Today has a chance to be nominated for the perfect weather day.
Today’s high will be 72 degrees, and there will be sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service.
A calm wind will become southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon, the weather service said.
Tonight, skies will be clear with a low of 47.
On Thursday, expect mostly sunny skies with a high of 71, according to the weather service. A light south southeast wind will increase to 5 to 9 mph.
The weather service said Thursday night’s low will be around 45.
There is a 30 percent chance of rain on Friday, the weather service said. The high will be near 66. Precipitation totals should be less than a tenth of an inch, according to the weather service. Friday night’s low will be 43.
Saturday, expect mostly sunny skies with a high of 62, according to the weather service. Saturday night, the low will be 39.
Sunday’s forecast is sunny with a high near 68, and Monday’s high will be near 72, the weather service said. The low Monday night will be around 39.
Tuesday, the temperature will fall a bit to a high of 55, according to the weather service.
Nathan Barnes, who ended up one vote shy of advancing to the general election after the canvass of votes Monday, has now formally asked for a recount, which will be conducted on Wednesday. (Staff file photo by Mary Rupert)
Nathan Barnes, a candidate for Unified Government commissioner, 1st District at large, who came in one vote short of going on to the general election, has filed for a vote recount today, Election Commissioner Bruce Newby said.
Newby said the recount will be conducted at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 11, at the Election Office, 850 State Ave.
After the recount, the Board of Canvassers will meet soon, and he will try to convene them on Friday, to certify the vote recount, he said. It will be the board’s decision whether to accept the recount numbers or not. He added he will not release the vote recount until after the Board of Canvassers has certified it.
In the canvass of votes, the official certified total that was announced on Monday, March 9, was Melissa Bynum, 1,129 votes; Mark Gilstrap, 1,105 votes; and Nathan Barnes, 1,104 votes. Only the top two go on to the general election.
The number of votes changed slightly at the canvass, because 43 provisional votes were counted, but the outcome of the election did not change Monday. Another 24 provisional votes were not counted by the Board of Canvassers.
Barnes, a UG commissioner for 18 years from the 1st District, paid a $2,730 bond in order to ask for a recount today, Newby said.
The recount will cover all the ballots that were cast for the UG Commission 1st District, at large contest, Newby said. It totals 62 precincts, about 5,000 ballots. It will be a recount of every ballot cast in that contest, he said.
Newby said the cost of the recount is less than what has been previously charged. When he first started, he estimated the cost of a recount at $6,000, and a few years ago, it was $3,500, he said. He said he has pinpointed the costs of the recount, as allowed under state law, to include items such as the cost of personnel to do the recount, a special board, temporary employees and other costs outlined under the law.
Newby said Barnes has requested the recount to be done by hand. The election night vote count was done by optical scan readers, a machine count, he said.
Newby said his previous experience with recounts is that the election results were “dead-on.”
“I’m not saying at this point the numbers won’t change, but I sure don’t expect it to happen,” he said. “If it does happen I will want to know why.”
“But I have never found the machines to be off, only people,” Newby said. “It was the reason we went to voting machines in the first place, because people couldn’t count.”
Another issue was raised at the canvass on Monday, and Newby said he asked for a legal opinion on a question that was raised by another candidate. BPU candidate Thomas Gordon brought up the issue of an “objections board.”
Newby said that he received a legal opinion after the meeting that the statute quoted by Gordon applied only to the nomination process and not the conduct of the election. The statute does not apply to the normal procedures for challenging an election, which include either asking for a recount or a contest of an election in court, Newby said.
Newby said he has to start sending ballots out for the April 7 general election soon. The ballots can’t be printed until the primary election results are final.
by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College will hold a Health Insurance Fair later this month to help people understand their options when it comes to purchasing health insurance.
The Health Insurance Fair is from noon to 2 p.m. March 26 in the deli area of Lower Jewell. It is free and open to the public.
“Many times it can be confusing to look at it online,” said Kim Morgan, nurse at KCKCC, of health insurance. “This will allow people to meet with companies and brokers who will introduce them to insurances of all types as well as costs.
Morgan said many individuals might have missed the opportunity to enroll during the enrollment time for healthcare.gov as the site closed Feb. 15. However, the government is re-opening the site for a short period from March 15 through April 30. According to healthcare.gov, individuals can still enroll for 2015 coverage if they do not owe a fee for not having coverage in 2014, have not already enrolled in 2015 coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace or did not realize until after Open Enrollment ended last month that the health care law requires individuals to have health coverage.
“That is another reason to have the insurance fair, so some of those questions can be answered,” she said. “It is beneficial for the students to attend the insurance fair to obtain the necessary knowledge for insurance.”
This year, taxpayers will be responsible to pay $95 per person or 1-percent of their yearly household income (whichever is higher) if they did not have health insurance in 2014 or did not go to healthcare.gov and register, showing they did not qualify for insurance. Next year, that penalty will increase to $325 per person or 2-percent of the yearly household income. If individuals do not have coverage in 2016, they will pay the higher of these two amounts – 2.5 percent of the yearly household income or $695 per person. The penalty for not having health insurance is paid on federal income taxes.
Insurance companies will be on hand during the insurance fair to answer questions and assist individuals in signing up for insurance. Companies that will be attending include Coventry, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Amerigroup, among others.
“KCKCC is hosting this event to educate our students and community to assist in their growth and knowledge in healthcare,” Morgan said. “This will allow individuals to become their own advocate in caring for themselves by having the knowledge to make a more informed decision.”
For more information on the Health Insurance Fair, contact Kim Morgan at 913-288-7683 or visit Room 3363.
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
