Latest new posts from ALL categories of The Lawrence Times:
Lawrence news, state news, Community Voices, Lawrence Life, obituaries and more.
(Please note that opinion pieces are included in this list, marked as columns or letters to the Times. Not all posts linked on this page were written or produced by the Lawrence Times staff.)
Kelly Rippel/Contributed photo
Kelly Rippel: Positive change on horizon for hemp products and hemp farmers in Kansas (Column)
”Multiple factors are causing a new, positive shift” for Kansas’ commercial hemp program, Kelly Rippel writes in this
Kansas Reflector column.
Contributed images
The Soul Visionaries to bring in the holiday with annual Christmas Eve performance
A group of musicians are joining together to continue a local Christmas Eve tradition, throwing it back to the ‘50s through the ‘80s with a night of funk, soul and R&B jams.
Lawrence City Commission approves moratorium on downtown liquor sales rule
Lawrence city commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday that will allow some downtown establishments to derive up to 90% of their sales from liquor for the next couple of years.
Car strikes duplex in Lawrence; some families without power
A car struck a duplex near 16th Street and Haskell Avenue in Lawrence around 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Lawrence Police Department.
Weigh in on the proposed 5-district Douglas County Commission map; commissioners expected to vote Wednesday
Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew and his staff have come up with one more draft of a map to split the county into five commission districts, and commissioners will likely vote on the map Wednesday.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
City hopes to keep Lawrence Winter Emergency Shelter open 24/7 during extreme cold snap
With dangerously cold temperatures in the forecast over the next several days, the Community Building will be open around the clock if the city can get enough volunteers.
NWS
Forecast shows less snow expected, but dangerously cold temperatures still en route to Douglas County
Douglas County likely won’t get quite as much snow as the National Weather Service in Topeka had forecast on Monday, but some snow and very dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills are still on their way.
A Kansas clinic is offering abortion pills prescribed by out-of-state doctors after court ruling
A Wichita Planned Parenthood began connecting abortion patients with out-of-state doctors in a bid to increase appointment availability. It comes after a judge struck down a state law banning telemedicine abortions.
A tour of holiday lights in Lawrence
Lawrence Times TV took a drive to give you a glimpse at some of the most festive holiday homes — and neighborhoods — in town.
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
Kids help rabbi press oil, make wicks for menorah candles at Lawrence library
Families gathered in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium Tuesday to hear Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel tell the story of Hanukkah, snack on latkes and applesauce, and help make olive oil and wicks to use in a menorah.
Drone no-fly zone issued over Keystone oil spill site in Kansas
TC Energy has established a no-fly zone over the Kansas site where its Keystone pipeline spilled 14,000 barrels of oil following drone footage of the disaster.
Obituary: Lyle E. Beers
Lyle E. Beers, 9/20/1946 – 12/3/2022
Kansas State research: Growing frequency of dry, hot and windy conditions damage wheat yields
The compounding influence of adverse dry, hot and windy climate patterns slashed wheat yield 4% in Kansas and five other Great Plains states over the past 40 years, Kansas State University researchers reported in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Douglas County likely to see snow Wednesday; wind chill will be below 0°
Very cold and very snowy weather is on its way to Douglas County.
Kelly launches legislative campaign for three-year, $500 million state tax reduction plan
Gov. Laura Kelly initiated a campaign Monday to convince the Republican-led Legislature the revenue surplus was sufficient to end the state sales tax on groceries by April 1, create a three-day sales tax holiday on school supplies and increase the state income tax exemption on Social Security benefits.
Unlike most jails in Kansas, Douglas County has found a way to lock up fewer mentally ill inmates
The number of people booked into the Douglas County jail with serious mental illness dropped from 18% in 2014 to 10% in 2022 — and hit a low of 5.5% in 2018.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
City staff member says management ignored her input on North Lawrence campsite for unhoused people
The city’s homeless programs coordinator says a decision to close a North Lawrence campsite for people experiencing homelessness was solidified before she was consulted, and though she advocated against it, her supervisors dismissed her concerns and moved forward with the plan anyway.
Historic preservationists pressing legal case to block demolition of Docking office building
Demolition work on the Docking state office building next to the Kansas Capitol could begin in January to prepare the site for construction of a three-story multipurpose building atop the original foundation.
Ken Lassman
Kaw Valley Almanac for Dec. 19-25, 2022
With super cold, snowy, windy conditions predicted this week, be sure to help overwintering songbirds survive by putting out plenty of bird seed. Don’t be surprised if you live in the country if wild turkeys, opossums and even a deer or two show up to grab a little snack to stay warm, too.
Jenn Wolsey: Our unsheltered neighbors in the Lawrence community deserve better (Column)
”I wanted the full truth to come out because this community deserves transparency. I messed up. The city messed up. We need to do better. Our unsheltered neighbors deserve better,” Jenn Wolsey, homeless programs coordinator for the City of Lawrence, writes in this column.
Vera Institute report on Douglas County jail spotlights racial disparities, charges driving incarceration
Almost one out of every three Black men ages 25-54 living in Douglas County were booked into the jail between 2017 and 2021.
That number is among findings in a recent report by the Vera Institute of Justice examining incarceration here.
Lawrence Style Scout — Game Day Edition
Join us as we walk through downtown Lawrence to celebrate KU basketball’s 84-62 win against Indiana. We ask fans about their game day merch, favorite players, and more.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
Treatment & Recovery Center reps explain available services during proposed opening phases
Behavioral health staff and leaders said Wednesday no one needing help would be turned away once the Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County opens, but they offered up scenarios explaining how inpatient access would be limited, at least for some.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Lawrence author, musician Melvin Litton is driven by passion for creativity
Lawrence author and musician Melvin Litton walks his German shepherd, Jack, through the Barker neighborhood every evening. He might be shaping sentences in his head or exploring literary ideas as he walks, eager to scrawl them onto his sketch pad once he’s home again.
