U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) released the following statement today regarding reports that an airplane landed at the wrong airport in Missouri last evening. Blunt serves as Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over the safety, security and infrastructure of the country’s freight and passenger transportation networks.
“I’ve landed at this airport and it’s tough to navigate in small planes – let alone in an aircraft this size. People have every right to assume that they will arrive at their correct destination. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I will insist that federal regulators do a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened in Southwest Missouri.”
Blunt also serves as a member of the Commerce Subcommittees on:
Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Communications, Technology, and the Internet
Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
(AP) — Pizza Hut plans to start offering pizza by the slice for the first time in two test locations this week, as the chain looks to keep pace with trendy competitors offering quick, made-to-order pies.
The chain says the two locations — one in York, Neb. and Pawtucket, R.I. — will open Tuesday.
A slice will cost between $2 and $3 and take 3 to 4 minutes to heat up. They’ll be made with new recipes more in line with the thinner pies sold in the Northeast.
The tests reflect how established restaurant chains are scrambling to reinvent themselves to keep pace with a rapidly changing industry. The challenge: figuring out how to serve food quickly, while also improving perceptions about their food.
A teenage driver was injured in a Monday morning crash in Clinton County.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol nineteen-year-old Devynne E. Southern of Lathrop was driving a 1999 Ford Escape east on Route V, four miles southeast of Lathrop. She lost control of the vehicle on a curve. The vehicle traveled off the south side of the road, came back onto the road, overturned and came to rest on the driver’s side facing west on the road. Southern was transported to Liberty Hospital She was wearing a seat belt.
LAWRENCE (AP) — A Lawrence man accused of secretly videotaping people in clothing store dressing rooms pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Thirty-five-year-old Orion M. Graf waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday and entered the plea to 10 counts of felony breach of privacy. His trial date was set for May 14.
Authorities allege that the crimes occurred between November 2012 and February 2013. They have refused to name the stores involved.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported Graf was a 35-year-old University of Kansas graduate student when he was first arrested last February. He was arrested again in July after detectives searched several Lawrence stores.
(AP) – Newly released documents show Missouri was in the running for a new Boeing assembly plant right up until the company decided to stay in Washington state.
Documents provided to The Associated Press on Monday under a Sunshine Law request show Boeing officials visited St. Louis on Dec. 28 to check out Missouri’s proposal.
A follow-up visit was scheduled for Jan. 4. But that was cancelled after union members in Washington voted Jan. 3 to accept Boeing’s contract proposal. The company then said it would build the 777X airplane there.
Boeing had not released a list of finalists for the project.
The documents show Missouri submitted three options to Boeing to assemble the wing or full plane at either of two locations near Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
(AP) – Death penalty opponents are asking Missouri lawmakers to consider halting executions.
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty gathered at the state Capitol on Monday to mark nearly 25 years since the state resumed executions.
George Mercer was executed on Jan. 6, 1989, for the rape and slaying of waitress Karen Keeton. Mercer’s execution was the state’s first after a nationwide moratorium on capital punishment was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.
An event last week to note the exact anniversary of Mercer’s execution was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Missouri has executed two people in the past two months and is scheduled to execute Herbert Smulls on Jan. 29 for the 1991 robbery and slaying of suburban St. Louis jewelry store owner Stephen Honickman.
As the American economy continues to struggle for recovery, policymakers and the public need to be aware of the key advantages available to our nation through increased domestic oil and natural gas production.
A recent Harris Interactive poll shows that American voters see great value in a strong domestic energy sector. Nine out of ten respondents said that developing more domestic energy here in the U.S. is important, and 73% support increased domestic oil and natural gas production.
Unfortunately, discussions taking place in Washington threaten to put the strength of American energy at risk. Whenever the debate in Washington turns to spending and debt, some policymakers repeatedly haul out proposals for punitive tax increases on oil and natural gas. This is not a popular idea, according to the poll, which found 81% of voters nationwide believe policymakers in Washington should solve the nation’s budget issues without raising energy taxes.
Tax reform is another area where voters are wary of the potential for harm to U.S. energy production and energy security. When asked about tax reform, 56% of voters said they opposed changes to the tax code that could decrease investment in energy production and reduce energy development in the U.S. versus just 30% who said they would support such actions.
Tax reform may help keep America competitive in a global marketplace, but it must be done carefully. Cost recovery measures, like the percentage depletion deduction and the intangible drilling costs (IDCs) deduction, are neither subsidies nor loopholes but tax provisions critical for American independent oil and natural gas producers to sustain capital availability and formation to promote continued oil and natural gas exploration and production activity. By improving cash flow, these cost recovery measures allows American independent producers to invest more money into creating jobs and producing the energy that keeps our economy running.
For some companies in the retail and service sectors, reduced marginal rates might outweigh the loss of deductions that allow a business to recover costs. But for capital-intensive industries like oil and natural gas or manufacturing, cash flow and cost recovery will typically be very important factors in how they decide to invest in their operations.
Recent studies show that repealing percentage depletion and IDCs would result in fewer wells drilled, fewer Americans employed, and less energy produced here in the U.S. This impact is both significant and immediate. According to studies, over 190,000 Americans would be unemployed within one year if percentage depletion and IDCs were repealed; growing to 265,000 jobs lost over a decade. For states where independent oil and natural gas producers are responsible for the majority of production, oil and natural gas production could fall by as much as 60% and industry workforce could fall by as much as 33%.
