United States Attorney’s Office

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Two Kansas City men were indicted Wednesday on a federal bank robbery charge, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Dale Williamson, 34, Kansas City, Mo., and Robert Robinson, 40, Kansas City, Mo., were charged with one of count bank robbery in connection with the May 22, 2014, robbery of the Bank of America, 15811 Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kan.

The men initially were charged in a criminal complaint filed June 14 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. It is alleged that Robinson, wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie, walked into the bank holding a cellular telephone to his ear. He showed a clerk a note saying, “I have a gun. I will kill you.” He tucked the money from the robbery into a folder and walked out of the bank.

After investigators released surveillance photos from the robbery, they identified Robinson as the bank robber and Williamson as an accomplice who planned the robbery and drove the getaway car.

If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI and the Overland Park Police Dept. investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble is prosecuting .

MANHATTAN — The Kansas wheat harvest may be one of the worst on record — and the loss doesn’t just hurt Kansas, according to a Kansas State University expert.

“The rains came too late to benefit the wheat production, so we may have our lowest wheat harvest on record,” said Mary Knapp, service climatologist in the university’s agronomy department.

That isn’t just disappointing for Kansas farmers, but could affect other food availability and the overall economy. Drought conditions lead to poor pasture conditions and hay production, which then impacts the number of cattle ranchers can graze, Knapp said.

“Then it starts trickling into the community because if you have wheat farmers with very low production, they most likely also received very low income,” Knapp said. “That farmer is not going to invest in machine upgrades or make as many purchases in the community. That will cause the economy to drag, which may result in a ripple effect that can be far reaching.”

Knapp says it takes about as long to recover from a drought as it did to reach drought status, so if it has been three years in the making, it will take three years or more to recover from the drought effects. And even getting more rain may not improve drought status.

“You can have a drought punctuated by a flood and still be in a drought,” Knapp said. “If the rain comes too quickly, it doesn’t have a beneficial component.”

Written by Lindsey Elliott on ksu.edu.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Lifetouch Inc. says it plans to end its yearbook publishing operation in Kansas City, effective Dec. 1.

Company spokesman Kelvin Miller says the plant shutdown will cost 75 full-time employees their jobs and eliminate about 300 seasonal jobs. The company, based in Eden, Minnesota, will consolidate its yearbook publishing at a plant in Loves Park, Illinois.

The Kansas City Star reports the changes were prompted by trends toward digital and self-publishing.

Miller says about 25 jobs in sales and marketing will continue in Kansas City for the foreseeable future.

Lifetouch is best known for publications for kindergarten through junior high and for publishing church directories. It also provides student pictures at schools, sports activities and dances and operates portrait studios in stores such as Target and J.C. Penney.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The New York Times is reporting that Chinese hackers broke into the computer networks of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management earlier this year with the intention of accessing the files of tens of thousands of federal employees who had applied for top-secret security clearances.

The Times reports that senior U.S. officials say the hackers gained access to some of the agency’s databases in March before the threat was detected and blocked. Just how far the hackers penetrated the agency’s systems is not yet clear.

A Homeland Security Department official confirms to the Times that an attack occurred but says that no loss of personally identifiable information has been identified.

The Office of Personnel Management houses personal information for all federal employees.

By Bryan Thompson
Kansas Public Radio

TOPEKA — The American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leawood, has some issues with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ recently released Medicare physician fee schedule for 2015. But the doctors’ group blames Congress more than CMS.

The biggest issue is the so-called sustainable growth rate formula, which Congress enacted in 1997 to hold Medicare spending at or below the U.S. economy’s growth rate.

To comply with the law, CMS proposes reductions in the reimbursement rate for doctors every year. And every year, Congress suspends those cuts. Next year’s reduction in physician fees would be 20.9 percent.

Tennessee physician Reid Blackwelder, who serves as president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said if that cut is allowed to take effect, some doctors may have little choice but to stop seeing Medicare patients.

“The patient, if we’re still seeing them, will still come in and get care, but I will not be paid for even the cost of that care,” he said. “And that will make it very difficult for me to pay my overhead, pay my rent, pay my staff — to keep the doors open.”

Blackwelder says both political parties in Congress want to end this yearly game of chicken by doing away with the sustainable growth rate formula. The challenge, however, is coming up with a way to fully fund Medicare without those cuts.

In a news release issued by the AAFP, Blackwelder added, “Failure by Congress to repeal the long-standing SGR overshadows the 2015 proposed fee schedule’s new and commendable code for chronic care management services.”

Primary care physicians are well-suited to oversee care for elderly and disabled patients with chronic conditions, he said, and the new code for these services recognizes the work outside the exam room required for coordinated care.

“The AAFP welcomes the new code but we also look to a day when policies designed to strengthen primary medical care are not undermined by drastic cuts to the underlying foundation on which all payment is based.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The president of Washburn University says the school is “very safe” and sexual assault is rare on the Topeka campus.

President Jerry Farley says a federal investigation into the school’s handling of sexual violence stems from an alleged sexual assault involving two students. He says such cases are rare at Washburn.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently added Washburn to its list of post-secondary institutions with current Title IX sexual violence investigations.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the victim of the alleged assault filed a complaint against Washburn in April, and the Office for Civil Rights is investigating.

The university has a month to provide the federal agency with documents concerning Washburn’s procedures and how the university responded to the reported assault.

 

 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial & Contracting Oversight, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts this week requested information from the Department of Education on its contracts for the origination, disbursement, and servicing of student loans following concerns of inadequate planning, competition, management, and oversight of the loan contracting process. The letter was also signed by Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Patty Murray of Washington, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

The Senators expressed concern with the Department of Education’s action to extend existing contracts with several Title IV Additional Servicers (TIVAS) after the administration’s announcement that it would renegotiate the terms of its TIVAS contracts to ensure higher quality service and better outcomes for federal student loan borrowers.

“While we acknowledge the Department’s view that these extensions do not adversely affect its ability to renegotiate these contracts, we remain deeply concerned about the potential for this action to undermine the President’s efforts,” the Senators wrote. “To achieve President Obama’s goals, the Department of Education must use all of its leverage to negotiate strong consumer protections and performance standards that include real consequences for noncompliance… We are also concerned that the Department’s decision to continue its contracting relationship with Navient may have failed to adequately consider current investigations into Sallie Mae/Navient’s loan practices. As you are aware, Navient recently agreed to pay nearly $100 million to settle allegations that it overcharged U.S. servicemembers for their student loans and obtained default judgments against service members in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).”

The Senators requested the Department of Education provide a comprehensive list of contractors, audits, payments & incentives, as well as reports on performance, planning for future servicing, and the Department of Education’s analyses of the management of TIVAS contracts.

The letter was also signed by Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Patty Murray of Washington, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

KANSAS CITY- One person was injured in a Wednesday evening accident in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Nissan driven by Bradley Lacoste, 40, Olathe, was southbound on Interstate 435 just south of Kansas Avenue in lane 3.

The vehicle swerved and hit a legally parked 1989 Dodge Dakota on the right shoulder.

Lacoste was transported to KU Medical Center for treatment. The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri conservation officials are reminding pet owners to be on the lookout for coyotes this summer.

The Missouri Department of Conservation reports a recent spike in calls to its Columbia regional office from citizens who have spotted roaming coyotes. The animals resemble German shepherds and prefer open spaces such as parks and golf courses rather than dense forests.

Wildlife officers encourage homeowners to remove food sources from their yards and to cover all trash cans. Bird feeders should be removed at night to keep away squirrels, which in turn can attract coyotes.