Legislature.com

Bob Priddy, Brent Martin and Steve Walsh talk with Darin Jobe about activity in the legislature this week including the rejection of the Tax Commissions recommendation to change the valuations of farmland across the state. They also discuss the future of The President casino and what to expect over the coming week.

AUDIO: Press Pass for January 29, 2010

@chadlivengood tweeting from Senate government accountability panel hearing on Sen. Cunningham’s health care rights constitutional amendment. See Twitter stream in left sidebar of this page.

The Missouri Gaming Commission has voted to revoke Pinnacle Entertainment’s gaming license for the President Casino on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The President, which sits on the old Admiral riverboat, has – according to state gaming officials – fallen into disrepair and is underperforming. [Full story by Steve Walsh -with audio- at Missourinet.com]

During the 7 or 8 years we streamed audio of Missouri House and Senate debate, one of the most common requests was to provide audio from committee hearings. This was, we were told again and again, “where the action is.”

There was just no good way to do this, until wifi became available in the House and Senate. While we still have some technical challenges to work out, we’ll almost certainly stream more hearings. But we’ll be pretty selective, trying to stick with the most important (whatever that means) and/or those with broad interest. Let’s face it, there’s a limited audience for legislative committee hearings.

Sitting through a few of these gives one an appreciation for the job performed by reporters who regularly cover the state capitol.

Missourinet reporter Brent Martin covered yesterday’s House hearing on ethics and distills the two hour hearing down to a handful of the most pertinent sound bites. And the story containing those “actualities” will provide context and relevance. For most folks, a better way than sitting through the full hearing.