Area briefs

Sudan crisis is topic on Public Radio show

A Kansas University program coordinator will be featured today on Public Radio station KCUR, 89.3 FM.

Khalid El-Hassen, who works with KU’s African Studies Resource Center, will appear at 11 a.m. with U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., on “Up to Date” to discuss the current situation in Sudan.

El-Hassen is a graduate of the University of Khartoum in Sudan and a specialist in education and development in Africa. Brownback recently returned from a fact-finding mission to Sudan.

Brown Bag Concert features bluegrass band

The Alferd Packer Memorial String Band will entertain outdoor diners and shoppers Thursday during the Brown Bag Concert.

The show runs from noon to 1 p.m. at the corner of Ninth and Massachusetts streets. People are encouraged to bring their lunch and enjoy free bluegrass music. This week’s concert coincides with the annual Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale.

The summer Thursday lunchtime concert series is sponsored by Lawrence Parks and Recreation and Downtown Lawrence Inc. It continues through July.

LHS graduates tapped for honor society at KU

Four graduates of Lawrence High School were among the more than 50 Kansas University students recently inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta national history honor society.

Undergraduates could join the group if they had completed four history courses with a grade-point average of at least 3.1 and had a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Those inducted from Lawrence were Steven Davis, senior; Jennifer Donnally, senior; Kathleen Lennear Bell, junior; and Lisa Lewin, senior.

National columnist appears on ‘River City’

The winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, Leonard Pitts, is the guest this week on “River City Weekly.”

Pitts, interviewed in Topeka prior to his address at the annual Gleed Lecture at Washburn University on June 28, spoke with Lawrence Journal-World editorial page editor Ann Gardner and Greg Hurd, host of “River City Weekly,”.

“River City Weekly” premieres on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays with replays at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Mondays, and 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays.

Vehicle registration notices get new look

Topeka — Vehicle registration renewal notices now have a new look, the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles said.

The new notice will be printed on regular paper, will accommodate up to five vehicles per page and will be mailed in a business envelope.

Agency spokesmen said the ability to list more vehicles on the same renewal notice would reduce postage used to mail the reminders.

Lawrence City Band to play worldly music

The Lawrence City Band’s seventh concert of the summer season will showcase music from around the globe.

“World Tour 2004,” under the direction of Robert Foster, will be at 8 p.m. today in South Park, 11th and Massachusetts Street.

The program includes “Hungarian March,” “March of the Belgium Parachutist,” “An American in Paris” and “Hands Across the Sea.”

The concert is free.

KU professors helping Liberal history teachers

Two Kansas University professors are working this summer with history teachers in Liberal on new online resources to help them teach Kansas history.

James Tramill, associate research professor at the Institute for Educational Research and Public Service, and Rita Napier, history professor, are working with a three-year, $570,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant involves KU, the Liberal school district and the Coronado Museum in Liberal.

Tramill and Napier led a workshop for Liberal teachers in June and will return in August to launch new online history units with the teachers.

Military science chair relinquishes command

Lt. Col. Brian M. De Toy, professor and chairman of the department of military science at Kansas University, is leaving the university.

De Toy is being assigned to the Combat Studies Institute at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. His replacement will be Maj. Jeff Maxcy, who comes to KU from a teaching position at Fort Leavenworth.

More than 80 students are in the KU program.

“We are very proud of the Army ROTC program at KU,” De Toy said in a written statement. “Our cadets surpass national averages in all key areas. In addition, the program maintains a 3.2 cumulative GPA at KU, surpassing the university average.”

Maxcy starts at KU on Thursday.