IRS: $500,000 in refunds unclaimed by taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service wants to pay Kansans almost $500,000 in unclaimed refunds. It just can’t find the right addresses to send the checks.

Monday afternoon, Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., released a list of hundreds of Kansans who for one reason or another have not received their refund checks. If your name is on the list, call (800) 829-1040 to get your refund, or fill out Form 3911, the Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, and send it to the IRS.

The complete list of names is available on Moore’s Web site, www.house.gov/moore.

Police: Bowling ball becomes windshield-smashing weapon

A woman was angry with a man Sunday, so she used a bowling ball to smash the front windshield of his car, Lawrence Police said.

Police were called about 10:15 a.m. to the 3100 block of Creekwood Drive to quell a domestic disturbance. A 23-year-old Lawrence man said he’d been involved in a fight with a 22-year-old woman and had suffered several scratches, police said.

The woman had left the area when police arrived. No arrest was made.

Courts: Second trial scheduled for Baldwin shooting

A man charged last fall in a Baldwin shooting is scheduled to go before a jury again July 10.

Last month a Douglas County jury was unable to decide whether Stephen Meeker, 34, was guilty of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and attempted aggravated battery. The jury deadlocked after eight hours of deliberations.

Monday, Douglas County Assistant Dist. Atty. Dan Dunbar told Judge Jack Murphy the District Attorney’s Office intends to try Meeker again.

Meeker is accused of shooting Steven Swafford, 31, Lawrence, after a long-standing neighborhood dispute.

Dunbar said he will ask that Meeker’s attorney, Jim Rumsey, recuse himself from the case for testifying in the initial trial. A hearing on that motion was set by Murphy for 11 a.m. May 6.

Kansas University: Researcher offers analysis of privatized child welfare

An associate professor at Kansas University’s School of Social Welfare will present a critical overview Wednesday of the 1996 decision to privatize child welfare services in Kansas during a noon meeting of the University Forum at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave.

“The principles that drive the system are flawed,” said Rick Spano, KU associate professor and former director of the now-closed Trinity Episcopal Group Home.

Spano said his presentation, titled “Auctioning Off the Poor: Foster Care in the 21st Century,” will include an analysis of the increased costs tied to privatization.

Gasoline prices: Pump Patrol seeks best deal

The Journal-World has found a gasoline price as low as $1.32 at the Conoco at Sixth Street and Crestline Drive and the Citgo stations at Ninth and Iowa streets and at 920 N. Second St.

If you find a lower price, please call us at 832-7154. Be prepared to leave the name and address of the business and the price. Or go to www.ljworld.com/section/gasoline to join our Pump Patrol board.