February was cold in more ways than one in Lawrence. Yes, there were the temperatures outside, but you should have felt the chill inside from all those cheap Valentine’s Day gifts. At least the latest numbers from the state show something caused retail spending to take a downward turn in ...
A pool table without pockets sounds a bit like that closet I built without a door. (The worst mistake was building it from the inside out.) But this pool table is no mistake. In fact, a trio of local residents think it may be a calling card for a unique new business: a private billiards club. ...
There are about 800 more people in Lawrence than there were a year ago, and despite what the K-State fans will claim, they’re not all NCAA investigators. The U.S. Census Bureau has released new population estimates, and Lawrence continues to rank as one of the fastest growing metro areas in ...
Big horses and beer both can be fun, although as a general rule I don’t recommend combining the two. (I still don’t know how the horse ended up wearing the hat and I ended up wearing the halter.) The exception to the rule, of course, is the Budweiser Clydesdales, and Lawrence soon will have ...
Passersby soon will see a “for lease” sign in front of the historic Castle Tea Room building on south Massachusetts Street. Yes, it also is a sign that the future of one of Lawrence’s more distinctive buildings is uncertain. The nonprofit foundation that owns the Castle Tea Room, 1307 ...
About 20 years ago, one of the great hand-wringing fears was that homebuilding was going to grow so quickly that all the good farmland in Douglas County was going to be built over. And there was some reason to worry. From 1997 to 2002, the number of farms in Douglas County fell by about 4 ...
If you are old enough, there was a time when a trip to the bank was at least a weekly event. As a tag-along kid, I got discs of gum wrapped to look like silver dollars from the tellers. (That’s the No. 1 reason I never became a coin collector. I chipped too many teeth hoping to find gum.) ...
One of the things I hope to do more of over the next year or so is have face-to-face conversations with more community leaders. While sitting across from my face is a lot to ask of someone, I’m hopeful to do such interviews with community leaders on a semi-regular basis. I’ll call it a ...
Maybe I'll do a melon-grab when I'm on the half-pipe. All right, I confess, I don't know what any of that means — and probably shouldn't guess — because I can't speak skater lingo. Whenever I get on a skateboard it's not words, but numbers — like the type on my insurance card — that ...
I no longer drink beer when I play Monopoly. I’ve hurt myself too many times falling off the Boardwalk. But booze and board games, plus some food, is precisely the type of activity that will be encouraged at a restaurant and pub in the works for downtown Lawrence. A Lawrence duo has reached ...
One of Lawrence’s most beloved holiday traditions may be ending. Organizers of Lawrence’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade — the horse-drawn spectacle in downtown — say they plan on quitting after this year’s event. That means someone else will have to take the reins, or else this ...
The Journal-World’s offices will be moving to North Lawrence later this spring. As we have been reporting for the last couple of months, the Journal-World’s current office building — the historic post office building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets — has become a hot commodity. ...
Get ready for a brand new player in the Lawrence auto market. McCarthy Auto Group, which owns nine dealerships in Missouri and the greater Kansas City area, soon will own two in Lawrence. A McCarthy official confirmed today that it has reached a deal to buy the Lawrence Nissan and Subaru ...
Some of you may still have a green thumb left over from St. Patrick’s Day. (I told you that was way too much food coloring for a pint of beer.) For the rest of us, green thumb syndrome is about the start of gardening season. I do have news of an eastern Lawrence garden center expansion, which ...
Big changes continue to happen in the local auto market. It looks like one of the larger out-of-town auto dealers is preparing to exit Lawrence and be replaced by a locally owned operation. I’ve received confirmation that Lawrence-based Dale Willey Auto Group has signed an agreement to ...
I have experience with a border wall. I usually hit one after about my 12th refill of chips and salsa at On the Border. Well, that’s one wall no one will have to worry about any longer. The Mexican restaurant chain has closed its lone Lawrence location. On the Border closed its location at ...
Rodger Henry got his money’s worth out of his cup of coffee at McDonald’s. The longtime Lawrence businessman is part of a group that regularly drinks coffee at the McDonald’s at 1309 W. Sixth St. Right across the street from the McDonald’s is a car wash that Henry owned. One day, he ...
When you talk about housing activity this time of year in Lawrence, it usually involves a KU game on the television, approximately 32 pounds of cheese dip and maybe a bit too much crimson and blue body paint. But actually, I’m talking about housing activity of a different type today. The ...
I would guess there is a benefit to living in a town with two Casey’s General Stores. You can buy breakfast pizza at one and brunch pizza at the other. Lawrence residents soon may get to find out. Casey’s has filed a plan for a second store in Lawrence. The Iowa-based convenience store ...
You had better get some industrial-strength kneepads if you want to participate in a Lawrence Beer Co. pub crawl. The East Lawrence craft brewery has filed plans to open a west Lawrence location. The company plans to open a smaller bar and restaurant near Bob Billings Parkway and Wakarusa ...