THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2007
NEWS
STUDENT SENATE
3A
Failed referendums return Transportation bills reintroduced in committee last week
BY ASHLEE KIELER
Two failed referendums to increase student transportation fees still have the possibility of being passed.
The special election held on Feb. 14 and 15, which would have increased student fees $35 each semester, failed to get 10 percent of the student body vote for it to be considered a certified election.
According to the election commission's Web site more than five percent of the student body voted. The first referendum would have increased student fees $20. The money would have gone to KU on Wheels to buy environmentally friendly buses and the second referendum would have increased fees by $15 and would have eliminated KU bus passes.
In an attempt to have the transportation bill passed in full Senate, the bill was reintroduced to Senate
committees last Wednesday. A bill must pass two committees before it can be heard in full Senate.
University Affairs Committee received the bill, where it was passed.
The bill then went to the finance committee where it was ruled out of order.
"When a committee rules a bill out of order, they believe, in this specific case, that it could not be heard due to Senate rules and regulations," said Mike Wellems, student finance committee chair.
According to the regulations, because less than 10 percent of the student body failed to vote, the referendum was considered defeated. A defeated motion can't go back through Senate without revision. The possibility still exists for the bill to reach Student Senate.
The Student Senate Executive Committee, which meets before each full Student Senate meeting.
has the power to appeal the finance committee's decision on the transportation bill.
StudEx could pass it. Then it would have two committees approval and be heard in full Senate, said Adam Hurly, StudEx Secretary.
Andrew Payne, StudEx Chair,
said the executive committee would
review if the bill presented last week
was the same as the previous bill that
held the referendums.
If the bill is deemed different, there might be a possibility that it could be passed by the executive committee and seen tonight in full Senate or sent back to the committees for the next legislation cycle. Payne said.
Kansan staff writer Ashlee Kieler can be contacted at akieler@kansan.com.
— Edited by James Pinick
» AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Chrysler planning employee buyouts
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Chrysler Group will offer some of its 49,600 hourly U.S. workers at select plants up to $100,000 to leave the company as part of a recovery plan announced earlier this month.
the company, which lost $1,475 billion in 2006 and said it expected losses to continue through 2007, said on Feb. 14 that it intended to shed 13,000 jobs, including 11,000 hourly positions and 2,000 salaried, as it tried to further shrink itself to match reduced demand for its products.
A company document obtained by The Associated Press outlines an early retirement program for those near retirement age and a buyout
program for those with at least one year of seniority with the company
The offers were reported earlier Tuesday by The Detroit News.
Under the buyout offer, workers would receive a pretax lump sum payment of $100,000 plus six months of medical and vision coverage in exchange for their departure.
The early retirement package includes a $70,000 payment, health care benefits and whatever pension a worker was eligible for based on age and years of service.
According to the document, the United Auto Workers union and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group reached agreement on the offers, which are not as lucrative as some made to workers leaving
Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. under restructuring plans.
"UAW members are once again stepping forward to make hard choices," union President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement. "Now it's up to DaimlerChrysler to move the company forward, by using the skill and dedication of our members to deliver quality vehicles that customers want to buy."
The offers come as Chrysler tries to reduce production by 400,000 vehicles per year.
Early retirement offers will go to facilities targeted for cuts, including a plant scheduled for closure in Newark, Del.
Of the production job cuts, 9,000 are in the U.S.
》 ENTERTAINMENT
Jackson mulling offers to perform in Las Vegas
ASSOCIATED PRESS
pressure to make a quick decision.
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson is "reviewing and evaluating' proposals for his future including several offers to perform in Las Vegas, his spokeswoman said Tuesday, but he doesn't feel any
promise to make a quick decision. Raymone K. Bain confirmed that, after a period of globe-trotting, Jackson is currently living in Las Vegas.
"Mr. Jackson has been presented numerous proposals" proposals which he has not solicited, but
were presented to him, several of which include performing in Las Vegas," Bain said in a press release. "Mr. Jackson is currently reviewing and evaluating each proposal. He does not believe that he is under any time constraint for making his decisions."
Roping 'em in
Kaia Larsen/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Katia Larson/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerry Solesbee ropes a calf Tuesday on his property in Greenwood, Ariz., as he and his friends practice team roping for a competition this weekend at Coal Hill
GET ANTIBIOTICS FROM YOUR DOCTOR NOT YOUR PORK.
We're serving naturally raised pork that doesn't require a prescription
The pork we serve in Lawrence is free of antibiotics and added growth hormones,fed a vegetarian diet and raised humanely. We think meat raised this way,naturally,tastes better.
Serving naturally raised pork is another step in our ongoing Food With Integrity journey - bringing you the best ingredients from the best sources.
- SERVING NATURALLY RAISED PORK IN LAWRENCE -
6TH & MONTEREY WAY