That kind of impact would be almost impossible to offset just by lowering marginal rates.
Tax reform that damages cost recovery measures like percentage depletion and IDCs in order to pay for lower rates could hit the brakes on America’s energy and manufacturing revolution. It makes no sense to target for higher taxes an industry that is an engine of job creation and revenue generation.
The American oil and natural gas industry has the power to help our slow-growth economy. If federal government tax and regulatory policies would encourage more development of our nation’s ample oil and natural gas resources, the oil and natural gas industry could invest more, create more American jobs, increase revenue to government, and produce more of the energy we consume.
That’s the kind of bipartisan solution that’s needed in Washington today.
Making the right decisions on energy is so important for our nation’s energy future. Energy access, not taxes, remains the key to moving our nation toward energy independence and unlocking new jobs for Americans.
The Heartland Health Board of Trustees approved a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank to help provide fresh produce to individuals served by the Backpack Buddies program, Fresh Start and the Regional Fresh Produce Distribution program.
A check presentation ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15th, at 10:30 a.m. in the East Wing Main Entrance of Heartland Regional Medical Center. The donation will help provide 250,000 pounds of fresh produce to persons who live in area food deserts.
The IRS has set new requirements for non-profit (Section 501(c) (3)) hospitals that include completing a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Heartland conducted this assessment not only due to this requirement, but also because it is the right thing to do. The CHNA is vital to our mission of improving the health of individuals and communities in our region. This assessment will ensure that our efforts are directed toward the health issues that are of the most importance to the people we serve. Heartland will conduct a CHNA every three years and adopt an implementation strategy to meet the community health needs identified through the assessment.
By combining the data from the community survey, external data sources and the community focus groups, the top three community health needs were determined:
• Mental Health services
• Adult and childhood obesity
• Education on health and health resources
One of the initiatives in the action plan to address the issue of adult and childhood obesity is to increase access to healthy food in underserved areas. Heartland’s donation to Second Harvest Community Food Bank aligns with this purpose.
Gov. Jay Nixon joined incoming General Motors CEO Mary Barra and General Motors North America President Mark Reuss for the reveal of the 2015 GMC Canyon at the International North American Auto Show in Detroit. The GMC Canyon will be built at GM’s facility in Wentzville, Mo.
Gov. Jay Nixon on Sunday joined officials from General Motors at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit for the unveiling of GM’s new mid-size truck, the 2015 GMC Canyon, which will be built at the company’s facility in Wentzville, Missouri.
“This next-generation pickup is another example of how the future of America’s auto industry is being built in Missouri,” Gov. Nixon said. “On my very first full day in office, I committed to making sure Missouri led the rebirth of American auto manufacturing – and that is exactly what we’ve done. I applaud the hardworking men and women at the GM plant in Wentzville for the outstanding quality of their work, and for demonstrating that a strong workforce builds a strong economy for Missouri families.”
Gov. Nixon has made revitalizing Missouri’s automotive manufacturing industry a top priority of his administration, and on his watch this sector has seen tremendous growth. On his first day as Governor in 2009, Gov. Nixon established an Automotive Jobs Task Force to recommend strategies for attracting additional automotive investment in Missouri.
“The all-new 2015 GMC Canyon redefines the midsize pickup,” said Nancy Laubenthal, plant manager, GM Wentzville. “We have a great team at Wentzville that’s been working hard to prepare for this launch, and are looking forward to delivering this latest new product in GM’s exciting truck lineup.”
“Here in Wentzville, workers could not be prouder of their role building the next generation of American-made vehicles,” said Mike Bullock, Chairman, UAW Local 2250. “We appreciate Governor Nixon’s unwavering support for Missouri’s auto industry and its workers, and look forward to delivering this outstanding pickup to consumers.”
In 2010, Gov. Nixon called the state Legislature into special session to pass the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act, which contained new incentives specifically geared to Missouri auto manufacturers and suppliers. The Governor and members of his economic development team also traveled to Detroit on numerous occasions to meet with leadership at GM.
In 2011, GM announced that it was making a historic $380 million expansion at its Wentzville assembly plant for the production of its completely redesigned, mid-size pickup trucks. GM also announced that it would add a second shift for its two existing van lines, the GMC Savana and the Chevrolet Express, bringing an additional 1,660 jobs to Missouri.
In 2013, GM announced plans to invest an additional $133 million in its Wentzville facility by adding a third stamping press to the assembly and stamping plant. The state of Missouri helped make General Motors expansion in Wentzville possible through a strategic package of economic incentives, which the company can redeem if it meets the strict job creation and investment criteria.
Law enforcement authorities in the region continue to look for 2 suspects who escaped from custody in Greer County Oklahoma and are possibly traveling to Missouri.
Christian Garcia Tapia, age 53, is described at Hispanic, 5’5” tall and 150 pounds.
Charles Arlis, age 27, is described as a 5’8”, 155 pound white male.
They were being held on rape and drug charges.
They may be driving a stolen 2014 black GMC Denali with Oklahoma license plate 740FCK
“I’ve landed at this airport and it’s tough to navigate in small planes – let alone in an aircraft this size. People have every right to assume that they will arrive at their correct destination. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I will insist that federal regulators do a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened in Southwest Missouri.”
