Man convicted of killing Lawrence boy in 1988 up for parole this month

Ian, do you know if the parole board is holding public comment sessions as they did at his parole hearing in 2003?

June 7, 2013 at 11:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: No re-enactment

If it is this you are referring to:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/may...

.... I thought it was only a re-enactment on Twitter, not an actual physical Raid with actors running around brandishing pistols.

"People will be able to follow along through the Twitter hashtag #QR1863 or through a live stream of tweets on the 1863Lawrence.com Web site."

Hope this helps!

June 5, 2013 at 3:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Local girls become beauty queens for a day

A lot of you are talking about women dressing up, which is fine (I don't like the pajama trend either, for women OR men) -- but these are little girls we're talking about, just nine or ten years old. I can see this for a slightly older demographic, say when they're entering their teens, but this does seem a little early. Would girls this young actually be into this stuff if media and society weren't telling them to be?

If it's just about keeping your hair and nails clean and other hygiene matters, where's the day for the little boys?

And if we want to celebrate National Women's Month, I could think of a lot of ways that would be less shallow than this. How about a reading day or a science day? How about beautifying the brain? How about a day of learning about health -- learn about their digestion and their muscles and how to eat right and take pride in having healthy insides? Just a few ideas based on what I find little girls are equally, if not more so, naturally interested in, if only someone would help them out instead of focusing on the outer self.

March 21, 2013 at 12:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Catholic Cardinals choose 266th pope

This is a humble man who, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, refused to live in the fancy domicile but resided in a simple apartment, took the bus to work, and did hands-on charitable work for AIDS patients, etc.

March 13, 2013 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

We have been coming to this restaurant more or less regularly since it was just the Panda Garden and we have never been disappointed.

1. Nowadays, we almost always order from the "Secret Menu" which is a listing of authentic Chinese foods. It isn't really as secret as it used to be, but that hasn't made it any less fun. It's been a great experience to experiment with these unfamiliar dishes. My favorite so far is the Steamed Sliced Fish which is a very simple, but incredibly delicious, preparation of a couple of large fish filets. From what I can taste, they seem to be steamed with ginger and a few other ingredients. Just melt-in-your-mouth good. My dining companion, who loves hot and spicy dishes, has always found something good on the Authentic Menu as well. There is some sort of pepper oil that they add to the soups; he has them put a lot in, so his broth looks almost radioactive, but he swears it's excellent. Curious? Get thee to their website menu, where you'll find a full listing under "Traditional Chinese Dishes," or get over to the Panda Plum and give it a go!

2. Sure, we love the Special Secret Menu.... but we still sometimes order from the Regular Menu, where I have several favorites! For starters, I am a huge fan of the Thai Spring Rolls -- a nice roll of rice paper (if that is the name for that transparent edible thing) well-stuffed with lettuce, shrimp, mint, chicken, and noodles. There must be an art to making these because I have had them at other restaurants where they show a distressing tendency to unroll while you're eating them. Not these -- they're obviously rolled by an expert! I could eat a platter of those and call it a night; but I usually eat one and share the other. (By the way, that peanut sauce is wonderful!) The Cha Sha Bau is another popular appetizer at our table -- steamed buns filled with pork with a slight BBQ taste. They smell terrific and taste even better! Moving on to the main dishes from the Regular Menu, I enjoy the Moo Shu Tofu. The tofu pieces are big and cooked just right, and there is easily enough food here for two or even three meals, so you're fixed for lunch or dinner for a couple of days. There's also a Mussman Curry, I think on the back page of the regular menu, which I like a lot. It's a little less spicy than you might find at other restaurants, which is okay with me. It's also a lot of food; I usually end up taking home about half, sometimes more.

3. On a special occasion, we went with a group to partake in the "Chinese Hot Pot" which consists of a couple of different simmering-hot broths (one spice, one not) and platters full of thinly-sliced foods. You lower the food selection into the broth and it cooks right at the table. That was a very fun and interesting experience! (You have to give them notice if you want to try Hot Pot, I think it's 24 hours but you should check on that.)

4. On another occasion we hosted a small party of folks, some of whom were vegetarian, for a birthday lunch. The staff was very helpful in explaining the vegetarian options and everything was delicious!

5. There is a small room just to the left of the front door which can be reserved for small dinner parties or lunch get-togethers. It is nice to have this option because you can all hear one another talk while you're enjoying your food.

6. I can't review the buffet or the delivery service, having never tried them, but I have heard that the delivery is very fast. Frankly I've never understood the appeal of a buffet when there is a chef waiting in the kitchen to cook you something fresh and personalized, but I know some people like the variety on a buffet, so I'll let the other reviewers talk about that!

7. You couldn't ask for a more pleasant, friendly staff. They treat us almost like family or at least like long-absent friends. The wait staff is very helpful when it comes to describing an unfamiliar dish or (in the case of my dining companion) asking the kitchen to increase the spiciness level!

Five stars for this Lawrence favorite!

February 5, 2013 at 4:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Water main break shuts down part of Massachusetts Street

According to the press release I saw this morning:

"The main break is on a 6-inch ductile iron, fire sprinkler line installed in 2001."

So, not an ancient water pipe.

December 28, 2012 at 1:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU fraternity suspended by national organization in wake of animal cruelty allegations

Not a greek hater, but tired of hearing such things referred to as "mistakes." A mistake is when you forget to carry the 2 when figuring your tip. Not comparable to making a choice to inflict harm.

And I can't believe you're trying to play the "Oh, tell me you've never done anything like that" card. No matter where I lived, I would never do this. Never.

December 18, 2012 at 12:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU fraternity suspended by national organization in wake of animal cruelty allegations

Don't be disingenuous, Bailey. People aren't upset about the "tradition" of the party; they're upset about the animal abuse.

December 18, 2012 at 12:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU fraternity suspended by national organization in wake of animal cruelty allegations

If you still feel "relaxed" after reading the following, I wouldn't want to be at a party with you or even know you.

"When the men broke the cage, the turkey fled and raced through the dance crowd of about 150 people. It was allegedly chased, thrown like a football and choked by the neck. When the turkey’s wing snapped, and then its leg, the animal began screaming, witnesses said. A drummer playing in the band jumped off the stage and begged the college students to let her have the bird.

"'They told me it was none of my business,' said Lisa McKenzie, whose blues band, Grand Marquis, was hired to play at the fraternity’s formal dinner party. The group had played at the traditional party, which some called “the turkey pull,” for several years.

"McKenzie said the brutality nauseated her and the other band members. They ended their gig before the last set and called police."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/17/...

December 18, 2012 at 12:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Task force told out-of-wedlock births to blame for child poverty

I find the wording here to be confusing. The article talks about the risks for children of "non-marital births" but then the data they use to support this talks about the poverty rate in "female-headed households." As another commenter pointed out, these are not necessarily the same thing. While it may seem obvious that a single-income household is going to have less money than a two-income household, I think the wording blurs the issue by putting divorced mothers and never-married mothers in the same category. (I don't know why we aren't talking about single-parent homes where the parent is the father, but that's another story.) And while I wish EVERYONE had a happy stable relationship and EVERY child could grow up without experiencing poverty, it's just not always going to work out that way -- and I'm very leery of statistics possibly being used to coerce people into staying in (or getting into) bad marriages.

November 19, 2012 at 5:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )