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TUESDAY • AUGUST 25 • 2015
“
Trouble at 23rd and Mass.
Cutting school funding and then making school districts come hat-in-hand to Topeka to ensure they have enough money to meet the needs of their students is a disgrace.” — Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley
Schools get $6 million in extraordinary funding Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
CITY CREWS RESPOND TO A WATER MAIN BREAK at 23rd and Massachusetts streets on Monday. All eastbound lanes into the intersection were blocked off, and traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction in the two westbound lanes of 23rd Street from Vermont to Massachusetts.
Water main break expected to affect intersection for days By Mackenzie Clark Twitter: @mclark59
A water main break Monday afternoon at the intersection of 23rd and Massachusetts streets could interrupt traffic for “a couple to a few days,” said Jeanette Klamm, management analyst for the city of Lawrence. All eastbound lanes into the intersection are blocked off, and traffic has been reduced to one lane in each direction in the two westbound lanes of 23rd Street from Ver-
mont to Massachusetts. Klamm said city workers were cutting the upper layer of concrete so that a pavement contractor could examine lower layers this morning and determine whether there has been extensive damage. She said workers won’t know how long it will take to repair the road until that inspection occurs. She said they should have some answers later today. A contractor has put up signs attempting to divert some traffic from the area
and take some pressure off of 23rd Street, Klamm said. She said traffic is being detoured south on Louisiana Street to 31st Street and east to Haskell Avenue. Klamm said the less traffic in the area the better, not necessarily for city crews but because motorists will face delays. “If people follow the directed route, it will probably get them there faster,” she said. Klamm said there were reports earlier of three homes in the area without
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Amount is $9 million less than requested By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
water. She said typically crews will try to keep water running to affected locations for as long as possible and only shut it off when they absolutely have to, but she was not sure if they were able to do so in this case because it is a “pretty good sized line.” The water main, a 1954 12-inch cast-iron pipe according to a city news release, broke sometime around 2 p.m. Monday. Pipes typically range between 6 and 8 inches in diameter, Klamm said.
Dig out your platform shoes and polyester
Topeka — Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders agreed Monday on doling out about $6 million in “extraordinary needs” funding for school districts that have seen unusually high enrollment growth or big decreases in property valuations. That was only about half of the $12.3 million that lawmakers set aside for that purpose this year, and it was about $9 million less than districts had actually requested. “This is the first time we’re trying to figure out what is an extraordinary need,” Brownback said after the meeting. Kansas lawmakers set aside money for extraordinary needs in the same bill this year that abolished the old school finance formula and replaced it for two years with a system of block grants. Please see SCHOOLS, page 2A
Planners advise approving SLT shopping center By Rochelle Valverde Twitter: @RochelleVerde
Arts Center wants to celebrate its 40th anniversary with street party a la 1975 Held in conjunction Twitter: @hlavacekjoanna with Lawrence Arts Center’s annual September he Lawrence Arts Final Friday street Center is inviting party, the celguests to “party ebration will like it’s 1975” during the tentatively center’s 40th anniversary close trafcelebration next month. fic on the The event, slated for 900 block 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 25, will of New offer plenty of throwback Hampactivities, from retro crafts shire (think macramé and God’s Street. eyes) to a 1970s-era sitcom To acmarathon to instruction in commodate Disco 101 courtesy of the musical perArts Center’s School of formances by loDance. Local restaurants cal bands Truckstop and food vendors will also Honeymoon and Chuck be on hand with snacks Mead and the Grassy Knoll and refreshments. Boys, a large stage would
By Joanna Hlavacek
T
be set up directly in front of the Arts Center. Access to the parking garage across the street would be maintained via the southernmost entrance on New Hampshire Street as well as the Ninth Street entrance. Arts Center officials are still awaiting approval for their permit request, which will be discussed at
today’s City Commission meeting at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall. Commissioners will also consider adopting an ordinance that would allow the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol within the closed-off area during the event. Ruth DeWitt, the Arts Center’s marketing director, doesn’t anticipate any problems with the request. The Lawrence Arts Center, she points out, goes through a similar process every year for the September Final Friday and May Final Friday street parties. Please see ARTS, page 2A
The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission has recommended for approval a proposal for a shopping center south of the South Lawrence Trafficway. “I think that the health of the retail market plays into the welfare and wellbeing of the community,” Chairman Clay Britton said while voting in favor of the proposal at the commission’s Monday night meeting. An out-of-state development group, Collett, based in Charlotte, N.C., has filed plans to build the new shopping center at the southeast corner of the SLT and Iowa Street interchange. The Planning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend approval of the rezoning and planning changes required for the project, which will now head to the City Commission for consideration. The project would have about 250,000 square feet of space for new retailers and restaurants. The proposed tenants aren’t official, but previously the development group has said Academy Sports, Old Navy, Please see SLT, page 2A
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Vol.157/No.237 28 pages