Local briefs

Entrance to memorialize former KU chancellor

Kansas University officials announced Wednesday that Robert and Elizabeth Malott of Kenilworth, Ill., have pledged $1 million toward campus landscaping, including the new campus entrance at 15th and Iowa streets. Robert Malott’s father, Deane, was chancellor from 1939 to 1951. His wife, Eleanor, was known for spearheading planting efforts on campus. Shown above is a draft of the campus entrance plan.

Advocacy: Organizing at grass-roots is topic of KU conference

Grass-roots advocacy will be the topic of a conference in Lawrence this weekend.

Grassroots Organizing Weekends (GROW), a series of conferences organized by the United States Student Assn. since 1985, will make its first stop in Lawrence. The conference, which runs from Friday to Sunday, will be at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave., and Wescoe Hall at Kansas University.

Topics will include choosing a topic for advocacy, devising a strategy and recruiting participants. Although it is geared toward students, the free conference is open to the public.

For more information, call KU’s Center for Community Outreach at 864-4073.

Kansas University: Campus road closed for rerouting cables

Portions of Sunflower Road at Kansas University will be closed Monday through March 5 to reroute telecommunication cables.

The work is in preparation for this summer, when crews will begin major repair and replacement work on the underground tunnels in the area, according to Doug Riat, KU director of facilities operations. That work will close Sunflower Road from about May 20 through early August.

The tunnels carry communication lines and steam heat lines.

During construction, motorists will continue to have access to Wescoe Hall through the entrance behind Stauffer-Flint Hall, and they’ll be able to access Watson Library and Twente Hall from Sunflower Road, KU officials said.

Safety: Home projects to require lead-paint project audits

The city and state are teaming up to protect children from the dangers of lead exposure.

Starting April 1, the city will request signed documentation from area contractors that their customers in renovation and remodeling projects in homes built before 1978 be notified when lead-based paint is disturbed.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will use the documentation to assure contractors are complying with the requirements. KDHE will be performing monthly audits on the project. Information gathered from the audits will be used in regulation enforcement activities.

Lead poisoning in children can cause damage to the brain and nervous systems, behavioral and learning problems and impaired growth.

For more information on the city’s participation in the program, contact Victor Torres, director of Neighborhood Resources, at 832-3100.

Politics: Sebelius to announce campaign for governor

Topeka  State Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius will officially announce her bid for governor next week, her spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Sebelius, a Democrat, plans a two-day campaign swing with stops Monday in Topeka, Johnson County, Wichita and Pittsburg, and on Tuesday in Hays, Garden City, Colby and Norton.

No other Democrat has announced intention to run.

Wichita Mayor Bob Knight, Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall and Treasurer Tim Shallenburger are running for the Republican Party nomination.

Gov. Bill Graves, a Republican, is finishing his second and final term.