State news is important too

Richard Fulton

The dissemination of news is a funny business. Big city newspapers tend to concentrate on headline national news and then spend a great deal of space on local news. Local papers’ function is, of course, local news. Be that as it may, what is too often left out is news on the state level.

Television finds national and international news aplenty on cable networks but local stations pay minimal attention. Most of the news on local stations covers fires and local crime.

Again, virtually no state news.

So I thought I might spend a column talking about what is happening with the life and times of Missouri’s Governor Eric Greitens. You remember him; former navy Seal, prolific raiser of campaign money (reporters have asked for a list of his givers to no avail) and popular candidate for office.

Let’s look at what he has been up to. Back in January Governor Greitens outlined his budget proposal. This made local headlines because he will submit to the legislature a budget that cuts $146 million from the present numbers with higher education taking the brunt of the cuts.

Ouch. Northwest Missouri State may come up $6 million short from the cuts.

This week Greitens attacked St. Louis for an ordinance that broadens its anti-discrimination laws to include women who have had abortions, use contraception, or are pregnant. Employers and landlords are the major target.

To emphasize his views on the matter Greitens has included in his budget $6 million for “pregnancy resource centers.” These are anti-abortion counseling centers. Planned Parenthood has been excluded.

On a more positive note, the governor came out strongly against the “despicable” and “cowardly” acts of those who trashed an historic Jewish cemetery in St. Louis. He called for volunteers to help him reset the tombstones and repair the cemetery.

You will remember that President Trump finally made a definitive statement on the increase in anti-Semitism in America that has flared in the last year or so after avoiding any condemnation in his famous news conference. And telling the Jewish reporter to “sit down.”

The governor will be meeting with President Trump this week and he has indicated that the major topic he will bring up is jobs. He is not alone in this priority.

Of interest to the budget debates on the horizon in the state legislature is the announcement of two lawsuit settlements that will bring $60 million to the Missouri treasury.

One gives Missouri $10 million of a national $844 million judgement against Moody’s Investors Services rendered because of their illegal actions. The other is $50 million from the tobacco settlement of 2003 that split billions between the states.

It’s complicated, but Missouri failed to live up to the settlement guidelines and thus its share was withheld until last week when the Missouri Supreme Court released the funds.

Governor Greitens has refused to say how he will recommend the use of those funds. But then, it seems he has not been awfully forthcoming about much of his policy preferences. In the first six weeks of his administration he has had no press conferences and few interviews with reporters.

It has gotten so bad that Phill Brooks, a Missouri political reporter since 1970, has said that: “A cloak of secrecy has descended upon Missouri government…” Still, when Greitens ran across reporters this week he complained to reporters that they were not covering his administration and his actions.

Then he left without answering any questions

Richard Fulton is an emeritus professor of political science.