The Director of the Missouri Department of Transportation says the emphasis on better gas mileage has an unintended consequence: it undermines the way we pay for infrastructure. Kevin Keith says gas tax revenues are flat but the cost of building roads and bridges continues to rise. Asphalt that cost $26 a ton 20 years ago costs $60 today. Concrete has jumped from $50 a cubic yard to $150.
Keith says a gas tax big enough to solve the problem won’t work. He says it’s time to consider a sales tax on fuel.
The Sorghum Checkoff has announced the first class of its new program that seeks to develop the next generation of leaders for the sorghum industry. Fifteen sorghum farmers from eight different states have been selected for Leadership Sorghum. Sorghum Checkoff Chairman Bill Kubecka says the first class of the program is made up of a diverse group of farmers representing a wide variety of sorghum producing environments. He notes leadership is vital to the success of any industry – and has confidence the individuals chosen for Leadership Sorghum will gain the necessary resources to help lead the industry in the future.
The 15-month Leadership Sorghum Class I (one) will begin with sessions focused on the sorghum seed industry and research in the Texas Panhandle. Participants will be exposed to various aspects of the sorghum industry from basic research to international marketing throughout the program. Through hands-on and classroom style education – the participants will gain an understanding of how sorghum moves through the value chain, how checkoffs and interest organizations interact on behalf of the industry and what the future holds for the crop. Professional development training and networking opportunities will also be provided.
National Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau Federation are part of a coalition of agriculture, renewable energy and national security organizations urging the U.S. Senate Subcommittee for Defense Appropriations to support Department of Defense funding for accelerated production of domestically produced, advanced, drop-in biofuels for military use. A letter to Subcommittee Chair Daniel Inouye (in-oh-way) of Hawaii and Ranking Member Thad Cochran of Mississippi points to the Memorandum of Understanding entered by the Department of Defense with USDA and the Department of Energy last year. The MOU pledged a federal investment of more than 500-million dollars in partnership with the private sector – 170-million dollars from each participating agency. According to the coalition’s letter – the purpose of the MOU is consistent with history. They state the U.S. military has worked with Congress to develop and deploy innovative technologies that have improved national security and strengthened American military superiority at sea, in the skies and on the battlefield.
The letter goes on to note that adopting advanced, drop-in biofuels will help the Defense Department and the nation achieve broader national security objectives – as continued reliance on foreign oil puts U.S. troops at risk of supply disruptions during military or humanitarian missions.
The Department of the Interior and Department of Defense are teaming up to strengthen the nation’s energy security and reduce military utility costs. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding sets out the guiding concepts for the Renewable Energy Partnership Plan. A major goal is to harness the proven solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy resources on or near Department of Defense installations across the country. Salazar says the nation’s military land holds great renewable energy potential. This partnership will help ensure these resources are tapped with a smart and focused approach to power the military, reduce energy costs and grow the nation’s energy independence. According to Panetta – developing renewable energy is the right thing to do for national security as well as for the environment and our economy. He says renewable energy projects built on these lands will provide reliable, local sources of power for military installations, allow for a continued energy supply if the commercial power grid gets disrupted, and will help lower utility costs. With these goals in mind – each of the Military Services has committed to deploy one-gigawatt of renewable energy on or near its installations by the year 2025.
According to a White House news release – Defense Department installations encompass roughly 28-million acres in the United States. About 13-million acres are located in the west and are high in wind, solar and geothermal resources. Offshore wind also is an abundant renewable energy resource available to many installations on the Atlantic coast, Pacific coast, Gulf of Mexico and in Hawaii. Offshore Atlantic winds alone could produce an estimated one-thousand-gigawatts of energy.
Among other things – the MOU establishes a framework for an offshore wind partnership within which Interior and Defense will continue to work together to identity areas most appropriate for offshore wind development. It also provides a blueprint for cooperation between the two departments to identify lands for mission-compatible development of onshore renewable energy projects on Department of Defense installations. The Department of Defense will also explore ways in which renewable energy could be provided directly to a single installation or may be transmitted across a network of installations.
The second fire this year at an Islamic mosque in Joplin destroyed the facility Monday morning.
According to the “Joplin Globe,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, says they are calling for stepped up police protection for all places of worship, in light of the Joplin mosque fire and the deadly shooting Sunday at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Authorities at this point are calling the fire “suspicious.”
A $15,000 reward was offered last month by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for a July 4 fire at the mosque.
The FBI is investigating the cause of the latest fire and whether or not it was also the result of arson, said agency spokeswoman Bridgett Patton.
The agencies released surveillance video from the fire in July, which caused minor damage to the roof of the building. The fire Monday destroyed the surveillance cameras, so no such evidence is available in that investigation.
A Jasper County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman says they have made no arrests in either fire.
Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey
Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey is expecting a brisk voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary election: about one out of every three voters are expected to cast ballots. Baack-Garvey based her 33% prediction on results from primaries in 2008 and 2010.
On Monday, Baack-Garvey took election precinct supervisors through the paces, making sure they know how to open and close their polling places. They will also go over the different ballot types available in each precinct.
In addition to party primaries in local and statewide races, there are several ballot questions voters will consider.
St Joseph residents will vote on a six-year extension of the half-cent CIP sales tax to fund capital improvements, operation & maintenance, and retirement of debt.
Voters across the state will also consider Amendment Two, proposed by the General Assembly. Amendment Two would amend the state constitution to ensure the right of citizens to express their religious beliefs, to ensure the right of kids to pray and acknowledge God in schools, and to require public schools to display the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.
Voters who reside in the Dekalb County Water District #1 will also decide whether to issue $1.5 million in bonds to extend and improve the waterworks system in the district.
Residents within the Colony Hills Fire Protection District will decide whether to implement a 2.5% property tax increase to provide funds for the district.
Kevin D. Dunham,Photo from the Missouri Department of Corrections
An inmate serving time in Cameron pleaded Guilty Monday to a tax refund fraud scheme.
45-year-old Kevin D. Dunham pleaded Guilty to preparing false tax returns for inmates while serving time at the Farmington Correctional Center in Farmington Missouri and at the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron.
The charges stem from a federal indictment announced in February. Dunham obtained Social Security numbers and created false tax forms on a typewriter in his cell.
The forms were then sent to the IRS. Tax returns were sent back to the families of inmates.
Dunham filed false returns worth more than $139,000. He could face a fine up to $250,000 and a prison sentence up to five years.
He is currently serving a 10-year sentence for 2nd degree burglary and forgery.
Maryville plans to go ahead with random drug testing at its public schools. The tests will apply to students in grades 7 through 12 who take part in extracurricular activities. The policy will affect about 80 percent of the 700 students in the Maryville School District.
The Senate Finance Committee has approved a bipartisan tax package that includes an extension of the now-expired biodiesel tax incentive. Anne Steckel – Vice President of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board – says the biodiesel tax incentive is a proven job creator. She notes growth in the biodiesel industry has been stagnant since the incentive expired on December 31st. Reinstating it – she says – will get biodiesel producers across the country back to expanding their businesses and hiring new employees. The measure also includes the Producer Tax Credit for cellulosic biofuels and accelerated depreciation for cellulosic biorefineries – incentives due to expire at the end of the year. Advanced Ethanol Council Executive Director Brooke Coleman says the strong, bipartisan vote sends a strong signal to the marketplace that Congress understands the urgent need to address these expiring credits and maintain stability in the marketplace for emerging industries.
The AEC would like to see the incentives extended as soon as possible. NBB would as well. They are calling on the full Senate to quickly pass the package – and for the House to follow suit so biodiesel producers can get the certainty they need to begin hiring again.
The biodiesel tax incentive was allowed to expire at the end of 2010 as well. Once it was reinstated in 2011 – NBB says the biodiesel industry grew rapidly and set a new production record of nearly 1.1-billion gallons – supporting more than 39-thosand jobs across the country.
When House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas took to the floor in support of the Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance bill Thursday – he admitted he didn’t like the way the bill was paid for. Still – he said a drought of epic proportions is gripping a large majority of the nation and endangering vast areas of productive agriculture land. Given that the 2008 Farm Bill did not provide a final year of disaster assistance – Lucas told House members they were there to fix a problem – and had a chance to do so with a bill that paid for itself and gave more than 250-million dollars to deficit reduction.
Along with rumblings about the bill’s offsets – Lucas addressed complaints that the farm bill wasn’t coming before the full House. Lucas reiterated that his priority is to get a five-year farm bill on the books. But he argued the most pressing business before Congress is to provide disaster assistance to the producers impacted by the drought conditions who are currently exposed. When Congress returns in September – Lucas said he will work toward the goal of giving certainty to our farmers.
House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson had decided to vote in favor of H.R. 6233 – but when speaking on the floor focused heavily on the fact the House leadership decided not to bring the farm bill to a vote before the August recess. He said the disaster bill would provide some assistance to a few livestock producers affected by drought conditions across much of the country – but explained it was not comprehensive. Pointing out that the farm bill approved by the Agriculture Committee includes the livestock provisions considered as part of the disaster aid package – Peterson argued a five-year farm bill would do a better job of providing certainty for American agriculture and assistance during this period of drought. He said weathering a natural disaster without the certainty of a five-year farm bill could jeopardize one of the nation’s economic bright spots.
Representatives Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Leonard Boswell of Iowa and Randy Neugebauer of Texas urged votes for the disaster bill – but also said the House should take up the five-year farm bill. California’s Jim Costa said he opposed the disaster aid bill because another vehicle exists – the farm bill – to accomplish the same goal.
