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JEFFERSON CITY - While lawmakers were cutting more than $380 million from social services, elected officials received an increase.

The Department of Social Services took the brunt of the cuts, which Republican leaders said were necessary to keep a balanced budget while increasing spending for K-12 education. But the state's $19 billion budget also calls for an extra $43 million for elected officials in the executive branch, an extra $2.5 million in state money for the judiciary and a $500,000 increase for the Public Defender Commission.

Columbia police made three drug arrests and issued a summons to another suspect after serving two search warrants Thursday.

Columbia doesn’t fit the mold of a literary hub. Aside from the intense focus on a single institution, it’s not much more than a sleepy burg. But, in fact, writers are perfecting their craft and making their mark in Columbia and beyond.

Contributing to the success of a number of award-winning writers with local connections is MU’s creative writing program; the presence of a renowned literary magazine, The Missouri Review; and access to a great public library. Its compact layout and affordability make Columbia an easy place to live, allowing writers the freedom to focus on their craft.

T he overhead street lamps

begin to buzz, shining an orange glow over the small town of Huntsdale.

MU Senior Emily Hemeyer designs clothes for more than just fashion and fame. During the past month, Hemeyer has worked to design six pieces that were showcased in Kaleidoscope: A KCOU Fashion Show at the Blue Note earlier this month. The proceeds of this event were donated to Rainbow House, an emergency shelter for abused and neglected children. Hemeyer’s pieces are unique because of the the method in which she makes them — the fabrics are hand-dyed and hand-sewn.

For the next 30 minutes, sit down and focus on this story.

Don’t turn on the television. Don’t check your e-mail. Don’t turn on the stereo. Don’t pace around the house. Don’t run to the fridge for a snack. Don’t pick up the phone.

As temperatures have steadily climbed upward, so too has the price of gas. And the latest government forecasts for the beginning of the summer travel season don’t offer relief.

Gas prices in central Missouri have increased 36 cents a gallon in the past two months, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Gas was $1.82 per gallon Feb. 7 and $2.18 per gallon April 7.

Environmental Protection Agency rules are allowing Columbia to earn extra cash by selling excess sulfur dioxide allowances from its relatively clean coal-burning power plant.

The Columbia City Council on Monday authorized the sale of the excess emissions allowances. The credits could be worth as much as $6.3 million and could help the city cover an anticipated increase in the cost of its next coal contract.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded the Columbia Public School District its first Distinction in Performance Award during a banquet Friday night.

The Distinction in Performance Award is based on accreditation standards for schools in Missouri and recognizes districts that make consistent progress in all of the areas covered by accreditation standards. The award specifically looks at attendance rate, dropout rate and test scores such as the MAP test and ACT for high school students.

In January 1989, to commemorate the 23rd annual World Communications Day, Pope John Paul II addressed a large crowd in Rome on religion and the media. In particular, the pontiff urged Roman Catholics to start looking at media not as a revealer of scandal, but as a positive force for change.

“The question confronting the church today,” he said, “is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the gospel message.”

A pilot grievance plan approved by the University of Missouri System Board of Curators at its Friday meeting in Rolla could clear the desk of UM system President Elson Floyd by redirecting complaints to an investigating officer. The plan will expedite the way the system hears faculty complaints and be implemented at MU for a three-year trial basis before it can be adopted at other UM schools.

MU’s Faculty Council had discussed the grievance policy for at least five years before the curators’ approval, council chair Gordon Christensen said. The revised plan would create a standing committee to hear grievances and create the position of a part-time investigating officer.

One Columbia man was arrested late Thursday and another early Friday in connection with two shooting incidents Wednesday near two day-care centers and an elementary school.

In a third incident Thursday night on North Garth Avenue, a car that police suspect was used in one of the Wednesday shootings was sprayed with bullets. Police said the three shootings are related.

After the flood waters recede and the coffin has been sealed, the eternal question remains: What kind of God permits tragedy, suffering and grief?

The answer is as varied as religious belief itself. But whether you view life as endless suffering, see God as infinitely unfathomable or hold that tragedy as a reflection of an immoral culture, the key to understanding is your faith.

This year is filled with notable anniversaries, but there is one I only discovered recently. I have been writing this column for five years this month. So I thought a trip down memory lane was in order.

I remember being approached by a newsroom editor who asked if I wanted to write a column for the “new” Taste section. I was told I could write about anything my heart desired — with a few rules. I wasn’t allowed to write hard-hitting editorials about local or national issues. Being the token conservative in the newsroom, I knew that rule was a given. And the column wasn’t to be a preachy epistle about how “together” we can change the world. My mission was to write a light-weight missive about life — and, oh yeah, could I make it humorous?

Kim Webb is helping to fight child abuse. Not with legislation or as a lobbyist, but with pens and notebooks.

As coordinator of the Adolescent Mother Journaling Program and a mother of four children, Webb travels the state teaching strategies that help teen mothers cope with the stress of parenting without turning to child abuse.

Texas A&M had a good day Saturday. The Aggies started the game with a home run. They pounded out nine hits in five innings.

But they lost to the red-hot Missouri baseball team anyway.

Carl Edwards had just spent more than three hours driving Jack Roush’s No. 99 Ford around Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.

The 25-year-old Columbia native was stiff and sore, but excited.

Erica Josbena helped the Missouri women’s tennis team get back on track.

The Tigers had lost three straight matches before defeating Kansas State 5-2 on Friday at Green Tennis Center.

Parkway West and Parkway Central took turns traveling back and forth down Providence to face Rock Bridge and Hickman on Saturday.

The Bruins and Kewpies had contrasting days against the Parkway schools. Rock Bridge defeated Parkway Central 8-1 in its morning match and followed suit in the afternoon winning 9-0 against Parkway West. Hickman lost 5-4 to Parkway West in its early match and then lost 6-3 to Parkway Central.