Jones Dumps Controversial Plan to Add Office Space in Mo. House Gallery December 28, 2012

Post- Dispatch ( via JohnCombest)
Missouri House leaders have halted plans to build office space for their staffers in the chamber’s press gallery.

House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, announced today that there isn’t enough time before session begins Jan. 9 to complete construction on the proposed offices “in a way that respects and protects the historic House Chamber.”

“At this time I have suspended all construction efforts and instructed the House operations director to restore the gallery to its original condition,” Jones said in a statement.

“All members and employees of the House will continue to search for ways to better utilize the Capitol, which will in turn assist all of us in better assisting all of the citizens of Missouri. I want to specifically thank the members of the media who offered their constructive comments, suggestions and assistance throughout this matter and we very much appreciated the dialogue,” he added.

Plans had called for an office area to be built in the corridor behind the press table that overlooks the chamber, above the speaker’s dais. Reports have varied on which legislative aides would have occupied the space.

For several weeks, members of the Capitol press corps have voiced concerns about the loss of space in the gallery, and Bob Priddy questioned the impact the construction would have on the historical and architectural integrity of the building.

Missouri Digital News recently posted photos of the construction already underway.( see previous posts)

The Dean of the Missouri Capitol Press Corps Says Speaker Is “Screwing Up the Capital” December 20, 2012

Tip O’ the cap to PolitcoMo)
Posted on December 19, 2012 by Bob Priddy The Speaker of the Missouri House apparently has decided that one of the great architectural features of the Capitol should be trashed. He’s having a couple of offices built in the House Press Gallery, badly squeezing the reporters who work there and making it especially difficult for those times when the press corps swells for special events such as State of the State messages.

And who is going to use those offices? That seems to be a deep, dark secret. One of Speaker Tim Jones’ staffers told us , “We don’t know who goes there.”

Great. They’re throwing up offices right below the magnificent stained-glass window of the “Glory of Missouri in Peace” and they don’t know what they’re going to be used for.

The brilliant mind(s) that conceived of this idea leave little room for people to move around. They’re taking up space that the education department producers use for their satellite feeds of the State of the State message and any other special events that draw special attention. They’re eliminating the area where a white board has been used to keep track of bills, an important thing as the days dwindle down in each session and a lot of stuff is happening. We’ve been told some areas have been left on each end for television cameras, but not much area because equipment used to distribute sound, copy machines, and staff assistance operates in that area.

If you look at the pictures you’ll also see that these offices are being constructed in front of the maroon felt curtains that hang on the back wall of the chamber. They’re not there just as a color accent for the chamber. The curtains were installed when the capitol was new on the advice of the founder of the field of architectural acoustics, Wallace Sabine, who was brought to Jefferson City by the Capitol Commission Board to tell the builders of the House chamber how to dampen the sound that otherwise would bounce off the marble walls of the chamber, rendering debate unintelligible.

Pictures of the copnstruction are included in Bob Priddy’s blog at Missourinet. http://blog.missourinet.com/2012/12/19/screwing-up-the-capitol/

But that’s okay. Just cram everybody into reduced space in the gallery so the House can build two ugly offices in front of the acoustical curtain for what so far is no apparent reason.

Oh, well, have you heard about the table for the press we’re adding in the side gallery downstairs? we were asked. Yes, we’ve heard about that. Not content to screw up the press gallery, the House is trying to screw up its own side gallery down on the floor. Reporters can sit at the table but of course they won’t be able to see around the large columns that separate the floor from the gallery. And if the House Information Office or some television stations want to shoot video from the area between the columns that they usually use, the people at the table won’t be able to see a thing.

So why is the Speaker doing this all of the sudden? It seems that some Representatives don’t have enough room in their present offices (we are told) and are moving into places where the staff has been housed so it’s necessary for the staff to have new space and that means one of the great architectural features of the Capitol is expendable. That’s all we could learn from the Speaker’s staff. Nothing more specific than that.

The number of representatives has not changed. Of course the majority party has more members than any majority in modern history and you can’t expect a member of the majority party to have a tiny office. Of course, the minority party has the smallest numbers ever but it apparently hasn’t occurred to the majority that it can take over some now-empty minority party space. But that’s far too simple. Better to screw up part of the architecture of one of the nation’s great state capitols.

