Lawrence Journal-World 11-07-13

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VOLLEYBALL SWEEP

RAMEN MADNESS

No. 24 Jayhawks rout West Virginia Sports 1B

New noodle shop gains a following Going Out 5A

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Husband charged with first-degree murder smontemayor@ljworld.com

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office charged a 67-year-old Lawrence man Wednesday with one count of first-degree murder in the Tuesday shooting death of his 61-year-old wife. Lawrence police allege that Larry L. Hopkins shot Margaret Hopkins because of her ongoing health concerns, ac-

LARRY LEON HOPKINS, of Lawrence, waits for a court teleconference to begin Wednesday at the Douglas County Jail. Hopkins is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Margaret E. Hopkins.

Police allege man killed wife because of her poor health

By Stephen Montemayor

cording to a statement on Wednesday by the District Attorney’s Office. Larry Hopkins, who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder, appeared via video from the Douglas County Jail to be

formally charged in District Court on Wednesday. If convicted, Hopkins faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. Please see KILLING, page 2A

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

From intern to president: GM exec shares life lessons

Legislators dive into school finance talks ———

With court decision coming, funding expected to be foremost issue for lawmakers

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KU engineering students treated to visit from industry leader

By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

By Ben Unglesbee bunglesbee@ljworld.com

For 30 years, Mark Reuss has worked with General Motors, moving up from intern to executive in the auto company. It’s a long time to spend at one company. In his career he has had offers to go elsewhere, but Reuss told an audience of students Wednesday at the Kansas University School of Engineering that he would rather be working on cars than at a toilet paper factory or a snackfood plant. “Do what makes you really happy because you spend more time at work than you do at home, unfortunately,” he said. “And if you come in and it’s something you don’t like to do, that’s a real problem. And it will affect the people you love…. It will make your life miserable.” Reuss began at GM as a student intern in 1983. Even before then, he tinkered on machines and learned to make it pay. Well before college he ran a business out of his dad’s garage, taking in motorbikes from the neighborhood that didn’t run and fixing them for money, Reuss said Wednesday.

Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo

MARK REUSS, PRESIDENT OF GENERAL MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, center, speaks with Dale Willey, left, owner of Dale Willey Automotive, and Michael Branicky, dean of engineering at Kansas University, Wednesday at KU. Reuss was in Lawrence to speak with KU engineering students about product and career development and to visit Dale Willey Automotive. Reuss went on to become president of General Motors North America in 2009, after having served as vice president of engineering and manager of the company’s operations in Australia and New Zealand. As president of

GM North America, Reuss oversees manufacturing, dealerships and performance in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s

of Business Administration from Duke University, his education blends the technical with the strategic. Going from an engineering lab to management was a decision

TOPEKA — Facing a possible court order to increase school funding, legislators on Wednesday jumped into the depths of school finance, kicking off what will likely be one of the most contentious debates of the next legislative session. “I think it is the foremost issue of this next year,” said state Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, and chairwoman of the Special Committee on Education. The committee heard detailed reviews of the way the state funds public schools, litigation surrounding the system and comparisons between Kansas and other Kelley states. On Thursday, legislators were scheduled to hear presentations by the Kansas Policy Institute, which advocates for lower school funding and whose research is regularly cited by Republicans who are in charge of the Legislature. Legislators will tackle school funding after the Kansas Supreme Court issues its decision in an appeal of a lower panel’s ruling that ordered the state to increase spending to public schools by upwards of $500 million per year. The lower court said the Legislature unconstitutionally cut school funding while passing mammoth tax cuts. Republican legislative leaders have said the judicial branch has no business telling legislators how much to fund schools. They have said they may try to change the way school funds are allocated rather than increase funding. School funding includes a set amount for each student. That base state aid level is currently $3,838 per student, which is the lowest level it has been since 2001.

Please see GM, page 2A

Please see SCHOOLS, page 2A

Kansas officials decrease revenue estimates by $29 million By John Hanna Associated Press

TOPEKA — Kansas officials on Wednesday slightly reduced their projections for state revenues during the current fiscal year, and a top aide to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said

the state will still be able to sustain its budget. The officials issued a new fiscal forecast to guide Brownback and the GOP-dominated Legislature in making budget decisions into the spring. The latest forecast predicts that the state will collect $5.86 billion in revenues,

Business Classified Comics Deaths

2A 5B-10B 9A 2A

Events listings Going Out Horoscope Movies

10A, 2B 5A-6A 9B 4A

Opinion Puzzles Sports Television

8A 9B 1B-4B 10A, 2B, 9B

Low: 29

Today’s forecast, page 10A

lion, representing growth of $61 million, or 1 percent. The total is close to the unofficial, rough figure legislative researchers had included in documents prepared for lawmakers as they made budget and tax decisions

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while the old forecast, made in April, had projected revenues of $5.89 billion. The decrease is $29 million, or 0.5 percent. The new forecast also includes the first official revenue projections for the fiscal year that begins in July 2014, estimating revenues of $5.92 bil-

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Please see REVENUE, page 2A

Really, what we were aiming for with the tax cut was job creation.” — Jon Hummel, Gov. Sam Brownback’s acting budget director

Chocolate and tea Supporters of the Lawrence Community Shelter will host a Chocolate and Tea fundraiser this weekend to raise money for the new shelter for the homeless. Page 3A

Vol.155/No.311 32 pages


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