8A * THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
STATENEWS
WEDNESDAY JAN. 23,2002
December unemployment rates decrease
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — Holiday hiring helped push Kansas' unemployment rate down in December, but the effects of the slowing economy will likely raise the jobless rate next month, state officials said.
December unemployment stood at 3.7 percent, down from 4 percent in November, the state Department of Human Resources reported Tuesday. Nationally, December's unemployment rate was 5.8 percent.
Bill Layes, chief of labor market information, said December unemployment had fallen from November's rate in 18 of the past 20 years.
"Trade employment is a large factor in the December rate," Layes said, noting that 1,500 temporary workers were hired for the
holiday season.
December's figures did not reflect the hundreds of layoffs planned by Kansas manufacturers and the airline industry, Human Resources Secretary Richard Beyer said.
"We are aware of the mass layoffs that have been announced, but most of these layoffs had not yet occurred at the time the statistics were gathered," Beyer said.
Layes said January would probably bring a "rather sharp" increase in unemployment as temporary holiday workers were shed and the string of manufacturing layoffs began to emerge. About 400 layoffs were figured into December's rate.
The biggest jump in joblessness is expected in Wichita, with the layoffs of 250 workers at Bombardier Aerospace and 5,000 from Boeing's commercial
aviation division. Boeing hopes to offset some of those losses by hiring some workers in its military division to fill orders for 737 tankers for the Air Force.
The department said 1,382,246 Kansans held jobs during December, while 53,625 were actively seeking work. In 2000, Kansas ended the year with 1,398,954 people working and 46,324 seeking jobs.
December's jobless rate compares with 3.2 percent in 2000, a contrast with a yearlong trend of improving employment.
"This leads us to say that Kansas has been feeling the effects of the national slowdown," Beyer said. "However, we are confident that Kansas will begin to bounce back during 2002."
But Senate President Dave Kerr was skeptical.
"The conventional wisdom is
that the economy will bounce back,but conventional wisdom is usually wrong," said Kerr, R-Hutchinson.
A slowing economy has contributed to state's budget crunch, marked by an expected $426 million gap between revenues and spending in the fiscal 2003 budget.
Kerr has said that legislators should not expect the economy to rebound enough to generate tax revenue to solve the problem.
Layes said historically Kansas lagged behind the rest of the nation in feeling the effects of a recession and subsequent recovery. However, with advances in technology, that lag is not as long as it once was, often pegged at six months.
"My personal feeling is that we will see some recovery in the spring," Layes said.
Court systems voice budget complaints
The Associated Press
TOPEKA - In many county courthouses across the state, the district court clerk's office closes over the lunch hour or during the afternoon.
Shorter business hours give workers a chance to catch up on filing, preparing warrants, drafting notices and other paperwork.
For years, court clerks, their workers and judges have worried about crowded calendars and increasing work loads.
For years, Supreme Court chiefjustices have told legislators that they weren't providing enough money for the judicial branch's operations.
And for years, legislators, though sympathetic, didn't provide the money the Supreme Court said was necessary.
Sixty and 90-day hiring delays became common. Chief Justice Kay McFarland even went two
months last fall without a legal assistant, making her the only state chief justice or judge in the nation without one.
But now McFarland and other judicial branch officials appear to have the attention of Gov. Bill Graves and the Legislature.
She and other judicial branch officials have been warning that unless Graves and legislators came up with more money—and quickly—district court offices could be forced to take extra days off and give their employees unpaid leave time.
Graves responded by including extra money for the judicial branch among his legislative initiatives, even as the state faces serious budget problems. Senate Republican leaders who outlined proposals that called for cutting most agency budgets planned to exempt the judicial branch.
McFarland is pleased that
Graves and legislators are listening, but she wants them to follow through.
"We're in terrible shape," she said.
Judicial problems may not be apparent from looking at raw budget numbers. During the past 15 years, the court system's budget has grown by 80 percent, to $78.9 million in the current 2002 fiscal year, from $43.9 million in fiscal 1987.
Legislators approved an increase of 0.7 percent, or $529,000, for fiscal 2002. Two years ago, they allowed the Supreme Court to increase docket fees, to raise extra money.
Also, the number of judges has increased over the past 15 years, from 216 to 234, as well as the number of non-judicial workers, from 1,301 to 1,433. That's an 8 percent increase in judges and 10 percent increase in other workers.
Not all legislators are convinced the judicial branch has a serious budget problem.
"They seem to have a lot of efforts to lobby for more money," said Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler.
Yet Graves and many legislators say the state has been short-changing the court system.
"Our judiciary including local district courts, is strained and limited by the resources we have been providing." Graves declared in his State of the State address.
Some of the court system's budget problems stem from conditions unique to the judicial branch. The courts' budget is heavy on personnel costs.
ine state spends about $932 million each year on employee pay, or 21 percent of its general fund revenues.
