A daily digest of headlines from KCUR.
- Taxi Drivers Sue Kansas City
- A Boost For Metro North
- Kansas Looks To Tighten Fracking Rules
- Kansas Republicans At Odds Over Undocumented Worker Program
- Congressional Redistricting Lawsuit Wraps Up
Taxi Drivers Sue Kansas City
A collection of Kansas City cab drivers has sued city government in federal court trying to overturn the ordinance that regulates taxicab operation. Drivers allege the current rules keep them from striking out on their own and favor the nine existing taxicab companies. Learn more here.
A Boost For Metro North
A Metro North Shopping Center area revitalization initiative won some help from the city of Kansas City Thursday. The city council gave formal approval to a Metro North Area Community Improvement District, allowing a one-cent sales tax devoted to improvements. Read more of the story here.
Kansas Lawmakers Look To Tighten Fracking Rules
A controversial oil and gas drilling process is on the rise in Kansas. Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a process used to get more gas and oil from wells. But critics of the process are concerned it poses environmental hazards, specifically, the potential to pollute air and groundwater. A Kansas House committee is considering a bill giving the state the option to more tightly regulate the process. More on the story here.
Kansas Republicans At Odds Over Undocumented Worker Program
A pro-business, pro-immigration bill introduced in the Kansas legislature yesterday pits traditionally Republican business leaders against the hardline anti-immigration Secretary of State and maybe the Republican governor as well. The bill creates a state-sanctioned program that would allow undocumented immigrants to work legally in Kansas for two years at a time to address chronic labor shortages at feedlots and dairies. Read more here.
Congressional Redistricting Lawsuit Wraps Up
Closing arguments were heard today (Thursday) in the lawsuit over Missouri’s new congressional district map. Debate centered around whether the so-called Grand Compromise Map passed by lawmakers last year meets the State Supreme Court’sdefinition of compactness. Read more here.