6A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2002
Kansas waits on rulings
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — The Kansas attorney general's office still doesn't expect to get any money out of Colorado anytime soon in the long-running dispute over the Arkansas River.
And some Kansas legislators are frustrated.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that Colorado diverted millions of gallons of river water to which Kansas was legally entitled. That decision came 10 years after Kansas sued, claiming Colorado violated a 1949 river compact.
Last year, the court ruled Kansas is entitled to money as well as water from Colorado. But since then, the two states have been arguing before a special court-appointed master over how much.
Colorado's figure for monetary damages is between $20 million and $25 million, while Kansas puts the number at $53 million. Kansas has spent roughly $17
million on the lawsuit.
John Campbell, senior deputy attorney general, said the master's next report to the justices isn't expected until the fall of 2003 — months after the 2003 fiscal year ends.
"In litigation, you never really know how fast it's going to go." Campbell said.
Campbell spent a half-hour Monday with members of the Legislative Budget Committee, briefing them about the state's lawsuit against Colorado and another against Nebraska over the Republican River. That session was closed to the public.
The chairman, Sen. Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said he is frustrated by the delay in getting the case resolved, adding, "It just seems like it's taking forever."
Another committee member, Rep. Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, said: "Colorado hired the best lawyers money can buy to stall. If they were inclined to get it settled.
it could be done relatively quickly."
In Denver, Joan Padilla, assistant attorney general, said Colorado officials anticipate a ruling from the special master by year's end.
"There is still a significant issue as to the amount of money to which the state of Kansas is entitled," Padilla said.
But a 1996 Kansas law limits how the state could spend money received from Colorado to litigation costs and water conservation projects.
Neufeld said for people in his area, an increased flow of water is more important than money.
Any resolution of the lawsuit with Nebraska over the Republican River appears years away. Kansas filed it in 1998, and another special master has yet to rule on Kansas' claim that Nebraska allowed the river to be depleted as it flows into north-central Kansas.
cooking and the punk rock do-it-yourself aesthetic.
Pirate House
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"When I moved in there were shows every week and a weekly vegan pot luck dinner on Thursday nights," Desmond said. Pirate House residents personally booked and promoted all the bands that played the residential venue.
Desmond said that when the bulk of the politically and socially conscious residents moved out, the replacements proved to be more interested in partying than in booking and promoting shows in their home.
Mike Tuley, now a University of Missouri - Kansas City student, booked the Locust show, which spilled over into the street and blocked traffic. The November 2001 show drew a crowd of about 500 fans, the attention of the landlord and police cruisers.
"They played on the porch and it was so insanely loud that the police were there in six minutes. My friend timed it," Tuley said.
News of the event reached landlord Betty Crow, who then met with the residents to inform them of new rules regarding gatherings. Crow said that no more than 10 people could convene at the house at one time from then on, but changed the rules after reading about the house in Student Senate's Disorientation Guide.
In 2002, few shows were scheduled, and with poor attendance, residents began to have disagreements. The house was in poor condition. In late May, the residents of the Pirate House went their separate ways.
"At first it was just three or four punk kids in a house who liked to spray paint on the walls and have shows." Turley said. "It was real tongue-in-cheek at first, but I think that feeling was lost in the end."
Over an almost three-year period, the four-bedroom Pirate House grew into a seven-bedroom shelter that played host to more than 30 residents. The residents moved on, but Crow was not sure if the house would recover.
"The walls, ceilings and all the fixtures were trashed. We reid a whole bathroom after stripping it down to the studs. Every room had to be painted." Crow said, trailing on into a long list of repairs.
Cleaning began when a group of more than 40 activists and friends of former Pirate House residents who were in town for a national anarchists convention labored for two days to clean the home in exchange for squatters rights during the July gathering.
New tenants moved into the house in August while repairs were still under way.
"We've still got a lot of work to do," Crow said. "But the old tenants probably can't believe the difference."
Desmond said the home has gained a certain amount of notoriety in the punk underground.
"There are still people who come through town looking for the Pirate House," Desmond said, "and I just tell them they missed it."
Contact Vennard at mvennand @kansan.com. This story was edited by Adam Pracht.