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News and notes from around town:

• A pair of proposals to add more industrial ground northwest of Lawrence soon will have their first public hearings. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on Oct. 25 will hear a request to rezone 120 acres at East 700 and North 1800 roads from agricultural to light industrial. As previously reported, the 120 acres is the proposed site for a $21 million warehouse for Berry Plastics.

On Oct. 27, the planning commission will consider annexation and rezoning requests for 51 acres at North 1800 and East 1000 roads. The property owners are seeking to have the site rezoned from agricultural to general industrial. This property once was up for consideration as a site for the Berry warehouse but was not chosen. The development group — Venture Properties — however, said it wants to continue with the rezoning so it will be available to other potential users in the future.

Both meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. at Lawrence City Hall.

• According to the Douglas County Clerk’s office, today — Oct. 18 — is the last chance to register to vote in the Nov. 2 general election. Registration can be done online, here. Advance voting already has begun.

• A new report from the Douglas County Appraiser’s office shows home foreclosures in Douglas County are up significantly in 2010. Through the end of August, the number of foreclosure sales conducted in the county was 164. That’s up from 80 during the same time period in 2009.

• The Lawrence Memorial Hospital board of trustees will be adding a new face. Jane Blocher, the executive director of the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross, is expected to be appointed to the board by city commissioners at their meeting Tuesday. Also at their Tuesday meeting, commissioners are expected to appoint Thomas Christie to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

• New statistics are out for the Lawrence Community Shelter. In a report to city commissioners, shelter leaders report that from March through August law enforcement officers were called to the downtown shelter 34 times, and emergency response crews were called 14 times. Other statistics in the report include: 22 guests obtained jobs during the time period; 28 guests obtained housing; 274 individuals used the shelter’s day services; 362 individuals used its night services.

• Also from the shelter, new information about its fund-raising efforts. A J-W article on Friday reported that a new $540,000 matching grant put the shelter more than halfway toward its $3 million goal. Shelter leaders since have done some more figuring and are announcing that the grant now has fund-raising efforts two-thirds of the way complete.

• Yes, that is pink you are seeing Lawrence firefighters wearing. Through Saturday, members of the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical department will be wearing bright pink t-shirts as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign. The department also will be selling the shirts, with proceeds to go towards fighting breast cancer. For more information, call Fire Station No. 3, 832-7630.

• The city of Lawrence has announced plans for an electronic recycling event. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Free State High parking lot, 4700 Overland Drive. The event is for small electronic devices, often which have lead, mercury or other material that is not recommended for landfills. The event is largely free, although fees will be charged to accept computer monitors and televisions. The fee for monitors is $10, and for television $15.

What Town Talk are you hearing? Send me a tip at clawhorn@ljworld.com.

Another Lawrence institution is working to make the latest Top 20 poll, and this one doesn’t have anything to do with KU athletics.

The Downtown Lawrence Farmers' Market is battling to be named one of the 20 best farmers' markets in the country by the American Farmland Trust.

The nonprofit organization is running an online poll asking people to vote for their favorite farmers' market. Thus far, Lawrence is on the outside looking in.

As of Thursday morning, the Lawrence market had 73 votes, which left it 18 votes behind 20th ranked Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market in Santa Barbara, Calif. Lawrence’s market is a full 1,024 votes behind the No. 1 ranked Davis Farmers Market in Davis, Calif.

People can vote online at www.farmland.org/vote.

Several other Kansas markets also are part of the competition. Thus far, the farmers' market in Emporia is ranked No. 16 in the medium-market category. Lawrence is competing in the large-market category because it has more than 55 vendors on a regular basis.

Voting will last for about another week, according to a press release from the group.

There soon may be new life for the former Arensberg Shoes building in downtown Lawrence.

Lawrence orthodontist Dan Ranjbar has bought the building and filed new plans with the city that he hopes will make the large Art Deco landmark at 825 Mass. more attractive to retailers.

