In my personal life, I spend a lot of time doing cost analysis. For the record, I have found a double cheeseburger always pays for itself. (It is double the meat and cheese, people.) But local governments currently are dealing with an even meatier question: Does growth pay for itself? No, it ...
It is time to keep our ears open for a new downtown grocery store rumor. This one doesn’t focus on the former Borders bookstore location at Seventh and New Hampshire streets, but rather is a block away at the old Journal-World printing plant. Dan Simons, a member of the family who owns the ...
I know I certainly could use a million-dollar smile — heck even a $25 one — to help pay for some of the bills that I compile at south Iowa Street retailers. Maybe we all will be in luck. A second major dental franchise has filed plans to locate on the south Iowa corridor. Plans have been ...
Let’s do an update on some 23rd Street projects. “Soon” is the key word on that street, just as it is the key word I keep repeating to my kids who have taken on that late-summer feral look. Soon school will start, and soon a couple of new businesses will open on 23rd Street. The ...
My dreams of being a farmer continue to get squashed. First, I planted actual squash in my garden when I thought I was planting cucumbers. (True story, and yes the pickles really are terrible.) And now, I get the latest data on how much farmland costs in Douglas County these days. The ...
Maybe you have driven by a Sonic restaurant and seen the same car there all day, every day. (Apologies, but it is hard to drive with an extra-large limeade, given that the cup takes up most of the front seat.) Regardless, expect to see some long-term car parking at a former Lawrence Sonic ...
Lawrence is on a winning streak. The city has posted back-to-back months of positive sales tax growth, and that hasn’t happened since January and February. (Yes, as the HR person explained, that is probably a lame excuse to blow a vuvuzela noisemaker in the office, but when you are a Royals ...
Beginning on this rainy Thursday, Lawrence residents looking for a tank of gas for their car — or maybe their ark — have a new national chain to choose from. The convenience store chain Casey’s officially opened its Lawrence location today. We’ve been reporting for months that ...
Whether your dream is to be a rock star or simply to imitate The Fonz, there soon will be a downtown shop designed to appeal to you. A lifelong Lawrence resident has struck a deal to open a Massachusetts Street guitar shop that also will have lots of other music memorabilia. “This shop has ...
At the halfway point of 2018, Lawrence Memorial Hospital had posted an operating profit of $3.3 million. By the midpoint of this year, LMH had an operating loss of $4.2 million. Yes, the hospital is a nonprofit business, but this type of performance isn’t what it expects. The hospital ...
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 ...
Plans to build one of the largest shopping centers in Lawrence are now in doubt after a local judge this week dismissed a lawsuit against the city. At issue is a proposed shopping center at the interchange of U.S. Highway 59 and the South Lawrence Trafficway in south Lawrence. The shopping ...
We’ve heated up, evidenced by the fact that I expect to be doused with a Gatorade bath even for minor victories like getting out of my chair without pulling a muscle. But with half of the year in the books, Lawrence’s real estate market still hasn’t even warmed. We’ve been reporting ...
I once wanted to be an “angel investor,” but then I realized how much halos cost — and you had better have really good credit if you plan on writing a check for one. OK, so maybe I am confused about what an angel investor is, but so are a lot of other area residents. That was the key ...
Plans have been filed for a $1.5 million office development on the west Lawrence property that long has been designated to become Lawrence’s first true research park. But this development likely won’t produce a lot of research. Lawrence businessman Roger Johnson has filed plans at City ...
Summer is for catching up, like on that book I never got around to reading or the garage I never got around to cleaning. (In fairness, the book is “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” so I’m confused whether I should clean the garage before or after reading the book.) Regardless, ...
A multimillion-dollar construction project at Lawrence Municipal Airport is expected to open the door to more charter jet travel options for area residents. City officials recently issued building permits for $2.1 million worth of construction for a new aircraft hangar and office building ...
I can certainly picture living above a doughnut shop or a neighborhood diner. (In my picture, the doors are very wide and the floor is reinforced.) But traditionally you only think of those types of scenarios in a downtown setting. A local developer, though, is betting such a concept might ...
If you were to take a stroll in downtown Lawrence in 2006, a little more than two out of every five businesses you passed would have been a retail shop. Today, roughly two out of every 10 that you pass will be a retailer. So, no, your eyes are not lying. Downtown is different these days. A ...
When I was in school, I always was nervous to have class in one of those portable trailers. Too many of my teachers had a pickup truck with a hitch. The students at Bishop Seabury may not have the same anxiety, but, regardless, they soon won’t have to deal with those portable classrooms. The ...