By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – The state legislature is being asked to require child care facilities that care for children under one year old to have a policy for making sure they sleep safely.

Anna Haber of St. Louis is one of those urging lawmakers to make that a law. She and her husband told lawmakers her son, Owen, died last year at a care center.

“Living without our baby for the past eight months has been heartbreaking and unbearable. We want to prevent another Missouri family from enduring this loss,” Haber told a Senate committee while testifying alongside her husband, Aaron. “The bill before you is so important, it needs to become the law this year as we owe it to our babies.”

The bill would require care centers’ sleep policies be based on the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“It is widely accepted that safe sleep for infants includes nothing in a crib. It is common knowledge, especially among new parents, that a baby is to be placed on his or her back with nothing else in the crib,” Haber said.

Haber says she is confident that a state requirement of a policy would save lives, because of the conversations she had with the operators of the care center she and her husband had used, about how Owen had been cared for.

She asked, “questions about how and why he had been allowed to sleep on his stomach and why in the world a weighted blanket had been placed on his back when we had never given permission for anything to be placed in his crib. I was told that licensing rules did not prohibit blankets in a crib.”

“Because it was not prohibited, the center apparently believed it was okay,” said Haber.

The proposed language was originally offered in a Senate bill by Senator Scott Sifton (D-Afton) and in a House bill sponsored by Representative Jeanne Kirkton (D-Webster Groves). It has since been added to other bills.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Marble Hill, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy in which the government seized his aircraft and dozens of firearms.

Joshua William Vawter, 37, of Marble Hill, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Monday, April 27, 2015, to the charge contained in a Dec. 17, 2013, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty, Vawter admitted that he and a co-conspirator purchased seven duffel bags to transport 91.5 kilograms (202 pounds) of high-grade marijuana from California to Missouri. They placed the marijuana in the duffel bags, a suitcase and two golf bags, and loaded them onto Vawter’s airplane, a Piper PA-32-260, which he piloted. Vawter’s plane landed at West Plains Regional Airport in West Plains, Mo., on Oct. 31, 2013. Law enforcement officers conducted a search of the plane and seized the marijuana and $1,800. Drug Enforcement Administration agents estimate the total street value of the marijuana seized to be $1 million.

The next day DEA agents searched Vawter’s residence and seized 56 firearms from a vault in the basement. Agents also seized a total of $75,000 from the vault (including $18,000 that was hidden in the foam backing of a gun case). Four additional firearms were seized from the master bedroom, for a total of 60 firearms seized from the residence.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Vawter must forfeit to the government the airplane, the firearms and the money that was seized.

Under federal statutes, Vawter is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – Missouri state employees would not receive a pay raise in the fiscal year starting July 1 under the budget awaiting action by Governor Jay Nixon (D), but it would pay for a look at how they’re paid.

The proposal includes $300,000 to pay for a study of the total compensation Missouri state workers receive, compared to that of workers in other states and the private sector.

Many of the state’s workers are in the district of Jefferson City Senator Mike Kehoe (R), who thinks that study would help make the argument for raises.

“We would like to be able to go with a good business case to our colleagues from the rest of the state to show them why our state employees need a better compensation package,” said Kehoe.

He hopes the study will be paid for this year. Nixon vetoed it last year.

Kehoe says Missouri needs to compete with other states and the private sector, especially for highly technical jobs, many of which the state struggles to keep filled.

“We want to be able to try to, again, provide a career path for state employees so they understand what a career with the state can be like, and make it a career,” Kehoe told reporters.

Missouri generally ranks near the lowest in pay for state employees among the 50 states, but Kehoe says that’s only one measurement.

“Looking how we rank in our peer group – other states of population and size of government, etcetera. Budgets that we have – I also think that will be an interesting piece to look at,” said Kehoe.

Kehoe believes money could be found for pay raises without raising revenue through a long-term plan of using technology and attrition to create smaller, more efficient workforces.

“Slowly but surely right-size your workforce and you can use the savings from that to reinvest in the workforce that’s left, giving them piece of mind in what a career path looks like with the State of Missouri,” said Kehoe.

By Kyle Loethen (Missourinet) -The Department of Transportation has created a new website for Missourians to keep up with its reduced highway work plan.

