WRITER: Kim Callahan

Attorney claims shooting that critically injured a Lawrence man this week was an accident; defendant says victim is his friend

A shooting Wednesday that left a 23-year-old Lawrence man in critical condition was "for all intents and purposes an accident" about which the suspect in the case "feels terrible," a defense attorney told a Douglas County judge Friday afternoon while attempting, unsuccessfully, to secure an own-recognizance bond for his client. The two are friends, and "there is no animosity" between the injured man and ...

Confusion and uncertainty rife concerning adequacy of Haskell workforce, other issues after mass layoffs at university

The sudden loss of nearly a third of its workforce has shaken up the Haskell Indian Nations University campus, creating confusion and uncertainty about the school's future, and federal lawmakers who once seemed invested in "fixing" Haskell have said little about the situation. Among the concerns is what will happen to the academic courses that were taught by seven instructors before they were fired on Friday ...

'We've been able to manage demand,' city's Homeless Solutions Division leader says of keeping people & pets safe from dangerous cold

As a polar vortex has kept Lawrence in its grip, the city's Homeless Solutions Division says it has been able to provide warmth and shelter to anyone seeking it, and that includes pets. "Nobody has died, and that's pretty amazing," the division's director, Misty Bosch-Hastings, told the Journal-World Wednesday, when high temperatures remained in the single digits with below-zero wind chills. It's not something ...

Haskell students call for reinstatement of cross country coach, who now has been fired twice in retaliation, they say

A collective of Haskell Indian Nations University students, alumni and former faculty are calling for the reinstatement of the recently fired — for the second time — cross country coach who has for years been at the center of investigations into the university. The students want coach Clay Mayes, who was laid off Friday along with dozens of other Haskell employees, to be reinstated immediately. Mayes, as ...

Trump's order leads to dozens of layoffs at Haskell, including seven instructors; 'It's going to be a big disruption'

A significant number of Haskell Indian Nations University employees were laid off Friday pursuant to an order by President Donald Trump to cut the federal work force, the Journal-World has learned. According to a source close to Haskell, around 38 employees have been let go, out of approximately 150 employed there. Those people include a range of personnel. At least seven people on the list were instructors. ...

Disruptive public commenting has reached a crisis point for some in public office; more changes may be coming

For the first time since a pair of public commenters began routinely disrupting government meetings in Lawrence, an official has mentioned the possibility of terminating public comment, at least temporarily. On Monday night, Lawrence school board president Kelly Jones — after an approximately 30-minute standoff with commenter Michael Eravi, who was refusing to obey board rules — said that the time had come ...