Open enrollment in Kansas public schools will worsen existing inequities and funding issues as well as diminish the importance of voters’ representation on local school boards, some local leaders say.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
A Lawrence police detective was placed on paid leave following his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence last week, though city policy suggests the suspension should be without pay.
Mackenzie Clark / The Lawrence Times
Rontarus Washington Jr., who spent several years behind bars charged with murder in a case that was eventually dismissed, has taken the first step toward filing a $3 million wrongful incarceration lawsuit against Douglas County.
“We could’ve killed him, gone home and had dinner. That’s how strong the hate was,” Sakeim Dowdell recalled, 52 years after a Lawrence police officer shot and killed his younger brother, Rick “Tiger” Dowdell.
All told, Tiger Dowdell’s murder — at the hands of a police department that had threatened to kill him shortly before his death, his grandmother told the KBI — drastically changed the fabric of Lawrence.
A KBI case file leaves one prevailing question which may ultimately be lost to history: Why did Lawrence Police Officer William Garrett shoot and kill Rick “Tiger” Dowdell on July 16, 1970?
As the city formulates its 2023 budget, some social services leaders and advisory board members want more transparency, equity and public engagement in the process used to distribute funding for social service agencies.
Haskell cross-country coach Clay Mayes has been unable to lead practices for five months, he said, pending an investigation into complaints made by a few students. Days after his lawyer made a formal request for an administrative hearing, Mayes’ contract with the university was terminated.
No judge reviewed Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister’s personnel file and cleared him of untruthful behavior, as the sheriff wrote in response to questions last month.
Contributed photo
The Douglas County DA’s office has dropped an estimated 50 cases because of officer integrity issues — including one homicide case. And dueling policies about officer truthfulness and bias are straining the relationship between police and prosecutors.