The 325 Report is a website where visitors can find information on “Missouri’s 325 System,” a plan the Department adopted in February to focus its resources by dividing Missouri’s highways into primary and supplementary routes. MoDOT says its construction budget will drop to $325-million by 2017. On the website Missourians can see updates on the state’s roads and bridges under that

plan, as well as updates on the efforts to secure more funding.

Department Communications Manager Matt Hiebert said the website is broken into five different parts and provides a variety of supporting materials to keep visitors informed. Heibert said the website gives citizens a one-stop location for learning about how MoDOT will maintain Missouri’s transportation system as funding levels drop.

“At the very bottom you’ll also find a lot of supporting documentation that talks about the economic impact of transportation and the importance of acting now,” said Heibert. “We’re at risk, we’re losing about $400-million in federal funding in 2017 if we don’t come up with a solution to match these funds.”

The Department’s current plan would focus its funds on nearly 8-thousand out of the 34-thousand miles of roads in the state. MoDOT will maintain primary roads that connect cities across the state while supplementary routes will only receive routine maintenance.

Hiebert said changes to Missouri’s roads and bridges are consistently being updated.

“The system updates and the changes in the condition are happening very rapidly, so we’ve been putting them up an average of one or two per week since the site has launched,” said Heibert.

Heibert said MoDOT will be frequently updating the website, but it also wants to hear from Missourians.

“We’re going to be adding a new feature called ‘tell your story’, which will allow visitors to the website to tell us their transportation story and how transportation affects their lives, their businesses, and the safety of their travels,” said Heibert.

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation drivers and passenger in Kansas buckling up hit a new record high in 2014

Kansas Transportation Secretary Mike King made the announcement of the increase in the observed seat belt rate today at an event at Kansas Highway Patrol Troop B headquarters in Topeka.

“Eighty-six percent of drivers and front seat passengers were buckled up. That’s a five percentage point increase from the previous year,” said Secretary King.

In 2003, a year after the observed seat belt rate was only 61 percent; Kansas implemented the safety campaign, “Click it. Or ticket.” which combines education and enforcement with the help of Kansas law enforcement agencies.

Speaking on behalf of Kansas law enforcement, Kansas Highway Patrol Colonel Mark Bruce said the future of safety is moving in the right direction.

“This tells us that we are doing something right,” Col. Bruce said. We are seeing progress in the form of more people taking the initiative to protect themselves and buckle up.”

Law enforcement works with the KDOT-sponsored program, the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office (KTSRO), and uses their high school based education program, Seat belts Are For Everyone, or SAFE, to get the message to new drivers.

The SAFE program began in six high schools in Crawford County. Today it is in 128 schools in 60 counties, and reaches more than 100,000 students, according to KTSRO project director Norraine Wingfield. SAFE is a cooperative effort to highlight the importance of wearing seat belts and decrease risky driving behaviors of teens.

Wingfield said the observed teen rate for seat belt usage has been increasing at a greater rate than any other age group, and counties that have the SAFE program increased the seat belt rate for all ages.

“This shows that when drivers are buckled up, the occupants of the car are buckled up,” Wingfield said.

Secretary King pointed out that today’s announcement was worth celebrating but the national average for seat belt usage is 87%.

“We still have 14% of our state’s population going unbuckled,” Secretary King said. “That’s far too many. We will keep working to educate and enforce Kansas law.

Observed Seat Belt Rates in Kansas

———————————2008 –  2009 –  2010  – 2011 –  2012 –   2013 –  2014

Kansas rate (age 14+)         77        77        82        83        80        81        86

U.S. rate                             83        84        85        84        86        87        87

KS nationwide rank              38        41        35        33        39        40        (2014 not available)

By Kyle Loethen (Missourinet) – One Missouri lawmaker continues his push to create statewide regulations for ridesharing companies.

Last week, the Missouri House gave its initial approval to a bill that would limit the ability of cities to regulate app-based ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) added an amendment to HB 781 to deal with the ride-sharing issues.

“They are required to ensure that their drivers have insurance, they’re required to have insurance for their drivers, they’re required to do background checks on their drivers and cannot hire felons, and the fees that they pay must be no higher than the fees that would be charged to a traditional cab company,” said Barnes.

