TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalJackson County has paid John Q. Ebert $2 million over the last five years to fix its assessment
Jackson County has paid John Q. Ebert $2 million over the last five years to fix its assessment problems. What exactly has he been doing?The Jackson County reassessment debacle of 2013—the one that sent more than 15,000 angry property owners scrambling to file appeals—was supposed to be the tax bill failure to end all failures.
Turns out, it was just a tune up. This year’s reassessment notices have already generated nearly 35,000 appeals, a class action lawsuit, calls for state investigations, and a growing wrath among citizens.
“It’s just a disaster,” says Curtis Koons. “An absolute disaster.”
He would know. As Jackson County’s assessor in 2013, Koons took the fall for that year’s problems and resigned. Since he left, two more assessors have come and gone, along with most trained appraisers.
Through five years of upheaval, the one constant in the county’s assessment department has been the presence of John Q. Ebert, consultant.
Read more: https://www.thepitchkc.com/jackson-county-has-paid-john-q-ebert-2-million-over-the-last-five-years-to-fix-its-assessment-problems-what-exactly-has-he-been-doing/
Why is KCP&L and Westar--now Evergy--so committed to coal plants when wind could save ratepayers
Why is KCP&L and Westar—now Evergy—so committed to coal plants when wind could save ratepayers hundreds of millions a year?A report released earlier this month found that Evergy’s Kansas coal fleet lost $267 million in a four-year span relative to pricing for market energy, and predicted another $847 million loss over the next 20 years.
Evergy—the new corporate name of KCP&L and Westar, which merged last year—provides power to eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Its coal fleets account for nearly ninety percent of the remaining coal power in Kansas.
The report, which was compiled by the grassroots environmental organization Sierra Club, compares the production and operative costs from Evergy’s coal units to the reported energy market price per each hour the coal plants operated.
Sierra Club found that Evergy could save millions by switching use of its remaining coal plants to renewable energy, such as wind and solar sources, which are expected to remain priced below market energy costs. Kansas is one of the nation’s leading producers of wind energy.
Read more: https://www.thepitchkc.com/why-is-kcpl-and-westar-now-evergy-so-committed-to-coal-plants-when-wind-could-save-ratepayers-hundreds-of-millions-a-year/
Truman Medical Center lab and tech workers escalate fight to unionize
Following a rally out in front of Truman Medical Center’s Hospital Hill Campus on August 13, the hospital’s lab and tech workers have filed an unfair labor practice charge against TMC with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The filing comes after TMC’s CEO Charlie Shields failed to respond to a letter a delegation of workers delivered to his office the day of the rally. Employees also alleged an escalation of anti-union tactics from the hospital’s management team since the rally.
The week after the rally, specimen receiver Sheltta Ross, who’s worked at TMC for 13 years, was called into a one-on-one meeting with her manager and disciplined. Ross previously spoke to The Pitch about the experiences that prompted her desire for a union, and she was a vocal participant of last month’s rally.
“It was very intimidating and made me fear I’ll lose my job,” Ross says. “I’ve never done anything less than meet or exceed expectations in my performance reviews in my 13 years here, but once I start advocating for a union so we can improve our jobs and patient care, I am targeted? I feel this is direct retaliation.”
Read more: https://www.thepitchkc.com/tmc-lab-and-tech-workers-escalate-fight-to-unionize/
Wendy Doyle, head of the Women's Foundation, is rooted in hope and humility
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At the helm of the Women’s Foundation, Wendy Doyle has found her voice, one which amplifies Missouri’s women.
Doyle has led the Women’s Foundation as its president and CEO for six years. She’s somewhat of a juxtaposed character: She’s small in stature but fearlessly advocates for women’s involvement and recognition; she has a storied career, focused on tangible results, but is quick to stress humility is one of her guiding principles in life.
“I really want women to use their voice to talk about what’s important and not hold back,” Doyle told The Missouri Times from the foundation’s office in the Crossroads neighborhood of Kansas City. “There’s a role for everyone, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on, to step up and be a part no matter where you are. That’s what we want to see — more civic engagement, attention to the issues, informing, educating, questioning — so we can have a role at the policymaking table.”
The Women’s Foundation began in 1991 and services Missouri as well as Kansas. Its mission is focused on addressing economic issues women face, as well as promoting self-sufficiency. In particular, the foundation — comprised of only six staff members — has homed in on paid family leave, pay equity, and promoting women entrepreneurs in Missouri, according to Doyle.
Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/64702/wendy-doyle-head-of-the-womens-foundation-is-rooted-in-hope-and-humility/
Big money begins flowing to campaign to expand Medicaid in Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY — A campaign to convince voters to expand Medicaid in Missouri quickly ramped up its fundraising this week.
At the same time a coalition of health care professionals publicly announced the launch of the campaign, the organization’s campaign arm received more than $1.4 million in contributions.
The lion’s share of that money came from the Kansas City-based Health Forward Foundation, which provides grants in the region aimed at ensuring low-income and uninsured people receive access to health care.
