GUEST COMMENTARY: Restoring Trade with Cuba Makes Economic, Moral Sense

By JERRY MORAN
U.S. Senator

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- I often say Kansans will try anything once – sometimes twice or even three times. But if we have been trying something for more than five decades and it has yet to work, it is time to change.

For a number of years, I have worked to modify the unilateral U.S. sanctions that restrict the ability of American farmers and ranchers to sell their products to Cuba. My interest in lifting the embargo stemmed from a desire to create an additional market for Kansas producers.

But, a new economic and diplomatic relationship would also provide a better opportunity for our nation to promote the rights of the 11 million people living under the authoritarian Cuban government.

TRAFFIC: Kansas Highway Patrol offers tips on Thanksgiving travel

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- This week, Kansas roads will be busy with holiday travelers going to and from their destinations.

The Kansas Highway Patrol will mobilize, along with other law enforcement organizations across the state, to participate in the annual Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). The enforcement program is courtesy of a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The Patrol and other agencies will focus on impaired drivers, child passenger safety laws, and seat belt use among travelers of all ages. Because of the STEP campaign funding, there will be more law enforcement officers on Kansas’ streets and highways during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period when travel increases in Kansas and across the nation.

According to preliminary KDOT stats, during the 2013 Thanksgiving reporting period, there were 569 collisions, resulting in 150 injuries, and six deaths.

Work to begin on 72nd Street Bridge Friday morning

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Work will begin on the 72nd Street bridge over I-70 Friday morning at 9 a.m.

More from the Kansas Department of Transportation:

At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 1, the 72nd Street bridge over eastbound and westbound I-70 will be CLOSED, 24/7 round the clock, through early December 2013, so crews can repair work on the bridge from damage incurred by a October 3rd bridge strike by a dump truck completing work on the I-70 resurfacing project (see traffic alert below for more information) in Wyandotte County. (See related project closures below map too.)

No marked detour will be provided during the 35-day 72nd Street Bridge closure. Drivers will need to use alternate routes during the bridge closure.

In addition, the following lane and ramp closures will take place Monday, November 1 through Tuesday, November 5, weather permitting, for the 72nd Street bridge repair work.

Friday, November 1 to reopen at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 2 - Remove damaged bridge girder
• 7:00 p.m. Close eastbound I-70 left two lanes from 78th Street to 72nd Street
• 7:00 p.m. Close westbound I-70 left lane at 72nd Street
• 9:00 p.m. Close eastbound State Avenue right lane at 78th Street
• 9:00 p.m. Close southbound College Parkway right lane at State Avenue
• 9:00 p.m. Close southbound 78th Street left lane at State Avenue
• 11:00 p.m. Close all lanes of eastbound I-70 at 78th Street

Saturday, November 2 to reopen at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 3 - Remove damaged bridge girder
• 6:00 p.m. Close eastbound I-70 left lane from 78th Street to 72nd Street
• 6:00 p.m. Close westbound I-70 left lane at 72nd Street

Monday, November 4 between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
• Close eastbound I-70 left lane from 78th Street to 72nd Street
• Close westbound I-70 left lane at 72nd Street

Monday, November 4 to reopen at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 5 - Set new bridge girder
• 7:00 p.m. Close eastbound I-70 left two lanes from 78th Street to 72nd Street
• 7:00 p.m. Close westbound I-70 left lane at 72nd Street
Note: Eastbound I-70 traffic will be stopped for a short period after midnight via a rolling roadblock by local law enforcement so that crews can set the new bridge girder.

A marked detour will be provided via northbound 78th Street to eastbound State Avenue to southbound College Parkway during the overnight roadway closures. See aerial map below for marked detour route. Drivers should expect delays and must use alternate routes during the overnight closures.

I-70 closing from Hays to Salina

At 11:30 a.m. the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) closed I-70, from Exit 159 in Hays to Exit 249 near Salina, in both directions.

All other routes in Kansas remain snow-packed and travel is widely discouraged.

For up to date road closures and road conditions, please call 511 in Kansas (1-866-511-KDOT (5368) outside the state), or check travel information online at: www.kandrive.org or visit http://511mm.ksdot.org on your mobile device.

Best of France, Italy highlight KCKCC fall trip

The best of France and Italy – from Paris, Provence and the French Riviera to Florence, Tuscany and Rome – highlight Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Fall Trip Abroad.

Departing Sept. 19, the 13-day trip will begin in Paris and meander through some of the world’s most famous archeological and artistic landmarks in France and Italy before concluding in the Eternal City of Rome.

