Although a paid consultant had declared no serious traffic perils existed at the city parking lot at 600 Mass., Mayor Marci Francisco remained firm in her opposition and was calling for the lot to be turned into a bicycle parking area rather than a site for motor vehicles. The mayor, an avid bicyclist, said she had received support from Commissioner Nancy Shontz.

The murder trial for Michael Dever, a 32-year-old longtime Lawrence resident, opened in Douglas County District Court. Dever was charged with the October slaying of Charles A. Myers, a Clute, Texas, biker and accused drug dealer known as “Harley Charley.”