WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Band and orchestra store opens in west Lawrence; Cheech from Cheech and Chong coming to town

I know my kids have the lungs to be the next Louis Armstrong, but that doesn’t mean I want to buy them a trumpet or drive to an out-of-town music store when it needs repair. (No sir, I don’t know how the mouthpiece got sealed with concrete.) Now, Lawrence residents have an in-town option for all that fun. Ernie Williamson Music has opened in the Orchards Shopping Center at Bob Billings Parkway and Kasold ...

LMH to spend $5 million more on west project, says it is exploring options for more East Lawrence care

Local hospital leaders agreed to spend nearly $5 million more on a mega medical building near Rock Chalk Park, but not without questions about whether the hospital was focusing too much on west Lawrence. The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees agreed Wednesday to spend up to $4.45 million to expand the third floor of a planned medical outpatient building that will be constructed near the northeast ...

Home prices continue to soar in Lawrence; will property tax values do the same?

I’m sure my home once increased 15 percent in value — when I moved my art collection of dogs shooting pool from the bank vault to the basement. But a new report shows that even without that type of event, Lawrence home prices are soaring. The latest report from the Lawrence Board of Realtors shows the year-to-date median selling price for Lawrence homes has increased 15.1 percent compared with the same ...

Sales growth in Lawrence continues to slow and to lag behind area communities

I know May used to produce lots of big spending in Lawrence, just with the graduation parties alone. (Mine was a huge surprise party, as in everyone was surprised the envelope actually contained a diploma.) Maybe graduation parties aren’t what they used to be. Regardless, something caused May sales tax totals to be basically flat in Lawrence. Lawrence City Hall officials recently received their July sales ...

Longtime downtown retailer to close in favor of online, pop-up stores

The “pop-up” trend that I’ve long been a fan of involves my toaster and a case of Pop Tarts. But in the retail world, the trend is “pop-up stores,” and it isn’t always as satisfying. Case in point: One of downtown Lawrence’s longest running retailers is closing its doors in favor of the pop-up store model. The owner of the import-export boutique Adorned has announced she is closing the store at 5 ...

Big two-day auction at Ernst & Son Hardware will sell off parts of downtown Lawrence history

There is not a monster in the mysterious basement of the former Ernst & Son Hardware store in downtown Lawrence. Just a Dutch Boy and enough early 1900s shipping crates to contain a Frankenstein, if needed. The contents of the basement of Lawrence’s oldest hardware store have been a mystery for many. It was common for a first-time visitor of the store at 826 Massachusetts St. to gaze upon the ...