Street closings, shuttle planned for annual parade

Parade organizers expect 7,000 to 8,000 people to line Massachusetts Street on Sunday for the 15th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. To the right are parade celebrants from 2001.

To accommodate the festivities, the city will close the 1300 block of Massachusetts Street to non-parade traffic at approximately 1 p.m. Massachusetts Street through the 600 block will be closed at 2 p.m.

The parade will cross the northbound Kansas River bridge and turn onto Locust Street. Massachusetts Street, the bridge and Locust Street will reopen after the parade, which ends at the Flamingo Club, 501 N. Ninth St.

A free shuttle will take celebrants back and forth from South Park to the Flamingo Club on the half-hour from noon to 6 p.m.

Politics: Foster parents’ coalition plans Statehouse rally

Topeka Hoping to call attention to the needs of children in the state’s foster care system, a coalition of foster parents will have a 10 a.m. rally Tuesday on the south steps of the Statehouse. Afterward, foster parents will present each of the state’s 165 legislators with a doll, representing a child in foster care.

Accompanying each doll will be a hypothetical history, an assessment of current needs and a plan for either safely returning the would-be child to its parents or finding an adoptive home.

In the afternoon, foster parents are scheduled to attend hearings on several bills affecting foster care.

Pump Patrol: Journal-World seeks the lowest gasoline prices

With spring approaching and gasoline prices creeping upward, the Journal-World is bringing back its daily Pump Patrol feature.

Last summer, we tracked down the lowest prices in Lawrence each day so readers could make informed decisions about where to fuel up.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Lawrence jumped from $1.06 a month ago to $1.25 Friday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The Journal-World has found a Lawrence area gasoline prices as low as $1.23 at several North Third Street stations.

If you find a lower price, please call us at 832-7154. Be prepared to leave the name and address of the business and the price. Or go to www.ljworld.com/section/gasoline to join our Pump Patrol message board.