The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 15

Hgtimuiufcon JO wwwkanNaHcitycoin Ti METROPOLITAN EE EAEfAB CITY STAR ffesday ttsy 4 2Qo4 i -f 11 Open records bill Church lobby angers Catholic lawmakers Kansas measure clarifies law on what is kept secret First glance Richard Gannon a former state senator who now lobbies for the Kansas Press Association are some Under the bill the public could see records of donations to public agencies that compensate a specific public employee Such records are now closed if a donor requests anonymity The measure also guarantees public access to documents about the qualifications of anyone ap pointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office Also law enforcement agencies would have to explain a denial of access to criminal investigation records which can be dosed under certain circumstances The provision on fees is a response to a 2003 Kansas Supreme Court decision that said parties could recover only the expenses they incurred before filipg suit That decision stemmedsnin the Garden City cessful lawsuit against die sttejbr access to safety ratings of railroad crossings The newspaper XftM $13000 on thexase but recqyerpp-only a few hundred dollars All existing exemptions jQplfrg Open Records Act were to empire in July 2005 unless the Legislature re-enacted them Parts of tbft fell reflect recommendations media groups the attorney office and govemmentwbpd-' ies to a special legislative panel that studied the exemptions Sebelius has not taken ti on the final bill and review it once it gets iu ier spokeswoman Nicole coran said Monday a -1 i Catholic Republicans in the House are angry the Missouri latnoiic Lomerence tne tODoy-ing arm of the church in the state The conference opposes Re-publican-backed cuts to Medicaid The Associated Press TOPEKA A bill strengthening the Kansas Open Records Act won final legislative approval Monday and headed to Gov Kathleen Se-belius Passed on a 21-13 Senate vote with six abstentions the measure clarifies and tightens existing law on what government records can be kept confidential It also pro vides for fees to be granted in some cases where an agency has denied access to public records in bad faith think said Two weekend KCK traffic fatalities identified By TIM HOOVES The Kansas Cfty Star JEFFERSON CHY The furor over cutting Medicaid services in Missouri has been especially awk-wattf for Republican lawmakers Who are Catholic Some Catholic Republicans are tdflpg their local priests and par-ishjoners not to believe what the Missouri Catholic Conference the lobbying arm in the says against GOP proposals to cut Medicaid spending and to life sciences reseanh anger is directed specifically at Lany Weber executive director and chief lobbyist the Missouri Catholic Confer- beginning to understand that the lobbyist for the Catholic Conference does not always present things in a truthful said Rep Jodi Stefanick a St Louis CdUfity Republican and a Catholic wft) has spoken with her priest Weber jihad a bishop call me up and savjTd like to talk to you about this fantastic she said "But I give any credibility to that lobbyist proven himself The level of anger is just as high if ndt higher among some non-Ca-tholic Republicans Though Rep CariBearden a St Charles Republi-who leads the House Budget has worked with Weber in the past on pro-life issues he recently barred Weber from his third-floor office in the CapitoL "I understand people have differ-efttviewpoints" said Bearden who tot? into Weber during a recent speech on the House floor problem comes when yon start misrepresenting and flat-out ly- 8500 block of Kansas According to police Chase was traveling west on Kansas Avenue coming over a slight rise jn jlie road when a Pontiac Grand Am backed out of a driveway inlpfus path Chase struck the car antjwas thrown from the motorcycle Police said the motorcycle's speed appeared to be a contributing factor To reach Robert A CronkletotlMliL-(816) 234-5994 or send e-mail to bcronkletonkcstarcom Chevrolet when another vehicle got close to the Chevrolet The driver of the Chevrolet lost control and the car left the road striking a tree and overturning Vargas was dead whe: police arrived The two girls were taken to an area hospital Their conditions were not available Monday In the other wreck Robert Chase 51 of Edwardsville died at an area hospital after the motorcycle he was riding struck a vehicle about 9:30 pm Saturday in the By ROBERT A CRONKIETON The Kantas City Star Police on Monday identified two persons who died over the weekend in separate crashes in Kansas City Kan Eric Vargas 17 of Kansas City died in a single-car crash about 1:15 am Sunday in the 4700 block of Parallel Parkway The crash also injured two 17-year-old girls According to police one of the girls was driving the car a small CAR: Thieves disable wrong device tholic see dungs differently Democrats of all stripes voted against the Medicaid cuts but some Catholic Democrats saw them as especially egregious voted against 1566 glad the bishops were against said Rep Paul LeVota an Independence Democrat and a Catholic He said the Catholic Conference is known for its work with the poor and should have been expected to weigh in on the issue He said the response from Republicans toward the Catholic Conference "was just another example of Republican leadership not getting their way and then railing against someone Rep John Burnett a Kansas City Democrat said the recent dust-up with the conference shows that Catholic Republicans are uncomfortable with their party's position on the Medicaid cuts House Speaker Catherine Hana-way a St Louis County Republican who is