WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A coalition of voting rights groups have sued a federal elections official who required residents of Kansas, Alabama and Georgia to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote using a national form.
The federal lawsuit, filed late Friday, also names as defendant the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. It was brought by the League of Women Voters, Project Vote, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, among others.
Their complaint contends the decision by executive director Brian Newby will hurt voter registration drives and deprive eligible voters of the right to vote in the presidential primary elections. It seeks a court order blocking the changes.
EAC did not immediately respond to phone messages and an email.
HUTCHINSON — A Kansas man charged with sexual exploitation of a child saw that charge go away on Thursday while he entered a “guilty” plea to the second count of aggravated violation of the offender registration act.
Douglas A. Kennel, 45, Hutchinson, was arrested on January 27 following an investigation that began when he took an old phone to have data transferred to a new phone.
The phone store employee transferring the data saw images that he thought to be child porn.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder said after the hearing Thursday that he found a lot of mitigating factors with this case including the fact that the defendant had deleted the pictures several years ago, even reformatted his phone so he wouldn’t have access to them, but they were still apparently on the SD card.
As part of the plea agreement, both sides will recommend nearly 20-years in prison, but will also recommend five years of intense community corrections.
They also convinced Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen to reduce the bond down from $250,000 to the original amount of $10,000.
Although the state dropped the charge of sexual exploitation of a child, Schroeder told the court he would dismiss the charge without prejudice, meaning he can re-file the charge at anytime within the next five years.
Kennel will also be under some strict rules before and after sentencing. He must remain in contact with his attorney and his bonding agent and have a sex offender evaluation completed.
Prior to sentencing, he’ll be under court supervision and can’t leave the county without their permission, other than for the evaluation, which will be done at Prairie View in Newton.
He also can’t have any contact with a child under the age of 18, without supervision of his wife or pastor. However, he can have contact with his three stepchildren.
He also can’t have any access to a computer, cell phone or other electronic device that can be connected to the Internet.
Any computer in his home will be password protected in a manner that would prevent him from gaining access to the Internet, but wouldn’t hinder other members of the household.
He’s also forbidden from consuming alcohol or illegal drugs and must obey all laws of Kansas and the United States.
He also agreed to waive any right to appeal any legal sentence handed down by the Judge.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Antonin Scalia, the influential conservative and most provocative member of the Supreme Court, has died. He was 79.
The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington confirmed Scalia’s death at a private residence in the Big Bend area of South Texas.
The service’s spokeswoman, Donna Sellers, says Scalia had retired for the evening and was found dead Saturday morning when he did not appear for breakfast.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are preparing to close a deficit largely with budget juggling, and a growing number are seeing broad problems with how the state is managing its finances.
Conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s critics blame his aggressive tax-cutting policies for crises across state government. The problems include inadequate pay at state prisons and short staffing in state mental hospitals.
Lawmakers in both parties also argued in recent debates that the fixes proposed by Brownback paper over the state’s budget gap rather than close it.
Brownback’s spokeswoman dismissed what she called “the sky is falling” criticism.
But even some allies acknowledged they’ll be largely doing a quick patch with budget-balancing legislation. The projected deficit is nearly $200 million in the state’s $16.1 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
WICHITA, KAN. – The owner of a Wichita massage parlor was charged Friday in federal court with harboring a Chinese woman who worked as a prostitute, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Samir F. Elias, 60, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of transporting an alien who is in the United States unlawfully, one count of harboring an alien who is in the United States unlawfully, one count of harboring an alien for the purpose for prostitution and two counts of money laundering.
The charges allege Elias was the owner of GiGi’s Elite Massage, which operated at 357 N. Hillside in Wichita after moving from a previous location at 6611 E. Central. Elias employed a Chinese woman who used the name Angel. An undercover vice detective with the Wichita Police Department arrested the woman after she offered to perform sexual services during a massage.
Investigators learned that:
The woman lived at the massage parlor or at times at Elias’ home.
She usually worked seven days a week.
She had no formal training in how to give a massage.
Patrons paid $40 for 30 minutes and $60 for an hour of massage. She paid Elias $10 of the fee for the $40 massage and $20 of the fee for the $60 massage. She was allowed to keep her tips.
The woman was convicted in Wichita municipal court on a charge of sale of sexual relations. She is appealing the conviction.If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on counts 1, 2 and 3, and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up $500,000 on counts 4 and 5.
The Wichita Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.
FAIRVIEW, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in northwest Oklahoma that was reportedly felt across Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas and Iowa.
Fairview police and the Major County Sheriff’s Office say there are no reports of injury or damage as a result of the quake that struck Saturday at 11:07 a.m. about 17 miles north of Fairview. A second earthquake measured at magnitude 3.9 struck in the same area at 11:17 a.m. The area is about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
The strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma is a magnitude 5.6 centered in Prague in November 2011 that damaged 200 buildings.
