Kit Bond to follow Columbia jobs discussion with book signing

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., will be at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce this morning to talk about job creation, health care and cap-and-trade.

After that, he’ll be at the MU Bookstore at 911 E Rollins Road to sign copies of his new book, The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam.

He also appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart to talk about the book. See that clip here.

CDD 11/12: Suspect in Doisy murder released on bond

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/12

Suspect in Doisy murder released on bond (CM) Johnny Wright, who was arrested in Georgia in September and is charged with second-degree murder, is next scheduled to appear in court Dec. 11.

One in 50 million: Small business employee ’scared to death’ without health insurance (CM) Since she was 18, Lindsey Cathey has been without health insurance and lives with the fear that she will get sick. Her mother, Laura Cathey, is from Canada, but now lives in the U.S. She misses her “excellent” health care up north and is now in the same boat as 50 million Americans.

Supplies sought for rescued put bull puppies (CM) The Humane Society of Missouri says it has an urgent need for supplies for more than 150 pit bull puppies in its care as a result of a multi-state dogfighting raid.

CDD 11/11: Humane Society considers alternative operating models

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/11

Humane Society considers alternative operating models (CM) Four alternative business models were proposed at Tuesday’s meeting, including serving a smaller area, to address budget deficits.

Columbia celebrates veterans (CM) The city is recognizing Veterans Day with a variety of events, including a parade down Eighth Street, a ceremony at the Boone County Courthouse and the annual Veterans Day Celebration at MU.

Third candidate to seek Columbia’s Fourth Ward City Council seat (CM) Rick Buford, a senior network analyst at CarFax, will seek the City Council seat being vacated by Jerry Wade.

Nine consulting firms to create proposals for downtown (CM) The Downtown Leadership Council will be selecting a consultant to be part of the urban design charette, which is meant to get input from the community about downtown development. A subcommittee will review the proposals and recommend four or five to the Downtown Leadership Council.

CDD 11/10: UPDATE: Police find no hostages in Jefferson City office building

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/10

UPDATE: Police find no hostages in Jefferson City office building (CM) Police had received a call from an alarm company around 10 a.m. today.

Post offices, state offices closed for Veterans Day (CM) No mail delivery or retail services will be offered by Columbia post offices on Veterans Day. All state offices will also be closed for the day.

Students crumble mock Berlin Wall (CM) The fall of the Berlin Wall was commemorated by activities at Westminster College on Monday night.

City to offer real-time alerts through Web site (CT) A real-time information Web site soon will allow Columbia residents to receive alerts and updates about emergencies and other events in the area.

CDD 11/6: Damon Williams found guilty of murdering Nathaniel Bentley

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/6

Damon Williams found guilty of murdering Nathaniel Bentley (CM) A jury found Damon A. Williams guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action in the June 2008 shooting death of Nathaniel Bentley.

Heller Road property recommended for industrial rezoning (CM) The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 Thursday to recommend 116 acres of property in northwest Columbia be rezoned for industrial use. The site is the first and only to be certified as a potential high-tech employment location by the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The entire 192-acre site was annexed by the city in April and is currently undeveloped.

Central Missouri Community Action opens weatherizing foundation (CM) Central Missouri Community Action opened The Columbia Center for Energy Efficiency and Weatherization on Thursday. The center, which received U.S. Department of Energy funds, will be able to weatherize approximately 800 homes over the next two years.

Electronic waste collection to be held Saturday (CM) Old electronics can be dropped off at the Boone County Fairgrounds on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monitors, copy machines, televisions and microwaves cost $5 to be collected and other electronics can be collected for free.

Public defenders seek solution to caseload crisis (TM) When someone is accused of a crime and cannot afford a lawyer, the duty to provide legal representation falls upon the court-appointed public defenders. But this week, the Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether public defenders in Missouri can turn down certain clients.

CDD 11/5: Update: Man, convicted of robbery, testifies in Williams’ murder trial

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/5/09

Update: Man, convicted of robbery, testifies in Williams’ murder trial (CM) A man who has admitted involvement in the robbery that led to the shooting death of Nathaniel Bentley testified Wednesday in the trial of Damon A. Williams, who is accused of pulling the trigger.

Bus route altered near construction (CT) A Columbia bus route will be detoured for several months as crews continue to work on a University of Missouri steam tunnel project near Stewart Road.

MU hosts compelling talk with famous musician Pat Martino (CM) Pat Martino, regarded as one of the world’s best jazz musicians, was at MU on Wednesday afternoon to tell his story about undergoing surgery for an arteriovenous malformation, a cluster of abnormal blood vessels, and his journey through the process.

Number of turkeys killed by Missouri hunters second lowest (CM) Missouri hunters killed 8,300 turkeys, down from 28,000 in 1987. However, this number is still higher than last year’s number.

City infrastructure poised and ready for new subdivisions

The City Council followed Planning & Zoning Commission recommendations to add three new neighborhood collector streets in the Scott Boulevard area to the city’s major roadway plan. The streets were first included in the Columbia Area Transportation Study Organization Major Roadway Plan, but the city’s plan is the operational document.

Still, both plans are long-range. For now SB-2, SB-4 and SB-14 are just lines on a map and would likely only be built if and when the surrounding areas are rezoned or new subdivisions are planned for the area.

