Topeka

Bill to regulate abortion clinics advances

Anti-abortion advocates and legislators expect to gain House approval for a bill they’re pushing to set minimum health and safety standards for abortion clinics.

House members gave the measure first-round approval on an 83-35 vote Friday. Final action is expected Monday, when passage would send the bill to the Senate.

Similar legislation died in the Senate last year. Both chambers passed a clinic regulation bill in 2003, only to see it vetoed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who supports abortion rights.

Under the bill, the state Department of Health and Environment would regulate clinics, setting guidelines for cleanliness, required equipment and the use of anesthesia.

Salina

Father of former Kansas governor dies

William H. Graves, 90, father of former Gov. Bill Graves and former head of Graves Truck Line Inc., died Friday in Salina.

William H. Graves started Graves Truck Line with his father and brothers. He also owned and operated the former Graves Truck and Auto Museum in Salina, and had farming and ranching operations in the area.

Graves served as president of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association and was on the board of governors of American Trucking Associations Inc. In 1972, he received the Salina YMCA’s Distinguished Citizens Award.

A former president of the Salina Chamber of Commerce, Graves was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 1998.