Art

Video ‘Gaza Strip’ looks at life in Middle East

A 75-minute video that views life under Israeli occupation during early 2001 through the eyes and words of a 13-year-old paperboy and others will be shown at 7:30 p.m. today in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

Two weeks ago, “Gaza Strip,” the video by American director James Longley, was shown at Liberty Hall to a sold-out audience.

In the video, the paperboy talks of his sorrow at his friend’s death and why he throws stones at Israeli tanks.

The Kansas Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East and the Muslim Student Assn. at KU are sponsoring the video showing. Admission is free.

Education

Regent pushes openness about recent budget cuts

Lew Ferguson said the Kansas Board of Regents needed to be more active in telling Kansans the consequence of budget cuts by Gov. Bill Graves.

“I was surprised and disappointed the governor spared K-12 education and laid the hit that he did on higher education,” Ferguson told the University Council Thursday at Kansas University.

Ferguson, a regent and retired Associated Press journalist, said he wanted regents to stage a press conference outlining the cuts following Graves’ announcement last week that higher education would receive a $27 million, or 3.9 percent, cut. But other regents officials dismissed the idea, he said.

“I think we’ve got to meet this thing head-on and do a better job of getting the message out,” he said.

He said he expected regents to advocate for higher taxes during the next session, though the specific lobbying plan still was being developed.

Animals

Police investigate attack on leashed dog by pit bull

Lawrence animal control officers are investigating another dog-on-dog attack. Police said the latest incident happened Monday night in the 900 block of Madeline Lane.

A Lawrence couple was walking their dog, a spaniel-mix, on a leash. They reported a pit bull from a neighbor’s yard ran across the street and attacked their dog.

Police say there were no outward injuries to the spaniel, but the owners were going to have their pet checked out by a veterinarian.

Animal control officers have identified the owner of the pit bull, a 26-year-old woman.

Police said they would forward results of their investigation to Municipal Court prosecutors to determine whether the pit bull should be classified as a dangerous dog.

Last month, two pit bulls jumped a fence in an east Lawrence neighborhood and mauled to death a Labrador retriever tied up in its back yard. On Nov. 25, an Akita/chow mix chained in its yard in the 1600 block of Second Terrace was attacked by another dog and had to be euthanized.