SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state man is to be sentenced Thursday for posting threats on Facebook against a former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot a young black man – a case that is part of a broader legal debate over when social media rants escalate into criminal acts.
Jaleel Adbul-Jabbaar pleaded guilty on Feb. 2 for posting a threat against Darren Wilson on Facebook. Federal prosecutors said Abdul-Jabbaar posted inflammatory messages after the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown.
The federal charge of making an interstate threat carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but prosecutors have recommended Abdul-Jabbaar be sentenced to time served – two months.
The popularity of social media has left lawyers arguing over what constitutes a “true threat” – one not protected by the First Amendment.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A House bill aimed at addressing issues with Missouri’s student transfer law is moving forward.
The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday voted 7-0 to support the measure, with one senator voting as present.
The transfer law requires failing school districts to pay for students to attend better-performing schools nearby. Lawmakers have crafted bills to allow students first to transfer to accredited schools within their district, which could alleviate the financial strain of paying for their tuition elsewhere.
But the Senate version stalled because of a more than $200 million price tag to implement it next fiscal year.
The more modest House bill would have cost about $13.5 million, although senators beefed that up with more than $20 million worth of additional provisions.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri residents receiving temporary cash assistance would be limited to 30 months of benefits under a proposal that is moving forward in the Legislature.
The Missouri House approved shorter lifetime limits and stricter work requirements for welfare programs by a 115-44 vote on Wednesday.
Supporters say the threat of losing half their benefits and eventually all of their benefits will encourage individuals on assistance to get employment or engage in work-related activities.
The measure would lower the lifetime limits on cash assistance from the current five years.
Opponents say that families may need the assistance for longer and that the cuts would harm needy families.
The House vote means the bill now goes back to the Senate, which previously passed a different version of the bill.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the state will get more than $2.4 million from a Medicaid fraud settlement.
Koster on Wednesday announced the civil settlement with offshoots of APS Healthcare and Innovative Resource Group over claims that the companies submitted false Medicaid claims.
The companies will immediately pay the state and federal government $5 million.
APS contracted with Missouri from 2008 to 2010 to provide services for the state’s chronic care and administrative services programs. The company was responsible for managing preventative care for chronically ill patients on Medicaid to avoid emergency room expenses.
But Koster claims the companies didn’t do their part and submitted false claims for Medicaid payments.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are pursuing proposals to limit collective bargaining between state agencies and their workers and to overhaul the state’s civil service.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday debated a collective bargaining bill. Chairwoman and Republican Sen. Julia Lynn of Olathe said the panel would vote on it Thursday.
The measure would limit bargaining between state agencies and unions to setting minimum wages.
Supporters said the state should operate more like private industry. Critics said workers would be harmed.
Lynn said the committee also will consider another bill preventing state and local government agencies from doing payroll deductions for workers for union dues.
Meanwhile, a House committee pl
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A legislative committee in Kansas is considering a proposal to restrict collective bargaining between public employees and state and local government agencies.
Chairwoman Julia Lynn said the Senate Commerce Committee will debate the measure during its meeting Wednesday. Lynn is an Olathe Republican and has said she believes the GOP-dominated panel supports the bill.
The measure would limit contract talks between government agencies and unions to minimum pay for workers. Employers could determine other issues themselves, including how workers are evaluated.
The bill also would allow agencies to impose terms if there is an impasse.
Republican Sen. Jeff Melcher of Leawood is pushing the measure and has argued that negotiations involving individual employees produce better results.
Critics say the bill is an attempt to destroy public employee unions.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Police in Columbia, Missouri, say they’ve failed to identify a suspect in a case involving a former University of Missouri swimmer who said she was raped by several football players, months before she committed suicide.
Police said Wednesday that they have closed their investigation into the case Sasha Menu Courey. The investigation began last year.
Menu Courey killed herself in 2011 at a Boston psychiatric hospital after withdrawing from classes at Missouri at midsemester and being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Before her death, she told health professionals bound by confidentiality that she had been sexually assaulted as a freshman in 2010.
An outside review found the university fell short of federal standards under the Title IX law, for the reporting and investigation of sexual assault on campus.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Changes to Missouri’s Amber Alert system are progressing in the Missouri House.
The House gave initial approval Wednesday to changes made in response to the kidnapping and death of 10-year-old girl last year in Springfield.
Springfield police responded within minutes to a call about fourth-grader Hailey Owens being abducted but a statewide Amber Alert was not sent for another two hours. The girl was found dead hours later in the basement of a Springfield man’s home.
The bill would integrate the Amber Alert system with the electronic law enforcement system, ending the need for local police to fill out paper forms before an Amber Alert is issued.
The Jackson County Courthouse, pictured here, is at the center of a massive asbestos lawsuit. Credit Noah Jeppson / Flickr–CC
By DAN MARGOLIES
Thousands of Missouri residents who may have been exposed to asbestos in the Jackson County Courthouse over more than three decades will now get their day in court.
The Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a lower court’s decision declining to certify a class consisting of Missourians who worked at the courthouse during and after the courthouse’s renovation in 1983 and 1984.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by two now-former courthouse workers against U.S. Engineering Co. and Jackson County. The lawsuit alleged the defendants negligently failed to prevent the spread of asbestos dust in the courthouse.
U.S. Engineering contracted with the county to renovate and repair the building’s air-handling units and pipes, which were wrapped with insulation containing asbestos. The plaintiffs say the air handling units were not turned off during the project, which allegedly resulted in thick layers of asbestos powder being deposited throughout the downtown Kansas City, Mo., landmark.
The plaintiffs sued on behalf of courthouse workers who were allegedly exposed to the fibers and thus at significantly heightened risk of coming down with asbestos-related illnesses.
The case could prove a ticking time bomb for Jackson County. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $40 million to pay for the costs of a medical monitoring program, and punitive damages could amount to tens of millions more.
Just how expensive the case may prove to be was underscored in November 2011, when the county and U.S. Engineering agreed to pay $10 million to settle an individual case brought by the family of a former courthouse employee who died of mesothelioma.
U.S. Engineering, whose share of the settlement was $400,000, denied liability but said it settled to bring closure to both the family and the company.
The proposed class in the pending lawsuit consists of Missouri residents who worked inside the courthouse for longer than two consecutive weeks or for 80 hours annually since 1983.
Lou Accurso, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that between 2,000 and 4,000 current and former courthouse workers could be eligible to participate.
“We’re ready to try the case,” he said. “All the work has been done.”
Tuesday’s appeals court decision came after Jackson County Circuit Judge Jack N. Peace declined to certify the class last summer, finding that individual issues predominated over common ones.
In reversing Peace, a three-judge panel ruled that he misinterpreted the law and that the plaintiffs met all the criteria for class certification. The panel sent the case back to Peace.
“We’re extremely pleased,” Accurso said. “We felt all along we had more than enough evidence and the law was clear to get the class certified.”
Lisa Carter, a spokeswoman for Jackson County, said the county would have no comment on pending litigation.
Attorneys for U.S. Engineering could not immediately be reached for comment.
Accurso said the next step in the case will be to ask Peace to certify the class in accordance with the appeals court decision and then to seek “the earliest possible trial date.”
Accurso said he hoped to try the case this year.
The University of Kansas Medical Center would do the medical monitoring if the plaintiffs prevail.
Dan Margolies is editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves introduced legislation designed to improve management of the Missouri River. This bill would remove “fish and wildlife” from the list of authorized purposes for which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can undertake a river management project. Currently, the Corps’ Master Manual includes eight authorized purposes. By removing “fish and wildlife,” the Corps can focus more closely on projects related to navigation and flood management.
“Many communities in my district were devastated by the flooding of the Missouri River in 2011,” said Rep. Graves. “Families were displaced, homes were under water, crops were destroyed, and businesses lost significant revenue. As a result, we must take a serious look at the management of the Missouri River and make common sense reforms to ensure residents are the priority,” Graves continued. “This bill will help reduce the likelihood of future flooding and will prioritize families, farmers, and small businesses in the Corps’ management of the Missouri River.”
BACKGROUND: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the management of the Missouri River. Pursuant to the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS), the Corps gives consideration to eight authorized purposes – flood control, navigation, water supply, water quality, hydropower, irrigation, recreation, and fish and wildlife. Further, pursuant to the Master Manual, which was last amended in 2006, the Corps gives priority to flood control and navigation when making Missouri River management decisions. Environmental groups have continually challenged the river management procedures of the Army Corps in order to gain greater consideration for fish and wildlife.
PINEVILLE (AP) – A 20-year-old southwest Missouri man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of his 4-month-old son.
Tyler Waeltz of Pineville pleaded guilty Tuesday to abuse of a child resulting in death. Prosecutors say that in February he threw the boy into a playpen and onto a couch because he was angry the boy wouldn’t stop crying.
The plea agreement included the recommended 15 year sentence.
The Joplin Globe reports a probable-cause affidavit says when the baby wouldn’t stop crying, Waeltz first dropped him into a playpen, where he landed on his head. He later threw the baby on the couch, where his head hit a toy truck.
Two other felonies were dropped against Waeltz as part of the plea bargain.
MARTHA BELLISLE, Associated Press
