More than 250 local people huddled beneath a canopy decked out for Christmas at the Kansas Union to sing as part of a vigil for the late entertainer John Lennon. The 40-year-old ex-Beatle personality had been slain outside his New York City residence.

After more than two hours of debate, the City Commission voted 3-2 to reject the city-county planning commission recommendation to make rezoning of the controversial Bluffs area (near Sixth and Iowa) contingent on approval of a site plan and plat. Developers Duane Schwada, Bob Radcliffe and Gene Fritzel received approval on a request to rezone the five-acre tract from single-family use to a mix of residential-office and commercial use.