WRITER: Sylas May

Advisory board to consider designs for historic markers for men killed in confrontations with Lawrence police in 1970

A yearslong process to design historic markers for two young men who were killed in confrontations with police during a period of unrest in Lawrence in 1970 is now nearing the finish line. At its meeting Thursday evening, the city's Historic Resources Commission will consider recommending designs for markers for the killings of Rick “Tiger” Dowdell and Harry Nicholas “Nick” Rice. Dowdell and Rice were ...

At hearing in suit over Kansas' gender-affirming care ban for minors, experts talk about treatments — and what happens when they stop

One child struggling with gender dysphoria was "slicing his arms and showering in the dark" before getting treatment, Dr. Angela Turpin said. Another "could not make eye contact with anyone" and constantly apologized. But that all changed when they received gender-affirming care, Turpin, of the Gender Pathways clinic with Children's Mercy Hospital, testified Wednesday in Douglas County District Court. They ...

This winter, the city's cold-weather emergency shelter services will all go through the Lawrence Community Shelter

The City of Lawrence won't partner with churches and other community sites for walk-in winter shelter this year, but it expects that newly added capacity at the Lawrence Community Shelter will be enough to handle demand. On Tuesday, the city released more details about its winter emergency shelter plan in a news release, and it said that all inclement weather sheltering services will go through the Lawrence ...

Lawrence City Commission OKs several budget adjustments, resolution related to bond issues; commissioner says it's procedural

At a brief Lawrence City Commission meeting on Tuesday, commissioners approved a slate of budget adjustments and procedural items — and heard from several public commenters who disagreed about whether one item was really procedural. The comments, around half a dozen of them, were about a resolution that gives preliminary notice of the city's intent to issue bonds for infrastructure projects on its Capital ...

Connecticut Street sidewalk project is producing a mix of concrete and brick — and a mix of emotions

“One property at a time” is how East Lawrence was built, Barry Shalinsky says on a walk through the neighborhood Friday morning, and its patchwork of sidewalks reflects that. “If you walk down these brick sidewalks, you see there’s like 20 different kinds of bricks and 20 different patterns that people put them in,” says Shalinsky, the past president of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association. ...

Affordable Housing Advisory Board recommends funding for Floret Hill, tiny homes, vouchers and more

After the Affordable Housing Advisory Board had discussed requests for six- and even seven-figure sums out of the city’s affordable housing trust on Thursday, one of the last items it had to consider was a request for $80,000. “It’s a pretty cheap ticket,” board member Mark Buhler said — then corrected himself: “I can’t believe I said that, $80,000 is a cheap ticket!” With just over $1.2 ...