By Steve Bell
Kansas City, MO – The Kauffman Foundation has agreed to pay for finishing the Plaza public library branch. Budget problems forced the branch to open this spring with the lower floor unfinished. Kauffman will provide 2.1 million dollars to build meeting rooms, exhibition areas and an auditorium with at least 350 seats in the space. The Truman library will provide much of the content.
The Missouri Supreme Court today declined to hear a case on whether people can be required to answer background questions to qualify for concealed-gun permits. In doing so, the court basically upheld an appeals court decision that the disclosures are required. Under Missouri's concealed carry law, an applicant can be disqualified for certain criminal convictions or a military discharge under dishonorable conditions.
The court also approved new rules regarding lawyer advertising, including the requirement that ads must tell the public not to select an attorney solely on the basis of an ad. Other changes include prohibition of advertising for types of cases in which an attorney is not experienced, and indicating whether certain types of cases are commonly referred. If previous judgment amounts are included, the ad must have a disclaimer that past record is not a guarantee of future performance.
Methamphetamine busts are down in Missouri and Governor Matt Blunt claims the 55% year-to-year drop indicates that his crime bill got immediate results in its first month. Associated Press notes that the one-time comparison is against a month last year when there was an unusual spike in arrests, and that meth arrests were already down 22 percent before the new law went into effect.