FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Sunday liquorsales are in question
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Kan — Voters in this border city have said "yes" to allowing Sunday sales at liquor stores, even though state law technically still saws "no."
Officials of the local government think they can make a strong argument that technically, the state law has long been construed incorrectly.
For years, Kansas legislators have rejected measures that would repeal the state's ban on sales of packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. And for just as long, many retailers have cheated at the ban, especially in communities bordering states that allow Sunday sales.
Commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., decided in August to ask voters whether Sunday sales should be
allowed at liquor stores. By a 60 percent to 40 percent margin, voters on Tuesday approved the measure.
In Edwardsville, also located in Wyandotte County, the City Council in August unanimously approved a charter ordinance allowing its one liquor store to open on Sunday.
Those actions put the two cities on a collision course with the state Department of Revenue's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. Officials of the division have said they did not believe cities could exempt themselves from the statewide ban.
The ban is a provision of the state Liquor Control Act, adopted in 1949 after Kansas abandoned prohibition.
Now, in light of Tuesday's vote, the division is consulting with the attorney general's office on the issue.
"We will respond" to the election, said Lisa Kaspar, a spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue. "We just want to make sure we're in line with the direction they (the attorney general's office) want to take."
Unified Government officials' argument stems from a provision of the Kansas Constitution allowing cities to exempt themselves from certain statutes, such as those that do not apply uniformly to all cities.
Because the Liquor Control Act contains some statutes that do not apply to all cities, the Unified Government officials contend, cities can exempt themselves from the act, including the ban on Sunday sales.
Spokesman Don Denney said the Unified Government anticipated that the state would take some kind of action against the measure.
"However, we ... are confident that we will be able to follow through with the voters' wishes in the end," Denney said. "We don't know how long that's going to take."
The association that lobbies on behalf of the state's liquor stores has not embraced the city's initiative.
That is because selective observance of the Liquor Control Act's provisions by local governments would create problems for liquor store owners, said Amy Campbell, executive director of the Kansas Association of Beverage Retailers.
However, she said, the association would not necessarily oppose Sunday liquor sales. The association opposed the latest legislative attempt to lift the ban only because it would have applied only to convenience and grocery stores, not liquor stores.
Feds drop complaint against sniper supsect
The Associated Press
FAIRFAX, Va. — With another set of state indictments returned against the sniper suspects, officials dismissed a federal criminal complaint yesterday against John Muhammad.
A statement by federal prosecutors in Greenbelt, Md., didn't make clear why they took the action, including whether that means they were deferring to state prosecutors.
A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move clears the way for a possible federal indictment to supersede the criminal complaint or the possible transfer of Muhammad and John Lee Malvo to state authorities for trial on murder charges.
The official would not confirm whether either possibility was
imminent but said an announcement on the developments was expected later yesterday.
Meanwhile, Capt. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the Maryland state prison system, said Muhammad and Malvow were taken from a Baltimore prison yesterday to court. She did not know where they had been taken or why.
Calls to Muhammad's attorney, James Wyda, weren't immediately returned.
The order dismissing the federal counts against Muhammad did not specify where U.S. marshals were to take him. The original complaint listed 20 firearms, extortion and interstate commerce counts against Muhammad. Charges pending against Malvo, 17, have not been made public because of his age.
Group urges shoppers to avoid Gap for holidays
The Associated Press
An international student group started a campaign that urges shoppers to avoid Gap clothing stores this holiday season by placing ads yesterday in newspapers at several leading universities.
The United Students Against Swatshops said it is acting in response to anti-union activity at factories manufacturing Gap products in El Salvador and South Africa.
Ben McKean, the group's spokesman, said Gap suppliers in those two countries have used physical harassment, termination and blacklisting to impede organizing efforts.
He called the group's action a
two-month "holiday campaign" meant to convey a message from the foreign factory workers to the American public. McKean said the effort is not a boycott, which he characterized as a movement that continues indefinitely.
A Gap spokeswoman declined comment, referring to a section of the company Web site on "ethical sourcing," where the retailer pledges to promote fair treatment for workers by the vendors who make Gap clothing.
The organization will assess the effectiveness of the campaign early in the new year to determine if it will continue, McKean said.
"All of us at Gap Inc. want factory workers to be treated with dignity and respect," a statement on the site says.
Army inquiry cites separation stress, marital problems
The Associated Press
FORT BRAGG, N.C. Five killings this summer involving couples at Fort Bragg were probably due to existing marital problems and the stress of separation while soldiers are away on duty, Army investigators said yesterday.
The conclusions were in the summary of a report from a 19-member team, including mental and physical health workers and military clergy, who visited the base in August and September.
The investigators also said military culture discourages soldiers and their families from seeking help when domestic problems can potentially be resolved.
The team also said the anti-malaria drug Lariam, given to troops sent overseas, was unlikely to have been at fault.
Side effects of the drug, also known as mefloquine, have been known to include psychotic episodes.
Two of the men committed suicide and the other two are charged with murder.
Authorities say four Fort Bragg soldiers killed their wives in June and July.
In a fifth case, a woman is charged with killing her husband, a Special Forces major.
Three of those cases involved Special Operations soldiers who had served in Afghanistan.
military leaders, doctors, leaders of family support groups, military and civilian law enforcement, and civilian public health officials.
They also conducted focus groups with soldiers, spouses and other people on the post.
The report found family support groups were inconsistent in the help they provided and the Army's program for soldiers returning from deployment also varied from unit to unit.
The full report was to be released late yesterday.
Soldiers from Fort Bragg, the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, have figured prominently in ground operations in Afghanistan.
Investigators interviewed
About 45,000 soldiers are stationed at Fort Bragg and about 5,000 families live on base. Another 21,000 military families live in nearby communities.
Local police have said the couples involved in each of the killings had a history of marital problems.
After the killings, the military announced that soldiers will be screened for psychological problems before they leave Afghanistan.
Commanders will be ordered to watch out for symptoms of depression and anxiety among their troops.
Officials also are developing an intervention policy to protect spouses from domestic violence.
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