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Group to propose ‘cultural district’ designation By Sara Shepherd sshepherd@ljworld.com
It’s no secret that the heart of Lawrence is ripe with culture. A group of stakeholders led by the Lawrence Arts Center wants the area to have an official definition that reflects it. The Lawrence Cultural Arts
Not as cool
High: 55
Area would include downtown, much of East Lawrence Commission on Sunday heard the group’s pitch, liked it and will propose designating as a “cultural district” the area roughly bounded by the Kansas River, 15th Street, Vermont Street and the north end of the
Burroughs Creek Trail. The proposal will be forwarded to the City Commission this week, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard said. The proposal doesn’t suggest rezoning or sweeping changes
to the landscape. It’s more about improving the image and accessibility of what’s already there. The stakeholders hope the city will develop a plan for the area that includes improved lighting, sidewalks and
shared-use pathways to help link — for foot and bicycle traffic — historic, arts, natural and cultural heritage sites such as the Arts Center, New York Please see DISTRICT, page 2A
Aquifer sees massive decline
‘More shovels and less lawyers’
Low: 24
Today’s forecast, page 10B
INSIDE
By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Self stays true to Elijah Johnson After his turnover on KU’s final possession proved pivotal in a rare Jayhawk loss in Allen Fieldhouse, Elijah Johnson got a vote of confidence from his coach. Bill Self on Monday said Johnson will remain the Jayhawks’ starting point guard. Page 1B WELLCOMMONS
KanCare transition not too rocky As Gov. Sam Brownback’s Medicaid makeover entered its fourth week last week, administration officials, some legislators and a variety of others involved with KanCare said they thought the massive changes under way in the $3.2 billion program so far have gone smoother than many expected. Page 5A
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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television WellCommons Vol.155/No.36
8A 4B-8B 10A 2A 2B, 10B 9B 4A 9A 9B 1B-3B 2B, 9B, 10B 5A-7A 20 pages
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
CITY CREWS WORK AT THE FORMER FARMLAND PROPERTY Monday as the city prepares to connect the property to East Hills Business Park. Since 2010, the city of Lawrence has worked to clean up and remove debris from the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant off Kansas Highway 10. The city took ownership of the 467-acre site with the intention of creating additional space for industrial development and expanding the city’s business park.
City to consider $10M toward Farmland property conversion By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Lawrence city commissioners tonight are set to take their biggest step yet toward starting about $10 million of infrastructure work to convert the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant into a business park. They’ll also be making progress on fulfilling a motto that City
Manager David Corliss has been chanting for months. “I’ve been saying for Corliss a while now that our goal is more shovels and less lawyers,” Corliss said. At their weekly meeting tonight, commis-
sioner will consider taking the initial steps to create a benefit district that technically will fund nearly $10 million in roadwork, waterline construction and sewer improvements needed to make the more than 400-acre site on Lawrence’s eastern edge ready for development. Corliss, though, is making sure that leaders understand that, in reality, it will be city
Rex Buchanan returned recently to Lawrence from his annual tour of water wells in western Kansas. As interim director of the Kansas Geological Survey, one of his jobs is to drive through the region each January and take measurements from about 1,400 water wells that tap into the vast underground reservoir called the Ogallala Aquifer. That’s a pool of underground water locked inside the pores of gravel and sand lying several hundred feet below the surface. It stretches across several states, from Nebraska to Texas, including about 30,500 square miles in western and central Kansas. There were few surprises in this year’s survey. The water tables have dropped since the year before, by a Please see AQUIFER, page 8A
taxpayers who are paying for improvements for the foreseeable future. Normally, a benefit district passes the costs along to property owners in the district through special assessments that show up on property tax bills. But the Farmland property currently is owned by the city, which means the city Please see CITY, page 2A
AP Graphic
The Ogallala Aquifer
Lawrence schools opt out of 2013 writing test By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Students in the Lawrence school district will be spared the trouble of taking the semi-annual state writing test this year. District officials said Monday that they will take advantage of a decision last month by the Kansas State Board of Education to let districts opt out of administering the test this year. “USD 497 will not be
administering the state speaking will all become writing assessment as integrated as part of the part of our efforts to English and language arts move forward with curriculum. He the Kansas College said the Lawrence and Career-Ready district will conStandards (Comtinue to assess stumon Core) adopdents’ writing skills tion,” said Terry but will not use the McEwen, the dis- SCHOOLS state writing test. trict’s director of Normally, assessments, in an email schools in Kansas adminMonday. ister the writing test evUnder the new Com- ery other year in grades 5, mon Core standards, 8 and 11, alternating with McEwen said, reading, the history and governwriting, listening and ment test. State officials
say they have more flexibility on those tests because, unlike the reading, math and science tests, the writing and social studies tests are not required by federal law. But the State Board of Education agreed in January to make the writing test optional this year, in large part because the writing test is aligned to old academic standards that are being phased out. The new Common Core standards will be fully
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implemented in Kansas classrooms next year. Kansas is part of a group of states developing a new kind of test, called the Smarter Balanced Assessments, that will be aligned to the new Common Core standards. That test is expected to be administered in the 2014-15 school year, the next time Kansas students are scheduled to take a writing test. — Education reporter Peter Hancock can be reached at 832-7259.