Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Mid-Year Review, Part III, April 2007

April 30- Missouri Ethics Commission documents show Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, is awash in contributions from lobbyists and casino interests.

April 30- Campaign documents showed Gov. Matt Blunt donated contributions from disgraced Congressmen Bob Ney and Mark Foley to charity.

April 28- FEC records show presidential candidate Mitt Romney is making big inroads with lobbyists.

April 28- A scholarship bill proposed by Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, which includes a repeal of loss limits for casinos, is a payback from the senator who has received sizable contributions from casino interests.

April 23- Governor Matt Blunt's political machine raised big money for his preferred presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in southwest Missouri.

April 19- John Ford was promoted to the top editor position at the Neosho Daily News and Buzz Ball was sent to take over at Carthage, following the firings of Ron Graber and Michael Davison at The Press.

April 18- GateHouse Media CEO Michael Reed received a $1.5 million signing bonus to leave CNHI.

April 17- Sauder Woodworking had no interest whatsoever in keeping the O'Sullivan Industries plant in Lamar open after it bought out the company.

April 17- While more than 700 O'Sullivan Industries workers were poised ot lose their jobs, a number of companies were cleaning up for guiding the company through its bankruptcy.

April 15- In a lawsuit filed in federal court, O'Sullivan Industries turnaround expert James Malone was accused of shady dealings.

April 15- Lobbyists accounted for more than half of Sen. Gary Nodler's campaign contributions.

April 14- In a lawsuit, an Illinois company claimed O'Sullivan Industries stiffed it for more than $8 million.

April 14- Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, raked in $45,000 at a fundraiser, mostly from lobbyists.

April 12
- A South Carolina company filed a breach of contract lawsuit against O'Sullivan Industries.

April 12- Pat Graham, the Lamar con artist who bilked rich Branson folk and entertainer Pat Boone out of more than $5 million, died in prison.

April 5- The Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals rejected former State Rep. Kathleen Steele Danner's request to overturn a decision by a lower court to revoke her driver's license.

April 4- This was the first report to focus on the settlement of a lawsuit filed by Glenna McKitterick against Catholic Church officials.

April 3- O'Sullivan Industries officials asked to be released from bankruptcy supervision.

April 1- Sen. Tim Green, D-Florissant topped The Turner Report Hall of Shame for receiving the most gifts from lobbyists.

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