score political points by falsely claiming the residents had been left high and dry because all the National Guard equipment they'd need for clean-up was in Iraq?

And remember how she had to climb down a day or so later, when she said, "Let me be clear: With the equipment we have, the men and women of the Kansas National Guard have the initial response to the Greensburg tornado under control"?

Sam Stein and the denizens of The Huffington Post don't. Or won't. Here's Stein's rewrite of history:

During a visit to the tornado site with the president, she reportedly continued to hammer away with her guard complaints. Kansans of all political stripes loved it.

That's nonsense of course. So is Rep. Tim Owens' apparent decision to lend his name to supporting the lie.

"People were supportive of her and those comments," said Tim Owens, a Republican legislator. "I'm a retired army colonel and I will tell you, I think she is right... I'm not very happy about the way the federal government went about dealing with the National Guard in regards to the war in Iraq."

Political season makes everyone crazy - especially politicians.

Storm watcher. The nonsense about Sebelius in Greensburg? That's a tempest in a teapot. To see a tempest no teapot could contain, go to Julie-Ann's Journal Pasticcio, where the Lindsborg resident has posted some amazing storm photos from earlier this month when storms moved north, roughly following the Meridian Highway.

Wheats! The tip on Julie-Ann's photos came via the remarkable Wheats! blog maintained by Kansas Rose. If grain had groupies, the Rose would be one:

Kansas homemaker ( me) and small farm-farmeress ( me also) explores the sometimes checkered past always fascinating facts about the staff of life called wheat. Recipes, tips, sources, useless information, trivia, nostalgia, agricultural data, markets, what is happening in the world of wheat and how it affects every living being that eats and up close and personal the miraculous journey a seed of wheat takes from being planted in the dark fertile Kansas earth to being made into a delicious loaf of artisinal [sic] bread you use for a PBJ sandwich. 6,000 years of wheat rockin' the human race.

Yum! Corn dog, anyone?

A Preview of the Coming Week

Our usual assortment of columns, comment and breaking news items as they happen.