“I’m definitely not interested in putting a restaurant in there,” said Ranjbar. “I want retail, boutique or spa type businesses. That’s what we’re going to see there.”

To do it, though, he’s going to have to rearrange some space. He’s filed plans with City Hall that would allow the ground floor of the building to be split into two retail spaces. The plan also would allow for two office spaces on the top floor, and a retail space in the basement.

“When you go to cities like Boston, their basements are fully utilized, but they aren’t here in downtown,” Ranjbar said. “Our plan is to create a prominent entryway to the basement and also one to the top level of the building.”

The changes are necessary, in part, because most of the interest in the building as it is currently configured has been from potential restaurants. Ranjbar — who is a part owner in the Teller’s building — said he’s firmly on the side of people who believe downtown has enough restaurants.

“I think people want to shop and eat when they come to downtown,” Ranjbar said. “We have enough places to eat. We need more places to shop. I will sit on it as long as I can to get that.”

Ranjbar’s plans also don’t call for major changes to the overall look of the building, which was rebuilt in the 1930s to become the community’s Montgomery Ward building.

The major Art Deco themes of the building will remain, but Ranjbar wants to update the ground floor store front areas to include more glass tile and other features.

“It will be stunning when we get done there,” Ranjbar said. “I want people when they walk into that space to have a similar feeling as when they walk into the Teller’s building.”

Ranjbar — who hopes to have the renovations done by December — said he has begun to receive some interest from potential retail tenants.

“I’m getting a mixed bag on retail,” Ranjbar said. “I have to feel confident that the person I put in there will stay afloat.”

In other development news:

• Plans are still in the works for a new Dunkin’ Donuts store at Sixth and Michigan streets. Lawrence’s Dunkin’ Donuts owner Sonny Patel announced in November that he had plans to build a new 2,400 square foot store — complete with drive-thru — on the northwest corner of Sixth and Michigan where a medical supply store once operated. Patel recently said those plans are still alive, although they have taken longer than he had hoped. He said he hopes to submit the design — which will feature a new look for Dunkin’ Donuts — to the city in the next week or so. He hopes to begin construction in a couple of months, and to be open in about six months. The Dunkin’ Donuts at 521 W. 23rd St. will remain open even after the new store is built.

• Add The Granada, 1020 Mass, to the list of bars seeking a sidewalk drinking area, now that the city has loosened the rules for such applications. Building owner Doug Compton also has filed plans to remodel the building’s exterior entryway.

• Preliminary plans are under way to redevelop the Boardwalk Apartments, 510-544 Fireside Drive. Plans have long been under way to rebuild part of the complex that burned in a 2005 fire that killed three people. But in May, the owners of the property announced they were closing the entire complex because of safety concerns. Now, the property owners have filed a new preliminary plat for the property, which is one of the first steps in redeveloping the entire complex. Thus far, plans haven’t been filed on what specifically would be located on the property, but property owners have kept the multifamily zoning for the property.

There was a lot of talk about social service funding during last April’s Lawrence City Commission election. In particular, there was a lot of hand-wringing over potential city funding cuts to social service agencies, but several candidates said they would make it a goal to at least hold social service funding steady.

So, as the city prepares its 2010 budget, how are they doing?

So far, so good.

City Manager David Corliss’ recommended budget essentially keeps all social service and other outside agency funding steady at 2009 levels.

