Gov. Nixon appoints Karen King Mitchell to judgeship on Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. On July 9, Gov. Jay Nixon announced his appointment of Karen King Mitchell, 50, to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. Mitchell will fill a vacancy on the Court created by the retirement of Paul M. Spinden.
Mitchell is currently the Director of the Missouri Department of Revenue, a post to which she was appointed by Gov. Nixon and confirmed by the Missouri Senate on January 22, 2009. Prior to leading the Department of Revenue, she served for more than two decades in the Office of the Attorney General. There, Mitchell held a number of positions including chief deputy attorney general, state solicitor and chief counsel of the governmental affairs division. During that time, Mitchell personally argued cases at every level of the court system, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Mitchell also served as a law clerk for judges on the Missouri Supreme Court and Missouri Circuit Court, 16th Circuit.
"During her years as an attorney in public service, Karen King Mitchell has consistently delivered exemplary representation to the people of the state of Missouri before courts at the trial and appellate levels, as well as considerable administrative leadership and expertise," Gov. Nixon said. "She has demonstrated remarkable knowledge of the law in every respect, and I appoint her to the appellate bench with the utmost confidence that she will be an asset to the cause of justice and the citizens she serves."
In addition to her legal practice in government service, Mitchell has been actively involved in the Missouri Bar and in volunteer efforts that serve the legal community. She was elected to the Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar in 2008 to represent the state¹s Western District and serves on the Missouri Supreme Court¹s Appellate Practice Committee, to which she was appointed in 2002. Additionally, Mitchell was a leader in the National Association of Attorneys General, assisting newly elected Attorneys General in other states with the transition into office. She is a member of the Elwood L. Thomas Inn of Court.
Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1981. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1984, where she was a member of the Law Review.
In the community, Mitchell serves on the auxiliary of the Heisinger Bluffs Nursing and Life Care Home and is a volunteer member of the House Corporation Board for the Alpha Phi Social Sorority chapter at the University of Missouri. She is an active member of the Saint Andrews Lutheran Church in Columbia, where she lives with her husband, Greg, and son, Sam.
Mitchell was one of three nominees for this judgeship submitted to Gov. Nixon by the Appellate Judicial Commission for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.
Gov. Nixon has appointed Alana Barragán-Scott to be the acting Director of the Department of Revenue following Mitchell's departure.
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Skelton announces that 234 service members to be sent to WAFB
Washington, DC Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has announced that the U.S. Air Force plans to send approximately 234 additional service members to Whiteman Air Force Base.
"Whiteman Air Force Base is ideally suited to welcome additional service members. So, I was, of course, extremely pleased to learn of the recent decision to send 234 more airmen to the base," said Skelton.
According to the U.S. Air Force, the 509th Bomb Wing will increase by 227 military positions and two civilian positions, while the 498th Munitions Maintenance Group will grow by seven military positions and five civilian positions . The new staff will support the Air Force¹s Nuclear Enterprise. The U.S. Air Force also announced that the 442nd Fighter Wing will transfer 101 military positions from Whiteman Air Force Base.
"Whiteman offers great opportunities and these additional airmen are certainly a welcomed announcement," said Skelton. "And, although I am disappointed by the decision to move 101 airmen from the base, no one should doubt that I will keep reminding the Pentagon that Whiteman Air Force Base is a national treasure. As one of America¹s premier military installations, I am hopeful that great things will continue for Whiteman in the years ahead."
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'HEAT is On' for impaired Missouri drivers
Jefferson City - Missouri law enforcement will be turning the heat up this summer on impaired, speeding and unbuckled drivers.
A new summer enforcement campaign, 'The HEAT Is On' began June 30 and will include 70 days of High Enforcement Action Teams. The campaign will focus on impaired and speeding drivers and unbuckled drivers and passengers.
Effective July 1, repeat offenders of Missouri¹s alcohol-related driving laws will be required to install ignition interlock devices in the vehicles they drive.
For the past four years, Missouri has recorded the highest number of fatal and serious injury crashes between July and September.
