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.)
Kansas lawmakers advance unproven, scientifically questionable ‘abortion reversal’ legislation
Going against professional medical advice, lawmakers advanced a bill requiring health care providers to tell people undergoing drug-induced abortions they can still change their minds. Providers who refuse to do so could face thousands in fines and potential jail time.
Author Jacqueline Woodson to speak in Lawrence as library’s 2023 Ross and Marianna Beach Author
Jacqueline Woodson, an award-winning author and MacArthur fellow, will speak in Lawrence next month as the library’s 2023 Ross and Marianna Beach Author.
‘Some kids do need Jesus first’: Kansas lawmaker explains voucher-like program to Augusta community
Kansas children don’t generally find a “spiritual perspective” in public schools, Rep. Kristey Williams said, defending a voucher-like program that would funnel state tax dollars to unregulated private schools to her Augusta constituents.
Prosecutors seek to charge Lawrence teen as adult in shooting that left 14-year-old dead
The Douglas County district attorney’s office wants to try Derrick D. Reed, 17, as an adult in connection with an eastern Lawrence shooting that left a 14-year-old boy dead on Saturday, court records show.
Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Times
Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate 160 years in Lawrence
The message “We’re still standing” resonates among congregation members at Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church in Lawrence as they prepare to celebrate the historical church’s 160th anniversary this weekend.
Kansas Senate committee moves to block use of fentanyl test strips to stem overdose deaths
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee reshaped a bill Monday to remove a provision legalizing use of fentanyl strips to help people avoid overdose deaths.
Ashley All: Lawmakers are ignoring Kansas voters, interfering in our private medical decisions (Column)
”Back in August, I could not have envisioned the extreme overreach that legislators would attempt during the 2023 legislative session,” Ashley All writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Ken Lassman
Kaw Valley Almanac for March 20-26, 2023
Sycamore trees are easy to spot this time of year due to their white bark and tendency to grow along creeks and wet areas.
Family launches fundraiser to help with funeral of Lawrence teen who was shot and killed
Kamarjay Shaw, 14, was “a wonderful young teen and a joy to anyone he came around,” according to an online fundraiser his family has launched to help pay for his funeral.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Pinkney residents, preschool leaders concerned about plans for homeless shelter site
Residents of Lawrence’s Pinkney neighborhood and staff at a nearby preschool are questioning the site where the city plans to place a “village” for people experiencing homelessness, and how the project would be managed.
Kansas Senate budget bill features 3.25% spending cut, imposes ‘DEI’ ban at universities
The Kansas Senate on Monday will consider a budget bill that features 3.25% spending cut, imposes a ‘DEI’ ban at universities, and excludes state worker pay raise, Medicaid expansion and conflict of interest reform.
Lawrence police: Suspect has turned himself in after boy shot and killed
A suspect in a shooting that left a Lawrence teen dead Saturday has turned himself in, police said in a Sunday afternoon update.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Teen boy killed in shooting in eastern Lawrence
A 14-year-old boy has died after a shooting Saturday in eastern Lawrence, according to multiple sources.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Cherokee Nation At-Large community meeting in Lawrence draws hundreds
Kansas City-area Cherokee Nation citizens gathered in record-breaking numbers in Lawrence Saturday for the first annual Chief’s picnic since 2019.
Prairie Park Nature Center celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with Snakes and Scones
As the city celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this year, Prairie Park Nature Center leaned into one of the holiday’s quirkier themes with its “Snakes and Scones” event. Playing on the folktale that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland in the fifth century, Dara Wilson, a snake handler and naturalist at the nature center, celebrated with an interactive session featuring snakes big and small.
Public defender: Kansas faces crisis point on 60th anniversary of landmark U.S. Supreme Court case
A top public defender in Kansas says the state is at a crisis point on the 60th anniversary of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that guarantees legal representation for those who can’t afford to hire an attorney.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
A view of Lawrence: St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns to downtown
Community members bundled up for the Lawrence St. Patrick’s Day Parade on brisk Friday afternoon.
Court of Appeals reverses lower court on Kansas lawsuit challenging restraint on voting rights
A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals issued an opinion Friday declaring voting a foundational constitutional right potentially undermined by state law mandating election volunteers verify signatures on advance ballots and restricting the number of advance ballots a person could deliver to an election office.
Kansas governor vetoes legislation banning transgender athletes from school sports
Gov. Laura Kelly for the third straight year has vetoed model legislation that would ban transgender girls from playing school sports with cisgender girls.
Medical marijuana advocate blames Kansas lawmakers for needless suffering
Alejandro Rangel-Lopez says lawmakers who refuse to legalize medical marijuana are responsible for the needless suffering of Kansans. After two days of Senate hearings on proposed legislation, there appears to be little hope for change this year.
Letter to the Times: Legislators are exploring child care deregulation; here’s what the community should know
”Not only does SB 282 ignore the real factors contributing to the child care crisis in Kansas, but it also ignores the valuable investments state agencies and communities have made to overcome the root problems with our child care system,” Chavis Lickvar-Armstrong writes in this letter to the Times.
Kansas lawmakers classify people with sexual development differences as disabled in revised bill
Intersex people and those born with sexual development differences would be classified as disabled and required to use separate bathrooms and locker rooms under legislation being considered by Kansas lawmakers.
Lawrence concert to celebrate 60 years of the right to defense counsel
Lawrence-area public defenders are celebrating and all are invited as Saturday marks 60 years since the court ruling that requires states to provide attorneys for people charged with felonies if they can’t afford to retain counsel.
Senate Republicans, Democrats plunge into weeds for rules scuffle on education funding bill
The dustup in the Senate over a bill delivering voucher-like funding to Kansas private schools featured zinger one-liners, rival interpretations of an obscure parliamentary rule and allegations Republican leadership engaged in abuse of power.
