Updated story - Aug. 4 — City fixes sewage treatment equipment, stops releases into local waterways Heavy rainfall has caused equipment failure at the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant, causing the plant to shut down and sewage to be deposited into the Kansas River, according to a ...
Three Lawrence City Commission candidates have broken away from the pack in raising money for their campaigns. Candidates were required this week to turn in receipt and expenditure reports that list contributions to their campaigns so far. Of the six candidates in the race, three candidates ...
Representatives for the City of Lawrence and the local firefighters union will soon begin mediated negotiations in an attempt to resolve disagreements regarding pay increases and other changes to the union’s contract. The first meeting with a mediator from the United States Federal ...
With about one month on the job, City Manager Craig Owens already has made some observations about his new community. For one thing, we have plenty to say in public meetings. Owens has been to three City Commission meetings, and booked about 12 hours as part of them. The long meetings ...
The city’s Outdoor Aquatic Center will be closing two weeks early this summer because of staffing and financial issues. “We typically have gone from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Roger Steinbrock, marketing supervisor with the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department. However, this ...
TOPEKA — Jurors heard two stories on Wednesday of events surrounding the renovations at Lawrence's Alvamar Country Club, when developer Thomas Fritzel is alleged to have disregarded regulations for handling hazardous materials. Fritzel is charged with illegally disposing of ...
After city leaders rejected a controversial proposal to build a five-story apartment and retail building downtown, some local elementary students were so inspired to come up with alternative plans that they’ve spent their summer working on them. In May, the Lawrence City Commission rejected ...
The City of Lawrence is denying claims that it acted unlawfully when it rejected a proposal to build a five-story apartment and retail building in downtown Lawrence. In May, the Lawrence City Commission unanimously denied a certificate of appropriateness to Chicago-based developer Core Spaces ...
City leaders have approved funding for four affordable housing projects, including a development that will create the city’s first neighborhood of small homes. The Lawrence City Commission recently voted to award $250,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to four projects, ...
One of Lawrence’s ongoing road projects could be complete as soon as next week, and most of the rest are on track to finish around the start of University of Kansas classes in late August, the city says. Crews were finishing work Friday on a new asphalt surface for 23rd Street between ...
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday voted to publish a 2020 budget with a 0.5 mill property tax increase, but commissioners said they were still planning to make cuts later to hold the mill levy flat. During a work session last week, the commission agreed to make hundreds of thousands of ...
A new ordinance will soon require some bar and restaurant workers in Lawrence to undergo sexual violence intervention training in order for the establishments to keep their local liquor licenses. Despite opposition from several local bar and restaurant owners, the Lawrence City Commission ...
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday will consider allocating funding to continue design progress on the Lawrence Loop, a planned trail system that will someday encircle Lawrence. The commission will consider increasing spending by $75,000 on conceptual design fees for two new portions of ...
The Lawrence City Commission is considering making cuts of hundreds of thousands of dollars to a proposed $236 million budget to make sure its tax rate remains flat next year. But the tradeoffs will include a possible financial squeeze for the city's lone homeless shelter, and less money for ...
Negotiations between the City of Lawrence and the local firefighters union have come to a halt until a mediator takes over the proceedings next week. A local resolution governing contract negotiations states that the negotiations are automatically considered at an impasse if they aren’t ...
School district leaders have concerns about helping the city pay for a program that puts police officers in schools, and some are questioning whether the program is worthwhile at all. That was the takeaway from Wednesday's meeting between City of Lawrence leaders and the Lawrence school board ...
City leaders reached a general consensus Tuesday that the city should make cuts to several programs in order to keep the property tax rate flat and eliminate proposed entrance fees for recreation centers, but expressed interest in continuing to fund a scholarship program at the Lawrence Arts ...
A Lawrence City Commission work group is proposing dozens of potential changes, including cuts to several programs, to address concerns commissioners have with former City Manager Tom Markus’ recommended budget for 2020. As part of its work session Tuesday, the commission will discuss the ...
City leaders will soon discuss a new growth plan that would favor infill development over expanding the city’s boundaries. As part of its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will discuss the new comprehensive plan, Plan 2040, which lays out policies that will shape how the ...
Representatives for the City of Lawrence and the local firefighters union continue to disagree on how much of a wage increase is needed to keep firefighter pay competitive, and contract negotiations could soon require mediation. Negotiations between the city and the union, Local 1596, are ...