Congressman taps LHS graduate for post

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Lenexa Democrat whose 3rd District includes eastern Lawrence, announced Wednesday that Rebecca Black would serve as his deputy communications director.

Black, a 1997 graduate of Lawrence High School, will replace Hayley Rumback.

Black has served as legislative correspondent in Moore’s Washington office since June.

“She will continue to play an important part in my effort to keep Kansans informed of what is happening in Washington,” Moore said.

Black graduated from Kansas University in 2001 with a political science degree. She is the daughter of Mike and Missy Black, of Baldwin.

Foundation CEO to speak at Baker convocation

Baldwin — Carl J. Schramm, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will be the featured speaker today at Baker University’s Opening Convocation.

Schramm will speak at 11 a.m. at Rice Auditorium. The annual event marks the official kickoff to the academic year.

Schramm has led the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City’s largest philanthropic foundation, for about 1 1/2 years. The organization provides millions of dollars each year to youth and business organizations.

Dan Lambert, Baker’s president, and Andrew Foss, Student Senate president, will speak at the convocation, and Jamie Comstock will be installed as vice president and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Peltier has hearing before appeals court

Denver — Arguments will be heard Friday by a federal appeals court in the case of Leonard Peltier, convicted in the 1975 deaths of two federal agents on an American Indian reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D.

Peltier’s defenders maintain that the FBI suppressed critical ballistics data that ruled out Peltier’s weapon in the deaths of the agents. They say the evidence struck at the heart of the government’s case and the later findings by the U.S. Parole Commission, which were upheld by a federal court.

Peltier’s attorneys will request that the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issue an order that Peltier be given fair consideration for parole.

3rd District candidate to testify for Senate

Kris Kobach, a Republican candidate for Kansas’ 3rd District congressional seat, will testify at 2:30 p.m. today before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship.

Kobach will testify on “State and Local Authority to Enforce Immigration Laws: Evaluating a Unified Approach for Stopping Terrorists.”

Kobach, former counsel to U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, helped design the National Security Entry Exit Registration System, which fingerprints and registers aliens at the border.