Picturtes of the Consdtruction on Bob Priddy’s Blog at Missourinet http://blog.missourinet.com/2012/12/19/screwing-up-the-capitol/

Now, it would be easy to see this post as whining by the press corps or, at least, one of its members, and a tantrum about a few square feet of supposedly unused space in an area that is the House’s to do with what it wishes to do. We’ve already questioned the “unused space” error. But this entry is about more than that.

The press is known as the fourth estate, a designation attributed to comments from the great British statesman Edmund Burke during debate in Parliament in 1787 when the press began reporting on the actions of the House of Commons. Thomas Carlyle quoted him in his book, “On Heroes and Hero Worship,” when he noted that “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important than they all.”

We appreciate the compliment, Ed, but we are not more important than the other three–the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. It can be argued that the press is as integral to a free nation as the independent branches of government because it is the link to the people who consent to be governed. We do have an important place in the system and that’s why state capitols and the national capitol provide facilities for reporters so they can tell the public to the best of their ability what their elected government is doing to, for, and with them.

So we do get a little territorial when it comes to efforts to restrict access or space where we can do our jobs. But more important is that the House is insulting the Missouri Capitol itself and that goes beyond encroaching on the fourth estate’s work area in importance.

At a time when the Capitol needs so many things in the line of repairs and restorations, the House leadership has decided to screw up one of its great architectural features.

The House might control its area but the Capitol belongs to the people of Missouri and the House is abusing the greatest symbol the people of Missouri have. Citizens who appreciate such abuse should send their thank-you notes to Speaker of the House Tim Jones

House Passes Hartzler Bill Banning Sex Offender Vets from Being Buried With Honor September 20, 2012

From Missourinet:
The U.S. House has passed West Central Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s Hallowed Grounds Act as part of a veterans bill.
The Hallowed Grounds Act will prohibit veterans classified as a Tier III sex offender from being buried at a veterans or national cemetery.
Under current law, only veterans convicted of capital crimes such as murder and treason are ineligible for honors and burial in veterans and national cemeteries.

Graves says Farm Bill Is Not Dem vs GOP, But Urban vs Rural August 15, 2012

Missourinet:
President Obama is blaming GOP vice-presidential choice Congressman Paul Ryan for blocking the farm bill … and it seems that platform is the center of much campaigning and finger-pointing from the top down. Congressman Todd Akin garnered an endorsement from the Missouri Farm Bureau, even though he voted against the farm bill and McCaskill supports it. McCaskill has responded by launching a Missouri “barnstorming tour,” talking to farmers throughout the state about her voting record to support agriculture in our state.
Congressman Sam Graves — who is up for re-election to Northwest Missouri’s 6th Congressional District — says the fight is not only between Democrats and Republicans, but also rural and urban politicians.
Graves says there has been talk of taking federal nutrition programs out of the farm bill and making them two separate policies, but says Congress will always take up federal aid programs such as food stamps, WIC and school lunch programs. He fears if they aren’t linked to farm policy, important protections for farmers will be ignored altogether. In a nutshell, he says urban members of Congress want to talk about food stamps, and the way it’s linked to agriculture now, that ensures agriculture issues get the proper attention in Congress.
He says rather than a “farm bill,” it’s really a “consumer food policy.” Graves says many people don’t realize they rely on ag policy three times a day, that it’s a part of our very basic existence. He says the policy that comes forth must ensure that the food safety, production and affordability in the U.S. remains at the top of the global market.

Missouri Ethics Commission Offers New Way to Track the Money in Campaigns June 13, 2012

Missourinet:
The Missouri Ethics Commission is offering a new tool to give Missourians a look at how money is flowing in and out of some candidates’ campaigns.
Executive Director Julie Allen says the Candidate By Election search on the Commission’s website offers financial summaries on state and local races.
“It’s just an easy to read snapshot of the candidate’s financial information … for any upcoming elections, you can easily go to that election and see which candidates have filed with our office and all of the candidate’s financial information.”
The latest information comes from the April quarterly report. Two more reports will be issued before the August primary.
“There’s a July quarterly, which will be due on the sixteenth of July, and then for those participating in the August primary election there’s an eight day before, that actually is due July 30.”
With the various tools on the Commission’s website, Allen says voters can learn a lot.
“We also have another good search called ‘Committee Expenditures for Candidates.’ You can type in a candidate’s last name and it’s going to show you the money that is reported as spent to either support or oppose a candidate, and normally that would be coming from a PAC, a Political Action Committee.”

Ethics Commission offers new campaign finance search tool