The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. Occasionally, we’ll also pick up columns from other nearby news outlets. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
The Lawrence Times does not publish staff editorials (unsigned opinion columns, usually about the topics we cover, that many news publications run).
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OPINION COLUMNS
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.
Shawn Alexander: Race, history and a sports rivalry (Column)
“Attempts to establish a connection between the (KU-Mizzou) rivalry and the Civil War are ignoring or whitewashing the core elements of the fight between the residents of the two states. The conflict was fundamentally rooted in slavery, racism and white supremacy,” Shawn Alexander writes in this column.
Tom Harper/Contributed photo
Holly Krebs: Lawrence City Commission considering debt that might not be sustainable (Column)
“The (Lawrence City Commission’s) 2026 debt decisions are particularly important because our community will pay for this debt for the next 25 years,” Holly Krebs writes in this column.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Holly Krebs: Wanted – Lawrence city commissioners who listen to our community (Column)
“Two city commission seats are up for election this year, and these new commissioners could help change our local government’s culture to be more collaborative and community-oriented,” Holly Krebs writes in this column.
Kincaid Dennett: Program giving Lawrence police access to cameras needs review, transparency (Column)
“We deserve public debate before we’re pulled into a nationwide experiment in pre-crime technology. And we deserve better than a surveillance rollout that hides behind the language of community safety,” Kincaid Dennett writes in this column.
Max Kautsch: Largest Kansas counties grapple with closed-door meetings and public’s rights (Column)
“A majority of commissions for the five most populous counties in the state,” including Douglas, “recently fell short of providing the information legally required before entering executive session,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Tai Amri Spann-Ryan: Lawrence organizations need to center healing in their work (Column)
“Our communities should not have to rest on one or two people. But what’s more, the fracturing has to end,” Tai Amri Spann-Ryan writes in this column.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Shawn Alexander: Whose history? Experiential knowledge takes us closer to the truth (Column)
“There is not one American experience! … Let us resist the persistent push to limit the narrative of our nation’s past,” Shawn Alexander writes in his latest column.
John Clayton / Contributed photo
Tom Harper: Community to gather in ‘precious love’ to celebrate the life of Rob Blank (Column)
The family of Rob Blank — “Peace Man” and “Precious Love” — wants to thank the Lawrence community for the love and support it gave Rob throughout his life. They’re planning a gathering in his memory next month, Tom Harper writes in this column.
Clay Wirestone: Lawrence doesn’t hate immigrants enough. So the Trump administration plots vengeance. (Column)
“The Trump administration has put my town — the place my family and I call home — on its hit list for a thought crime,” Clay Wirestone writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Holly Krebs: Community members face challenges engaging with the city, researching the budget (Column)
“Our coalition believes our community deserves the opportunity to provide more substantive feedback about our priorities for the city’s 2026 budget,” Holly Krebs, of the Coalition for Collaborative Governance, writes in this column.
Holly Krebs: Lawrence community deserves transparency and a voice on city budget, debt (Column)
“Because we believe our community would benefit from more public discussions about these important issues, our coalition will independently host a community conversation about the Lawrence city budget,” Holly Krebs, of the Coalition for Collaborative Governance, writes in this column.
Max Kautsch: Kansas Legislature’s supermajority makes mockery of open records law over efficiency portal messages (Column)
“This iteration of the Legislature seems to think it is entitled to redact information that could traditionally be found in a phonebook, and that it may do so in a futile attempt to shield the identity of a handful of powerful Kansans but not the rest of us,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Son of longtime Liberty Hall owners aims to preserve something ‘beneficial for everyone’ (Column)
Josh Millstein is stepping up to keep Liberty Hall alive and well, aiming to preserve his father’s vision and an iconic piece of downtown Lawrence’s historic district, Tom Harper writes in this column.
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