Kansas surgeon treats victims of Boston bombing; Analysts call Kansas tax plan worst in nation; Westar energy requests rate hike; New park proposed for Kansas
Kansas Surgeon Treats Boston Bombing Victims
A general surgeon from Kansas says he was was helping those with injuries just moments after finishing the Boston Marathon.
Dr. Chris Rupe says he heard a loud explosion about 10 yards away after finishing his run.
Rupe says he headed to what he thought was a building or grandstand collapsing, then heard the second blast.
He was directed to a medical tent where doctors usually help runners with problems like exhaustion.
Rupe spent about an hour treating people mainly with injuries to their extremities. After that, Rupe says, most of the injured had been taken to hospitals.
Rupe's wife, Abbey, had finished the marathon well before the explosions.
Analysts Call Kansas Tax Plan Worst In Nation
In a recent article in Governing Magazine, two tax analysts listed Kansas as the state that had passed the worst tax policy in the last year.
One of the analysts was from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the other was from the right-leaning Tax Foundation.
Westar Energy Requests Rate Hike
Westar Energy is asking the Kansas Corporation Commission to approve a nearly $32 million rate increase.
The Topeka-based utility says the extra revenue will help upgrade pollution controls at one of its coal-fired power plants.
Westar says the increase would raise monthly electric bills about $7.50 a month or less for two-thirds of its residential electric customers.
The effect on the other one-third could be higher, but Westar says it's not sure by how much.
At the same time, Westar also wants to cut rates for large and medium-sized businesses. It says those rates have risen faster in recent years than the electric rates for businesses in neighboring states.
The new revenues would finance pollution control improvements at Westar's La Cygne plant in eastern Kansas.
New Park Proposed For Kansas
The budgets proposed by the Kansas House and Senate include a plan to buy land in northeast Kansas for a new park.