Catholic said she was concerned about an "anti-Catholic backlash" in the House as a result of the letter from the bishops Hanaway was further angered by an April 22 letter from the conference concerning a broad economic development bill that would allow universities to seek private money for endowed life sciences chairs Boosters say the measure could allow the Stowers Institute to partner with the University of Mis-souri-Kansas City on endowed chair positions The April 22 letter not signed by the bishops complained that the bill would allow state funding for research involving abortion stem cells and human cloning Hanaway and other Republicans however said the language was the same wording the conference agreed to a year ago The bill entirely consistent with the teachings of the church" on life issues Hanaway said Weber said the legislation however would permit a UMKC researcher for example to potentially do research at Stowers that the church could not support The life sciences language was deleted from the bill when it reached a Senate committee to avoid sinking other economic development programs The controversy left Hanaway one of the strongest backers of life sciences in the legislature fuming at Weber For Stefanick the answer has been to try to distinguish between Weber and the church want to get to the point where not listening to the Catholic Church why had to separate him from the Weber draws no such distinction I come in and speak for the bishops speaking for the Catholic Church in he said no To reach Tim Hoover Missouri Capitol correspondent call l-(573) 634-3565 or send e-mail to thooverkcstarcom Republicans dispute those estimates and point to what they say is the actual number of people who would lose services because of new eligibility -standards in the bill 2481 That includes 1600 adults and 881 children who Republicans say would be affected by new asset limitations The Department of Social prediction of 20000 children losing health-care coverage is purely a guess and should not be taken as feet Republicans say Weber said the Catholic Conference found the figures from the Department of Social Services to be more credible felt it was obvious the figures before the House understated the effect of the he said "To deprive state assistance from families like this we just thought is Weber said the church decided early that the bifl was other than an attempt to shuffle state resources away from the care of the poor to public schools in what appeared to be an attempt to curry political favor in an election Though the House proposal would result in a $675 million savings in Medicaid spending for the state the House proposed an additional $106 million for public schools and $20 million more for colleges Stefanick who believes she closely follows church teachings said it was frustrating to find herself on the opposite side of the lobbying arm think everyone was surprised (by the Stefanick said seemed to me people were questioning why the Catholic Conference was inserting itself so deeply on this issue expect to see them active on the life she said think the church should be involved on Issues like Rep BUI Deeken a Jefferson City Republican had similar thoughts He recounted that at one point in the session several groups of Catholic schoolchildren from around the state were brought to Jefferson City to lobby against the Medicaid cuts Deeken and other Republican lawmakers were invited to a rally at a Catholic church across from the Capitol were asked to come to defend what we had Deeken said (groups of schoolchildren) were chanting the and they had no idea what this bill was Deeken said it bothered him that children were used as by the church House Democrats who are Ca tion police said Officers stopped them A search of the suspects and the stolen car turned up a wallet and credit cards belonging 'a woman whose wallet had beenato-len earlier that day from a ShaWriee restaurant The cards had already been used to buy about $1300 worth of merchandise from stores in Overland Park Police also recovered the keys that had been stolen from thi dealership jit To reach Tony Rizzo Johnson County courts reporter call (816) 234- ffl3 or send email to trizzokcstarcom Continued from B-l view and Cums 38 of Kansas City appeared Monday in Johnson County District Court His bond was set at $25000 hers at $10000 The incident started Saturday morning at Broome Oldsmobile-Cadtilac in Independence wheti a 2004 Cadillac CTS worth about $35000 was discovered missing along with die keys to several other vehicles The car is equipped with the On-Star system which uses global positioning satellite technology to pinpoint the location once it is activated The system led officers to the parking lot of Merriam Town Cen- ter at Interstate 35 and Johnson Drive As officers drove into the lot OnStar operators activated the lights horn and alarm so police could spot it Employees of Broome had described two persons seen earlier at the dealership and police saw two persons matching the descriptions standing in the check-out line of a grocery store A man later identified as Collier from the store when police walked in they reported A woman identified as Cums walked out in the opposite direc ANEURYSM started the flare-up was a March 15 letter to lawmakers from th? Catholic Conference signed by dfe five bishops The letter was highly critical of House Bill 1366 sponsored by Stefanick The bifl would make Medicaid services such as optical and dental care subject to yearly appropriation enact stricter asset and income limita-tiohs for Medicaid eligibility and require more in premiums and co-payments "House Republicans have argued that