WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

An update on a pair of large vacant properties downtown; a look at Kansas' ranking in 'tax burden' report

News and notes from around town: — A development group looking to build a downtown grocery store has won a key lawsuit, but it has lost the grocery store project anyway. The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday announced it has ruled in favor of Treanor Investments, a local development group that has wanted to build a grocery store and apartment project on the old Borders bookstore property at Seventh and New ...

New sales tax numbers show Lawrence took one of the hardest hits in the state during shutdown

The hit to retail businesses from the pandemic is showing up in new sales tax numbers, and they indicate Lawrence has suffered one of the starkest slowdowns of any major city in the state. Lawrence’s sales tax collections dropped 13.2% in the June sales tax report issued by the state today. The June report, due to normal delays in sales tax reporting, mainly represents sales that were made in April, which ...

Company that makes parts for railroads considering deal to locate factory in Eudora

A company that makes flashing red lights for the railroad industry is on the verge of giving the green light to a project that would bring dozens of manufacturing jobs to Douglas County. Canadian-based Modern Manufacturing is in negotiations with the city of Eudora to locate a factory in the eastern Douglas County town that would employ about 40 people. The Eudora City Commission earlier this week gave ...

An East Lawrence bistro closes; a couple of restaurants test the trend of a hospitality fee in lieu of tipping

It used to be that a bonbon fix in Lawrence meant a box of fancy chocolates, a pair of stretchy pants and at least an hour’s suspension of all shame. Then along came the East Lawrence restaurant Bon Bon, which brought new meaning to the idea. Now — find the stretchy pants — we are back to where we started. Bon Bon has closed with no plans to reopen. Simon Bates, co-owner of Bon Bon, confirmed the small ...

LMH gives up on proposal to move management of ER to large national firm, reopens negotiations with Lawrence company

Story updated at 4:28 p.m. Monday After an outcry from its medical staff and members of the public, LMH Health has abandoned its plans to reach a cost-savings deal for a large, national company to manage the hospital’s emergency department. Instead, LMH will reopen negotiations to renew its contract with a Lawrence-based company that has been providing the emergency room with doctors for more than 25 years. ...

Douglas County district attorney seeking public's help in investigation of loan practices at Lawrence Kia dealership

Allegations of loan fraud at a Lawrence auto dealership are now drawing the attention of the Douglas County District Attorney’s office. Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said Monday he wants to hear from customers of the Lawrence Kia dealership after a recent Journal-World article reported on allegations of loan fraud. A June 4 article by the Journal-World reported on allegations that ...