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- 1. C M Y K THE MORNING SUN• Thursday, February 17, 2011 5A LOCAL Law may keep liquor buyers in Kansas BY MATTHEW CLARK THE MORNING SUN As state lawmakers look into a bill that would greatly change how liquor and “strong” beer is sold, one south- east Kansas convenience store owner said that it’s not about putting others out of business. Gratz Peters, owner of Pete’s Corporation which operates 25 con- venience stores in southeast Kansas, said that the issue is about the con- sumer and the state’s economy. He said that can be emphasized in border counties like Crawford and Cherokee counties, which border Missouri—astatethatalreadyallows wine, liquor and “strong” beer sales at grocery and convenience stores. “Current Kansas liquor laws con- tributetothecross-bordershopping,” said Peters. “It’s simple economics to the consumer. Those laws protect the liquor store because you cannot own a chain of liquor stores and it stifles competition.” The bill would allow those grocery and convenience stores to sell harder alcohol and opponents say that such ameasurewouldput“momandpop” liquor stores out of business. “Thiswilldrivelocallyownedstores out of business to larger out-of-state corporations,” said Spencer Duncan, spokesman for the Keep Kansans in Business coalition, a group of liquor store owners opposed to the mea- sure. But, Peters said that Kansas con- sumers find it easier to go across the border to Missouri because of the lack of competition keeping prices higher in Kansas. In addition, lawmakers acknowl- edge that the tax structure between the two states is another disadvan- tage for Kansas. “Taxes are cheaper in Missouri for gas and liquor and that won’t change in this bill. The issue is creating more outlets and more convenience for people to go,” said state Sen. Pete Brungardt, a Salina Republican and chair of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee — the committee hearing testimony on the bill. Peters, however, contends that grocery and convenience store own- ersarenottryingtoforceliquorstores out of business. “The liquor store owners take it personal and they want to spin it to be about greedy grocery stores and conveniencestorestryingtoputthem out of business,” said Peters. “This is aboutthenegativeeffectsthatKansas liquor laws have on the consumer and the state economy.” But, Duncan countered by saying that the bill would have an adverse effect on the economy, specifically stating that wholesalers would have to increase their costs by $7.5 million to $10 million each year by adding more delivery trucks, fuel and ware- house space. “Guess who will pay for that?” said Spencer. “The taxpayer will because those businesses are not just going to eat those costs, they are going to pass it along.” For Peters, the message remained competition. “I can tell you, you can ask any customer of beer, wine and spirits in thesebordercountieswheretheybuy at,” said Peters. “Likely, most of them will tell you that they buy in Missouri and that is because we have limited competition and that leads to higher prices.” Matthew Clark can be reached at mat- thew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620- 231-2600, Ext. 140 cery and convenience stores have formed their own coali- tion, the Coalition for Jobs and Consumer Choice. That group does include giant chains such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. On Tuesday, Gary Haag, who operates BP gas stations in Topeka and Lawrence, testified on behalf of that group and said that current laws hold Kansas back in economic competition for sales. “Rather than unfairly giving a leg up to one particular minor- ity, Kansas should pass this law to make all retailers more com- petitive,” said Haag. The bill would create three separate license structures. Currently, liquor stores have to hold a special license allowing them to sell liquor. There are 766 such licenses in Kansas and that number could not increase between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2014. Grocery and convenience stores could obtain one during that timeframe if a liquor store closed or sold its license. After Jan. 1, 2015, the state would resume issuing unlimited retail liquor licenses. State Sen. Pete Brungardt, a Salina Republican and chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, said that he has not polled the committee to gauge their interest, but he said it was there. “The committee is interested and there are some amend- ments being drawn up,” said Brungardt. “I’ve had some con- versations, but I really don’t know where everyone stands.” The committee’s ranking minority member, Sen. Oletha Foust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, said she is presently in a “wait-and-see” mode. “One side says that its eco- nomic growth and job creation and, certainly, our state is look- ing at different ways to generate revenue,” said Foust-Goudeau. “But, anything in this building will face opposition.” Testimony from “neutral” parties is scheduled to begin on Thursday morning. Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A LIQUOR: Stronger liquor mulled for grocery, convenience stores “We aren’t paying half for a newmachine,”saidHite.“But,I think this is a very cost-efficient way to go.” Hite said that the graders are nearing the point to where they cannot be repaired because of their age. “You get to the 13,000- or 14,000-hour range, and that’s when you start seeing the need for a complete overhaul,” said Hite. Commissioners said that rebuilding seemed to be the best way to go, simply because of the cost for outright replace- ment. “This does seem to be a very smart way to go,” said Commissioner Linda Grilz. One sticking point is that Caterpillarenginesarecurrently on order, which could extend the time that the county will wait to have one of its graders repaired. Commissioners have asked foraworksessionwithrepresen- tativesfromFoleyEquipmentto discuss options. Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A COUNTY: Considers replacement of two road graders fire near Hepler that claimed a homeonChristmasEve,andon Sunday another Hepler house was hit by fire. However, Horton said that Hepler residents should not worry about whether these more recent fires were arson- related. “I think they have not been suspicious in nature,” Horton said. “We have a lot of fires in a lot of small towns, and it’s not necessarily suspicious. We’ve had some electrical and chim- ney fires. If the fire department is not concerned, then there’s no reason to worry.” Horton further noted that theserecentnon-suspiciousfires often happen in cold weather, and it has not just been asso- ciated with Hepler. He noted thatwinterweather-causedfires have also occurred in Mulberry and Pittsburg. Ultimately, Horton said that he did not believe Hepler had a serial arsonist on its hands, but that people should remain alert for suspicious behavior. “Everyonealwaysneedstobe diligent, and watch their own neighborhoods. We are work- ing the arson case in Hepler, but we’re also looking for who’s responsibleforadozenhaybale fires.Thatshouldnotmakepeo- ple panic in the streets,” Horton said. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A HEPLER: Authorities not too concerned about series of blazes Pittsburg man hurt in auto accident THE MORNING SUN A Pittsburg man was taken to Via Christi Hospital after becoming involved in an acci- dent Wednesday afternoon. Pittsburg Police said Joseph Strong, 37, of Pittsburg, was traveling north on Grand St. on his 2007 Yamaha V-Star motor- cycle behind a 2001 Mitsubishi SUV, driven by Dustin Angel, 26, of Pittsburg. Whenthevehiclesapproched Grand and Sixth, Angel slowed to turn onto Sixth. The report said that, as Angel slowed to turn, Strong tried to pass on the left and hit Angel’s vehicle as Angel was making a left turn. Crawford County EMS treat- ed Strong’s injuries —which were not specified — on the sceneandlatertransportedhim to Via Christi Hospital. Angel, norhispassengerswereinjured in the accident. The incident remains under investigation. Cable firms fighting Web’s ‘cord-cutting’ BY RYAN NAKASHIMA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — Cable TV and other companies that provide subscription services are striking back at the notion that people are dropping their TV packages en masse to watch video over the Internet. Industry gains in the fourth quarter returned to normal following a spate of cancel- lations spurred by the end of discounted pricing. Subscriber losses from top- rankedComcastCorp.andNo. 8 Cablevision Systems Corp. reflected one-time items, such as the defection of custom- ers angry over a two-week blackout of Fox programs on Cablevision in October. Comcast’s loss of 135,000 video subscribers was about a third less than expected as it held onto more customers with better programming, and fewer people dropped service with the expiration of promo- tionalpricesofferedduringthe 2009 transition to digital over- the-air broadcasts. Comcast ended with 22.8 million video customers, and Cablevision had 3.3 million. Those losses were more than erased by gains at such rivals as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., which offer video ser- vices over phone lines. The phone companies reported fourth-quarter results last month, while Comcast and Cablevision announced them Wednesday. Alongwithanexpectedgain of about 100,000 video sub- scribers combined at satellite operators DirecTV and Dish Network Corp., which report next week, the established pay TV industry is on track to add 200,000 to 250,000 TV subscribers in the final three months of 2010, according to Nomura Securities. The gains are “another piece of evidence that cord- cutting is not impeding sub- scriber activity,” said Nomura analysts Mike McCormack and Mike Liddell in a research note. Cord-cutting refers to the phenomenon of people drop- ping pay TV packages with the growth of online video offer- ings through Hulu, Netflix and other services. CablevisionsaidWednesday it lost 35,000 video subscrib- ers in the quarter, ending with 3 million when exclud- ing the 306,000 subscribers it picked up by buying Bresnan Communications in mid- December. But it attributed almost all of the loss to its dis- pute with Fox. The two-week standoff, during which some World Series baseball games were blacked out to custom- ers, saved it money in pro- gramming fees but cost it cus- tomers, the company said. “We thought that taking the hitwasworthit.Butwethought it was a one-time kind of hit,” Cablevision Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge told analysts on a conference call. Last month, No. 4 video provider Time Warner Cable Inc. said it lost 141,000 video customers to end at 12.3 mil- lion, but AT&T’s U-verse added 246,000 to nearly 3 million, and Verizon’s FiOS added 182,000 to end at 3.5 million. “The notion that people are disconnecting their pay TV connections in favor of Netflix has always been a good story but there’s been very little evi- dence that it’s actually hap- pening in any material num- bers,” Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said. Netflix Inc. added 3.1 mil- lion customers in the last quarter, rising to more than 20 million, but its service is cheaper, doesn’t include live programming and still requires paying for a separate Internet connection. The results showed the tra- ditional pay TV industry was not succumbing to cord-cut- ting activity and has returned to normal following the end of discounted pricing, analysts said. Some cable operators had offered TV services for as little as $10 a month in the summer of 2009 to ease the transition to digital that made analog rabbit ears useless for receiv- ing over-the-air broadcasts. When those prices reverted to normal after a year, many peopleswitchedbacktorabbit ears - just new ones capable of receiving digital signals. Industrywide gains in video subscribers also signaled to some analysts that people could afford paying for TV again as the economy recov- ered. Whether you’re looking to hire or looking for a job, we’ve got good news. Morningsun.net is now partnered with Monster. The result is a new site experience with more jobs for seekers and more candidates for employers. And most importantly, there’s access to our precision matching technology to bring the two together. To find your next job or next hire, visit morningsun.net MORNINGSUN.NET