WRITER: Kim Callahan

On International Night, school celebrates its cultural richness with food, family and conversations

We’re all from somewhere, and every somewhere is fascinating. That was the message of Thursday’s International Night, an annual event at Sunflower Elementary School organized by Molly Soukup and Valisha Buselt, who run the English as a Second Language program at the school on Inverness Drive. It’s a message that second-grader Ethan Lin gleefully embraced as he helped his family serve pork dumplings and ...

Cue Miss Marple as Theatre Lawrence announces a murder — or two

When it comes to older women, much of the talk these days is about how they are “unseen” — ignored by a society obsessed with youth. But there’s a particular circumstance when being “unseen” is a distinct advantage — namely, if you are trying to solve murders in the English countryside circa mid-1900s. “Remember that an elderly unmarried woman who knits and gardens is streets ahead of any ...

Lawrence school board approves development incentives for Turnhalle building, following unanimous lead of city and county

The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously agreed to grant development incentives for a project to help convert the historic Turnhalle building into an event space and restaurant — incentives that have already been approved by the city and county commissions. Before the board voted 7-0 to grant a 15-year, 70% Neighborhood Revitalization Area tax rebate, Patrick Watkins, the attorney for developer ...

Mardi Gras revelers make their merry way down Massachusetts Street

Revelers paraded through sunny downtown Lawrence Tuesday to celebrate Mardi Gras, the traditional last hurrah before the Lenten season begins. Dozens of colorfully dressed people, many playing horns, drums or other instruments, gleefully danced down Massachusetts Street, stopping in at various businesses to play a few New Orleans-style tunes before making their way north again. Tuesday’s unseasonably ...

City of Lawrence says tents have been allowed to remain on levee slope 3 weeks after deadline to prevent further damage to ground cover

More than three weeks after the city's deadline for campers near the Kansas River in North Lawrence to move their belongings off the levee slope, campers remain at the site, despite engineers having said that their presence was damaging the levee in violation of federal guidelines. In late December, the city determined that campsites and trash on the slope must be removed to protect the integrity of the levee, ...

That 10-foot ice creature in North Lawrence is not an Abominable Buddha; it's an Intergalactic DJ

While severe weather advisories earlier this month had most of us stocking up on groceries and hunkering down indoors, a North Lawrence artist was eager to be outside doing one of his favorite things: creating an enormous ice sculpture in his front yard. For Craig Cochran, the sculpting is a yearly project, depending on the weather, which has to be just right — and this year it was perfect: a heavy, wet ...