¢ Lawrence and Kansas University were lauded Friday by the New York Times for being ahead of the curve when it comes to requiring greek houses to have sprinkler systems._”Some of our facilities are really large and structurally pretty sound, but others weren’t quite that way,” said Ann Eversole, a longtime administrator at the university who worked closely with fraternities and sororities when the ordinance was enacted.__For local alumni-run housing corporations that owned the chapter houses and acted as their landlords, “it was a very responsible thing to do,” said Dr. Eversole, who is now assistant vice provost. “But for some, it caused great difficulty,” she said, noting that a handful of chapters had not survived the ordinance and had closed down._¢ Lawrence native Karole Armitage, a well-known dancer and choreographer, is featured in Sunday’s New York Times. She has a new dance, “Gamelan Gardens,” premiering._Ms. Armitage, now 53, after a long stretch in Europe, is once again a relative newcomer, a stranger to a large segment of local audiences. To those who remember or have read about the new era that her early choreography seemed to promise, however, she is a prodigal daughter._¢ Springfield, Mo., has taken a page from downtown shopping in Lawrence, adopting a “Downtown Dollars” program that’s similar to a gift certificate program offered by Downtown Lawrence Inc. The Springfield News-Leader explains the story._The idea was borrowed from the downtown district of Lawrence, Kan., where a similar program sold $17,000 worth of gift certificates, said Brian Fogle, director of community development at Great Southern Bank.__”We thought it was such a good idea we wanted to try it here,” Fogle said._