By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — A spokesperson for the Kansas Department for Children and Families says the agency plans to heed Gov. Sam Brownback’s call for cutting $3.9 million from its fiscal year 2015 budget by delaying a planned upgrade of its computer system.

The savings should cover “almost all of our anticipated FY 2015 reduction,” DCF spokesperson Theresa Freed wrote in an email KHI News Service, referring to the state’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2015.

Delaying the upgrade, she said, will have “no impact” on the department’s services for at-risk children and low-income families.

Freed said more information about the agency’s budget cuts would be available in a few weeks.

Earlier this week, Brownback announced that he was using his allotment powers to cut state agency spending and to sweep fee funds in an effort to plug a $280 million hole in this year’s budget.

The governor’s plan included taking $3.9 million from DCF’s $623 million budget and $6 million from the $1.5 billion Department for Aging and Disability Services budget.

Most of the reduction in KDADS spending will be achieved by delaying for a year the planned January 2015 opening of Meyer Hall, a nearly renovated building on the campus of Larned State Hospital, one of the state’s two hospitals for people with mental health issues.

The building is designed to house medically fragile patients in the state’s Sexual Predator Treatment Program.

“We believe we can delay occupancy of Meyer until January 2016 and still provide appropriate treatment to the medically infirm,” said KDADS spokesperson Angela de Rocha. The other new unit for the Sexual Predator Treatment Program at Larned is in operation, she said.

The governor’s proposed cuts and sweeps are needed to balance the state’s current fiscal year budget. An even larger gap — $436 million — looms in fiscal year 2016.

The gaps are driven by revenue shortfalls caused by cuts in income tax rates that have wiped out the state’s reserve funds.

Legislators will begin the process for rejecting, upholding or modifying the governor’s proposed sweeps and for crafting the next fiscal year’s budget when they reconvene in January.

Dave Ranney is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. (AP) — Some U.S. consumers are going over the Internet or through the woods to find fresh Christmas trees this year, taking advantage of shopping options at opposite ends of the cost spectrum.

In one camp are thrifty folks paying as little as $5 for trees they cut down themselves in national forests. In the other are consumers willing to spend upward of $100 to order trees online and have them shipped to their doors.

The National Christmas Tree Association says fewer than 3 percent of the 33 million fresh trees purchased last year were sold online but that number is growing. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service sold 196,000 Christmas trees last year to consumers willing to hike into the forests and harvest them.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) announced Thursday that arts-themed license plates are now available for purchase at county treasurer offices across the state. The plates will directly fund grants to arts projects and communities in Kansas through one of the KCAIC’s programs.

“Funds received through license plate sales help fund the projects of artists and organizations that are growing the Kansas economy and enhancing quality of life through the arts,” said KCAIC Chairman Larry Meeker. “Purchasing an arts plate is a great way for Kansans to support the arts in their communities and our state.”

Individuals interested in obtaining an arts plate should take their current standard plates, along with proof of insurance and registration, to their county treasurer’s office. The fee to purchase the plate is $50, and 100 percent of the purchase fee will be used by the KCAIC to fund arts programs in Kansas. If registration is current, registration fees transfer from one plate to another, although county processing fees will apply.

“During the holiday season, many Kansans are looking for opportunities to give back to their communities,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “These plates are a way for Kansans to contribute to the work of numerous artists and organizations in the state, while displaying their support for the arts.”

Arts license plate fees are eligible for matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The KCAIC has awarded more than $1 million in state and matching federal funds since fiscal year 2014. On Oct. 23, the KCAIC announced its latest round of grants, awarding more than $40,000 through its Arts Integration and Strategic Investment programs to 11 projects and communities in Kansas.

For more information about KCAIC grants, please visit KansasCommerce.com/CAICPrograms. To learn more about arts license plates, visit KansasCommerce.com/ArtsPlate.

AMY TAXIN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In small-town community centers, schools, churches and a vast city convention center, immigrant advocates are spreading the word about President Barack Obama’s plan to give a temporary reprieve to millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally.

The November announcement promising work permits and protection from deportation for some immigrants made a splash, but lawyers say the events are crucial to dispel rumors about eligibility, ward off fraud, and help people determine what they might need to apply.

In Los Angeles, advocates are hosting an information session for as many as 10,000 people at the city’s convention center Sunday.

Smaller workshops have been held across the country, including at a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, a church in Goshen, Indiana, and an Islamic Center in New York City.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Montgomery County jury has found a Jefferson City woman guilty of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in a 2012 crash that killed a 35-year-old Parkville man.

The Columbia Missourian (columbiamissourian.com ) reports that 25-year-old Kelli Carin Smith was convicted Friday after two days of deliberation. The jury’s first round of deliberations lasted more than 10 hours and didn’t conclude until 2 a.m. Friday.

Smith’s lawyers argued at trial that the former Columbia resident was drugged and sexually assaulted before the crash after visiting several bars earlier that night.

Prosecutors rejected that claim.

KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Saturday is a rare date. And when it comes to remembering an anniversary or a birthday, it’s as easy as 12/13/14.

There won’t be another sequential calendar date for 20 years, when Jan. 2, 2034 arrives. It’ll take 89 years to get to Jan. 2, 2103.

Lottery players and Las Vegas take a particular liking to such sequences.

The county marriage license bureau in Las Vegas says it issued 4,333 licenses in just four days leading up to July 7, 2007 — more than half of what it typically issues in an entire month.

Dec. 13, 2014 is no different. One Las Vegas wedding chapel has 120 couples booked for ceremonies. A hotel-casino company is offering free weddings on its Strip-side observation wheel from 10:11 a.m. to 12:13 p.m.

LEAVENWORTH- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 4 p.m. on Friday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Ranger driven by Alexandra Wilson, 19, Dearborn, MO., was westbound on U.S. 24 at Stone Creek. The driver fell asleep and struck a 2004 Dodge 1500 driven by Mary E. Akors, 75, Kansas City, that was stopped at a red light.

Akors was transported to KU Medical Center. The KHP reported Wilson was possibly injured but not where she was treated. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has failed to update the Freedom of Information Act despite bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

The Senate approved a bill this week that would require federal agencies to have a presumption of openness when considering release of government information. The House passed a similar bill in February, but the two chambers could not agree on final language.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said he was deeply disappointed that the House did not take up the Senate bill, which he co-sponsored.

Leahy said he thought House Republican leaders would support the measure as a way to increase oversight of the Obama administration and make the government more accountable and transparent. The House adjourned Friday without acting on the bill.

He said Republicans “have chosen secrecy over sunlight.”