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 + LETTERS TO THE TIMES
Dot Nary: It’s Disability Pride Month — Here’s why we should all celebrate July 26 (Column)
“Let’s celebrate the anniversary of the ADA as a landmark civil rights law that protects the right of people with disabilities to be seen and to be fully participating members of our community,” Dot Nary writes in this column.
Ask Cody: Are you a boy or a girl? (Column)
This week’s question was not submitted through the Ask Cody account. It was asked in person, during one of the most important events of my life. “Are you a boy or a girl?”
Mackenzie Clark / The Lawrence Times
Michelle Gonzales: Why the mother of a woman who killed her rapist isn’t happy with an ‘extraordinary’ settlement (Column)
“I am the mother of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, the 19-year-old woman who killed Hal Sasko in 2014. … To imply that my daughter’s sentence was cut in half is misleading,” Michelle Gonzales writes in this column.
Kirsten Kuhn: Prosecutors don’t want jurors to know they have this power (Column)
“Jury nullification is a basic refusal to convict based on the jurors’ beliefs and principles,” Kirsten Kuhn writes in this column.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector
Jessica Huseman: Here’s how Kansas Republicans could actually make elections more secure (Column)
“The state has long prided itself on its status as the home to the voter roll police, but it has among the worst list maintenance procedures in the country given its failure to use any technology that allows it to check its rolls against the rolls of other states — a far cry from the state’s public image,” Jessica Huseman writes.
Steve Devore: To help prevent suicide, Kansas youths created these messages of love and reassurance (Column)
“As my team at Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ looks back at the wonderful success of the 2021 Youth Art Contest, we are overwhelmed by the love, support, and care that these students embedded into their works of art,” Steve Devore writes.
ORG CORNER
Contributed
League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County’s next hot topic: Building community power (Announcement)
Sarah Dehart Faltico, program coordinator with Climate + Energy Project, will speak on how a […]
Contributed
Sunrise Movement: Fight misinformation and push for the Civilian Climate Corps (Column)
“Over the past week, the Sunrise Movement has been staging protests all across the nation, and we will be doing the same at the Kansas Capitol building from 4-5 p.m. this Tuesday, July 20,” the Lawrence hub of the Sunrise Movement writes in this column.
#BeMoreLikeClaire
#BeMoreLikeClaire: Upcoming auction to fund grants for Douglas County organizations (Column)
“Over the past three years, through the power of collective generosity, #BeMoreLikeClaire has awarded more than $180,000 in grants to area nonprofits, with the vast majority located in Douglas County.”
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.
Contributed
From the Stacks: Goodbye storytime, hello book club
Angela Hyde writes about the benefits and bonding experience of starting a book club with tweens and teens.
From the Stacks: Reclaiming memory and history in ‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’
“Queer history is vital to a queer future. Reclaiming spaces in history that were occupied by real people through fiction is just as vital,” Margo Moore writes.
