Classic drama opens old wounds.
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THURSDAY • AUGUST 27 • 2015
Judge lets voting lawsuit continue
Recent changes in practice A $78 million annual increase proposed by Westar Energy is still under consideration by the Kansas Corporation Commission, Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig said. The KCC has until Oct. 28 to make a decision on the matter. If approved, the increase will result in a $5 to $7 monthly increase per household, on average, Penzig said. If approved, the new rates will become effective Nov. 1.
ENERGY
Average households using 4,000 gallons of water a month will see a monthly rate increase of $3.64 on their bill, Kidney said. The monthly increase equates to $43.68 a year.
WATER/SEWER
— Conrad Swanson; Journal-World Graphic
DON’T LET NEW CHARGES TAKE YOU BY SURPRISE
But Kansas court won’t block Kobach from enforcing law
Now that state and local governments know what their budgets for 2016 will look like, we have a clearer picture of what is going to cost more. Here’s a look at where a few pennies or dollars may start showing up in your expenses:
By John Hanna Associated Press
SALES TAX
Topeka — A Kansas judge is allowing two voters to continue pursuing a lawsuit challenging how Secretary of State Kris Kobach is enTweet forcing a proof-of-citizentussle ship requirement for registering to vote. But Shawnee County District Court Judge Franklin Theis isn’t blocking Kobach from enforcing the requirement as he has for more than a year. Kobach told county election officials in June 2014 that the relative handful of people who use Kobach traded a federal form to register barbs with to vote are eligible to cast Hillary Clinton ballots only in presidential, over Twitter on U.S. Senate and congressio- Wednesday. 3A nal races, not state and local ones. Kobach is the architect of the state’s proofof-citizenship law, which took effect in 2013
Kansas’ sales tax was raised by .15 percent, effective July 1. Both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County kept local sales tax rates constant, said City of Lawrence finance director Bryan Kidney. After the increase, the current sales tax rate is 9.05 percent. To put the increase in perspective, if you spend $100 per week on groceries, you’ll spend an extra $7.80 for the year on sales taxes for those purchases. Or, if you’re thinking bigger, you’ll spend an extra $30 on a new $20,000 car. Combined property taxes for 2015 levied a total of 129.736 mills among the City of Lawrence (31.474), Douglas County (41.01), the state of Kansas (1.5) and the Lawrence School District (55.752), Kidney said. Taxes are assessed on 11.5 percent of a home’s assessed property value, and each mill is equivalent to $1 for every thousand dollars of that value. For 2016, the school district raised its mill levy by 1.602 mills. All other mill levies remained constant. A home worth $150,000 would be responsible for $27.63 more each year for the increase, which will begin in November. A home worth $200,000 will pay an additional $36.84.
PROPERTY TAX
Please see VOTING, page 2A
Town Talk
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This senseless destruction of sites has now been going on for over a year by ISIS. They’ve been on a rampage, basically.” — Phil Stinson, Kansas University professor
‘An immense loss for humanity’ KU archaeologist, like rest of world, stunned by cultural destruction in Syria By Sara Shepherd Twitter: @saramarieshep
Archaeologists like Phil Stinson, associate professor of classics at
Kansas University, are appalled by this week’s news that the Islamic State group blew up a 2,000-year-old temple at Palmyra, Syria.
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Interim city manager won’t apply for job
T
his news just in from Lawrence City Hall: Interim City Manager Diane Stoddard won’t be a candidate for the open city manager’s position in Lawrence. Stoddard sent out a message to employees updating them on several City Hall matters. In that message she said “after significant reflection and discussions with my family, I have decided that the timing now isn’t right for me personally to apply for the position.” Stoddard Stoddard, though, said she does intend to remain as an assistant city manager upon the hiring of a new city manager.
Please see LOSS, page 2A
INSIDE
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Adding to a sense of “helplessness,” Stinson said, experts and scholars can’t even fully assess the remains at Palmyra, as well as other cultural sites the group, also known as ISIS, has destroyed. “The professional organizations in the archaeological community have, I would say, not been able to do very much so far, mainly because we don’t have access to those sites,” Stinson said. “They’re just too dangerous to go to right now. We can’t even explore the extent of the damage.”
Chad Lawhorn
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Heartland boost Heartland Community Health Center has received a $133,036 federal grant made available through the ACA. Page 3A
Please see MANAGER, page 2A
Vol.157/No.239 28 pages