Lawrence Journal-World 05-24-13

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Free State loses shot at state title Sports 1B

Memorial Day activities abound Lawrence & State 3A

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Senate approves tax package

Show of appreciation on last day

By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

WOODLAWN SCHOOL KINDERGARTNER JOAN CLARK hands teacher Barbie Gossett a bouquet of flowers as students leave school Thursday on their last day.

Former Lawrence resident confirmed to prestigious D.C. Court of Appeals WASHINGTON — After five years of trying, President Barack Obama has placed his first nominee — a Lawrence High School graduate — on a key appeals court in Washington. The Senate voted unanimously on Thursday, 97-0, to confirm Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court is considered the most important in the country after the Supreme Court. Srinivasan is currently

the principal deputy in the Office of the Solicitor General. He has worked in both Democratic and Republican administra- Srinivasan tions and served as a law clerk to former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. In a statement, President Barack Obama praised the

Senate’s approval of Srinivasan, whom he called a “trailblazer who personifies the best of America.� But like Senate Democrats, he also poked Republicans for what he said was the slow approval of his judicial nominations. “While I applaud the Senate’s action, it’s important to remember that this confirmation is the first one to this important court in seven years,� Obama said. “The three remaining vacancies must be filled as well as

other vacancies across the country.� In recent years, the District of Columbia Circuit has been the subject of regular political skirmishes over appointments. Democrats banded together to block President George W. Bush’s nominee to the court, Miguel Estrada, who withdrew his nomination in 2003. Bush had four nominees seated to the court, the

The Kansas Senate, with only Republican support, on Thursday approved a tax plan that will increase taxes by $879 million over the next 5 years. The measure would make permanent the 6.3 percent state sales tax but lower the sales tax on groceries to 4.95 percent. Over the next 5 years, it would also phase out itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest and property tax, and decrease the standard deduction. But it would also lower state income tax rates from the top rate of 4.9 percent to 3.5 percent, and the bottom rate from 3 percent to 2.5 percent. “We see this as an overall tax cut,� said Sen. Caryn Tyson. R-Parker. But Sen. Tom Holland, DBaldwin City, disagreed, saying, “This, make no mistake, is a tax increase.� The combination of the Holland various tax changes will produce $879 million more in taxes over 5 years. Holland said the tax cuts are skewed to the wealthy, with low-income Kansans seeing an increase in their tax burden. But Tyson said the lower food sales tax proposal “does get the money into the hands that need it.� Democrats joined Republicans in approving the lower food sales tax portion of the bill in a unanimous vote. Republican Sen. Jeff Melcher, of Leawood, spoke against the lower sales tax rate on food, saying it would encourage more food purchases and obesity. But then he voted for it. Kansas is one of only seven states that charge the full sales tax on groceries.

Wide divide But Democrats, and some Republicans, parted company with Senate GOP leaders on the rest of the bill, including portions that extend the higher sales tax, reduce the

Please see CONFIRMED, page 2A

Please see SENATE, page 2A

Long-range proposal would widen K-10 and add toll lanes By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com

A long-range plan for future highway projects in the Lawrence-Kansas City metropolitan area suggests that Kansas Highway 10 between Lawrence and Johnson Coun-

ty should become a partial toll road. The plan, released Wednesday by the Kansas Department of Transportation, proposes that in the next 20 years or so, K-10 should be widened to six lanes by adding “high occupancy toll,� or HOT lanes, in each direction.

Business Classified Comics Deaths

Low: 57

Today’s forecast, page 10A

and raise revenue. The recommendation is part of the Five County Regional Transportation Study, a project that has been in the works for at least three years by KDOT, the LawrenceDouglas County Metropolitan Planning Office and the Mid-

INSIDE

Storm chance

High: 72

Those are lanes in which mass transit and car pool vehicles travel free of charge, but single-occupant vehicles have to pay a toll. HOT lanes have become an increasingly popular transportation feature in congested urban areas to both encourage carpooling

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Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion

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America Regional Council. The group released a preliminary report in 2010. The final report released Wednesday will be used to identify projects that may be undertaken in a future multiyear transportation Please see K-10, page 2A

Scouts to accept gays

Vol.155/No.144 28 pages

The Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to allow gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders. Page 6A

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