AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Kan. reporter ordered to testify at murder trial

DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas reporter says she's been ordered to testify at a murder trial about a confidential source, one day after the Supreme Court blocked a similar demand by the same prosecutor.

Dodge City Globe reporter Claire O'Brien says she was handed a subpoena Wednesday evening.

Prosecutors also want information from notes O'Brien took while interviewing Samuel Bonilla, who is charged with second-degree murder.

O'Brien was originally subpoenaed to appear Wednesday before an inquisition, similar to a grand jury. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday granted her a temporary stay.

The new subpoena from Ford County Attorney Terry Malone orders her to testify at Bonilla's February trial.

O'Brien says it's an attempt to bypass the court's ruling. Messages left late Wednesday at Malone's office weren't returned.

------ Panel members on Ex-Kan. AG's case gave to rivals

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Two of the three attorneys reviewing an ethics complaint against former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline made a total of $150 in campaign contributions to candidates who ran against him, campaign finance records show.

One of the attorneys also donated $400 to former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, an abortion rights Democrat who appointed four of the Kansas Supreme Court's seven current justices. The court has the final word on whether Kline will be sanctioned over allegations of misconduct while investigating abortion providers.

The three lawyers comprise a hearing panel for the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys and will make recommendations to the Supreme Court. They are JoAnn Butaud, of Lenexa; Jeffrey Chubb, of Independence; and Calvin Karlin, of Lawrence.

Campaign finance records show Karlin contributed to Sebelius in 2002 and 2003, then donated a total of $100 in 2005 and 2006 to Paul Morrison, a Democrat who defeated Kline when Kline sought re-election as attorney general.

Records show Chubb donated $50 to then-state Sen. David Adkins, one of Kline's Republican primary opponents in his successful 2002 race for attorney general.

"The whole thing from the start is very political," Mary Kay Culp, executive director of the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life, said Wednesday.

------ Kan. senator mulling Democratic bid for governor

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A Democratic state senator is considering a run for governor, and party leaders said Wednesday that his past victories over Republican incumbents would make him a serious challenger.

But the Kansas GOP's chairwoman doubted anyone could defeat the presumed Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback.

State Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, said he'll decide soon whether to seek the Democratic nomination. The candidate filing deadline is June 10 and the state's primaries are Aug. 3.

"Several people have approached me about running for governor," Holland said. "I'm actively considering it."

Brownback is the only Republican actively campaigning. The only declared Democratic candidate is Herbert West III, of Paola, who ran unsuccessfully for Miami County sheriff in 2008 and doesn't have the backing of party leaders.

Democrats have been searching for a major candidate because Gov. Mark Parkinson has said repeatedly that he won't run. Democratic leaders had supported Tom Wiggans, a former pharmaceutical company executive, but he dropped out of the race last month.

------ Settlement approved in Kan. wrongful conviction

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- The Manhattan City Commission has voted to approve a settlement with a man who served 10 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit.

In a meeting Tuesday night, the commission voted to have Mayor Bob Strawn sign the agreement for Eddie James Lowery. He was convicted in 1981 of raping an Ogden woman and served 10 years before DNA proved his innocence.

Manhattan was one of 18 parties sued by Lowery. The entire settlement is worth $7.5 million and Manhattan will be responsible for just over $1.3 million of that amount.

On Wednesday, the Riley County Commission voted to approve paying $356,000 as its part of the settlement, and the county Law Board approved the settlement on a unanimous vote.

The attorney representing Manhattan, David Cooper of Topeka, says the other parties to the lawsuit likely will sign it within 10 days.

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------ Kan. judge says 3 will be tried in teen's murder

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) -- A Johnson County judge has ruled there is enough evidence to support murder charges against three men accused of killing an 18-year-old woman.

The Kansas City Star reports that according to testimony Tuesday in Johnson County court, Keighley Ann Alyea of Overland Park died in September of more than two dozen stab wounds, blunt injuries and a fractured skull.

Eighteen-year-old Dustin Hilt, of Shawnee, 19-year-old Gerald Calbeck of Merriam, and 22-year-old Joseph Mattox of Overland Park, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

Alyea was murdered Sept. 30 after getting a text message from former boyfriend Hilt to pick him up. Her body remained missing until police found it days later in a Cass County field.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

------ Prison officials reviews Kan. budget cuts

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz said Wednesday he's concerned about his department's ability to maintain programs that help prepare inmates for release and monitor them once they leave prison.

Werholtz outlined for the House Appropriations Committee the areas where the agency has been forced to make more than $24 million in cuts in the past year, including programs for education, drug treatment and community corrections.

The corrections system has also eliminated 447 beds by closing smaller facilities, leaving its capacity at 8,870 inmates.

But based on current intake levels, Werholtz said, the system will need additional bed space for male inmates within two years. He said all available space at prisons that remain open has been converted to bed space, so that some closed facilities may have to reopen to safely maintain the system.

"It is unwise to overcrowd prison facilities," he said.

Werholtz said the agency plans an additional $3.8 million in cuts to satisfy the latest reductions ordered by Gov. Mark Parkinson. The biggest cut would be $771,000 for transitional housing for inmates who are reintegrating back into communities.

------ Kan. gets federal funds for 'green' jobs training

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The U.S. Labor Department has awarded Kansas a $6 million grant to train workers for jobs in so-called "green" industries.

Gov. Mark Parkinson announced the grant Wednesday to the 2010 Workforce Summit taking place in Topeka.

Parkinson says the money will help retrain out-of-work Kansans for employment in the renewable energy sector, including energy efficiency.