The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission unanimously approved a permit that would allow the Kansas Women’s Substance Abuse Services to operate its First Step program at 906 Connecticut and 908-910 Connecticut. The halfway houses would house up to 13 women and up to eight of their children. Three neighbors attending the meeting raised objections to the plan, saying that they didn’t think the houses would “fit in,” that they wouldn’t feel safe with the houses in the neighborhood, and that the halfway houses would devalue the nearby houses. The Lawrence City Commission was to have the final say on the permit.

Kansas University professor Orley Taylor Jr. downplayed a recently reported colony of “killer bees” found in California, saying that the bees probably had not migrated naturally from South and Central America, but that they had probably arrived in a ship’s cargo.

A slow 1.28 inches of rain had fallen overnight, bringing some relief to residents, especially farmers.