Barnes said in St. Louis there is a regional taxi cab commission that has nine board members, four of which own or work for traditional taxi cab companies, and before a new competitor can operate in St. Louis, it must receive a certificate of necessity from that board.

“I don’t think new businesses like Uber that have creative and innovative business models ought to be forced to kiss the rings of members of a cab cabal who work to keep them out of competition,” said Barnes.

The bill would need another favorable vote to go to the Senate. Another bill addressing the issue is awaiting debate by the full Senate.

By Alisa Nelson (Missourinet) – A mother who lost her son to a brain injury during a high school football game has spoken in support of a bill that would require an objective test to determine whether to pull an athlete out of a game or practice if a concussion is suspected. Currently, a youth athlete is removed from practice or a game immediately.

Amy Stover recalls the morning of her son Chad’s last game for Tipton High.

“Before he walked out the door that day he looked at me and said, ‘mom, I think we can do this. I think we can do this. This is going to be a great game. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.’ He gave it everything, and more,” said Stover.

Stover said when her son got on the school bus, she expected him to come home.

The Brain Injury Association of Missouri is opposed to the bill. Executive Director Maureen Cunningham told lawmakers, “It is a medical decision reserved for physicians, athletic trainers and other healthcare professionals. When a concussion is suspected, protect the child. Take them out,” said Cunningham. “Don’t let them say ‘I’m okay.’ Every concussion can lead to another concussion. With every concussion, you are at greater risk of secondary concussions. With every one, the symptoms can get worse.”

The King-Devick test was one mentioned by some supporters and considered by them to be an objective test that can be conducted on the sidelines by a coach or parent. The test is similar to a flash card system. A baseline for measurement would be conducted annually.

Cunningham argues that it would not be a fair assessment for children with learning or developmental disabilities.

By Mike Lear (Missourinet) – The state Senate is the target of a lawsuit over access to its committee hearings.

Liberal advocacy group Progress Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the state senate saying some senators who chair committees – it names Mike Kehoe, David Sater, and Mike Parson – have denied it permission to video record committee hearings.

Director Sean Nicholson says his group has been trying to work with the Senate on the issue for a couple of years.

“The sunshine law says that any member of the public has the right to record video or audio of public hearings of public bodies,” said Nicholson. “The Senate committees are some of those public bodies just like your city council or school board.”

Sater, a senator from Cassville, says he’s following the Senate’s rules, “Which states persons with cameras, flash cameras, lights, or other paraphernalia, may be allowed to use such devices at committee meetings with the permission of the chairman as long as they do not prove disruptive to the decorum of the committee.”

Nicholson says Progress Missouri hasn’t been the only entity told not to record in Senate committees.

“Senator Parson, a couple of weeks ago, said no video or still photos of any kind was allowed. There was a blanket denial for members of the press, members of the public, everyone. He threatened to kick people out of the hearing if they pulled out their I-phone just to take a snapshot of what was happening. We’ve seen press reports of KRCG cameras getting kicked out or not being allowed to take video,” said Nicholson.

Some senators say the chamber’s communications staff makes video and audio available to media outlets, but Nicholson says that doesn’t always happen.

“The Senate should be providing video and live streams of everything as a service, but they aren’t and they don’t have the staff or the technology to do that,” Nicholson argues.

In order to defend its position, the Senate must prove in court its rules are not a violation of the state’s open records and meetings law. Due to the open litigation, the Senate has declined comment but cites its rules giving committee chairmen power to allow or reject cameras.

The office of Attorney General Chris Koster says it will provide counsel to the Senate and “vigorously defend the legislature in this matter.”

A Summer Salad course will be held in St. Joseph to talk about new techniques using what’s in the garden, the farmer’s market and the pantry shelf.

Dawn Forsberg, owner of “It Dawned on Me” cafe will hold a Salad 101 program at the St. Joseph Public Library located at 927 Felix St., Wednesday May 6th at 6:30 p.m.

Forsberg is expected to talk about techniques for grain salads such as quinoa and barley, as well as bean salads, including lentils; pasta salads with various dressings; fresh fruit and green salads using kale and spinach.

Recipes will also be on hand.

The program is free and open to the public, no reservations are necessary.