One check for $750,000 came directly from the foundation. Another nearly $400,000 was from the foundation, but routed through a separate political action committee.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/big-money-begins-flowing-to-campaign-to-expand-medicaid-in/article_ea2f9f49-f9cb-5d3d-b9e9-d5a47b552250.html
Women facing restrictions increasingly seek abortions out of state
ATLANTA — At a routine ultrasound when she was five months pregnant, Hevan Lunsford began to panic when the technician took longer than normal, then told her she would need to see a specialist.
Lunsford, a nurse in Alabama, knew it was serious and begged for an appointment the next day.
That’s when the doctor gave her and her husband the heart-wrenching news: The baby boy they decided to name Sebastian was severely underdeveloped and had only half a heart. If he survived, he would need care to ease his pain and several surgeries. He may not live long.
Lunsford, devastated, asked the doctor about ending the pregnancy.
“I felt the only way to guarantee that he would not have any suffering was to go through with the abortion,” she said of that painful decision nearly three years ago.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/women-facing-restrictions-increasingly-seek-abortions-out-of-state/article_801d5cbe-7189-53ea-a4ea-5af862a5c718.html
Greece must restore its credibility, new prime minister says
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece's prime minister said financial reforms such as reducing taxes, fighting bureaucracy and attracting investment must be implemented before the country asks its creditors to agree to lower budget surpluses.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis laid out his economic program for the coming year during a speech at Greece's largest trade fair on Saturday.
The conservative prime minister said his priority is quickly putting policies in place to fast-track stalled projects, attract more investors and help restore Greece's credibility.
Mitsotakis promised to reduce taxes, especially on lower incomes, cut the dividend tax to 5% from 10%, cut corporate tax to 24% next year, and eventually 20%, from 28% and other measures he said would boost economic growth. He reminded his audience he cut property taxes an average 22% just a month after winning an election on July 7 and unseating the previous, leftist government.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Greece-must-restore-its-credibility-new-prime-14421892.php
Proposal for distributing millions in El Paso victims' funds released for public comments
The organization established to allocate millions of dollars in donations for victims and survivors of the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso has released a proposal on how to distribute the money.
Families of the 22 people who died in the El Paso Walmart mass shooting would get the largest allocation from the victims' fund, and people who were injured or had psychological trauma would get lesser amounts under draft protocols for allocating the money.
Twenty-five people were wounded and hospitalized after the shooting.
One Fund El Paso, which was established by two El Paso foundations to allocate donations still coming into the foundations' victims' funds, is now taking public comments on the protocols, which are scheduled to be revised and made final by Oct. 2, said Stephanie Karr, One Fund El Paso coordinator.
Read more: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2019/09/05/el-paso-shooting-victims-fund-allocation-proposal-released-for-public-input/2221799001/
Lawyers say the Texas judge who presided over this Jewish death row inmate's trial later called him
Lawyers say the Texas judge who presided over this Jewish death row inmate's trial later called him anti-Semitic slursby Chase Karacostas, Texas Tribune
Lawyers for "Texas Seven" gang member Randy Halprin, who is Jewish, requested a stay of his execution set for Oct. 10 amid allegations that the judge who handled his case in 2003 made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench.
In a filing Thursday, Halprin's lawyers accused former criminal court Judge Vickers Cunningham of describing Halprin using expletive-laden anti-Semitic comments after the trial ended. The Dallas Morning News also reported during Cunningham's 2018 Republican primary race for Dallas County commissioner that each of his children could only receive an inheritance by marrying a straight, white Christian. During the election, Cunningham acknowledged putting such stipulations in his will. He lost the race by 25 votes.
Halprin is on death row for capital murder in connection to a high-profile 2000 prison escape during which seven inmates went on the run. The group robbed a North Texas sporting goods store on Christmas Eve, and Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins was shot and killed as he responded to that crime. The escaped inmates fled to Colorado, where most of them were arrested in January 2001.
Four of the gang members have already been executed, and a fifth shot himself before police could arrest him. The seventh member is also scheduled to be executed this fall.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/09/06/randy-halprin-says-texas-judge-used-anti-semitic-slurs-after-trial/
Joe Biden will hold Dallas fundraiser after next week's Democratic presidential debate
Joe Biden will be in Dallas for a Sept. 14 campaign fundraiser that will showcase his support from prominent North Texas lawyers and business leaders.
According to an invitation obtained by The Dallas Morning News, the fundraiser is hosted by Dallas lawyer Lisa Blue Baron, former ambassador to the Dominican Republic James W. Brewster and Bob Satawake, Dallas lawyer Russell Budd and Dori Budd, Drs. Lisa and David Genecov, Dallas lawyer Pete Kraus and Lisa Kraus and Dallas lawyer Marc Stanley and Wendy Stanley.
The co-chairs for the afternoon reception are asked to raise $25,000, and individual tickets start at $1,000. If you kick in $2,800, you get a photo with Biden. The reception is closed to the public.
Biden, the national front-runner in the Democratic Party race for president, is making a serious play to win the Texas presidential primary, a contest that could put him on firm footing for the nomination against President Donald Trump.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/09/07/joe-biden-will-hold-dallas-fundraiser-after-next-week-s-democratic-presidential-debate/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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