WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Property owner, fed up with illegal homeless camping, hires bulldozer to clear site of all trees

A bulldozer was busy at work Thursday afternoon on an island of land in southeast Lawrence, but its purpose wasn’t exactly to create an island paradise. Rather, the property owner had become frustrated with the homeless camping that was taking place on the wooded property that sits in between Haskell Avenue and old Haskell Avenue, just north of 31st Street. So, he hired a construction crew with a bulldozer ...

Manhattan group seeks to build 250 units of affordable housing in south Lawrence

A new 250-unit affordable housing complex may be coming to Lawrence, and it may land in a neighborhood known for a different aspect of affordability. Plans call for the project to be built near the discount retailers of south Lawrence. The project is still in its early stages, but Manhattan-based Bison Development LLC has filed preliminary paperwork at City Hall in hopes of moving the project forward. The ...

From gambling revenues to private investors, college athletics 'will have to get turned on its head,' Girod says

In ordinary aspects of life, if you ever find yourself saying “FanDuel to the rescue,” check your faculties — although maybe check your wallet first. The online betting site isn’t usually the best of rescue plans. But the world of big-time college athletics is anything but ordinary, and thus, maybe the gambling industry might be part of the solution for college athletic programs that are wondering ...

City considering new downtown district where people could stroll the sidewalks with alcohol in hand

Soon, any night could be — legally — your own Martini Mosey on the sidewalks of Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence. What’s more, with drink in hand, you could take that Stoli Stroll (we’re not going to run out of liquor or alliteration) into retail shops and other such businesses that don’t serve alcohol. City Hall leaders have begun reaching out to downtown merchants and other businesses ...

Lawrence home sales up in May, while selling prices drop slightly; large downtown Mexican restaurant set to close

News and notes from around town: There’s a saying about having your cake and eating it too. (That dilemma has never kept me awake at night, although too much buttercream frosting occasionally does.) Regardless, I guess the saying applies to Lawrence home sales in May. The number of homes sold in the market increased, but the average selling price decreased. In other words, it was good news on both the ...

Work underway on an Oread project that is part restaurant, part apartment; Missouri company submits low bid for SLT expansion

News and notes from around town: Call it the duck test, if you will. In the Oread neighborhood next to KU, if something looks like a big house — and all too often sounds like a big house — it is usually a big house. The neighborhood after all is full of students, and they love living and congregating in big houses. With that said, construction work is well underway on a project in the Oread neighborhood ...