25 years ago: City, police department reach tentative labor agreement

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 20, 1988:

  • The city and the Lawrence Police Officers Association this week reached a tentative settlement on a new work agreement, and for the first time in almost a decade, they had not needed to call in a federal mediator. The tentative agreement was announced this morning in the form of a new city offer which the LPOA was to present to its members for ratification later this week. The negotiators refused to reveal the terms of the settlement until that time. The two sides had reached an impasse at the end of May after a month and a half of open negotiations as the LPOA had sought a 14 percent wage increase while the city was offering 6 percent.
  • Was a true drought on its way? The first six months of the year had been the driest on record for the Lawrence area, and there was no immediate relief in sight, according to Ed Levy, observer for the Kansas University Weather Service. Summer was officially to start at 10:27 tonight, but it felt to local residents that it had started long before, with hot temperatures and rainfall at about 6 inches below normal. The weekend’s official high had been 98 degrees, with the mercury expected to reach 100 today and 101 tomorrow.