In order for Missouri to reach the statewide goal of 850 or fewer fatalities by 2012, the spike in fatalities between July and September must be prevented.
For more information about 'The HEAT is On' campaign, visit saveMOlives.com
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Yield on flashing yellow arrow -- public information meeting scheduled at Tipton July 15
The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, July 15 to help educate motorists about the installation of a 'Yield on Flashing Yellow Arrow' indication at the intersection of U.S. Route 50, Route 5 and Route B in Tipton.
The informational meeting will be held from 4:30 6:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, 117 E. Highway 50. The public may attend at any time during the advertised hours to learn about the project or to speak with a member of the study team.
The 'Yield on Flashing Yellow Arrow' is a new signal indication being introduced to the public. A flashing yellow arrow means left turns are allowed, but you must first yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians and then proceed with caution. It will replace the traditional ³Left Turn Yield On Green² indication currently used at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Route 5.
As MoDOT upgrades the current signal system as part of its maintenance schedule at this intersection, this new traffic signal display is being implemented to provide safer left turns for motorists.
Several states, including Missouri, are currently using this type of signal. MoDOT expects the new signals to become the preferred signal display for future yielding left turns.
A national study conducted for the Federal Highway Administration demonstrated the new indication helps to prevent crashes, move more traffic through intersections, and providing additional traffic management flexibility for road agencies.
For more information about this project or other transportation-related matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto www.modot.org/central.
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DED announces release of Job Vacancy Survey report JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced the release of the Missouri Job Vacancy Survey 2008 (JVS). The survey, developed by DED's Division of Workforce Development (DWD), Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), and in conjunction with the University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) provides information about the quantity and quality of job vacancies in the state and at 10 regional levels.
In the second survey of its kind, the Missouri Job Vacancy Survey 2008 gathered responses from employers about job vacancies. In the 13-question survey, employers are asked about the type of skills or competencies required for job vacancies; benefits and incentives offered for openings; education and experience levels required; and shortcomings of recent applicants. Job vacancy data is also available at an occupation and industry level.
The health care and social assistance industries had the highest number of vacancies. Contained within this industry are three of the top 10 statewide occupations registered nurses (4,560); nursing aides, orderlies and attendants (1,448); and child care workers (1,202). The industry with the second most vacancies was the accommodation and food services industry, which contains two of the top three occupations combined food preparation (4,584) and serving and waiters/waitresses (4,160).
Results from the Missouri JVS 2008 include:
A skill gap between a competency important for a vacancy and a corresponding shortcoming of applicants existed for interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills was the competency employers answered was the most important. While employers said it was an important competency for 85 percent of all job vacancies, they also responded that applicants had shortcomings in similar skill areas, such as lack of positive attitude (63 percent), poor customer service skills (58 percent), poor work ethic (57 percent), and poor communication skills (54 percent), indicating a clear skill gap in this area.
Employer feedback about education levels and the level of difficulty to fill openings revealed that the higher the education level required for a job vacancy, the easier it was to fill that vacancy and vice-versa. For vacancies requiring at least a 4-year college degree or some type of certification, employers had either some or great difficulty filling the openings for just 34 percent of vacancies. For those vacancies which required a high school diploma or less, employers answered they had some or great difficulty filling those openings for 58 percent of vacancies.
As workforce production becomes more automated and skill specific, certain skills will be necessary to fit workers to these jobs. Comparing employer responses from the 2007 survey to the Missouri JVS 2008 reflect this pattern, as certain applicant shortcomings had significant percentage increases. Percent increases occurred from one year to the next of employer responses for the following applicant shortcomings: poor technical skills (18 percent vs. 32 percent), poor writing skills (14 percent vs. 23 percent), lack of computer skills (10 percent vs. 21 percent), and poor basic math skills (10 percent vs. 21 percent).
"It is critical that we do everything that we can to help match employers with the best employees possessing the highest and most desired level of skill competencies," DED Director Linda Martínez said. "This survey will be an invaluable tool in Gov. Nixon's efforts to put more Missourians back to work and help the state¹s economy to rebound in the midst of this recession."
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