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SATURDAY • MARCH 7 • 2015
‘Pollinators’ mural comes down
EDUCATION
Lawrence schools face cuts under GOP plan By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
Topeka — Lawrence school district Superintendent Rick Doll said Friday that the district would probably have to dip into reserve funds for the rest of this year to absorb a $1.6 million cut in state funding that would result from a new school finance system being proposed by Republican leaders in the Kansas Legislature. “They’ve said that’s what they want us to do, but it’ll make it tight for us,” Doll said. LEGISLATURE The new funding scheme, which was unveiled Thursday, would immediately repeal the existing school finance formula, which is based mainly on student enrollment, and replaces it with a “block grant” system that would give districts more flexibility in how they spend
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
PIECE OF HISTORY IN PIECES ARTIST DAVE LOEWENSTEIN HOLDS A PIECE OF THE MURAL he created near Ninth and New Hampshire streets as it was dismantled Friday to make way for a new development on the northeast corner of the intersection. The popular “Pollinators” mural is likely to be recreated in a smaller fashion in cooperation with Kansas University’s Spencer Museum of Art. The mural was created to celebrate the life and work of Kansas artist Aaron Douglas and was part of a major exhibition, “Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist,” organized by the Spencer in 2007. The mural was painted on the northern wall of what was then the Aquila building.
Please see SCHOOLS, page 5A
Area teachers wary of bill Investigation: Cause of Bigg’s fire related to making them meat smoker; businesses working to reopen criminally liable By Caitlin Doornbos Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
A fire Tuesday at Bigg’s on Mass restaurant that shut down numerous businesses and offices in the 700 block of Massachusetts Street was caused by a malfunctioning meat smoker that led to grease catching fire, according to fire investigators. Doug Holiday, owner of Bigg’s, said the smoker was 36 years old. While Bigg’s, 719 Massachusetts St., had hopes of reopening this weekend, owner Doug Holiday said Friday that it would now be “at least a month” before the location can reopen. Total damage estimates had not
Fire was second in two months on Mass. Street been determined Friday as Holiday and many others worked to get back in business. Holiday said his main concern was for his employees, whom he is trying to place at his other Bigg’s loca- Holiday tions. Tuesday’s fire was the second for Bigg’s since it opened less than a year ago. On Nov. 20, smoke emerged from the same area in the back section of Bigg’s, and firefighters were called. At
By Elliot Hughes Twitter: @elliothughes12
that time, Holiday said the response was “much ado about nothing” and that fire was extinguished prior to firefighters’ arrival. The November fire was also caused by grease in the smoker, Holiday said. Just a few buildings south of Bigg’s, Jefferson’s restaurant, 743 Massachusetts St., has yet to open after its fire on Jan. 15. Owner Brandon Graham said nearly two months after his restaurant’s fire, he has access to his business once again after the investigation concluded and he is currently in the
A bill passed by the Kansas Senate that would hold teachers criminally responsible for exposing students to so-called sexually inappropriate material has many people in Lawrence feeling uneasy. Senate Bill 56 removes an exemption for teachers from public, private and parochial schools when it comes to minors being exposed to harmful materials, which is defined as “any description, exhibition, presentation or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse.”
Please see FIRE, page 2A
Please see TEACHERS, page 2A
Kansas Food Truck Festival returning to East Lawrence in May
G
et ready for the second annual Kansas Food Truck Festival, which will be hosted again in East Lawrence. Organizers have announced that the festival is set for the first Saturday in May in the warehouse arts district. Tickets for the event went on sale Friday. As was the case last year, proceeds from the event will benefit Just Food, the nonprofit food bank that serves Douglas County.
INSIDE
Plenty of sun Business Classified Comics Deaths
High: 60
Low: 29
Today’s forecast, page 10A
Organizers expect about 20 food trucks from across the state to set up shop in the 800 block of Pennsylvania Street from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. May 2. The event also is expected to feature live music, art and activities for kids. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania
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St., and Just Food, 1000 E. 11th St. Kids 12 and under are admitted for free. For more information about the festival, go to the event’s website at ksfoodtruckfest.com. — By Chad Lawhorn
Bids too high 1B-4B 10A, 2B
City commissioners are poised to reject bids for two major projects because they came in significantly over the cost estimates. Page 3A
Vol.157/No.66 20 pages