HIALEAH, Fla. (AP) — The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has sued a Miami-area mayor who tried to pay a $4,000 fine with 28 buckets filled with pennies and nickels.

The commission also doubled the fine imposed on Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, saying he intentionally broke the rules by sending them 360,000 coins on Nov. 6 even though he knew the panel only accepts checks.

According to a statement from the commission, a hearing on the complaint filed in small claims court is scheduled Dec. 9.

The commission ruled in July that Hernandez lied about his charge of usurious interest rates on a $180,000 loan to a jewelry salesman now jailed for a pyramid scheme.

El Nuevo Herald reports that Hernandez has called complaints against him a “political circus.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says Kansas has to make changes to address concerns over the state’s water supply.

 

Today’s adventure, 600 water folks at Governors conference, Manhattan, KS, to talk to about Art. Not nervous honest pic.twitter.com/41bfKC0EjX

— Sans facon (@sans_facon) November 18, 2015

Brownback told about 600 participants in the state’s annual water conference Wednesday in Manhattan that the time has come to make changes to extend life of the underground Ogallala Aquifer and to rehabilitate silted reservoirs to preserve the state’s water resource.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Brownback says he intends water preservation to be part of his legacy as governor.

He also says wells that enable irrigation of crops, withdrawal for business use and pumping for the drinking supply were depleting the aquifer at an unsustainable rate and that work begins soon on a $25 million project to dredge the John Redmond Reservoir, which has lost considerable water storage capacity to silt.

GREAT BEND – Authorities have released the identity of the man who was shot and killed in Great Bend on Sunday.

Aron Villegas, 23, Great Bend, died in a shooting at his home on Lakin Avenue, according to Barton County Attorney Doug Matthews.

On Sunday morning, police were called to the residence where they found Villegas suffering from gunshot wounds. He later died at Great Bend Regional Hospital.

The Great Bend Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are interviewing witnesses.

When completed, the results of the investigation will be presented to the Barton County Attorney.

 

ATCHISON –A student at Benedictine College was in custody for allegedly posting a threatening message Tuesday night on social media.

Collen A. Carey, 18, a freshman student at the school from Colorado is facing charges of a felony for aggravated criminal threat.

Benedictine College in Atchison, was placed on alert Tuesday night after receiving word of a threat to the college community.

On Facebook, college officials said they became aware of the threat on the anonymous social media Web site Yik Yak.

 

Benedictine College became aware of a threat on Yik Yak tonight. Additional posts indicate it is a hoax, but campus remains on alert status. — Benedictine College (@BenedictineKS) November 18, 2015

 

Benedictine College ALL CLEAR – Police have the person who posted a threat on Yik Yak in custody. Classes are in session as scheduled.

— Benedictine College (@BenedictineKS) November 18, 2015

Benedictine spokesman Steve Johnson says security was stepped up on the campus after the comments were posted. Classes were held as scheduled Wednesday on the campus, which is located about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City.

Recent threats on YikYak also led to arrests of students at Northwest Missouri State University and the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents has discussed the issue of racial tension on university campuses amid heightened conversation at the University of Kansas.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the topic was brought up by University of Kansas student body president Jessie Pringle, who was threatened to be ousted along with two other officers last week for what critics called their lack of response to diversity complaints.

Pringle, who is also chairwoman of the Regents Students’ Advisory Committee, encouraged the board and university representatives to take the issue of creating inclusive campuses seriously.

Board chairman Shane Bangerter says he supports an environment that allows everyone to “feel safe and welcome.”

He says changes will most likely occur at the campus level because the Board of Regents sets broad policy and doesn’t dictate details to universities.

CHEROKEE, Okla. (AP) — A magnitude 4.7 earthquake rattled northern Oklahoma and many areas in Kansas early Thursday.

According to the National Earthquake Information Center, the quake happened at 1:42 a.m. and was centered about 8 miles southwest of Cherokee.

Vance radar indicating birds taking off earlier this morning just after the Earthquake. #kswx pic.twitter.com/TT7v5d3I4b

— NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) November 19, 2015

 

Preliminary magnitude of the earthquake at 142 am was 4.7, centered 13km SW of Cherokee, Oklahoma. — NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) November 19, 2015

 

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake, which was felt in 9 states.

Two other earthquakes were reported later Thursday: a 3.1-magnitude temblor at 3:46 a.m. and a 3.7-magnitude quake at 6:03 a.m. Both were centered 9 miles south-southwest of Cherokee, which is near the state’s border with Kansas.

National Earthquake Information Center geophysicist Randy Baldwin says Oklahoma has seen more than 20 magnitude 4 quakes this year.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita again needs a new director.

Richard Moore, president of the museum’s board of directors, told The Wichita Eagle that Daniel Bateman, who started in May 29, has left the museum. Bateman’s last paid day was Friday.

