A conversation billed as reassessing Douglas County's homelessness plan initially sparked tension between attendees on Wednesday, with advocates and service providers saying the meeting gave the impression that the community's existing strategy was looking to be dismantled.
However, county and city commissioners at the panel said that wasn't the case, and by the end of the meeting, most of its attendees agreed ...
A new analysis written by a Douglas County commissioner argues that the city and county are not on track to meet the goal of reaching “functional zero” homelessness by 2028.
The review was put together by County Commissioner Erica Anderson alongside John Ims, a Lawrence resident and frequent public commenter at city and county meetings. The 25-page document evaluated the city and county’s five-year plan ...
Fifty years after the O’Connell family donated its ranch to serve vulnerable youth, the O’Connell Children’s Shelter marked the milestone by celebrating the completion of a renovated home designed to expand crisis care for children.
The O’Connell Children’s Shelter actually celebrated two milestones on Tuesday: the completion of renovations at Elsie’s Place – the original homestead on the ranch ...
The Lawrence school board is expected to approve a new policy in August to comply with a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones in schools that's mandated by state law.
On Monday, school board members had their first reading of the district’s new policy for wireless electronic communication devices, such as cellphones, tablets, computers, smartwatches, wireless headphones or earbuds, along with other text ...
For almost 50 years, the eastern edge of Lawrence was home to a plant that helped fuel America’s agricultural boom.
Today, there’s been a lot of activity at the former nitrogen plant site. It is being transformed into an industrial park and a future city campus — but beneath the new development are the remnants of its fertilizer-making past.
What was left behind remains a cleanup challenge, despite the ...
Lawrence school board members will consider renewing a contract for the Centegix Wearable Panic Alert System on Monday.
The system comes with "CrisisAlert" badges that are worn by selected district staff members that can call for help in a variety of situations, and the Lawrence school district began utilizing the system at the beginning of 2024. The badges are described as a "mobile panic button" on the ...