the Medicaid rolls which now cover one in six Missourians have grown too large for 'a state that has struggled to ifteet its financial obligations The bishops said die Medicaid bifl 'would access to health care for many of our poorest dtjzens and they advised lawmakers us not be like the rich man who pretended not to know die beggar Lazarus lying at his The letter also said the bill could rtttflt in 20000 children losing their health-care coverage That number comes from the Department of Social Services which estimated how many poor families are likely to choose not to make co-payments for health services and forgo health SINCE SEPTEMBER 1999? care rn Guidant Corp subsidiary Endovascular Technologies recently pled guilty to 10 felonies and agreed to pay $924 million in penalties related to the Ancure device which was used during operations to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (bulges in the wall of the main artery leaving the heart) According to the Food and Drug Administration complications occurred during the insertion or removal of the device when it would get stuck or lodged in the body which often led to internal bleeding damaged arteries andor surgery to remove the device In the most severe cases open heart surgery was necessary If you or a loved one has suffered serious complications or died after aneurysm surgery espec you received a letter about the device from your doctor or the manufacturer call Attorney Lee Holljt 913-385-5400 to find out about your legal rights ui dt u6t RAPE: Charges are filed a mi and demanded money Dawson then reached into the pockets pulled out $800 and left the house the records said After the attacks the girl and the two male victims escaped and called police This past weekend all four men surrendered to police Each has given DNA samples for testing Rogers has insisted to police that he did not touch the girl Authorities have also arrested two juveniles in connection with the case The mother of one of those boys has said that her son denies any wrongdoing and that she plans to stand by his side As the investigation continues prosecutors expect to file more charges To reach Tanyanika Samuels call (816) 234-4376 or send e-mail to tsamuelskcstarcom 1 Continued from B-I tilte pedts were hiding behind houses While other men were ready with flashlights to signal when the car carrying the three approached When the three from St Joseph drove up court records said three aimed men ambushed their car Prosecutors alleged that the attacked Were Rogers Steward and Daw-sttfl About 10 other men soon surrounded die car court records said ang die attackers herded their vic-tirps into the garage of a home at 5ll4 Wabash Ave Prosecutors al-that Dawson Steward and then took one of the male back to the car and re-ttirtifcd to St Joseph St Joseph police have named the same three men as suspects in a double homicide that happened that night No charges have been tease While those three men allegedly were in SL Joseph with one victim the two other victims were being tortured in Kansas City authorities said Prosecutors said that as many as 10 boys and men forced the girl and the other male victim into die darkened basement of an abandoned house at 5108 Wabash Ave Over the next six hours prosecutors said the boys and men took turns raping and sodomizing the girL At one point five men were assaulting the girl simultaneously court papers state The attackers also forced the male victim to participate in the attack the records state Both victims were pistol-whipped and threatened prosecutors said According to court records on returning to Kansas City with their male victim Steward Rogers and Dawson forced the SL Joseph man into the home at 5108 Wabash Ave IMPORTANT NOTICE DES DAUGHTERS Time May Be Running Out For Your Compensation Claim DES (diethylsttlbestrolj was prescribed for pregnant women during the 1950s and 1960s after Harvard researchers incorrectly concluded without proper testing that helped prevent miscarriages In 1954 the first controlled study of DES effeetiv showed that Ok drug did pot work In 1971 the FDA banned the use of DES studies report serious side effects associated with prenatal DIES exposure including jyr tnd Poor Pnpkmty Otoomoo including primary and secondary-- '-infertility multiple miscarriagss and stillbirths Pro-term Deli very Whore Offspring Is Significantly Disabled Ectopic Pregnancy Clear CoR Adenocarcinoma Of Tha Ovary Uterus Cervix Or VBgbia If you are a woman aged 34-44 whose mother took DES while she was pregnant with yon arid yow suffer from any of the above injuries please Call Attorney Lee Hollis at 913-385-5400 to find out about your legal rights TIME RESTRICTIONS APPLY CALL NOW! BROOKS: Investigation faces delays Hollis Law Firm PA Prairie Village KS Continued from B-l i i that it was being investigated as a homicide On Monday he say it was a homicide An autopsy will take three to five weeks and Stites said investigators do not have prehminary results yeL Kansas City Councilman Alvin Brooks who is not related to Alonzo Brooks said he has been told that the Gardner man was the target of threats and racial slurs at the party Investigators said earlier that no witnesses gave them that information but they are looking into the allega-tioa comes down to two basic FBI spokesman Jeff Alonzo Brooks lanza said Monday there foul play and if so was it a hate The anti-crime group Move Up is offering a $5000 reward in the case Anyone with information about Brooks' death should call the hot line at (816) 753-11U To reach Richard Espinoza Johnson County police reporter call (816) 234-7714 or send e-mail to respinazakcstarcom 913-385-540 4.