The pieces in this section are generally written by members of the Lawrence community and those who have close ties. In addition, the Times is offering some space for area organizations and organizers to provide updates and attempt to reach other folks who might share their mission.
The Lawrence Times does not publish staff editorials (unsigned opinion columns, usually about the topics we cover, that many news publications run).
Want to submit a letter or column to the Times? Great! Click here to find out how.
OPINION COLUMNS
Tom Harper: La Prima Tazza celebrating 35 years serving Lawrence (Column)
For 35 years, La Prima Tazza has functioned as a coffee shop, community gathering place and a “little tugboat” helping Liberty Hall move forward in the turbulent waters of Massachusetts Street, Tom Harper writes in this column.
Holly Krebs: How will Lawrence’s utility rate increases affect your household? Here are the numbers (Column)
“The Lawrence City Commission has increased the city utility rates each of the last five years and are planning substantial increases for the next three years, too,” Holly Krebs writes in this column.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Walt Hull has forged functional metal works of art throughout Lawrence (Column)
Walt Hull’s path to become a blacksmith had twists and turns not unlike the functional works of art he’s shaped all over Lawrence. Now 83, he has no intentions of retiring. Tom Harper shares Hull’s story in this column.
Max Kautsch: In loco parentis, or just plain loco – Surveilling Kansas students doesn’t make sense (Column)
“The outcome of the case will depend largely on whether the district can show that implementing software designed to monitor students the way it did was closely related enough to an important government interest — namely, student safety — to justify Gaggle’s intrusion into the students’ lives,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Elise Higgins: Abortion seekers, trans youth, and immigrants can’t afford more surveillance (Column)
“If we’d known about this Axon contract, there’s absolutely no way the people of Lawrence would have co-signed a program that risks the privacy and the dignity of abortion seekers, trans folks and immigrants,” Elise Higgins writes in this column.
Kincaid Dennett: The community has no interest in taking away the police’s cameras (Column)
“The city should pause new (surveillance camera) integrations and analytics until it adopts a Lawrence-specific oversight ordinance created with community input. This will preserve the benefits of cameras while putting safeguards in place,” Kincaid Dennett writes in this column.
LETTERS TO THE TIMES
Letter to the Times: To stop evictions and enforce renter protections, we need a tenant right to counsel
“Last year, at least 222 of our neighbors in Douglas County were evicted from their homes. … A right to counsel program helps all tenants,” Vince Munoz of Lawrence Tenants writes in this letter to the Times.
Letter to the Times: 82% of survey respondents oppose rec center fees
“Taxpayers are already supporting recreation centers in the taxes we pay every year, but the city commission believes that … rec center fees will somehow solve their budget deficit problems,” Carol Kummer writes in this letter to the Times.
Letter to the Times: A costly stunt for sports
“Everything we rely on — our supermarkets; our meds; our air conditioners and heat pumps; our vehicles … — does damage. What we don’t rely on is military aircraft performing ear-splitting flyovers in the name of intercollegiate sports,” Randi Hacker writes in this letter to the Times.
ORG CORNER
Letter to the Times: 5 stars for An Evening with John Green
“Thank you, John Green, for spending a little time in Lawrence. We love the thinkers, the feelers, and we especially love those willing to lay it all out there — in a book, on a stage in front of a couple thousand of us on a Tuesday night in September,” Erika Gray writes in this letter.
Bishop Seabury Academy announces the Class of 2025 (Announcement)
“The 17 members of the Class of 2025 have received 120 acceptances to 80 different colleges and were offered more than $10 million in four-year renewable scholarships and institutional grants,” Bishop Seabury Academy writes.
Watkins Museum of History: Curtis Marsh book talk set to celebrate KU’s 160th anniversary
“Over the course of his 30-plus years of service to the University of Kansas, (Curtis) Marsh has amassed a wealth of knowledge about Jayhawk stats, history, and traditions,” Will Haynes writes in this piece from the Watkins Museum of History.
FROM THE STACKS
Note: Staff members at the Lawrence Public Library write blog posts about books, bookish things and other media. The Times is reposting some of those blogs in this feature, From the Stacks. Find many other blog posts, titles referenced in these posts and much more on the library’s website, lplks.org.
From the Stacks: Who is David Lowery?
“David Lowery fans: I hope you’re free to join us on Nov. 3 at the Lawrence Arts Center. You can expect an irreverent, wide-ranging conversation about the business of rock music, the Internet, capitalism, and maybe even a little math,” Library Director Brad Allen writes.
Lawrence Public Library/Contributed Image
From the Stacks: Unsolicited reading recommendations for Lawrence candidates
Here’s a series of unsolicited reading recommendations for Lawrence City Commission and Lawrence school board candidates, based on favorite books they shared with the Times.
Contributed Image
From the Stacks: An interview with Bathsheba Demuth ahead of her Wednesday event
“One of my favorite books of the past couple years is Bathsheba Demuth’s award-winning ‘Floating Coast,’ so I was pleased to see that the author is part of this season’s speaker series at KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities,” Jake Vail of Lawrence Public Library writes.
