County's air quality ranks among 'dirtiest 20 percent'
Douglas County ranks among the "dirtiest/worst 20 percent" of all U.S. counties in terms of an average individual's added cancer risk from hazardous air pollutants, according to a Web site sponsored by the advocacy group Environmental Defense.
By logging on to www.scorecard.org,. Internet users can type in Douglas County ZIP codes to receive the county's ranking based on 1996 Environmental Protection Agency statistics.
The site says 96 percent of the air cancer risk in Douglas County comes from mobile sources, including automobiles, buses, airplanes and agricultural and construction equipment. The photo above shows smoke rising from towers at the KPL Energy Center in Lawrence.
Law enforcement: Police identify body found New Year's Day in Eudora
Eudora Police have identified the woman found dead in her home Tuesday.
She was Kathleen Watts, 42, Police Chief Bill Long said Friday.
An autopsy was performed on the body Wednesday but a specific cause of death still hasn't been identified, Long said. He said it might be three weeks before all of the autopsy tests results were completed.
No foul play was suspected, Long said.
Disaster assistance: Businesses hurt by Sept. 11 eligible for low-interest loans
Businesses hurt in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may be eligible for low-interest loans, the U.S. Small Business Administration has announced.
The SBA already already has approved $10 million in disaster loans to 89 small businesses in the Midwest and Southwest under the program.
Potentially eligible businesses include those that were located in an airport that was closed as a result of a federal mandate or businesses that supplied services to the World Trade Center or Pentagon.
"We encourage businesses that feel that they are eligible to contact us and let us see if we can help," said Raymond Chatham, the director of disaster assistance for the SBA area that includes Kansas.
For more information, visit the agency's Web site at www.sba.gov/disaster.
Centennial celebration: Hughes symposium draws interest of cable TV network
Lawrence's February celebration of the life, art and legacy of poet Langston Hughes has attracted attention from the cable TV news network C-SPAN.
Organizers of the Langston Hughes Symposium, which begins Feb. 7 at Kansas University, should receive official word Monday from C-SPAN whether it will send a crew to Lawrence to tape symposium events.
The three-day symposium coincides with the centennial of Hughes' birth and will include programs by scholars, poets, and performance artists who will explore themes related to Hughes' life and work.
Education: Forum to address issues relating to school funding
Implications of insufficient state and federal funding for public education will be examined Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Lawrence district's business and education partnership.
The meeting is 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the district's headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive. Supt. Randy Weseman will provide an overview of the Kansas school funding debate as it relates to the Lawrence district.
Options for community activism will be discussed by Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, and federal appropriations for special-education programs in public schools will be presented by U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan, or his representative.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.