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 appeals court says secretary of state violated open records law by altering computer system
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab violated state open records law when he ordered a software vendor to disable the ability to produce a public record, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled on Friday.
Meet the candidates vying to represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate
Coming up Aug. 2, Democratic and Republican voters will decide which candidates will advance to face off in the Nov. 8 general election.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Abortion and access are interconnected with other issues, panelists say at Lawrence event
The future of abortion rights in Kansas will be determined by the Aug. 2 election, but due to the interconnected nature of social ideas, it won’t be the only right hanging in the balance, panelists said during a conversation Thursday.
Lawrence police to conduct a DUI saturation patrol Friday
Extra Lawrence police officers will be patrolling for impaired drivers Friday, according to a news release from the department.
KU research finds association between a state’s generosity with food benefits, child welfare
KU researchers report that every 5% increase in enrollment in the federal nutrition assistance program for low-income families could reduce the number of children a state placed in foster care or protective services by 7.6% to 14.3%.
Kansas establishes task force to study and improve wildfire emergency response
A new task force is focusing on ways communities can better prevent, respond and recover from wildfires.
Letter to the Times: Are you really going to force a child to have a baby?
“Abortion bans — particularly for children who get pregnant by a family member — are just plain cruel. And that’s what’s at stake if the proposed constitutional amendment on the Aug. 2 ballot passes,” Amii N. Castle writes in this letter to the Times.
Contributed image
Sunrise Project’s ‘Lit & Local’ event to offer young creators a platform to sell handmade work
A festival this Saturday in Lawrence will give young entrepreneurs a platform to showcase and sell their unique, handmade work.
U.S. Army outlines progress of environmental remediation at De Soto explosives plant
U.S. Army base closure personnel responsible for the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant offered Wednesday the first update in three years on costly remediation of soil, water, buildings and drainage pipes contaminated by decades of manufacturing high explosives.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Lawrence police switch to ‘less lethal’ beanbag shotguns
The Lawrence Police Department has transitioned from patrol shotguns to “less lethal” beanbag options this week, according to a news release from the department.
Contributed image
Reproductive Rights Panel set for Thursday at Lawrence Public Library
Speakers with a wide range of experiences and perspectives will participate in a reproductive rights panel Thursday in Lawrence.
Derek Mecca
Downtown Lawrence Summer Sale set for all day Thursday
What’s in a name? Though it’s been rebranded as the Summer Sale, the event formerly called the Sidewalk Sale will return to downtown Lawrence Thursday.
Mike Gunnoe
Spencer Museum of Art receives $3M gift to expand art and interdisciplinary research initiative
The Spencer Museum of Art at KU has been gifted $3 million to support an initiative that pairs artists with a range of research areas and methods to foster new ways of thinking about life.
Poll shows Kansans closely divided on constitutional amendment on abortion
The first public poll for the Kansas constitutional amendment on abortion shows a close race and exposes other ideological divides over reproductive rights.
Lawrence elected leaders face threats, polarization in a changing climate for public servants
When she first ran for election to the Lawrence school board more than a decade ago, Shannon Kimball wanted to help her community and her city’s public schools. Her most recent term has shown her a side of the job she hadn’t seen before.
Obituary: Mary Tuven
Mary Tuven, 09/27/1938 – 07/19/2022
Letter to the Times: This is not the American way
“If you vote ‘yes,’ you are renouncing your natural rights, your God-given rights, in favor of only those privacy rights that the legislators of Kansas choose to give you. With all due respect, this is not the American way,” Jonathan D. Kaufelt writes in this letter to the Times.
Kansas corrections system grapples with 22.6% vacancy rate among uniformed prison staff
The state Department of Corrections said the latest staffing report Monday indicated 22.6% or 416 of 1,840 uniformed jobs in nine state prisons were vacant. At no point in 2022 has the shortfall among uniformed officers at the Kansas prisons fallen below 400.
Kansas and Missouri health care is saddling people of color with debt
People of color in Kansas and Missouri are often saddled with medical debt. That hurts their credit and their ability to get good loans, to buy homes and a range of other things that fuel middle class wealth.
Lawrence City Commission takes next steps on plastic bag ban, methane gas at multimodal transfer hub
Lawrence city commissioners Tuesday night asked staff to review a proposed ordinance banning single-use plastic bags and decided to move ahead with plans for the multimodal transfer facility to use methane gas.
Lawrence families create mutual aid network during baby formula shortage
As a group of Lawrence moms and more band together to overcome a nationwide baby formula shortage, they’re showing the power of mutual aid and setting a model for how people in other communities can help their neighbors survive tough times.
Symposium invites landlords to discover benefits of affordable housing partnerships
More than 70 local households have been approved for housing vouchers but can’t find a rental unit that matches their needs. To help alleviate that shortfall, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority will host a symposium July 28 to educate property owners about incentives and support available for those who partner with the agency.
August Rudisell / Lawrence Times file photo
Employee taken to hospital after fire at dentist’s office in Lawrence
An employee of a Lawrence dentist’s office was evaluated for smoke inhalation and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation following a fire Tuesday.
Organization leading fight against abortion amendment tops $6.5 million in donations
The organization leading the effort to defeat an Aug. 2 abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution took in $6.54 million in contributions since start of the year and spent two-thirds of that cash on advertising to influence primary voters.
