Meetings continued about the city’s comprehensive plan to allow construction of a shopping center in the 600 block of downtown. No firm policies had been established as the bargaining continued.

Efforts were being made to counsel those, particularly children, who were distressed after watching “The Day After,” a made-for-TV film about the aftermath of a holocaust. Public showing was due in about a week by ABC and a number of parents were worried that the “blackness of the show” would have bad effects.

Mayor David Longhurst staunchly defended Town Center Venture Corp., the local firm chosen as the city’s new downtown developer. Sizeler of New Orleans had been ousted in favor of Town Center and criticism grew rapidly.

Kansas University Chancellor Gene Budig said he was “quite unhappy” about a likely 5 percent pay hike for faculty and classified staff. He stood behind a 7 percent amount advocated by the board of regents.