The temblors are the latest in a series of earthquakes linked to the injection of wastewater underground from oil and gas production.
Fatal train crash on Friday in Topeka- photo courtesy WIBW-TV
SHAWNEE COUNTY- The victim in Friday’s fatal train accident has been identified as Howard W. Taylor, 55, Topeka, according to a media release from the Shawnee County Sheriff’s office.
The crash remains under investigation.
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SHAWNEE COUNTY- Law enforcement officials in Shawnee County are investigating a fatal crash involving a car and an Amtrak train in Topeka.
The motorist drove around a crossing gate and died in the crash that occurred at 12:36 a.m. on Friday at Topeka Boulevard and 57th Street, according to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department.
The name of the victim has not been released.
Nobody on the train was injured.
Check the Post for additional details as they become available.
TOPEKA – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating the death of an infant.
Just before 8p.m. on Friday, police officers in Topeka responded to home in the 700 Block of Southwest High for a reported pediatric emergency, according to a media release.
The 2-month-old girl was transported to a local hospital where she died.
Names of those involved have not been released pending the outcome of the investigation.
SALINE COUNTY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 3a.m. on Saturday in Saline County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Ford F150 driven by Trent W. Klusener, 29, Salina, was southbound on Kansas 143 two miles north of Interstate 70.
The driver failed to stop and make a turn at Old 81 Highway. The truck went airborne into a ravine.
Klusener was transported to Salina Regional Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
MANHATTAN – The Kansas Fire Marshal’s office is investigating a suspicious fire at a home in Manhattan.
Emergency crews responded to the 600 Block of Yuma Street just before 11a.m. on Friday after an officer with the Riley County Police Department made contact with a 43-year-old man who had sustained a significant cut to his arm and was bleeding profusely. He was transported to Via Christi Hospital for his injuries.
Immediately after making contact with the man, officers observed smoke coming from the home at 615 Yuma Street.
The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to the scene.
There were no injuries as a result of this fire. The house value is listed as $95,000 but no damage estimate has been released.
Silent Witness Display on Wednesday at the Capitol photo Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA – As Crystalee Protheroe spoke in front of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, her voice quivered and her hands squeezed the edges of the podium.
“On April 17 (2014) it was found that I was alienating my children from their father, and I had three hours to get them ready to go with their father, who still had an ongoing sexual abuse case pending,” Protheroe said. “This is unacceptable. Our children are our greatest resource. They are our future.”
Protheroe was one of two women who shared personal stories about surviving domestic abuse and fighting child custody battles when they testified in support of changes in Kansas’ domestic violence laws.
A second survivor, Jill Ainsworth, discussed her decade-long journey with the court system in Kansas.
“When I left (my husband) I had no idea about the challenges we were about to encounter in the courts of Kansas. I thought that my son would be protected,” Ainsworth said. “What actually happened was far from that.”
Protheroe and Ainsworth want legislators to support Senate Bill 393, which would allow the courts to consider domestic abuse as a factor when determining child custody, residency and visitation.
Kathy Ray, director of advocacy for the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, also spoke in favor of the bill.
Ray said the Kansas Family Law Code on child custody, residency and visitation fails to consider relationships in which one parent is committing domestic abuse against the other, and possibly even the child.
Ainsworth said she compared Kansas family law codes with laws in other states, and found Kansas lacks protective measures for children.
“I approached Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee) last spring after researching family law codes across the country, specifically the family law codes in the four states surrounding Kansas. What I found and what I conveyed to the senator was that current Kansas Family Law Code is completely lacking in protections for children and it is far behind the majority of the states in this country,” Ainsworth said.
photo- Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence,
Ainsworth said all states bordering Kansas have laws that address domestic abuse as it relates to child custody, and they have multiple provisions in place to protect children.
The National Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence, put in place more than 20 years ago, includes the exact changes proposed in SB 393.
Many victims say they find it difficult to leave their abusive partner because there are no adequate guidelines in place that immediately remove the child from the abuser’s custody.
In other judiciary committee actions, lawmakers debated SB 378, which would strengthen anti-discrimination protection in the workplace for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
“The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that as many as 60 percent of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs for reasons related to the abuse,” Mary Akerstrom of the Capital City chapter of the National Organization for Women told the committee.
This is due to a lack of job security for many victims going through the court process. Victims may have to pay for law enforcement, medical services and therapy, and without an employer who can understand how time-consuming the legal process can be, victims risk losing their source of income. SB 378 would strengthen laws to prevent employers from retaliating or discriminating against victims.
Bradley Burke of the Kansas Department of Labor said in a statement that the current law requires the Secretary of Labor to enforce the anti-discrimination law, but the legislature has not provided the necessary tools to make sure that occurs.
