According to an opinion written by the Kansas attorney general, it was legal for Douglas County commissioners to issue bonds — without a public vote — to finance a bypass around southern and western Lawrence. AG Robert T. Stephan said that “home rule” power allowed the county to issue the bonds, and that the power to do so was rooted in state statutes.

Six anti-apartheid protesters who had been arrested at KU earlier in the spring were acquitted, and 28 protesters convicted, of misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges. Those convicted were scheduled to be sentenced within the week.

A ground-breaking ceremony was planned at Lawrence Memorial Hospital for a new ambulatory surgical center and educational facility. LMH was still negotiating for a contractor to build the 5,120-square- foot, two-story addition.

A man who had shot by his neighbor two days previously (see OHT, July 31, 2010) remained in serious condition at LMH, while his assailant was charged with aggravated battery, a felony, and remained in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.