¢ A man convicted of attempted murder in Lawrence in 1995 has been acquitted of second-degree murder in Yakima, Wash. The Yakima Herald Republic says a jury found Judd Hurst, who was convicted in Lawrence of shooting a motorist, this time was justified in the Yakima shooting._It was not Hurst’s first brush with the law. According to court records, he was convicted of attempted murder in 1995 for shooting at a motorist in Lawrence, Kan., hours after he tried to firebomb a rival teen’s car.__He was 16 at the time and was tried as an adult, serving four years in prison._¢ Kansas University professors involved in a retreat for the Austin, Texas, City Council may have gotten themselves involved in a bit of a controversy. At least that’s the take of a columnist for the Austin American Statesman, who says the council’s decision to have the retreat at a pricy spa didn’t make any sense._This is significant because the public is taking a $16,000 bath thanks to the council. I had to laugh when I read that one of the drawbacks of this expensive aura-fluffing session the council will hold Thursday and Friday out at the Crossings is the out-of-the-way location. It’s 22 miles from downtown, meaning it would be tough for the general public to attend.__Like anybody in his right mind who doesn’t have to be there would want to listen to our City Council discuss its “Strength Deployment Inventory” with a couple of “facilitators” from the University of Kansas. Anybody who would attend something like that without being dragged there with a log chain should not be allowed to leave the grounds of the home unattended._¢ A Lawrence woman, Emma Pogge, was involved in a Veterans Day ceremony in Branson, Mo., the city’s News-Leader reports._Also dropping rose petals for her comrades-in-arms was 94-year-old Emma Pogge, an Air Force veteran who served from 1943 to 1951 and lives in Lawrence, Kan. Last year, she and her husband, Ernest Pogge, an Army veteran, also came to Branson for Veterans Homecoming.__Emma Pogge said she had a stroke six years ago, but “we still travel a lot. It just made it harder to get around,” she said, shaking her cane.__Pogge said she’s concerned about the troops now serving in the Middle East.__”I hope they all come back and stay back,” Pogge said._