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THURSDAY. APRIL 7.2005
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Students at Douthart Scholarship Hall look at the wreckage in front of the building yesterday afternoon. A car reportedly clipped the front end of a Honda and smacked into a jeep, which then rolled into another car. Allison Sackin, scholarship hall director, said the KU Public Safety Office had information on the car that caused the damage.
Shuttle to launch after slight delay
NATION
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Discovery began its slow creep to the launch pad yesterday after a brief delay caused by the discovery of a crack in the external fuel tank's foam insulation. NASA later said the crack was no reason for concern.
NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye described the flaw as a hairline crack and said that after sending images of it to the tank's manufacturer in Louisiana, the space agency concluded it did not need to make any repairs.
The flaw was discovered as the spacecraft was being readied for the first shuttle launch since Columbia fell to pieces two years ago — a disaster blamed on a chunk of foam.
NASA later said the 1 1/2 inch crack was on a spot that would not hit the vehicle if it flew off.
"It's a very, very tiny crack. Very, very narrow ... well within our experience base," said Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director. "It was an acceptable condition for flight, so we rolled on out and we're going to fly with it just as it is."
The Associated Press
Kansas may limit University funding
LEGISLATURE
BY DANI LITT
dlitt@kansan.com
KANSAN STaff WRITE
The University of Kansas may begin to see less money from the government if the Legislature passes an amendment that would restrict government spending.
Limiting government spending could limit the states' ability to fund the University.
The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR, limits the state government's spending to the change in the inflation plus population growth.
If the government earns more than the amount allowed to collect, it would have to return the extra money to taxpayers.
It would also require a ballot vote for tax increases.
State Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Sedgwick) introduced House Bill 5015 on Feb.24.
For the last 30 years, state spending has grown three times faster than the average Kansan's wages, she said.
The Kansas chapter of Americans for Prosperity is also in favor of the amendment, according to its Web site.
But the idea of voter approval for tax increases and limited government spending does not come without consequences.
TABOR caused many problems for higher education in Colorado, said Carol Hedges, an analyst with the Colorado Fiscal Policy Center. She is also the author of Ten Years of TABOR, a study analyzing the effects of TABOR in Colorado.
Colorado saw a dramatic reduction of money available for higher education, she said.
"We are losing professors, it is taking students longer to graduate, buildings that are in bad shape cannot be repaired and the universities are unable to provide pay increases to faculty and staff," she said.
Some University officials are also wary of the bill.
Steve Munch, student body president, said he heard about the negative effects of TABOR when he spoke with the student body president of the University of Colorado at the Big 12 Student Government Conference in October.
"I hope it doesn't happen because it would mean bad things for KU and higher education as a whole," Munch said.
Colorado governor Bill Owens was a big supporter of TABOR, but he recently suggested Colorado take a five-year break from it because of its effects on public services — including higher education. Hedges said.
Owens also suggested there be some changes to how TABOR is implemented when it is reinstated, Hedges said.
Owens asked a conference committee to complete work on the Economic Recovery Act and planned to send it to voters in November, according to an article published March 29 in the Fort Morgan Times.
Hedges said that while she thinks the five-year hiatus from TABOR is a positive step, she does not believe it will solve the problem.
"We know that most of the problems stem from the inflation plus population formula," she said. "It didn't work ten years ago, it isn't working now, and we have no reason to believe it will be any different in ten years."
Although the Kansas TABOR bill is modeled off of Colorado's, Landwehr said it has been improved upon and shouldn't be compared to Colorado's TABOR.
The Kansas TABOR bill would have three major differences: An emergency fund, a budget stabilization fund, and it would ease the ratchet-down effect, which would allow TABOR to remain at the pre-erecession line if there was a recession.
She said about 17 other states had introduced similar amendments. It was introduced in New York last week.
A two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate is required before the bill could be placed on a ballot.
Landwehr said she expected the House to vote on it next year, but that the Senate is not interested in the issue.
Edited by Jennifer Voldness
CORRECTIONS
- Yesterday's University Daily Kansan contained an error. The article, "Students react to parking lot crime," referred to Taylor Price as a he. She is a woman.
ON THE RECORD
ON CAMPUS
- A 23-year-old KU student reported a $200 quadcycle, a four-wheeled bike, stolen between 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday from the 1300 block of Tennessee Street to Lawrence police.
♦ The Spencer Museum of Art will sponsor a night of Classic Surrealist Cinema at 7 p.m. today at the SMA auditorium. Call 864-4710 for more information.
♦ Ecumenical Christian Ministries will sponsor a Veggie Lunch 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. today at the ECM, 1204 Oread Ave. Contact Sarah Dees at 856-2957.
- Student Union Activities will offer Tunes at Noon, a free live-music show, noon tomorrow at the Kansas Union plaza. Call 864-SHOW for more information.
♦ The Center for East Asian Studies will sponsor a screening of the film "Tae Guk Gi (The Brotherhood of War)" at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Spencer Museum of Art auditorium. Call 864-4710 for more information.
Theater will sponsor two one-act plays by undergraduate students at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Inge Memorial Theatre in Murphy Hall.Call 864-3982 for more information.
CAMPUS
Japan scholar to discuss book about U.S.-Japan relations
John Nathan, the filmmaker who showed the world how Colonel Sanders invaded Japan one chicken wing at a time, will speak at 7:30 Monday night at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
Nathan will be discussing his latest book, "Japan Unbound: The Unraveling of U.S.- Japanese Relations."
The audience will get a look at Japan today, which is a nation that is going through difficult political, cultural and economic times, said Bill Tsutsui, history professor.
Nathan is a professor of East Asian studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
He has written several books about Japan, including "Mishina: A Biography," "Sony: The Private Life" and "Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose."
— Neil Mulka
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