October 01 2024

1. Kansas Semiconductor Projects Depend on Federal Funding as CHIPS Act Nears Deadline
2. Kansas Attorney General Files First Charges Under New Organized Retail Crime Laws
3. Kansas Extends Waiver of Child Care Licensing Fees Through 2025
4. State Budgets and Staffing Shortages Undermine Cybersecurity, Survey Finds
5. Taking Advantage of Low Levels, Wichita Approves $13.85 Million Project to Repair Cheney Reservoir Dam
Royals take Game 1 of AL Wildcard with a 1-0 win over Baltimore. Game 2 is tomorrow at 3:38 PM on ESPN, also in Baltimore.

1. Kansas Semiconductor Projects Depend on Federal Funding as CHIPS Act Nears Deadline

The fate of two Kansas megaprojects and thousands of promised jobs in the Wichita area likely hinge on whether semiconductor manufacturers can secure federal funding in the next 90 days. What’s left of the CHIPS and Science Act incentive money will be awarded by the end of 2024, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said. More than $35 billion of the $39 billion allocated for incentive money through the CHIPS Act has already been awarded for projects spread across 23 states. Kansas is not one of them. Two proposed facilities, a $1.8 billion Integra Technologies semiconductor plant just outside Wichita in Bel Aire and a $1.9 billion EMP Shield plant in Coffey County, remain in consideration for the dwindling federal funds.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

2. Kansas Attorney General Files First Charges Under New Organized Retail Crime Laws

State prosecutors have filed the first criminal case since Attorney General Kris Kobach pushed for new laws targeting organized retail theft. The Kansas Attorney General's Office announced last week that Demetrius Lamont Odom is charged in Lyon County District Court in connection to alleged retail crimes targeting Kansas liquor stores. The charges come after lawmakers in 2023 made Kansas the first state in the country to expand the attorney general's prosecutorial authority to include retail thefts spanning multiple counties, via Senate Bill 174. They followed that up with a 2024 law, House Bill 2144, further targeting such crimes. Organized retail crime has been a hot-button issue nationally and in Kansas in recent years. While videos of flash mob burglaries made national news, corporations like Target closed stores, blaming organized retail crime.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

3. Kansas Extends Waiver of Child Care Licensing Fees Through 2025

Kansas plans to continue to waive child care licensing fees for another year by tapping into federal pandemic relief aid. Gov. Laura Kelly announced Monday the state would cover the cost of licensing, background checks, fingerprinting fees and licensing renewals through 2025, or until funds are exhausted. The state has covered initial and renewal licensing fees since 2021.  

Ed note: how much pandemic relief money is there??

Article Source: KS Reflector

4. State Budgets and Staffing Shortages Undermine Cybersecurity, Survey Finds

Many state chief information and security officers say they don’t have the budget, resources, staff or expertise to feel fully confident in their ability to guard their government networks against cyber attacks, according to a new Deloitte & Touche survey of officials in all 50 states and D.C. “The attack surface is expanding as state leaders’ reliance on information becomes increasingly central to the operation of government itself,” said Srini Subramanian, principal of Deloitte & Touche LLP and the company’s global government and public services consulting leader. “And CISOs have an increasingly challenging mission to make the technology infrastructure resilient against ever-increasing cyber threats.” The biennial cybersecurity report, released today, outlined where new threats are coming from, and what vulnerabilities these teams have. Governments are relying more on servers to store information, or transmit it through the Internet of Things, or connected sensor devices. Infrastructure for systems like transit and power is also heavily reliant on technology, and all of the connected online systems create more opportunities for attack.

Article Source: KS Reflector

5. Taking Advantage of Low Levels, Wichita Approves $13.85 Million Project to Repair Cheney Reservoir Dam

The city of Wichita is planning to take advantage of Cheney Reservoir’s historic-low water levels by fixing its crumbling dam. The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a $13.85 million project to repair 1.5 miles of soil cement “armor” that protects Cheney Reservoir’s dam. The reservoir, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Wichita, provides up to 80% of the city’s raw water that is then treated and delivered to customers as clean drinking water.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

Royals take Game 1 of AL Wildcard with a 1-0 win over Baltimore. Game 2 is tomorrow at 3:38 PM on ESPN, also in Baltimore.

Sources

1. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article293325034.html

2. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/10/01/kansas-ag-kris-kobach-files-charges-in-organized-retail-crime-theft/75363495007/

3. https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansas-to-waive-child-care-licensing-fees-through-2025/

4. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/09/30/budget-restrictions-staff-issues-and-ai-are-threats-to-states-cybersecurity/

5. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article293313239.html