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

Friday, November 27, 2009

Judge declares mistrial in Mo. murder case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has dismissed murder charges against a Kansas City man because a police detective made comments in his testimony that could have prejudiced the jury against the defendant.

Issuing his decision Wednesday, Circuit Judge Robert Schieber said prosecutors cannot retry 25-year-old Markus D. Lee on charges connected to the March 2007 drive-by killing of Eliseo Thomas.

The judge ordered that Lee -- who had been in custody since the incident -- be released

Prosecutors have not determined if they will appeal Schieber's ruling and Kansas City police said they would reserve comment until they have reviewed the judge's written order, which was expected to be released Monday.

Schieber granted a mistrial after police Detective Danny Phillips mentioned before jurors during cross-examination Nov. 12 that he had met Lee before, implying that the defendant had a criminal past. That could have prejudiced jurors against Lee, the judge said.

The judge said he believed the detective made the comment intentionally because the case was not going well for the prosecution and he hoped it would lead defense attorneys to request a mistrial.

------ State considers cleanup plan for fertilizer plant

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- State officials said the cost of removing pollution at a former fertilizer plant will cost $13 million over three decades -- and it is not clear who will pick up the bill.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Wednesday closed a 30-day public comment period on a draft cleanup plan for the former Farmland Industries facility east of Lawrence. Officials said they expected a final plan to be filed in the next 60 to 90 days.

They are hoping that having road map to removing toxic substances at the plant will increase interest from buyers who want to develop the 500-acre property for commercial or industrial use.

"Anybody interested in purchasing the property will now know what our expectations are for cleaning up the property," said Rick Bean, a KDHE section chief who is overseeing the cleanup plan.

What the plan -- called a Corrective Action Decision -- has found is that it will cost $13 million over 30 years to remove high levels of nitrogen and ammonia that have contaminated the soil and groundwater at the site.

That's far more money than was set aside for cleanup costs during Farmland Industries' bankruptcy.

------ Staff ideas used to save money at Newton hospital

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A Newton hospital has been recognized for saving $1.7 million over the past year by using ideas suggested by staff members.

The Kansas Hospital Association recently gave Newton Medical Center its 2009 Thomas R. Sipe Challenge award. The medical center shared the award with Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute.

Newton's vice president for physician services, Val Gleason, says employees submitted 121 ideas as part of a "Show Me the Money" campaign and 62 were put into practice.

Among the ideas was getting rid of redundant operating room supplies routinely kept on hand and swapping out products for cheaper alternatives.

The hospital is next looking to improve how it does things and evaluates performance.

------ Tight credit slows down Kan. business development

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- It's harder, much harder for businesses and entrepreneurs to find financing in Wichita and across the nation.

A year removed from the national economic collapse, the commercial credit cycle in Wichita has tightened so much after aviation layoffs that good deals aren't getting done.

It's enough to frustrate everyone -- bankers, brokers and developers -- as commercial development slows to a crawl with no turnaround in sight.

"I'm turning down deals, good deals that I know we should be doing," said Jeff Ronen, president of Kanza Bank's east Wichita office.

"I am of the opinion that lending standards aren't going to loosen over time like they have in the past. We're all going to remember how this thing happened, and it's going to take a whole new wave of young bankers for this credit to loosen."

The bottom line: Sources say there's little or no credit available in Wichita for retail, office and condo development. There's some financing available for multifamily housing since vacancy rates are low, but that's about it.