The trip is one of two offered by KCKCC this year. “Space still remains for KCKCC’s exclusive 13-day Highlights of Japan trip April 5 but The Best of France and Italy trip will fill up quickly so prompt action is highly recommended,” said Alan Hoskins, Public Information Supervisor at KCKCC.

Following two days in Paris and the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, travelers will go by high speed train through the French countryside to the heart of southern France’s Provence region and then on to the French Riviera along the Mediterranean Sea including a boat cruise amid the rocky inlets of Cassis.

The first stop after crossing into Italy will be spectacular Cinque Terre where five seaside villages are built into the coastline. Michelangelo’s masterpiece, “The David,” is one of numerous works of art in the architectural wonderland of Florence followed by a sightseeing tour of the Chianti wine route and sampling some of the regional vintages and a walking tour of the medieval city of Siena.

The tour will conclude in Rome where a two-day post-tour extension will be offered in order to see the Eternal City’s many treasures including Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Cost of the trip is $4,094 (double occupancy) and includes round trip air transportation to and from Kansas City, accommodations in well-located hotels, a daily buffet breakfast, one lunch, four three-course dinners and one wine tasting; multilingual tour director, baggage transfers and personal audio headset.

Several optional tours are also offered including the two-day Rome extension for $298. Other optional excursions include Versailles; Provencal, Monastery and Tuscan dinners, dinner with the tenors and tours of the Vatican and imperial Rome.

Brochures on both the Japan and France-Italy trips including itinerary and optional excursions are available by contacting Alan Hoskins at KCKCC at 913-288-7158 or ahoskins@kckcc.edu.

No Text Pledge Day designated for Kansas

A recently-completed AT&T study showed that on average, 43 percent of American teenage drivers admitted to texting and driving even though 97 percent know it is dangerous.

Because of those numbers, and the fact that it is illegal to text and drive in Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback has proclaimed tomorrow, September 19, “No Text on Board Pledge Day”.

“Please Do Not Text and Drive. It Can Wait.” will be the driver safety message featured on electronic message signs located on major interstates across the state.

The Kansas Department of Transportation, along with many other state DOTs, are partnering with AT&T’s “It Can Wait” public awareness campaign for tomorrow’s national focus on this simple, yet powerful message: No text is worth dying for.

A recent university study shows that those who send text messages while driving are 23 more times likely to crash.

In his proclamation, Gov. Brownback calls on all Kansans to take the “no texting while driving pledge” and asks that all Kansans help spread this message throughout their communities.

Visit online at: www.itcanwait.com, to take the “don’t text and drive” pledge.

To learn more about KDOT’s educational driver safety messaging and the Kansas texting law, visit http://www.ktsro.org/seatbelts-and-driving-behaviors.

DUI fatalities drop sharply in wake of recent law

By SHAUN HITTLE, The Lawrence Journal-World

When lawmakers passed legislation in 2011 requiring an ignition interlock for those convicted of their first drunken driving offense, one of the main goals was cutting down on alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

After a year, it appears the law is working, according to preliminary data released by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Between July 1, 2011 — when the state’s new DUI ignition interlock law went into effect — and June 30, 2012, the state recorded 59 alcohol-related traffic fatalities, compared with 125 and 137, respectively, for the previous two years during the same timeframe.

“I think it’s exciting news,” said Greg Benefiel, a Douglas County assistant district attorney who served on the Kansas DUI Commission, which helped craft the legislation. Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern also served on the commission.

Kansas had lagged behind the country in reducing alcohol-related fatalities, seeing increases in recent years as numbers dropped across the country. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities averaged 116 a year between 2000 and 2010 in the state.

Kansas drivers with a DUI conviction now must install an ignition interlock — which requires drivers to blow into a device to show their blood-alcohol level is under .04, half the legal limit — before their vehicle will start.

Under the new law, first-time DUI offenders must use an ignition interlock for a year; drivers with multiple DUI convictions must use it longer.

Kansas joined 14 others states in enacting a first-time offender ignition interlock law. Most states have some form of ignition interlock law, but some only apply to repeat DUI offenders.

Pete Bodyk, traffic safety manager for KDOT, was also on the commission, and cautioned that the preliminary numbers will probably go up some, but he still expects the data to show a significant decline in fatalities since the law was enacted.

While there’s no way to know for sure if the drop in alcohol-related fatalities was a direct result of the new law, Bodyk said “that’s the only thing that’s new. ... Hopefully we’ll see a trend.”