WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Lawrence manufacturer seeks tax break as part of $5M expansion; city set to approve other economic incentives

Needing more space for beer glasses and T-shirts is usually considered a problem at my house, but it is a sign of booming business for one Lawrence manufacturer. Grandstand Glassware & Apparel has plans for an approximately $5 million expansion at its East Hills Business Park location. As part of the deal, the company is seeking a property tax break from the city, and commissioners will begin the process ...

Another longtime downtown retailer to close; Compton buys Mass. Street building

Sure, Amazon and the host of other online retailers are fierce competitors, but when Cinda Garrison decided to close her longtime downtown business, Prairie Patches, there were a pair of adversaries that were even tougher to defeat — her knees. Garrison recently confirmed the speculation that I had heard: Prairie Patches at 821 Massachusetts St. will close early next year, ending about 45 years in business ...

From bingo to kiddos: Longtime Eagles Lodge building to become pediatric center

I always assumed that if a medical office were ever to locate in the old Eagles Lodge building, it would be a heart specialist. That building’s bingo games were notorious for breaking hearts. (If you are scoring at home, I still have yet to ever win a bingo game in my life.) But instead, I have news about the building being converted into a major pediatric center. Panda Pediatrics has signed a deal to take ...

Wiretapped phone call of KU coach may become part of NCAA inquiry; AD confirms NCAA hasn't started on De Sousa review

University of Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said Thursday that a wiretapped phone conversation where a KU coach and an Adidas representative discussed the possibility of paying a recruit may be part of a future “inquiry” with the NCAA. But Long left unclear whether he has done anything to already ascertain what the intentions were of KU assistant basketball coach Kurtis Townsend when he was caught on ...

KU now refuses to share info with public on $1.5M in Adidas payments; last week it said lack of personnel was reason for delay

KU accepted $1.5 million in extra payments from the shoe company at the center of a college basketball corruption case, but now KU is refusing to release documents detailing the conditions attached to the money. An attorney for Kansas Athletics Inc. on Monday evening denied the Journal-World’s open records request seeking documents related to $1.5 million in extra royalty payments the department received ...

Regional chain plans to open 2 breakfast restaurants in Lawrence, one of them downtown

It has been hard to be an egghead in Lawrence lately. In the age-old question of what came first, the chicken or the egg, the answer in Lawrence seemed to be the fried chicken. But now, fans of the egg can take heart. The regional chain Jimmy’s Egg has confirmed it is opening not one but two Lawrence breakfast restaurants. I reported in July about speculation that Jimmy’s Egg had reached a deal to locate ...