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.)
August Rudisell / The Lawrence Times
Mass Street to close for Final Four games
The city will close Massachusetts Street in anticipation of — hopefully — large crowds of Jayhawk fans celebrating, according to a news release Monday.
Andrea Albright / The Lawrence Times
Lawrence Starbucks employees to unionize
The workers at Starbucks at 23rd and Ousdahl in Lawrence announced Monday their intent to form a union.
Ken Lassman
Kaw Valley Almanac for March 28 – April 3, 2022
Here are some raccoon tracks in the wet creekside soils, one of their favorite haunts. Wet weather this week should enhance your ability to see animal tracks, and even if it doesn’t rain where you are.
Conner Mitchell / The Lawrence Times
KU headed to Final Four; downtown Lawrence celebrates
Despite offensive struggles in the first half, the Kansas Jayhawks wowed the crowd and came back to top the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday, 76-50.
Lawrence school board to make final budget cut decisions; no new recommendations from staff
The Lawrence school board will meet Monday with plans to make final decisions on budget cuts to balance a multimillion-dollar shortfall. There are no new options on a list of administrators’ recommended cuts.
Kansas Senate gives major shakeup of ballot drop box, mail voting law green light
A bill approved this week by the Kansas Senate would limit drop boxes in all but the largest areas of the state to one per county and add new security measures for surveillance. It would also end a three-day grace period for mail ballots to arrive after Election Day.
Marcel Harmon: Kansas architecture, engineering and construction industry must step up to support public education (Column)
“In Lawrence, where I live, over the next year we are faced with determining what mix of staffing cuts, program restructuring/cuts, and closing neighborhood schools will be done to address budget shortfalls,” Marcel Harmon writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
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Native American legislator rejects GOP lawmaker’s apology for offensive remark
Rep. Ponka-We Victors-Cozad rejected the apology of a House Republican who said during a floor debate that he had to make certain Victors-Cozad was using a wooden gavel rather than a tomahawk to bring order to the chamber.
Bill banning city prohibitions on plastics throws home rule, environment out, representatives say
Some Kansas representatives say a prohibition recently approved by the Legislature on municipalities restricting plastic items tramples on local control and will cause issues for ecosystems across the state.
August Rudisell/The Lawrence Times
KU will no longer require masks in classrooms effective Monday
The University of Kansas will not require masks in classrooms beginning Monday, March 28.
Contributed images; background photos via Unsplash
Douglas County educators advance to Kansas Teacher of the Year honors
Educators across the state, including four from Douglas County, will vie this weekend to advance to the final round in the Kansas Teacher of the Year awards.
Contributed images
Lawrence half pipe honoring legendary KC skateboarder would be unique within 500 miles, organizers say
Friends and family of Corey Lawrence, a skateboarder who died after an accident in 2021, hope to pay tribute to his love for the sport by building a new half pipe at Centennial Park.
Contributed and file photos
Lawrence school district’s director of elementary schools to move into HR role
Kristen Ryan, Lawrence Public Schools director of elementary schools, has been selected as executive director of human resources, pending school board approval.
Ask Codi: Death by alienation (Column)
“Is alienating a tactic used by folks in power to deflect the attention off of their unrighteous living?” Codi Keith Charles writes in this column.
Kansas is on a path to make it easier to get your seized property back from police
Police can keep seized property “as long as necessary,” state statute says, if they believe it could be evidence in a trial. A proposed change to state law would require police to give items back.
August Rudisell / The Lawrence Times
Save Our Schools 497 plans rally ahead of Lawrence school board meeting, calls for cuts to administration
The Save Our Schools 497 group is calling for the Lawrence school board to make deeper cuts to district administration and save librarians’ jobs.
Sarah Podrasky via Marisa Hegeman / Contributed Photo
Lawrence school district librarians shocked after learning of plans to cut most of their jobs
Lawrence school district librarians and library media assistants were “blindsided” Wednesday after being informed that two-thirds of their jobs were being cut, even before the school board has made any final budget cut decisions.
Carter Gaskins
Anthony Lewis, superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools, is a finalist to lead Montgomery district
The superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools is one of five finalists vying for a position leading Montgomery, Alabama Public Schools, where his career began.
Senate narrowly adopts bill affirming access to off-label drugs for COVID-19
A bill adopted by the Senate on a vote of 21-16 would mandate child care facilities and K-12 public schools to accept — without inquiry or scrutiny — the religious objection of parents or guardians to vaccination of their children against a collection of maladies.
University Dance Company’s spring show to explore deep themes this weekend
A contemporary dance set to “playful, Parisian café music” will headline the University of Kansas Dance Company’s Spring Concert, featuring works that “examine the notion of insider/outsider.”
Kansas House takes brief hiatus after approving more than two dozen bills
The Kansas House concluded business before a short break in the session Wednesday by passing more than two dozen bills, including proposals to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, final approval of an education mega bill and passage of both legislative maps.
Letter to the Times: School consolidations will still be necessary
“The community must face the reality that some school consolidation must take place to make the school district budget sustainable,” Rob Chestnut writes in this letter to the Times.
Jeff Burkhead via LMH
LMH Health: No COVID inpatients for the first time since June
Lawrence’s hospital has had zero COVID-19 inpatients for two days in a row, according to a community update Wednesday.
