WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) will serve as the next co-chair of the U.S. Senate Aerospace Caucus. The future of aerospace and aviation is especially important to the state of Kansas and the community of Wichita, known as the “Air Capital of the World.” Roughly 32,000 Kansans support more than 450 aerospace companies – from large companies like Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier and Textron, to hundreds of smaller suppliers – and their work contributes more than $7 billion annually Kansas’ economy.

Sen. Moran joins U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) as co-chair and replaces U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) who has served as co-chair since 2011 and is retiring at the end of this Congress.

“Safeguarding our nation for future generations means both a strong national defense and a strong economy,” Sen. Moran said. “The aerospace industry is where these two priorities converge. That is why I am proud to be co-chairing the Senate Aerospace Caucus. Promoting education, workforce and research development, as well as increasing manufacturing within the aerospace industry is vital to our Kansas and national economies. I look forward to continuing my work to make certain this historical and innovative American industry remains strong, secure and competitive globally.”

“When a Navy P8 pilot takes off from Whidbey Island, Washington, he is flying not only one of the most advanced maritime surveillance aircraft in the world, but also a product of both Wichita, Kansas, and Renton, Washington,” Sen. Murray said. “When an Air Force KC-46 pilot launches from McConnell Airbase in Wichita, she’s seated in a cockpit made in Kansas and assembled into a modern air to air refueling platform in Washington. I have always respected Senator Moran for his integrity and energy and I look forward to working with him to ensure that these kinds of productive collaborations can continue as we fight to ensure a strong and competitive American aerospace sector.”

“I can think of no one more appropriate to take my place as co-chair of the Senate Aerospace Caucus than Senator Jerry Moran,” said Sen. Chambliss. “He is a strong and passionate advocate for the industry and, alongside Senator Murray, he will lead this caucus to even greater heights. The United States has the most robust aerospace and defense program in the world, and I know that Senator Moran will continue to serve as a great champion for this important industry.”

“AIA welcomes Senator Jerry Moran’s selection to co-chair the Senate Aerospace Caucus,” said Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Marion C. Blakey. “Kansas is a major center for aerospace innovation, and we know Senator Moran will continue advocating for strong U.S. leadership in this field. Our industry makes an important contribution to our nation’s economy and national security, and we look forward to working with Senator Moran to keep our nation second to none.”

Founded in 2010, the Senate Aerospace Caucus provides a forum for Senators and aerospace industry representatives to discuss issues of importance to the nation’s defense, civil aviation and space sectors. The aerospace caucus:

• Provides critical oversight of the U.S. government’s aerospace defense industry program;

• Promotes increased government investment in U.S. aviation infrastructure and development;

• Ensures a competitive industrial base; and

• Promotes education and workforce development programs that prepare Americans for careers in the aerospace industry.

Kansas serves as a crossroads for global aerospace. According to the Kansas Aviation Museum, Kansas aviation workers have supplied 74 percent of all general aviation aircraft since the Wright Brother’s first flight at Kitty Hawk. Today, roughly 32,000 Kansans support more than 450 aerospace companies – from large companies like Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier and Textron, to hundreds of smaller suppliers – and their work contributes more than $7 billion annually to our state’s economy. General aviation is Kansas’ largest industry and generates nearly $2.9 billion in exports each year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state economist says Kansas has regained the private-sector jobs it lost during the most recent recession but has seen a shift away from employment in manufacturing.

Kansas Department of Labor senior economist Tyler Tenbrink also said Wednesday that wages haven’t rebounded fully from the recession when adjusted for inflation.

Tenbrink reported on employment and wages during a meeting of a council advising Republican Gov. Sam Brownback on the economy. He said manufacturing jobs have been mostly replaced by jobs in professional and business services.

Tenbrink said the state should see continued growth in private, non-farm employment for the next six to 12 months.

Brownback successfully pushed personal income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013 to stimulate the economy, but the state now faces budget shortfalls.

The leading website for naming your baby has tallied up the most popular names of the year and

the winners announced today in a media release are Liam and Charlotte for the third year in a row.

“Entertainment is influencing baby naming more than ever,” says BabyNames.com founder, Jennifer Moss. “We’re seeing celebrity names and character names flooding the popularity charts. The name Liam, for example, started to become popular after the actor Liam Neeson, but then jumped to #1 when Liam Hemsworth came on the scene.”

Parents are also using popular character names from fiction, especially television. Moss says the name Aria/Arya hit the top ten

names for girls after the television shows Pretty Little Liars and Game of Thrones both featured popular characters with that name.

 

BabyNames.com compiles its name ranking from the site members’ favorite name lists. “We have millions of members that add names to

their favorite name lists each year,” states Moss. “So we can track which names are trending in real time. Our lists often predict the

actual birth name trends by one to two years.”

 

So what entertainment names are rising fast? According to the BabyNames.com trends, we will be seeing more baby boys named Archer

(Archer), Finnick (The Hunger Games) and Atticus (To Kill a Mockingbird). For girls, watch for Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Hazel

(The Fault in our Stars), and Piper (Orange is the New Black).

 BABYNAMES.COM’S TOP 20 BABY NAMES FOR 2014  include alternate spellings of the same name

Girls                   Boys

1 Charlotte      Liam

2 Amelia         Noah

3 Aria             Oliver

4 Olivia         Ethan

5 Violet         Asher

6 Ava           Benjamin

7 Sophia            Henry

8 Emma           Owen

9 Scarlett                Caleb

10 Nora             Jackson

11 Audrey          Grayson

12 Aurora         Declan

13 Vivienne       Landon

14 Lily               Alexander

15 Abigail         Levi

16 Chloe         Aidan

17 Adalyn        Finn

18 Ella           Elijah

19 Elizabeth        Lucas

20 Alice             Gavin

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita Police Department says it plans to outfit all of its patrol officers with body cameras by the end of 2015.

Interim Police Chief Nelson Mosley told reporters Wednesday the initial outlay of $927,200 would be funded by grounding the police helicopter next year, along with grants and drug seizure funds. The department is also closely watching whether any federal money will be available.

President Barack Obama is promoting use of body cameras by police after the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Wichita had begun outfitting some officers with cameras before then but Mosley acknowledged the events in Ferguson accelerated that plan.

City Manager Robert Layton says the community wants the cameras.

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON — The Hutchinson zoo announced today that the three tamarin monkeys at their facility have died over the past week.

John Wright, Director of the zoo, said that the three primates showed a loss of appetite and lethargic behavior Nov. 19. Two of the animals died Nov. 23, while the other died Nov. 25.

The animals were sent to Kansas State University where it was determined the monkeys died from Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, a highly fatal rodent-borne disease. Wright says the primates likely contracted the illness from contact with mice.

Wright says they are taking steps to make sure they can control the rodents that become more of a nuisance during the winter months. Cotton-top tamarin monkeys are indeginious to mostly Central and South America

Wright says they have fully investigated the matter and feel the rest of the zoo animals are safe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is singling out Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and 13 other cities for leading their peers in efforts to address climate change.

The winners of the competition for cities will receive additional government resources to deal with global warming’s impacts, including data tools and a dedicated coordinator to help cities access federal funding.

Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Portland, Ore., made the cut. So did Knoxville, Tenn., Montpelier, Vt., and Oberlin, Ohio. California’s Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe is recognized for cutting energy consumption, while Dubuque, Iowa, is addressing flooding issues.

Washington, D.C., and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs are being recognized together, as is Kansas City in Kansas and Missouri. Other winners include California’s Sonoma County, Florida’s Broward County and Michigan’s Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.