KU Pride Week events include forum, comedian

Queers and Allies at Kansas University have scheduled a series of events for Pride Week, which begins Monday.

The events include:

• Open forum on gay and lesbian issues, 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Walnut Room of the Kansas Union.
• Religious panel on “What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?” at 3 p.m. Thursday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
• 10th annual Brown Bag Drag Show, noon April 25 outside the Kansas Union. Last year’s show is shown in photo above.
• Performance by comedian Diedre Sullivan, 8 p.m. April 25 at the Kansas Union.
• Pride March, begins at 11 a.m. April 26 at Watson Park, followed by a rally at South Park.

Courts

Coach impersonator draws prison sentence

The man who made sexual phone calls to Lawrence high school athletes, pretending to be a college coach, was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in federal prison.

James Riccardi, 42, Leawood, was convicted in January of two counts of possessing child pornography and two counts of using a telephone in an attempt to persuade a child to engage in sexual activity.

Investigators said Riccardi made the calls to student athletes across the Midwest. In Lawrence, police investigated at least a dozen similar calls to athletes at Lawrence and Free State high schools in 2002. In at least one of those cases, the caller posed as a Texas A&M University recruiter and asked the athlete to spank his younger brother.

“Protecting our children from predators like this is one of the most important things we can do,” U.S. Atty. Eric Melgren said.

Development

Two planners join Lawrence’s city staff

Two new city employees are helping chart Lawrence’s future.

Paul Patterson and Brad Hauschild recently joined the city payroll as employees in the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Office.

As a current planner, Patterson reviews site plans and other planning issues. He spent the past four years in Topeka, where he worked as a transportation planner for the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority; he previously worked in Douglas County, Neb., as a current planner and appraiser.

Hauschild is the office’s second long-range planner, a position created to help city officials guide the community’s growth, development and preservation years into the future. The Lawrence native most recently had worked in Spokane, Wash.

“It’s good to be back,” Hauschild said.

State

Son of Sebelius aide, judge takes tourism job

Topeka — Scott Allegrucci, son of a top aide to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and a Kansas Supreme Court justice, has been named state tourism director.

Lt. Gov. John Moore announced Allegrucci’s appointment to the $60,000-a-year job Wednesday. The Division of Travel and Tourism Development is part of the Department of Commerce and Housing, which Moore serves as secretary.

Allegrucci coordinated Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ inaugural festivities in January.

He is the son of Supreme Court Justice Donald Allegrucci and former Sebelius campaign manager Joyce Allegrucci, who is now the governor’s appointments secretary.

Scott Allegrucci’s high-profile parents were not a factor in his appointment to the tourism post, said Sally Lunsford, spokeswoman for the Commerce Department.