Without the controversy that accompanied his recent appointment to the Supreme Court, Gov. Matt Blunt on Oct. 10 announced his choices for two of the five current vacancies on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Blunt picked Clay County Circuit Judge James Welsh for a spot on the court’s Kansas City-based Western District and selected former St. Louis County Councilman Kurt Odenwald for an opening on the Eastern District bench in St. Louis.
The governor must make appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from lists of finalists submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. In filling a Supreme Court vacancy recently, Blunt demanded that the three finalists fill out detailed 111-question surveys, which he then made public.
Critics of the governor’s handling of the appointment process said the surveys, which required extensive requests for documentations, were designed to harass and embarrass the finalists. The Court of Appeals candidates were not subjected to the same treatment.
Two vacancies remain on the Western District, with another spot currently open on the Southern District in Springfield. The judicial commission has yet to announce finalists for those posts.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
AUDIT UNCOVERS WASTEFUL SPENDING BY MOHELA
State Auditor Susan Montee on Oct. 11 issued an audit that accuses the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority of a pattern of wasteful spending, including providing excessive and unjustified benefits and severance packages to agency executives, building an $11 million headquarters without bidding the project and procuring numerous other goods and services without soliciting competitive bids.
Montee said the audit’s findings are incomplete because the agency, which services low-cost student loans, refused certain requests for documentation made by auditors. The agency’s refusal is the subject of a pending lawsuit filed by the auditor’s office.
Montee said the audit’s findings are incomplete because the agency, which services low-cost student loans, refused certain requests for documentation made by auditors. The agency’s refusal is the subject of a pending lawsuit filed by the auditor’s office.
GOVERNOR NAMES TWO TO COURT OF APPEALS
Without the controversy that accompanied his recent appointment to the Supreme Court, Gov. Matt Blunt on Oct. 10 announced his choices for two of the five current vacancies on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Blunt picked Clay County Circuit Judge James Welsh for a spot on the court’s Kansas City-based Western District and selected former St. Louis County Councilman Kurt Odenwald for an opening on the Eastern District bench in St. Louis.
The governor must make appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from lists of finalists submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. In filling a Supreme Court vacancy recently, Blunt demanded that the three finalists fill out detailed 111-question surveys, which he then made public.
Critics of the governor’s handling of the appointment process said the surveys, which required extensive requests for documentations, were designed to harass and embarrass the finalists. The Court of Appeals candidates were not subjected to the same treatment.
Two vacancies remain on the Western District, with another spot currently open on the Southern District in Springfield. The judicial commission has yet to announce finalists for those posts.
The governor must make appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from lists of finalists submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. In filling a Supreme Court vacancy recently, Blunt demanded that the three finalists fill out detailed 111-question surveys, which he then made public.
Critics of the governor’s handling of the appointment process said the surveys, which required extensive requests for documentations, were designed to harass and embarrass the finalists. The Court of Appeals candidates were not subjected to the same treatment.
Two vacancies remain on the Western District, with another spot currently open on the Southern District in Springfield. The judicial commission has yet to announce finalists for those posts.
SCHOOL FUNDING LAWSUIT HAS COST $4.6 MILLION SO FAR
A nearly 4-year-old lawsuit challenging Missouri’s mechanism for funding public schools so far has cost state and local taxpayers about $4.6 million, a cost that will increase if the case is appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court as expected.
More than half of Missouri’s 524 public school districts are involved in the case. According to The Associated Press, the districts have spent more than $3.2 million on attorney fees, expert witnesses and other costs. The state has spent at least $1.4 million defending its school funding system.
In August, Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled against the school districts on most counts. He still must rule on certain other issues in the case before it can be appealed.
More than half of Missouri’s 524 public school districts are involved in the case. According to The Associated Press, the districts have spent more than $3.2 million on attorney fees, expert witnesses and other costs. The state has spent at least $1.4 million defending its school funding system.
In August, Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled against the school districts on most counts. He still must rule on certain other issues in the case before it can be appealed.
STATE MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE TO $6.65 AN HOUR
Missouri’s standard minimum wage will increase to $6.65 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2008, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The state’s current minimum wage of $6.50 an hour took effect on Jan. 1, 2007, following voter approval of a ballot measure in November 2006 to boost the wage, which had been set at $5.15 an hour since 1997.Proposition B, which voters passed with 76 percent support, also requires the wage to be adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2008. The pending 15-cent an hour increase in the wage is based on a 2.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index from July 2006 and July 2007.
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