WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Another one-hour eyeglass center opens in the city; Lawrence deemed very smart in new ranking

After years without a one-hour eyeglass business, Lawrence residents now have two. We reported in October about a plan for a local startup to open a one-hour eyeglass business in North Lawrence. Now there is word of a bigger player setting up shop in south Lawrence. Eyemart Express opened in the shopping center at 2540 Iowa St. around the beginning of the year. “We have a state-of-the-art lab,” general ...

Longtime appliance store chain set to close local location; other updates on south Lawrence projects

The thought of going directly to the factory to replace an appliance always appealed to me, especially when the nuclear reactor on my industrial-sized deep-fat fryer went out. That maybe isn’t an in-stock item at Lawrence’s Factory Direct Appliance store, but lots of kitchen and home appliances are. That’s soon changing. The store is closing its lone Lawrence location after about 20 years of business in ...

Latest sales tax numbers suggest holiday shopping season was mild for Lawrence merchants

Instead of a mighty “ho, ho, ho,” it was more of a ho-hum holiday shopping season for local merchants, the latest Lawrence sales tax numbers suggest. The city recently received its February sales tax check from the state of Kansas. Because of ordinary delays in the state’s reporting time, the February check largely represents sales made in December. That, of course, is prime holiday shopping season. ...

Lawrence city manager seeks permission to create new director of equity and inclusion at City Hall

Lawrence City Hall may soon have a new position responsible for urging city government to be more racially sensitive and aware of issues related to social justice and equity. City commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday will be asked to give City Manager Craig Owens permission to start interviewing for a senior level manager to serve as the city’s director of equity and inclusion. “I think Craig really ...

A local bakery is on the move, a downtown coffee shop is set to close, and an update on the Longhorn Steakhouse building

News and notes from around town: • If you love fresh bread as much as I do, you may have nearly dropped your stick of butter upon seeing a “for lease” sign in the window of downtown Lawrence’s Great Harvest Bread Co. But don’t worry; the longtime bakery is on the move, rather than going out of business. The for lease sign showed up a few days ago at the shop at 807 Vermont St. But an employee at the ...

County homeowners should expect a jump in property values; property taxes may go up as a result

Douglas County homeowners should check their mailboxes soon for a piece of mail that very well could lead to a property tax increase later this year. The Douglas County appraiser’s department is preparing to mail on Friday “change of value notices” for about 40,000 properties in Lawrence and Douglas County. The latest estimate from the appraiser is that 94% of homeowners will receive notice that the ...