RECRUITING REVEAL FRESH RECIPES Turner to announce intentions today 1C FOR CSA Do you know your veggies? 1B
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WEDNESDAY • APRIL 30 • 2014
From politics to pendants
Teachers hope tenure dictates race for governor Embattled provision could loom large in likely fight between Brownback, Davis By Scott Rothschild Twitter: @ljwrothschild
Kansas teachers who are angered over Gov. Sam Brownback’s repeal of tenure hope they can convince the general public that it has a stake in this fight, too. Kim Schneweis, a middle school teacher in Hays, said the public should be concerned because taking away tenure for teachers will reduce the quality of teaching. “A teacher who is doing his Had this been a clean or her job well doesn’t always bill that make everyone simply gave happy,” Schnemoney to the weis said. “You don’t want them schools, it spending more would have time worrying about protecting taken the themselves than education doing what is issue away best for the stufrom Paul dents.” It remains to Davis.” be seen what impact this issue — Burdett Loomis, will have, if any, KU political in the November science professor election. Brownback is seeking re-election against likely Democratic opponent Paul Davis of Lawrence, the House minority leader. Davis voted against the school finance legislation that included the repeal of tenure provision. If elected governor, Davis’ campaign said he will work with the Legislature “to reverse this unpopular and unnecessary policy change.” Brownback has framed the issue of tenure as one of local control. With repeal of the state law, now local school districts can decide whether offering tenure to teachers is right for them, he has said. In comments since he signed the school bill into law, Brownback has focused on the funding portion of the bill, which is meant to address a Kansas Supreme Court order to increase funding to poor districts. When asked if the tenure issue will affect Brownback’s election
By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
BRITTA MCKEE, A KANSAS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE, is one of a handful of artists who are creating jewelry from old pieces of the Kansas Statehouse dome. McKee takes larger sections of the copper and cuts out small pieces to shape into rings, earrings and other jewelry.
KU grads transform old dome into jewelry By Joanna Hlavacek
T
High: 53
jhlavacek@ljworld.com
he familiar green of the Statehouse dome may be gone, but visitors still can find bits of the old copper inside the Capitol’s gift shop, this time in the form of striking necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Three Kansas University graduates — Bailey Marable, Britta McKee and Kristen Haug — were among five artists selected by the Kansas Historical Foundation to transform the weathered
metal into one-of-a-kind jewelry. Proceeds benefit the Kansas Historical Society, and will go toward educational programs such as Statehouse tours, said KHF Retail Coordinator Marla Holt. The idea for the project originated when legislators gifted the foundation with a small amount of scrap copper following the removal of the old roofing in 2012. Repurposing the copper into jewelry seemed like a “logical first step,” and soon thereafter Holt began Please see DOME, page 2A
INSIDE
Cloudy, showers Business Classified Comics Deaths
Low: 33
Today’s forecast, page 10A
Costs high, wages low Lawrence is more expensive than its Kansas neighbors but lags in income, numbers show
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Please see TENURE, page 2A
US VS. THEM
2A 1D-8D 4B 2A
Events listings Food Horoscope Opinion
6A, 2C Puzzles 1B-3B Sports 7D Television 9A
7D 1C-6C 10A, 2C
Maybe your wallet has been telling you for some time, but now there are government numbers saying it as well: Lawrence is the most expensive metro area in the state. The latest figures from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis show Lawrence residents are feeling the pinch in two areas. The city’s cost of living, although lower than the national average, is higher than in any other metro area in Kansas. To make Lawrence’s predicament worse, residents also earn far less than those in other Kansas communities. How big is the difference, you ask? Well, take Manhattan for example. The college community just west of us on Interstate 70 has a cost of living that is about 3.6 percent cheaper than Lawrence’s. The per capita, inflationadjusted income for a Manhattan resident, though, is about $7,700 more than what Lawrence residents earn. In other words, not only are there more dollars per person in Manhattan, but they buy more as well. Please see COSTS, page 5A
A visual breakdown of personal income and cost of living for Lawrence and comparable cities. 5A
Hunting ban proposed
Vol.156/No.119 40 pages
Kansas wildlife officials are pushing a proposal to ban some hunting of the federally “threatened” prairie chicken in southwest Kansas. Page 3A
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