All three are in the Fifth Ward, and Councilwoman Laura Nauser voiced her support for the amendments. Neighborhood collectors allow for both residential property access and through traffic capacity. They have a greater right of way width, a greater pavement width and are designed to carry a heavier traffic volume than local residential streets.

The .8 mile SB-2 would run from Brushwood Lake Road and terminate at Scott Boulevard. Its construction would create a four-way intersection with Scott and Crabappple Lane. The collector would go past Bradbury Estates subdivision and then swing south to line up with the yet-to-be built Crabapple Lane.

The  .4 mile SB-4 runs from Scott Boulevard to Route KK. The lines introduce east-west roadways to an area that is primarily north-south streets like Scott and Forum boulevards.

The .5 mile neighborhood collector SB-14 creates a north-south collector between Nifong Boulevard and Southampton Drive in a location halfway between Sinclair Road and Forum Boulevard. Originally this line was drawn to run to the Glen Eagle neighborhood, but after an objection letter the line was shifted about 300 feet to be less intrusive.

CDD 11/03: Council announces Citizens Police Review Board members

Columbia’s Daily Dish 11/03: News from the Columbia City Council meeting

Council announces Citizens Police Review Board members (CM) The new members of the Citizens Police Review Board will be tasked with reviewing cases of actual or perceived police misconduct with the goal of increasing police accountability and community trust in the police.

Concerns over Columbia’s water quality postpone well placement (CM) The Columbia City Council voted Monday to allow more time to study well placement because of evidence that treated wastewater is cycling back into the supply.

City council approves payday loan ordinance (CM) The City Council approved an ordinance early Tuesday morning that places a six-month suspension on opening new payday loan businesses in Columbia.

City to pick up MU recyclables (TM) Profits from recycled products will be split between Columbia and MU.

Covering city council race

As a journalist, one of the most frustrating things about the job can be getting out-scooped. In a city the size of Columbia, with so many media outlets, it unfortunately happens more than I’d like.

So when my editor came to me saying a local blogger had posted possible City Council and mayoral candidates, I understood his frustration that we hadn’t gotten the news first.

It became my job to search all the names Mike Martin listed in his blog and confirm or deny if they were running. This proved a more difficult task than I’d thought. I found phone numbers and e-mails easily enough but got no responses.

Persistence is the key to journalism. I heard back from Dave Machens who denied that he is running for mayor. Dan Goldstein also said he will not be running for the Fourth Ward seat in the council.

Sarah Read and Tracy Greever-Rice confirmed they were running for the Fourth Ward seat, and Paul Love confirmed his run for mayor. I wrote stories on these candidates.

The lesson learned is to always listen and look for news. Getting the news first is a great feeling, and getting it accurate is even better.

Statehouse News: Oct. 26 to 30

The following headlines are compiled each week by Sarah D. Wire, a senior at the Missouri School of Journalism. The weekly newsletter — drawn from stories by student-reporters with Missouri Digital News — is dispatched to members of the Missouri Press Association.

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Governor announces deeper budget cuts — Gov. Jay Nixon announced $204 million in spending cuts to Missouri’s budget Wednesday. Almost 700 full- and part-time jobs were eliminated in cuts that will affect departments across the board. House Budget Chair Allen Icet, R-St. Louis County, and Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said they expect Nixon will have to cut even more than the $634 million in withholdings and vetoes he has already made.

Medicaid affected most by Nixon’s withholdings — Medicaid and other health care expenditures topped Gov. Jay Nixon’s list of budget cuts. Under Nixon’s plan, Medicaid programs face a loss of more than $32 million; mental health programs will lose $3 million and hospitals and clinics around the state, including those in the UM Health Care System, will lose $3 million.

Missouri has only 28 percent of requested H1N1 vaccines — Missouri has only received 220,000 of the 750,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine it has requested. The bulk of the vaccine received by the state has gone to areas with the most high risk people such as St. Louis and Kansas City. Pregnant women and children have the highest risk of infection so they are given priority. Health Department spokesman Kit Wagar said the delay comes from slower than expected production of the vaccine.

Missouri prison population on the rise, state says it can handle the increase — The number of inmates in Missouri’s jails is at an all-time high, but state corrections officials say the state has more than enough room. The high — of 30,720 — does not worry the Department of Corrections; officials say they can hold at least 500 more prisoners. The department has no firm explanation for why the prison population is so high right now, but Corrections Department spokeswoman Jacqueline Lapine said an increase in crime and more stringent sentencing could be a factor.

Republicans react to governor’s economic development director choice — Gov. Jay Nixon’s appointment of David Kerr as the state’s new economic development director brought mixed reactions from state Republican leaders Tuesday. Kerr previously served as Kansas’ Commerce Secretary. Before that he was president of AT&T Kansas for four years.

Energy industry, legislators discuss effect of cap-and-trade legislation on Missouri — Proposed cap-and-trade legislation could provide a “huge risk” to Missourians, said Warren Wood, president of the Missouri Energy Development Association. The Joint Committee on Missouri’s Energy Future held a hearing Oct. 26, consisting mostly of testimony from energy industry officials. All of the witnesses said they were worried that the Waxman-Markey bill, also known as cap-and-trade, would increase unemployment and consumer energy rates in Missouri.