NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3A
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2005
CORRECTION
PRESS in
An article in Tuesday's The University Daily Kansan contained an error.The headline should have said "Med Center plans hospital expansion."
ON CAMPUS
Gillian Sorensen, senior adviser and national advocate at the United Nations Foundation, is giving a speech called "The United Nations and the United States: Controversy and Opportunity" at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union.
♦ The Office of New Student Orientation is holding an information session about becoming an orientation assistant from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Courtside Room at the Burge Union.
STUDENT SENATE
BY JOHN JORDAN
jjordan@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Exchange gives students options
Students shopping for used textbooks no longer have to rely on friends, bookstores and the Internet. Now they can check the Kyou portal for other students' used books. Beginning Tuesday, students can post textbooks for sale online at students. ku.edu. Although students can't buy the books online, the exchange will function as a classified ad system
She said the site would help her find used textbooks and avoid buying new ones. Although Clement said she spent about $300 for textbooks, she said her roommate spent $800 on books.
"I think it’s really cool," said Kristina Clement, Lawrence sophomore.
Clement said that she would take a look at the site and that she hoped enough students used it to make it successful.
The site, which arranges books by department, lets students post the book, a description and a price. Books can be on the site for 10 days. Students leave their e-mail addresses for contact.
A previous book exchange system, which Senate implemented, was shut down two years ago because of low demand and misuse, said Hannah Love, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senator. Love, Dodge City sophomore, said students weren't using the site appropriately. Books posted on the new site must be approved by the Student Senate Academic Advisory Board.
Love said she and two other members of the board would check the site daily to approve books. Only books that are approved will be available. Love said the exchange
gave students another option to find books. She said she hoped it would catch on. "We want to keep it simple," Love said.
She said she hoped the site's location on the Kyou portal would give the site more visibility for students. The previous site was available through a link at the University's Web site.
Love said the goal was to see if the site was effective and then to expand services, such as letting students search by book title.
— Edited by Patrick Ross
Newly split
Reed Saxon/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jessica Simpson, left, and husband Nick Lachey arrive at the 31st Annual People's Choice Awards, in this Sunday. Jan. 9 file photo, in Pasadena, Calif. After months of rumors, denials and salacious magazine covers, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are parting ways, the couple jointly announced Wednesday.
LEGISLATURE
Kansas has deficit despite high revenue
BY JOHN MILBURN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — In a typical budget year, increasing revenues would be good news for people looking for a few more dollars to expand government programs or take care of long-neglected needs.
But state budget officials say despite a glowing economic forecast for the coming months, this year's budget is going to be anything but typical.
For starters, many of the bills that legislators delayed are coming due during the next budget year beginning July 1 — the budget year lawmakers will be looking at when they return to the Statehouse in January.
How big are the bills? About $226.4 million, slightly more than the $221 million in additional revenue the state expects to collect through mid-2006.
Looking at the big picture isn't much better. Kansas will collect $5.22 billion during the next budget year but spend $5.27 billion
That means lawmakers must dip into reserve funds to make ends meet.
The brutal fact is absent cuts in
services or higher taxes, something has to give.
"There's not a lot that we can back away from," said House Appropriations Chairman Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls.
The latest revenue estimate on Nov. 3 does mean that legislators will have money in the bank, but there isn't enough money for pay increases for state employees or boosting their health insurance plan.
"There is reason for hope and optimism in view of the challenges," said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dwayne Umbarger.
State law requires legislators to hold 7.5 percent of each budget in reserve.
However, legislators have relied on those reserves to pay for ongoing operations and additional school spending.
Kansas should have 9 percent, or $467 million, in the bank as of June 30.2006, falling to 7.8 percent or $410 million a year later.
But that level falls significantly in 2008, eroding by $170 million.
"We've been using the rainy day fund 365 days a year, even though it's not raining," said Umbarger, R- Thayer.
AGRICULTURE
Production increase hurts farmer's pockets
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA — High costs for fertilizer, fuel and irrigation are expected to take a heavy toll on Kansas farmers next year, with agricultural economists projecting incomes to plummet nearly 37 percent from 2004 for dryland farms across the state.
The forecast is even more grim for irrigated crop farms, where high energy costs to pump water are expected to cut net farm incomes by nearly 91 percent in 2006, a study showed.
"This is a dire situation facing production agriculture," said Dusti Fritz, chief executive officer for the Kansas Wheat Commission. "Where production agriculture is unique is that producers cannot pass on these additional costs they are seeing in their inputs to anybody else."
Kansas State University economists worked up the projections on Oct. 31 to show lawmakers in Washington, D.C., the magnitude of the impact of high energy costs on agriculture as more farm states clamor for an emergency farm energy assistance package.
The university's forecast is based on farms in the Kansas
Farm Management Association, typically the state's larger, fulltime operations.
The study predicts income will drop $20,450 from 2004 to 2006 for Kansas dryland farms and $50,209 for irrigated farms.
"It is not a pretty picture," said agricultural economist Kevin Dhuyvetter, one of the study's authors.
Across all farms, the impact of higher fuel and other related input prices increased costs $9.28 per acre for Kansas farms in 2005, compared with the previous five-year average, the study found. An additional $7.24-per-acre increase is expected for 2006.
To absorb the impact from increased production costs, land rent prices would need to decrease $12.82 per dryland acre and $47.59 per irrigated acre, the study found.
"We have told people they need to talk to your landlord to see if they will back down. ... We might not see a lot of rents go down, but I'm pretty sure we are not going to see them go up," Dhuvetter said.
At the same time, farm states such as Kansas are aggressively lobbying lawmakers to provide emergency assistance to farmers.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
Meeting with Guest Speaker Eric Carter State Representative & Candidate for Commissioner of Insurance
KU College Republicans
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 @7:30 pm Kansas Room, Kansas Union Come learn about opportunities to get involved in campaigns next semester!
LAN (Legislative Advocacy Network) Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 30th 4:00-5:00pm
Regionalist Room, 5th Floor Kansas Union
Learn how student can:
1) Stop tuition hikes
2) Get fair apartment leases
3) Get control of your tuition dollars
4) Find solutions to other problems facing students
PAID FOR BY KU
funded by:
SUBMIT
SENATE
Mentoring In the Lives of Kids is hosting its annual Holiday Party on November 30th from 2-5pm in the Hawk's Nest & Ballroom of the Kansas Union
Over 500 kids are expected to attend and we need your help. If you would like to help volunteer, please e-mail us at milk@raven.cc.ku.edu or call 864-4072. See you there!
Center for Community Outreach
November 28,2005
Center for Community Outreach
Engaging building empoyees
Music Mentors is having a recital!
Come enjoy free performances by Music Mentor volunteers and their students from Lawrence Junior High Schools!
Help support the youth in the community and their musical endeavors November 30th @ 5:30pm Spencer Art Museum Courtyard
Center for Community Uuireach
nagaling ng ulogan, animasyon
Environmental Studies Student Association invites you to attend a Roundtable Discussion on...
RECYCLING & RESOURCE CONSERVATION
November 29th 7:00-8:30pm Pine Room, Kansas Union
*Event is open to students, faculty, and staff of the University and the Lawrence Community
Hair Trade Holiday Market
[Ecumenical Christian Ministries 1204 Oread]
November 25-December1
1-8pm daily