News and notes from around town:

• Mulvane-based Wyldewood Cellars plans to open a wine and gift shop in Downtown Lawrence. Owner John Brewer confirmed that he’s signed a lease to occupy the former Winfield House location at 835 Mass., which became available after Winfield House moved to the 600 block of Massachusetts Street.

Wyldewood is best known for its Elderberry wines, but now produces traditional grape wine and several fruit varieties such as cherry, blackberry and even rhubarb. In total the store will carry 51 varieties. It also will sell other items such as fudge, jellies and juices that the company produces at its Mulvane facility.

Brewer also said the company will offer wine classes, and free tastings of its wine.

“They’re iddy-biddy, but they are free,” Brewer said of the tastings.

The company will be closing its store in The Legends shopping center in Western Wyandotte County because the company already is at its maximum of three off-site sales locations.

Brewer hopes to have the store open early next week.

• People tired of a long-standing plywood barrier that has blocked the entrance to the former Masonic Temple building at 1001 Mass. may soon have something new to look at.

The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission will consider a permit for a temporary mural to be painted on the entrance barrier. Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., has applied for the permit, and has asked for the mural to remain up through the end of March, according to a sign permit filed with the city. Pennington said if the project goes well, the expectation would be that a more spring-based mural would be created.

A proposed mural that would be placed in front of the former Masonic Temple building.

The mural will be a project put together by Lawrence-based Van Go Mobile Arts, a non-profit agency that works with local youths.

The Cultural Arts Commission will consider the request at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the meeting room of the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, 4706 Overland Drive.

• City commissioners are expected to debate tonight how the city pays overtime to its employees. Some commissioners have questioned whether the city is being too generous in how it calculates overtime.

In 2009, the city spent $1.63 million on overtime wages, or about 3.6 percent of its gross payroll. A City Hall study found the amount of overtime accrued by Lawrence employees was in line with what other area cities accumulated. But the study also showed that Lawrence is unique in how it calculates overtime. Lawrence allows employees to count vacation time, holiday time and sick leave toward the 40 hours worked in a week. Federal law allows employers to not county holiday, vacation and sick time as hours worked when calculating whether an employee has exceeded 40 hours in a week.

Lawrence was the only city out of the seven where all three categories were part of the overtime calculation. Two cities — Shawnee and Olathe — counted vacation and sick leave but not holiday. Overland Park counted vacation and holiday but not sick leave. Kansas City, Kan., and Lenexa counted only holiday. Topeka did not allow any of the three categories to be counted in the overtime calculation.

City Commissioner Rob Chestnut said he wants the city to strongly consider taking that same position. City Manager David Corliss is asking the commission to appoint an employee-task force to further study the issue. Chestnut said he doesn’t see the need for a task force, but rather wants the city commission to decide the issue in the near future.

Commissioners meet at 6:35 p.m. tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts.