Trash bags stolen from late justice’s home

Someone stole between 10 and 15 bags of trash last week from outside the home of recently deceased Kansas Supreme Court Justice Robert Gernon, according to a Lawrence Police report.

Gernon, 61, died of cancer March 30. Family members had been clearing out items from his home Thursday in the 4900 block of Stoneback Drive.

They left the trash bags unattended about 9:30 p.m., according to the report. When they came back about 2:38 a.m. Friday, the bags were gone, according to a report.

Items taken included “legal and financial documents,” said Sgt. Dan Ward, a Lawrence Police spokesman.

Kansas University

Law School not hurt by rating change

A change in the way U.S. News & World Report collects its test data has law schools across the country grumbling.

But the change in figuring LSAT scores had little, if anything, to do with why the Kansas University School of Law plummeted in the rankings, which were released April 1.

“I don’t think, frankly, it made a difference for KU,” Dean Stephen McAllister said. “For us, it was about employment (placements), not LSAT.”

U.S. News & World Report ranked KU’s law school 100th this year, down from 63rd last year.

In previous years, the magazine used a median LSAT score, meaning the 50th percentile. The magazine this year began using a different method to calculate the score — the average of the 25th and 75th percentiles. That hurt some schools’ ratings, but McAllister said KU’s LSAT scores were almost identical using the two methods.

Constitutional amendment

Marriage ban topic of town hall meeting

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, will lead a town hall meeting tonight to discuss the constitutional amendment approved by Kansas voters last week that outlaws gay marriage.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be at 7 p.m. at the Hall Center for the Humanities on the Kansas University campus.

Solmonese is starting his “On the Road to Equality” tour of the nation. He will discuss Kansas’ vote to become the 18th state to amend its constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples. Douglas County was the only county in the state to vote against the amendment.

The meeting will be simulcast on the HRC Web site, www.hrc.org.

Homeless issues

Church groups to review programs

The Lawrence Community InterFaith Initiative will meet at 1 p.m. today in the St. James Room at Corpus Christi Church, 6001 Bob Billings Parkway, to hear presentations on local efforts to reduce homelessness.

Featured speakers are Lequetta Diggs, director of Mother to Mother; Katherine Dinsdale, director of New Focus Ministries; and Kent Hayes, homelessness outreach coordinator at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center.

Open to the public, the meeting’s intent is to help churches develop a better understanding of programs and services for the homeless.

Gasoline Prices

Patrol seeks fuel deals

The Journal-World has found a gas price as low as $2.23 at several locations around Lawrence. If you find a lower price, call 832-7154.