News and notes from around town:

• On Tuesday we got a look at how fund-raising efforts are going for Lawrence City Commission candidates. Today, here’s a look at another key set of filings for candidates — their statements of substantial interests. The state requires candidates to disclose many of their financial holdings and relationships so voters have the information they need to make their own judgments. To the side of this article, you’ll be able to download the complete filings for each candidate.

I’ve looked through them and there don’t seem to be any real surprises. Candidate Bob Schumm probably has the most business dealings of anyone in the field. In addition to being a longtime restaurant owner, he also has several pieces of downtown real estate that he leases to tenants — 717, 719 and 721 Mass. and the vacant lot at 815 Vt. where there is a cooperative vegetable garden. The complete list of tenants he rents to is included in the filing. He also owns Fun Time Video, a video arcade company.

City Commissioner Mike Dever and candidate Sven Alstrom also are the other business owners in the race. Dever is a part-owner of Lawrence-based GuideWire Consulting, an environmental consulting firm. Alstrom owns and operates Ecological Architecture.

Candidates Hugh Carter and Mike Machell both reported their salaries from their employers — Carter with Wells Fargo Financial Advisors, and Machell with Prescription Solutions — as their main business activities.

The statements also list places of employment for the spouse of each candidate. Dever’s wife recently became a real estate agent for Lawrence-based Stephens Real Estate. Schumm’s wife is a professor at Baker University. Machell’s wife is an accountant at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Alstrom and Carter are single.

The filings also list significant 401(k) accounts, 529 plans, stock holdings and those type of financial investments. The candidates have varying levels of those. Also listed are board of director or officer positions held by the candidates. Several of the candidates hold positions on non-profit boards. None listed serving as officers for any outside corporations, although Schumm listed that he served on an advisory board for Lawrence’s CornerBank.

• I’m going to make this an abbreviated version of Town Talk today because the City Commission election a high priority — and is time-consuming — right now. I have three more city commission candidate profiles to write this week. Our first two profiles appeared earlier this week. The final three are scheduled to appear this weekend. On those pieces, I wanted to acknowledge that the profiles aren’t heavily issue oriented. Instead, they’re meant to give readers a little bit better understanding of the person. But our coverage will be shifting gears soon to become more issue-oriented. In March we will pick several issues and get each candidate to share his views on each. I have several ideas about specific issues, but I’m interested in hearing what’s on your mind. If you have an issue that you want candidates to address, list it in the comments below. I’ll read through them and see which ones I can work into future articles.