Liquor store robbery under investigation

Lawrence Police late Tuesday night were investigating a robbery at Spirit Liquor, 600 Lawrence Ave.

The robbery occurred shortly before 11 p.m., and police were searching the area for at least one suspect. No other details were available.

Spirit Liquor also was robbed in early November by a man wearing a white cloth over his face. The robber did not display a weapon.

Tuesday night fire damages apartments

A fire that damaged an apartment house late Tuesday night was being investigated by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

The fire broke out in the back of the one-story house at 1705 Vt. and was reported to Fire & Medical at 10:15 p.m., Deputy Chief Mark Bradford said.

The house had been divided into three apartments and at least one of the occupants was present when the fire started, Bradford said. Nobody was injured, he said.

Firefighters arrived at 10:17 p.m. and had the fire under control by 10:30 p.m., Bradford said. The cause of the fire and the damage it caused were not known late Tuesday.

Commission grants alcohol waivers

The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday granted waivers to allow two new downtown businesses to serve alcohol.

Qdoba Mexican Grill, which will be located in the former Connex building at 947 Mass., and the new owners of the Masonic Lodge at 1001 Mass., were both granted waivers.

Both buildings are within 400 feet of the First United Methodist Church and Trinity Episcopal Church; city codes generally prohibit establishments from serving alcohol so close to churches.

Commissioner David Schauner was the lone vote against the waivers.

“What I don’t want to see downtown become is a cereal malt beverage drinking establishment, one right after the other,” Schauner said.

Commissioner Boog Highberger voted for the waivers.

“I don’t see any use of that (Masonic) building, in its current form, that wouldn’t require a drinking establishment license to make it viable,” he said.

Task force evaluating plans for De Soto plant

Olathe — An advisory group is evaluating six redevelopment plans for the defunct Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near De Soto as Johnson County commissioners push to finish a deal by October.

The advisory panel, led by Don Jarrett, the commission’s chief Sunflower negotiator, will evaluate the fiscal fitness of developers who want to put 9,065 acres of former ammunition plant land back on the tax rolls.

The panel also will evaluate how well the developers adhere to county instructions for developing the land.

Kansas City-based real estate firm Kessinger/Hunter Inc. was the first developer to express interest in the Sunflower property.

Others developers still under consideration are: Doug Dowell, an Overland Park investor and developer; Hunt Midwest Enterprises Inc. of Kansas City, Kan.; Wind Power of Lenexa; Pollution Risk Services of Cincinnati; and LS Commercial Real Estate of Overland Park.

KU math professor wins national award

A national organization has selected a Kansas University mathematics professor for an annual award.

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, will be awarded the Louise Hay Award for Contributions to Mathematics Education at the meeting of the Association for Women in Mathematics on Thursday in Phoenix.

Pasik-Duncan, a native of Poland, has taught at KU since 1984. Her research has been applied to the fields of biomedicine, biostatistics, telecommunication networks and finance.

She has won many awards including the HOPE award from KU.