Here’s a look at all the different outside entities the city provides funding for, the amount they’re slated to receive in 2010, and how that compares with 2009 funding levels:

The following funding comes from city property taxes: • Douglas County Legal Aid: $40,000, no change. • Lawrence Humane Society: $256,320, no change. • Downtown Lawrence Inc: $42,500, no change. • Lawrence Chamber of Commerce: $185,500, no change. • Lawrence Douglas County Bioscience Authority: $200,000, no change. • Lawrence Douglas County Bioscience Incubator: $75,000, no change. • Ballard Community Center: $7,500, no change. • Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence: $143,722, no change. • Douglas County CASA: $20,000, no change. • TFI Family Services: $6,750, no change. • Ecumenical Minister’s Fellowship: $4,000, no change. • Health Care Access pharmacy program: $26,000, no change. • Bert Nash Homeless Outreach Team: $164,000, no change. • Lawrence Community Shelter: $57,000, up from $27,000. The shelter in 2010 will begin receiving some city funding that previously went to The Salvation Army since The Salvation Army no longer operates a homeless shelter. • Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority: $0, down from $13,192. • The Salvation Army: $24,000, down from $40,000. • Housing & Credit Counseling: $17,100, no change. • Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging: $7,400, no change. • Lawrence Arts Center: $90,000, no change. • The Shelter Inc: $32,000, no change. • Van Go Mobile Arts: $35,000, no change. • Warm Hearts: $6,000, no change. • Women’s Transitional Care Service: $6,000, no change.

The following funding comes from the city’s guest tax, which is charged to customers at Lawrence hotels and motels: • Destination Management/Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau: $685,560, up from $684,300. • Guest tax reserve fund: $154,500, no change. This fund is often used to pay the city’s share of various special events in the community. • Sister Cities Advisory Board: $7,500, no change.

The following funding comes from the city’s share of the state liquor tax: • Lawrence Arts Center Scholarships: $25,000, no change. • Lawrence Arts Commission: $25,000, no change. • Ballard Community Center: $4,500, no change. • Big Brothers/Big Sisters: $27,000, no change. • Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence: $100,000, no change. • DCCCA: $41,000, no change. • First Step House: $29,150, no change. • Headquarters Inc.: $22,500, no change. • Lawrence Community Shelter: $27,000, no change. • Lawrence Police Department: $250,000, no change. The money is used to help fund school resource officers. • Van Go Mobile Arts Inc.: $44,000, no change. • Women’s Transitional Care Services: $17,000, no change.

City Commissioner Aron Cromwell served on a city committee that came up with the recommended funding levels. He believes his fellow city commissioners will leave the recommendations largely unchanged.

“I think the will of the commission is to protect these vulnerable agencies at a time when they really need it,” Cromwell said. “And the good thing is that it wasn’t that hard to do because it is not an enormous part of the city budget.”

All told, the city is slated to provided $2,906,002 to outside agencies in 2010, out of a total budget of $157,707,300.

When it comes to social service funding, one other interesting promise was made during the campaign. Cromwell promised to donate his City Commission salary to social service agencies. He said he plans to follow through on that, but hasn’t yet selected all the agencies that he’ll provide funding to.

“I plan to spread it around,” said Cromwell, who said he anticipates making donations to the Lawrence Humane Society, the Lawrence Community Shelter and several other local groups.

Commissioners make $9,000 per year, before taxes.

A sector of Lawrence that hasn’t gotten much love lately is getting a little these days from the national media.

An online report by MSNBC mentions Lawrence as one of 33 metro areas across the country where there are early signs of a housing rebound.

The report sites an Adversity Index put together by MSNBC and Moody’s Economy.com. The index shows that “housing starts” are up 253 percent from April 2008.

Based on a review of recently released building permit data by the city, Lawrence housing starts definitely are up — but only if you count new apartment construction. If you don’t count apartment construction, the numbers are actually down for the year.

We don’t have a fancy title like the Adversity Index, but here’s what a review of building permit data through May says about Lawrence construction:

• 27 single family permits have been issued through May 2009. That’s down from 34 during the same period of 2008.
• Four duplex permits have been issued in 2009, up from one in 2008.
• Permits for 172 apartment units have been issued in 2009, up from seven in 2008.

In case you’re wondering, other towns that seemed to fare well in the Adversity Index were:

• Vallejo, Calif.
• Longview, Texas
• Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Kokomo, Ind.
• Clarksville, which is in both Tennessee and Kentucky.

