The City of Lawrence announced Monday that two additional city employees had tested positive for COVID-19. The news release states that the city learned late last week about the positive tests, which are unrelated. One employee works in the Police Department and the other in the Parks and ...
One thing the City of Lawrence has learned through an outside study of the former Farmland fertilizer plant is that cleaning up the contaminated site is going to cost millions of dollars more than once thought. As the more than $8 million fund meant to help cover the cleanup veers toward ...
The City of Lawrence has delayed the $5.3 million Queens Road project until 2021 because of pending litigation in the Kansas Court of Appeals. The Lawrence City Commission voted to create two tax districts to fund the project nearly two years ago, but the city has been voluntarily putting the ...
The University of Kansas on Friday announced it was forming a task force dedicated to reviewing and recommending changes to the public safety policies of its on-campus police force. KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said the 25-person task force, which will be chaired by KU Distinguished Professor ...
The city’s police review board that has previously described itself as a “rubber stamp” for the police department has begun the process of drafting changes to give the board more review powers. As part of its meeting Thursday, the Community Police Review Board reviewed a sub-committee ...
City of Lawrence leaders say they are interested in strengthening the city’s rental inspection program, which currently inspects very few of the city’s more than 21,000 rental properties. As part of their work session Tuesday evening, city commissioners all agreed Lawrence’s rental ...
City of Lawrence sanitation workers will soon vote on whether to unionize. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to adopt a resolution setting dates for the election for later in August. Teamsters Local 696 recently filed a petition with the city on ...
City leaders have approved Lawrence's 2021 budget, which keeps the city’s property tax rate flat and gives the city room to increase all three of its utility rates. However, discussions about those utility rate increases will not occur until next month. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the ...
Projects of all shapes and sizes are vying for their share of nearly $25 million in federal pandemic funding that has been allocated to Douglas County. There’s a nearly half-million-dollar campground for homeless people (recommended for funding) and about $270,000 for tents for outdoor ...
City leaders will soon consider approving the city’s 2021 budget, which keeps the city’s property tax rate flat but calls for increases to all three city utility rates. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will hold the public hearing for the 2021 budget and ...
After the City of Lawrence’s finances were red-flagged by auditors last year due to millions in adjustments required to get them in good order, city leaders were hoping for a better showing when auditors came to review the city’s books this year. Instead, outside auditors had to make more ...
Figuring out how to distribute nearly $25 million of unexpected federal funding related to the pandemic can be a bit like standing in front of a massively stocked buffet (remember those?) but having only one plate to fill: It takes a lot of planning, and it can get messy. Douglas County ...
The City of Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals has voted to uphold a decision that says a longtime family-run tavern in East Lawrence cannot reopen. The question of whether the former Charlie’s East Side Grill & Bar, 900 Pennsylvania St., had forfeited its grandfathered tavern use has ...
A group of Lawrence residents has come out against the city’s plan to build a road adjacent to the local dog park that would connect the Youth Sports Complex to the Clinton Lake spillway. The project would install an approximately 1-mile paved roadway connecting existing segments of West ...
As the COVID-19 pandemic causes financial hardships for both local governments and the general public, the City of Lawrence will soon create its first economic development strategic plan aimed at helping the city respond to the pandemic and improve the economy. The economic development plan, ...
City leaders have agreed to keep rule changes in place through October that allow downtown businesses to use city sidewalks and parking spaces to operate outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. As part of their meeting Tuesday, Lawrence city commissioners said they were supportive of the ...
City leaders will soon consider setting up a new process for reevaluating historic markers and creating new ones. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider designating the Historic Resources Commission as the recommending body for reevaluation and ...
City leaders are pursuing an outside study to help inform potentially fundamental changes to the role of the Lawrence Police Department, including proposals to move some funding and duties from police to social services. All of the specific issues the study will tackle aren't determined right ...
City leaders will soon review temporary rule changes that allow downtown businesses to use city sidewalks and parking spaces to operate outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review the downtown right-of-way program and ...
Story updated at 4:17 p.m. Thursday: Citing concerns about pay and working conditions, City of Lawrence sanitation workers have taken a step toward unionization, and other employee groups may follow. Teamsters Local 696 recently filed a petition with the City of Lawrence on behalf of the ...