Month: April 2017

Storms in forecast for this evening and night

Wyandotte County is in an area where there may be moderate rain, but not large hail, tonight. (National Weather Service graphic)

The National Weather Service said residents may expect rain throughout the day, with storms in the forecast this evening and tonight.

There is a possibility of some streams flooding through the area this evening, the weather service said.

Isolated flash flooding also is possible, according to the weather service.

The most severe weather may be south of Wyandotte County, and south of Highway 50, according to the weather service. One-inch hail may be the primary concern of a severe storm.

Frequent lightning is possible south of I-70, with occasional lightning north of I-70, with this storm, according to the weather service. Winds may gust from 30 to 40 mph. Total rainfall could be 1 to 2 inches.

Light to moderate rain will persist in the area through Wednesday afternoon, and local streams could see some flooding into the late part of the week and into the weekend, according to the weather service.

Currently, the Kansas and Missouri rivers in Kansas City are well below flood stage, according to hydrology charts. Stranger Creek at Easton, Kansas, is in minor flood stage, and the Platte River at Sharps Station, Missouri, is near flood stage. The Fishing River at Mosby, Missouri, is near flood stage, as is the Missouri River near Napoleon, Missouri.

Today, according to the Wyandotte County forecast, there will be a 60 percent chance of rain, mainly between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The high will be near 56 with a northwest wind of 6 to 9 mph, becoming northeast in the afternoon.

Tonight, there is a 100 percent chance of showers with a low of 43, according to the weather service. The northeast wind will be 13 to 20 mph, gusting as high as 32. New precipitation amounts will be between 1 and 2 inches.

Wednesday, there is an 80 percent chance of showers, mainly before 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 52, with a north wind of 17 to 20 mph, gusting as high as 37 mph. Between a quarter and half-inch of rain is possible.
Wednesday night, the low will be around 39 with partly cloudy skies and a northwest wind of 6 to 10 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, skies will be sunny with a high near 57, the weather service said. A north northwest wind of 8 to 14 mph will gust as high as 25 mph.

Thursday night’s forecast is clear with a low of 35, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be sunny with a high near 61, the weather service said.

Friday night, expect mostly clear skies and a low of 47, according to the weather service.

Saturday, skies will be mostly sunny with a high near 72, the weather service said.

Stream flooding and isolated flash flooding is possible, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)

Lightning, wind and rainfall are possible with tonight’s storms. (National Weather Service graphic)

Legislative update from Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist.

Rep. Pam Curtis

by Rep. Pam Curtis

Sadly, the vote in the Kansas House this morning failed to override the governor’s veto of the Medicaid Expansion Bill.

A total of 84 yes votes were needed to override the veto. The vote was 81 to 44 so it failed by only 3 votes. See more below on what took place last week.

The Legislature has a busy week ahead as we approach first adjournment or “Drop Dead Day” on April 7th. No bills will be considered after this date except bills vetoed by the governor, omnibus appropriations act and omnibus reconciliations spending limit bill. The Legislature will reconvene on May 1st for the Veto Session.

It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I both value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 452-S, Kansas Statehouse, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at 785-296-7430 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can email me at [email protected]

Medicaid expansion bill

Two weeks ago, the Kansas House passed a Medicaid expansion bill that would help cover more than 150,000 Kansans without insurance and aid our numerous hospitals and clinics whose budgets have been slashed multiple times over the last few years.

This week, the bill hit the Senate floor with the Medicaid expansion amendment, and passed. The bill was sent to Gov. Brownback, who vetoed the expansion bill on Thursday morning.

The veto brought the Medicaid expansion bill back to the House floor later Thursday morning, where a debate ensued over whether to override the veto. In the end, the bill was tabled until this week. This means the debate will continue and the vote will occur when it’s reintroduced on the floor.

It will be a close vote on the veto override. The Kansas House needs 84 votes in order to override. If an override does happen, the bill will go back to the Senate for an override vote. The Senate needs 27 votes to override a veto.

And sadly as noted above the effort to override the governor’s failed by only 3 votes this morning.

This past week on the House floor

It was a busy week on the House floor, as we passed multiple bills. Some of these are listed below. You can find more about the week in the House at http://kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/chamber/house/journals/2017/3/.

HB 2273: an act concerning consumer protection; relating to the Kansas no-call act; restricting use of automatic dialing-announcing devices.

SB 36: an act concerning the state corporation commission; relating to motor carriers, definitions, registration.

HB 2047: an act concerning the office of inspector general.

HB 2306: an act concerning the Kansas sexually violent predator act; relating to examinations; transitional release; conditional release.

SB 112: an act concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating to evidence; videotaping of certain felony, custodial interrogations; domestic battery; creating the crime of aggravated domestic battery; controlled substances; unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia; burglary; expungement; arrest records.

H Sub for SB 40: an act concerning human trafficking and related crimes; creating the crimes of unlawful use of communication facility, promoting travel for child exploitation, internet trading in child pornography and aggravated internet trading in child pornography; relating to training for commercial driver’s license applicants; sexual exploitation of a child; buying sexual relations; commercial sexual exploitation of a child; offender registration’ expungement of juvenile adjudications; victim compensation.

Sub SB 74: an act concerning persons needing assistance with cognition; relating to motor vehicle, placards, identification cards; state-issued identification cards and driver’s licenses.

H Sub SB 101: an act concerning crime victims; relating to protection orders; protection from abuse act; protection from stalking act; sexual assault evidence collection examinations and parental notification; the crime victim’s compensation board and claims for compensation.

SB 124: an act concerning the care of children; relating to the Kansas family law code; child custody, residency and parenting time; evidence of domestic abuse; relating to the revised Kansas code for the care of children; rules of evidence; admissibility of certain test results.

HB 2319: an act concerning abortion; relating to the women’s-right-to-know act; relating to certain physician information to be disclosed.

Mexican citizen sentenced to 35 years for drug trafficking

A Mexican citizen unlawfully in the United States was sentenced Monday in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, to 35 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

In July 2016, a federal court jury found Juan Antonio Herrera-Zamora, 33, guilty on one count of attempted possession with intent to sell methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to sell methamphetamine and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Herrera-Zamora gave instructions via telephone to two men who drove 26 pounds of methamphetamine to Kansas from Oklahoma hidden in a spare tire of their car.

Herrera-Zamora met the men at a Super 8 in Lenexa. His girlfriend accompanied him and there was a baby in the backseat of his car. He hid a gun in the baby’s diaper bag. He took the keys to the car and drove it to a tire shop in Kansas City, Kansas, where the tire was removed and cut open. He was arrested at that location.

Herrera-Zamora filed a sentencing memorandum seeking a lesser sentence and citing his upbringing in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. “Mr. Herrera-Zamora comes from a low-income background and realized a great accomplishment by coming to this country when he was about thirteen years old,” the memo said.

Prosecutors cited Herrera-Zamora’s criminal record, starting with a conviction at 17 on two counts of theft and a later drug conviction, followed by twice being deported.

Beall commended the Drug Enforcement and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel for their work on the case.