Today will mark a changing of the guard in one of the major behind-the-scenes departments at Lawrence City Hall.

Friday is the last day of service for Frank Reeb, the city’s clerk and director of administrative services. As previously reported, Reeb, who has been with the city for about eight years, is leaving to become the director of human resources for the Kansas Athletic Department.

In a sign of the fiscal times at City Hall, City Manager David Corliss is not seeking to immediately fill the position. Instead, Jonathan Douglass, an assistant to the city manager, will serve as interim city clerk. Diane Stoddard, an assistant city manager, will oversee the human relations division. Cynthia Boecker, another assistant city manager, will oversee the risk management division.

Corliss said he’s not yet set a timeline to begin recruiting for a permanent replacement, but instead will monitor the city’s finances to determine when it would be appropriate to begin the process.

Reeb oversaw a variety of city functions. He was responsible for keeping City Commission meeting minutes, issuing various licenses and permits, conducting employee recruiting and employee policy matters, and managing the city’s health insurance program.

Hosting a keg party may soon become a much dicier proposition in Lawrence.

Lawrence city commissioners at their meeting tonight will consider beefing up a city ordinance that would allow local law enforcement to more easily charge hosts of keg parties with illegally serving underage drinkers.

Under current state law, to charge the host of a party with illegally serving a minor, local law enforcement must prove that the minor was an invited guest of the host. Proving that can be tricky.

A new ordinance, though, might help. City commissioners are being told they have the legal authority to create a local social hosting law that is tougher than the statewide law. Members of the city’s legal services staff have crafted an ordinance that would require the host to prove that any minor at the party was not an invited guest. In other words, the host would need to show some evidence that the minor was trespassing.

The ordinance also would require the host to take reasonable steps — such as checking a picture ID — if there’s a suspicion that a minor is trying to drink at a party.

The change in law has been lobbied for by the New Tradition Coalition, a local group that is working to reduce underage drinking in the community.

Commissioners meet at 6:35 p.m. at City Hall.

Fire eaters, street dances and open-air grills. It must be summer in downtown Lawrence.

Planning is well under way for at least a trio of events designed to bring people and their wallets to downtown Lawrence this summer. Here’s a look:

• Organizers of the Lawrence Busker Festival announced recently that they’ll be bringing the street performance festival back to downtown for a second year.

The event is set for Aug. 21 to Aug. 23, and organizer Richard Renner hopes to have more than 20 performers to entertain crowds throughout the downtown area.

Renner, the owner of a local vaudeville entertainment company, estimates that last year’s inaugural event drew 5,000 to 8,000 people downtown. He said several merchants reported increased sales of 10 to 30 percent, compared with the same weekend a year earlier.

“I think every e-mail or letter we received asked us to please do it again,” Renner said.

This year the event will add a children’s stage in front of the Lawrence Public Library, in addition to having performers up and down Massachusetts Street.

The event also is expected to attract Mama Lou, who bills herself as the “American Strong Woman,” ripping phone books in half and pounding nails into wood with her fists. Also on tap will be fire eaters, fire jugglers, sword swallowers, puppeteers, magicians and musicians, Renner said.

• Up for approval at Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting is a request to close a downtown street for a 20th anniversary party for the Sandbar.

The Sandbar, 17 E. Eighth St., wants to close Eighth Street from Massachusetts Street to New Hampshire Street from 5 p.m. Aug. 1 to 1 a.m. Aug. 2. The Saturday night event would feature a street dance, street vendors and outdoor drinking.

City staff members are recommending approval of the event. City commissioners will consider the issue at their 6:35 p.m. meeting on Tuesday.

• An outdoor event at the Eldridge Hotel also will be up for consideration by the City Commission on Tuesday. The Eldridge is seeking a permit to have an outdoor band on July 3 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The event would be on the vacant lot immediately south of the hotel.