In order to ensure that employers are held accountable, Burke explained that this bill would change the law to make sure it defines domestic abuse and sexual assault in ways consistent with definitions already existing under Kansas law.
Also, the bill would transfer enforcement of the law to the Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC), an agency with the tools to adequately ensure that employers do not discriminate against victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
An issue with this change in authority is the potential cost. Based on the fiscal note from the Kansas Division of the Budget, there could be increased complaints from victims, which means an increased workload for KHRC staff.
Ruth Glover, executive director of the KHRC, noted the agency has decreased its number of filled positions this current fiscal year.
Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence, vice president of the Senate and chair of the judiciary committee, said the committee will be busy reviewing various legislative proposals and plans to take action on the domestic violence bills as soon as possible.
Photo by KHI News Service Sen. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican, says creating a less-restricted class of foster families would encourage more Kansans to foster children in need of care. –
Removing regulations on some families looking to take in children in need of care could help solve the state’s shortage of foster families, proponents say. But it also could jeopardize millions in federal foster care funding.
Sen. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican, spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee about Senate Bill 410, which would create a foster care category known as CARE families. CARE families wouldn’t be reimbursed, Knox said, but also wouldn’t have to meet licensing requirements that foster families do.
They would, however, have to pass a background check and participate in regular training and meetings with other CARE families.
If a CARE family chose to home-school its children, the Kansas Department for Children and Families would pay it the average state aid per pupil that the school district would receive if the child had been enrolled. Creating a less-restricted class of foster families would encourage people who don’t want government interference in how they care for children, Knox said.
Often, foster parents feel more like “babysitters,” he said.
“They’re restricted so much in how they can help these children,” he said. “What these children need is a substitute parent.” The fiscal note on SB 410 said the bill could jeopardize the more than $20 million in federal funding Kansas receives for foster care.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires states to establish one rate for each type of foster care placement. If HHS concluded CARE families were the same as foster families, it could declare Kansas out of compliance and pull foster care funding, the note from the Kansas Division of the Budget said.
The fiscal note estimated about $214,332 in costs for four employees to screen and monitor CARE families.
It also said that if families chose to home-school, the $4,102 in annual state aid the children’s school district would have received would be transferred to a fund for CARE families.
Homes with ‘deficiencies’
CARE families would consist of a couple who have been married at least seven years and who don’t allow anyone in the home to use tobacco or alcohol.
Both spouses would have to have at least a high school diploma, and one couldn’t be employed outside the home. The bill didn’t specify the couple’s sexual orientation, unlike a similar bill Knox introduced in 2015. Many foster children come from homes with “deficiencies,”
Knox said, such as those with a single parent or parental substance abuse. It is in a child’s best interest to be placed with a stable, married couple, he said. “We’re not talking about whether single-parent homes meet kids’ needs, or homosexual rights, or moms working outside the home,” he said.
It also would require the family to be “actively, regularly socially involved in their local community” but didn’t specify the frequency of social activity. The 2015 bill specified the family would have to participate in a weekly activity — which opponents alleged was a way to give preference to families that regularly attend church— and would have paid a higher rate to those families than to other foster families.
Jaime Rogers, interim director of prevention and protection services for DCF, submitted testimony noting the possibility of losing federal funding.
She also suggested that the bill should include language to specify how DCF would determine if parents are complying with the CARE family requirements.
Two people submitted testimony raising concerns about requirements for CARE families.
Kathy Winters, whose grandson was placed in foster care instead of with her, said she supported the bill as a whole, because it would remove financial incentives for foster families.
But she said single retired individuals should be considered alongside married couples.
Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, submitted neutral testimony.
He said the requirement that couples be married for seven years would exclude Kansans in long-term same-sex relationships, while allowing same-sex couples who had married in states that legalized gay marriage earlier and heterosexual couples to participate.
Allowing one-year ‘host family’
The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 394, known as the Supporting Families Act. The bill would allow parents to execute a power of attorney with a “host family” to care for a child for up to one year.
It could be extended one year, or for the time a parent is on active duty if he or she is in the military, without being considered abandonment under state law.
The power of attorney wouldn’t allow the host parents to give consent for a child to marry or to get an abortion, or for the parents’ rights to be terminated. Host families wouldn’t have to be licensed as foster homes.
Current law allows parents to execute a power of attorney for 90 days, though longer terms are rarely penalized unless the family comes to DCF’s attention for another reason.
Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a Republican from Shawnee, said the bill would ensure families wouldn’t be penalized for setting up a power of attorney. Allowing another family to take custody of a child during a crisis could prevent that child from ending up in foster care, she said.
“This bill is simply meant to give families more confidence that they’re not going to be breaking the law by helping out another family,” she said.
Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A coalition of voting rights groups have sued a federal elections official who required residents of Kansas, Alabama and Georgia to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote using a national form.
