WRITER: Austin Hornbostel

Lawrence leaders to hear updates on homeless camp closure, Pallet Village and more

Lawrence leaders on Tuesday are set to hear updates about a variety of developments related to homelessness, from the opening of the Lawrence Community Shelter’s community of 64-square-foot Pallet cabins and coinciding closure of homeless camps in North Lawrence to a recent increase in police presence in downtown Lawrence. Here’s a summary of the updates the Lawrence City Commission will expect to hear more ...

A look at Lawrence's newest sister city partnership with Tocopilla, Chile

Tocopilla, Chile, might be located thousands of miles from Lawrence, but the two cities aren’t exactly worlds apart. Lawrence is no stranger to finding commonalities with communities located all across the globe, as it already counts three international communities as sister cities — Eutin, Germany; Hiratsuka, Japan; and Iniades, Greece. There’s now a fourth member on that list, after the Lawrence City ...

Lawrence businesses' lawsuit against City of Lawrence to close homeless camps will go to jury trial in early 2025

A group of Lawrence businesses’ lawsuit against the City of Lawrence, which asks a Douglas County court to close a pair of homeless camps, is scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of 2025. According to updated Douglas County case filings, the case will go to a jury trial in late January 2025. The first day will be Jan. 20, 2025, and the trial will resume from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31 of that month. As the ...

BNSF Railway posts notice near Sandra J. Shaw Park demanding removal of belongings by Friday morning; numerous illegal campsites are in area

Updated at 2:42 p.m. Friday, March 15 BNSF Railway earlier this week posted a notice north of Sandra J. Shaw Community Health Park notifying people camping on nearby railway property to move their belongings by Friday morning, or else railway police would remove and dispose of the items. The Journal-World located the flyer Thursday afternoon; it is dated March 12 and appears to have been posted at 9:20 a.m. ...

In letter, shelter leaders acknowledge 'devastating consequences' of homelessness after recent deaths, urge advocacy for affordable housing, services

Leaders with the Lawrence Community Shelter on Thursday released a letter acknowledging the “devastating consequences of homelessness in our community” in the wake of several recent deaths. As the Journal-World has reported, deaths among people experiencing homelessness have mounted to at least eight in less than two years. That includes two especially recent deaths — the fatal stabbing of 51-year-old ...

City of Lawrence to close Camp New Beginnings support site in North Lawrence on Monday

Story updated at 9:21 p.m. Thursday, March 14: Camp New Beginnings, the city’s support site for people experiencing homelessness, is set to close for good at 1 p.m. Monday. A city spokesperson shared details about the next steps in closing the camp with the Journal-World Thursday afternoon. On Monday, portable toilets and the city’s trailer at the camp located behind Johnny’s Tavern will be removed. The ...