The concert, which also would feature outdoor food sales, would be a kickoff event for the Tour of Lawrence, a professional bicycle race that will be in Lawrence July 3-5. The Friday event would be going on at the same time as the street sprint portion of the race. The street sprint will take place on parts of Seventh Street near the Eldridge Hotel.

The Eldridge event is in addition to a host of downtown activities planned for July 4. Those include a food festival at 3 p.m. in Watson Park that will include offerings from 16 locally owned restaurants, and a fireworks show over the Kansas River that will begin about 9 p.m.

Several lingering issues will be back up for discussion at the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission this week. Here’s a look:

• Rural Lecompton resort: Plans by area developers to convert about 60 acres into a corporate retreat and conference center will be considered. The Planning Commission will consider a request to rezone 58.99 acres just northeast of the intersection of North 1800 Road and East 700 Road. The plan has been up for approval several times but has been deferred on multiple occasions because planning staff members have said it was inconsistent with the county’s comprehensive plan. A revision to the comprehensive plan is being prepared that would allow for a corporate retreat at the site.

The property is close enough to Lecompton that the Lecompton Planning Commission also has heard the issue. The Lecompton Planning Commission has recommended denial of the rezoning request because it is afraid the rezoning will open the area up to a wide range of uses in the future. The Lecompton Planning Commission said if conditions could be placed on the zoning to ensure that it couldn’t be used for nonretreat type uses, that it likely would be in favor of the project.

The development group has said the project would include a conference center, reception area, restaurant, bar, a swimming pool, commercial riding stable and hunting and shooting areas. Lodging would be provided in cabins clustered throughout the area.

Planning commissioners will discuss the request as part of their meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets. County commissioners ultimately will be responsible for approving the rezoning.

• Also tonight, planning commissioners will consider new regulations to protect environmentally sensitive lands in the county. The regulations generally require developments to go through a special site plan process if they have any floodways, floodplains, streams, or wetlands on their property. Developers also may have to go through a special permit process if there are more than 1,000 square feet of woodlands or 1,000 square feet of prairie remnants on the site. City commissioners previously had considered the regulations, but sent them back to the Planning Commission over concerns that the new regulations were not specific enough. City and county commissioners ultimately will have to approve the regulations before they become final.

• At their 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at City Hall, planning commissioners will consider an issue related to a proposed annexation of the former Farmland Industries site east of Lawrence.

The Planning Commission is being asked to find that the annexation of the 448 acres of property is compatible with the city and county’s long-range plans.

The Douglas County Commission on July 13 will consider adopting a resolution allowing the annexation to move forward. The City Commission is requesting the annexation because it wants to see the property redeveloped into a business park.

Outdoor movies are set to return to downtown Lawrence.

City commissioners at their meeting tonight are expected to give approval to the third annual Downtown Lawrence Film Festival.

Downtown Lawrence Inc. again plans to use a vacant lot at the southwest corner of Ninth and New Hampshire streets to show classic films on the wall of the downtown parking garage.

This year, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn will take center stage.

Here’s a look at the proposed schedule: • June 11: Woman of the Year • June 25: Without Love • July 9: State of the Union • July 23: Adam’s Rib • Aug. 13: Pat & Mike • Aug. 27: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Each evening will begin with live music, free popcorn and prize drawings at 8 p.m. The movies will start at 9:15 p.m.

In other downtown news, if you’re looking for a slightly different type of outdoor activity this summer, The Sandbar may soon be able to accommodate.

The Sandbar, 17 E. Eighth St., is set to receive approval at tonight’s commission meeting for a new outdoor sidewalk drinking area.

The downtown bar is seeking to become the latest to take advantage of new city regulations that allow some downtown bars to create sidewalk seating areas to serve customers.

Previously, only restaurants were able to have sidewalk seating areas downtown. But bar owners convinced commissioners that the rules needed to be changed following the city’s implementation of a citywide smoking ban.

Commissioners agreed to allow bars to have sidewalk seating areas, if the business had no other feasible option for providing an outdoor seating area.