Recent Media Coverage
Report argues ethanol mandate raises consumer costs
The Show-Me Institute released a report today challenging the cost savings of ethanol-blended gasoline touted by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council earlier this year.
A Missouri law that took effect in January requires unleaded gas lower than 91-octane that’s sold in the state to contain 10 percent ethanol – known as E10 – when ethanol is cheaper than gas.
In our view: Parents want school rankings
Jim Morris, public information director for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is right when he says, “Americans have a mania about lists and rankings.”
School officials hate rankings, for good reason. Districts don’t want to label certain schools as bad and others as good, mainly because there is no reliable way to establish apples-to-apples comparisons.
Nevertheless, the Show-Me Institute ranked Missouri’s schools in the “Show-Me: The Grades” project, featured in today’s newspaper. The institute’s staff and board of directors, like Morris, know that Americans have a mania about rankings.
By Joe Hadsall and Melissa Dunson
news@joplinglobe.com
Royal Heights Elementary in Joplin is one the best elementary schools in Missouri, while McDonald County’s Rocky Comfort Elementary ranks among the worst in academic performance, according to the Show-Me Institute.
The ranking of 540 school districts and 2,105 schools in Missouri is aimed at giving people a more accurate view of how their schools and districts compare, said Justin Hauke, policy analyst with the St. Louis-based think tank.
Study shows state’s selection process superior to others.
Recent judicial appointments in Missouri have intensified calls for reform of Missouri’s judicial selection process. While these debates can seem like mere partisan bickering, judicial independence is critical to a well-functioning legal system, which is an important factor in economic growth. Research has found that judicial independence and legal system quality matter for economic growth, and that the outcomes of a state’s legal system depend in part on how its judges are selected. Although the General Assembly decided not to pursue legislation that might alter the “Missouri Plan” during this past legislative session, the quality of the state’s legal system and its potential effect on economic growth is an issue worthy of ongoing attention.
Student article criticizes textbook legislation
by Jimmy Myers
Monday, June 9, 2008
Textbooks are shown on the shelves of the campus bookstore of Missouri Western State University. A House bill called the ‘Textbook Transparency Act’ is meant to lower the cost of textbooks for college students.
A Missouri House bill intended to lower the cost of textbooks for Missouri college students could have the opposite effect. So says a commentary from the Show-Me Institute.
Referred to as the “Textbook Transparency Act,” the bill requires publishers to reveal the price of the textbook, what revisions have been made and if the materials are available in any other format to professors who request the information.
Summits scheduled to address funding for state’s roads
By SBJ Staff
5/28/2008 10:47:01 AM
The Missouri Department of Transportation faces a looming budget crisis due to the repayment of construction bonds and decreasing revenue from state fuel taxes.
Two state groups are looking to spread the word and gather suggestions from the public on how to best handle the situation.
The Missouri General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight is sponsoring a June 11 seminar, dubbed Moving Transportation Forward, at Jefferson City’s Capitol Plaza Hotel.
By David Martin
Published on May 22, 2008
A plaid work shirt straddles razor wire that guards points of entry to the old Greyhound station in downtown Kansas City. The garment rests atop the security fence with what appears to be purpose, suggesting an attempted breaking and entering.The shirt’s former owner must have been desperate for warmth or a place to get high. The old bus station, which covers an entire block near 12th Street and Holmes, is one of downtown’s ugliest and most forbidding pieces of property.
State Think Tanks Serve as Online Labs
by Rob Bluey | June 17, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Check out the Drudge Report tonight and you’ll see a photo of Al Gore and a link to “REPORT: Gore’s personal electricity consumption ‘up 10%’…” Look a little closer and you’ll notice the source isn’t a mainstream news organization or even a blog. It’s the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
This isn’t the first time Drew Johnson’s state-based think tank has hit the jackpot with a Drudge link. The organization broke news in February 2007 about Al Gore’s enormous energy bill. That story, too, was picked up by Drudge, sending a slew of hate mail to Johnson in the process.