Bateman said Tuesday he’s pursuing job leads, but also says he’s more concerned with his family and medical issues his mother is having in Colorado.

Bateman replaced Lon Smith, who announced his resignation in March. Smith had been the museum’s director for seven years and is now president of the Wichita Independent Business Association.

A search committee is being formed and a national search will begin for the museum’s new director.

LINDSBORG, Kan. (AP) — Bethany College has selected a committee to find the college’s next president.

The Salina Journal reports that the college’s board of directors on Tuesday announced the selection of a search firm and presidential search committee.

Edward Leonard III announced his resignation six months ago to take the same position at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama. He had been Bethany’s president since 2007. Robert Vogel has been serving as interim president since July.

Sean Patty, vice chairman of the board of directors, says the committee will begin meeting in January, and the search is expected to run through May.

Bethany is a private, liberal arts college with about 600 students.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys who filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn a Kansas voter registration law are seeking to make the suit a class action.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach suspended the pending registrations of more than 36,000 would-be Kansas voters earlier this year until they provide proof of insurance. Former Lawrence Rep. Paul Davis and William Lawrence, an attorney in Davis’ law firm, filed a suit Sept. 30 lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction.

They filed an amendment Tuesday for class action status.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the plaintiffs are two Douglas County residents who applied to register to vote in December and March. Kobach filed a motion last week saying the lawsuit was moot because he had registered the two after pulling their birth certificates from Kansas Vital Records.

ELLSWORTH COUNTY- One person was injured in an accident just after 7:30p.m. on Wednesday in Ellsworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Nissan passenger vehicle driven by Nichole Elizabeth Prunty, 32, Fenton, MO., was eastbound on I-70 just east of Kansas 14.

The vehicle struck a deer that approached from the north side of the roadway.

A passenger Blake Lee Stroh, 34, Fountain, CO., was transported to Ellsworth County Medical Center.

Prunty was not injured. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A plan at the University of Kansas to require “inclusion and belonging” training for everyone on campus is drawing criticism from some Republican legislators.

Several said Wednesday they worry the training will become an effort to squelch conservative thought.

Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said that won’t happen and such training is common among businesses.

Lawmakers’ concerns could complicate the university’s sometimes-rocky relationship with the GOP-dominated Legislature as it faces tough budget decisions and potential spending cuts.

The university and the surrounding community of Lawrence are viewed across the state as liberal political bastions.

Diversity training is among the demands from the student protest group Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk.

The university says it is creating an advisory team to produce an “action plan” by mid-January that will cover “mandatory education.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A stronger economy and lower gas prices mean Thanksgiving travelers can expect more congested highways this year.

During the long holiday weekend, 46.9 million Americans are expected to go 50 miles or more from home, the highest number since 2007. That’s according to travel agency and car lobbying group AAA. That would be a 0.6 percent increase over last year and the seventh straight year of growth.

The figure is still 7.3 percent short of the 50.6 million high point reached in 2007, just before the recession.

Like on every other holiday, the overwhelming majority of travelers — almost 90 percent — will be driving. And they will be paying much less at the pump. AAA says the average retail price for gasoline is now $2.15 per gallon, 74 cents cheaper than the same time last year.

Airlines for America, the lobbying group for several major airlines, forecasts 25.3 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines, up 3 percent from last year. Airfare is basically flat compared to last year, with a mere 0.3 percent or 69 cent average increase, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp., which processes ticket transactions for airlines and travel agencies.

WASHINGTON, DC – Frustrated with a lack of intelligence concerning President Obama’s plan to relocate terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the mainland, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today demanded answers from the Secretary of Defense about the consequences to national security of such a move. Roberts is a former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Audio of Senator Roberts’ remarks can be found here.

“There has been no comprehensive intelligence analysis of security risks or alleged benefits to the American people should detainees held at Guantanamo be relocated to the mainland,” Roberts said. “How can the Administration decide that moving these terrorists is in our best interests if we do not have an analysis of the threats? With both the American people and the Congress opposed to this executive action, how is the President reaching this decision?”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday testified before the House Judiciary Committee and said, “With respect to individuals being transferred to the United State, the law currently does not allow for that. And that is not, as I am aware of, going to be contemplated given the legal prescriptions.”

“The Congress has banned the transfer of detainees, the American people, and more especially Kansans are opposed to the effort, President Obama’s own Attorney General says that it would be against the law, and there has been no comprehensive intelligence analysis of what this executive action would do to American communities or to our overall war against terror,” Roberts said. “Because neither national security nor the wishes of the American people have determined this course of action, we can only conclude that closing GITMO is to fulfill a campaign promise and add to the President’s alleged legacy. And it is a mistake.”

Earlier this month Senator Roberts started an online petition to allow Kansans to voice their opposition to President Obama’s attempts to close Guantanamo Bay by Executive Order and bring terrorists to Kansas or anywhere else in the United States. Those interested may sign the petition here