Tape gives viewers glimpse of hostages in Phillipines
The Associated Press
The American public received a firsthand look at the treatment a Kansas missionary couple has received while held hostage in the Philippines.
Gracia and Martin Burnham looked gaunt, and she fought back tears during excerpts of an interview aired on CBS's 48 Hours television news program Monday night.
"This is no way to live," Gracia Burnham said. "There is no way to take care of yourself. Last night, I woke up with severe chest pains and there's nothing you can do. You just lay there and you're in pain. You can't sleep."
The Wichita couple were surrounded in the jungle by armed
members of the Abu Sayyaf, the militant Muslim group holding the couple hostage in the Philippines since May. The footage was taken from an interview originally aired on a Filipino cable station late last year.
Meanwhile, activists Monday held a candlelight vigil on the capitol building grounds to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Burnhams. The couple's family planned to watch the news segment.
Gracia Burnham told Filipino journalist Arlyn de la Cruz that she was always hungry and has sores from poor nutrition.
"Each time they release someone," Gracia Burnham said, "they tell us. We're going to go out and we're going to tell your story. You're going to be out of
"This is no way to live. There is no way to take care of yourself."
Gracia Burnham
here really soon.' And then the weeks pass and the months pass and then another hostage goes out and 'We're going to tell your story.'
The couple's family has urged the government to work for their release. U.S. Special Forces
hostage
Cruz, now a CBS consultant, is a reporter for Philippine TV's Net 25. She traveled in disguise to the Basilan island where the Burnhams are being held.
troops have arrived to help train Filipino soldiers battling Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. The group has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network.
The U.S. forces aren't there to fight — that is forbidden by the Philippine Constitution — but some could end up in combat zones. Although they would be observers, they would still be allowed to carry arms in self-defense.
Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told 48 Hours there were no longer any links between al-Qaida and the Abu Sayaf. She also claims that the terrorist group rarely talked about Muslim rights any more.
"It's all about money," she said.
Legislature's elections don't promise thrills
The Associated Press
Even those who promote campaigns acknowledge it's true: "Most of the congressional races are going to be pretty boring," said State Democratic Party Chairman Tom Sawyer.
WASHINGTON - This election year will bring intense competition to Kansas politics, but not among the delegation to Congress.
After indications otherwise, former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman will not challenge Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts for re-election. Republican Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt will not run for governor. Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore, always a top GOP target, lacks a big-name challenger.
Compare the field to the governor's race, which features three politicians holding statewide office, or the contest for attorney general, where two well-known Republicans already are trading jabs.
Six months or so ago, the future looked more competitive for Roberts and the four Kansas House members.
Glickman had surprised friends and foes alike by declaring his interest in a U.S. Senate bid, and his friend and fellow Democrat Moore was facing the possibility of a challenge from the state Republican Party chairman, Mark Parkinson. Moran, the Republican front-runner for governor, was deciding whether to jump in, and Tiahrd hadn't ruled out the race, either.
Currently, the race to succeed Republican Gov. Bill Graves looks like this: Attorney
General Carla Stovall and State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger are vying for the GOP nomination while Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius is the probable nominee on the Democratic side. Wichita Mayor Bob Knight may further crowd the Republican field.
Federal Election Commission reports are due out Jan. 31, but some in the delegation have already revealed the size of their campaign war chests.
Moran, who bowed out of contention for governor Sept. 17, will report campaign cash-on-hand of $600,927. Moore's report will show that he banked $580,640, nearly $80,000 more than he had at the same point in his last campaign. Roberts expects to report at least $685,000 cash on hand, and Tiahrt will report having socked away more than $406,000.
Republican Rep. Jim Ryun said he could not yet provide his numbers.
In the Wichita-area 4th District, immigration lawyer Carlos Nolla will try to improve his 42 percent showing in his 2000 challenge of Tiahir, who won a fourth term with 54 percent of the vote.
It remains to be seen which Republican will emerge as Moore's challenger in the 3rd District of metropolitan Kansas City.
Those running for the GOP primary include Overland Park plastic surgeon Jeff Colyer, who dropped out of the primary in 2000, and a political newcomer, pilot Adam Taff. Sprint executive Bill Grassie also is considering the GOP race.
The Associated Press
Witchita school keeps controversial book
WICHITA—A book about an 11-year-old boy with an abusive, alcoholic father will stay on the shelves of the Haysville Middle School library.
Parent Megan Waegener had challenged James Stevenson's The Bones in the Cliff, maintaining that sections of the books were inappropriate.
A committee of parents, teachers and administrators decided to keep the book but make it off-limits to Waegener's child, said Sandy Bradshaw, district spokeswoman.
The book is not part of the district's curriculum, she said.
"I think it's ridiculous," Waegener said. "I think it should be removed."
The father of main character, Pete, is hiding from a mob hitman. In one part, Pete sees some prostitutes on the street, something he has never seen before.
Bradshaw said parents could appeal the committee's decision to the school board. Waegener said she had not decided whether she would pursue the issue further.
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