Tree sales raise thousands for charity

Organizers of the 18th annual Lawrence Festival of Trees said they were pleased with results of the Tuesday event, which raised almost $25,000 for The Shelter Inc.

Sold at the benefit auction were 52 Christmas trees and six wreaths. The Shelter cares for children who are in state custody or in danger of being taken by the state.

The two trees that sold for the most were “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” decorated by the store My Father’s Daughter, 844 Mass., and “A Time in History,” decorated by the city of Lawrence. Each went for $1,300. The Shelter declined to identify the winning bidders.

Business

Cork & Barrel owners appeal license ruling

The owners of Lawrence’s two Cork & Barrel liquor stores have appealed a state ruling to revoke the stores’ licenses.

Tom Groneman, director of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division, confirmed Wednesday that Cork & Barrel owners Dan and Jill Blomgren filed the appeal before the Nov. 30 deadline.

Groneman will serve as hearing officer for the appeal. He said he expected to decide within the next two weeks whether to uphold the decision or reopen the case.

Liz Prosser, Lawrence, and her son Thomas Prosser, 2, look through the Festival of Trees display at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.

If the Blomgrens lose this appeal, they still will be able to appeal to the secretary of the Revenue Department, which oversees the ABC, or to a district court judge.

In November, an ABC hearing officer ruled the Blomgrens should have their licenses revoked because they skirted the Kansas law prohibiting a husband and wife from owning more than two liquor stores. The officer ruled the couple had a hidden ownership interest in a West Lawrence liquor store.

Cork & Barrel has stores at 2000 W. 23rd St. and 901 Miss.

Aviation

It’s official: GlobalFlyer to launch from Salina

Salina Municipal Airport will be the launch point and mission control for the coming GlobalFlyer round-the-world solo flight attempt.

The formal announcement was made Wednesday morning at a news conference in Salina. The nonstop solo flight will be made without refueling — the first-ever attempt at such a mission.

The GlobalFlyer is expected to land in Salina 70 to 80 hours after its early January takeoff.

“Salina’s location in the middle of the U.S.A. is a major advantage,” adventurer Steve Fossett, the GlobalFlyer’s pilot, said in a news release. “If I run out of fuel in the last thousand miles, I will be able to glide to a safe landing in any airport in (the) western USA.”

The GlobalFlyer was designed by Burt Rutan, who also designed SpaceShipOne, which earlier this year became the first privately funded craft to achieve spaceflight.