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Group buys Bella Sera
Serious about severe weather
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Koch Industries exec among new owners of property By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World
DEERFIELD SCHOOL FIRST-GRADER XAILEN GORDON tells fellow student Rhett McDaniels to get his head down during a statewide tornado drill Tuesday. Area schools used the opportunity to practice their severe weather safety plans. The statewide drill, which happens every year, is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week. See the video at LJWorld.com.
Budget plan draws fire over school funding By John Hanna Associated Press
TOPEKA — A proposed $14 billion state budget being considered in the Kansas House drew bipartisan criticism Tuesday because it would withhold some education funds and push school districts to tap their cash reserves first. Republicans who pushed the spending plan through the House Appropriations Committee defended it as a responsible budget that sticks closely to most rec-
ommendations from GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. The measure would reduce the s t a t e ’ s Brownback overall spending by about 4 percent, or roughly $650 million, during the fiscal year that begins July 1. But the committee made several significant changes to Brownback’s
proposals before endorsing a bill containing the budget Monday night. It eliminated $29 million in new dollars for the state’s 286 school districts to cover higher-than-expected costs during the current school year, forcing districts to absorb those costs and encouraging them to dip into their reserves. “They’ve put money back for cash-flow purposes and projects they see in the future, and they’ve tried to save for that, and we’ve said, ‘No,
KU’s law school drops again in national rankings, while 12 programs make top 10 “
By Andy Hyland
ahyland@ljworld.com
U.S. News and World Report released new rankings for graduate programs on Tuesday, and while Kansas University had 12 programs ranked in the top 10 among public universities, its School of Law, hampered by slumping employment numbers, dropped into to a tie for 89th overall. The law school, which dropped 12 spots in 2011, dropped another 10 this year. Stephen Mazza, KU’s law dean, said a dip in employment numbers was to blame. The magazine used employment data from the KU’s class of 2010, which had 46.4 percent of its students employed at graduation, and 78 percent of the students employed
We don’t want to let the rankings dictate how we run the law school.”
— Stephen Mazza, KU law dean nine months out. Those are lower than the class of 2009’s figures, which saw 63.2 percent of its students employed at graduation, and 89 percent employed nine months later. While the economy is playing a role, KU’s numbers are generally lower than those reported by other schools, Mazza said. He stressed that KU doesn’t manipulate its
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the total, to aid to public schools, but lawmakers cut base aid per pupil last year by almost 6 percent to help balance the budget, dropping it to $3,780 per student. Brownback proposes no further cut in the figure for the next fiscal year, but districts have seen both higher enrollments and more students Please see BUDGET, page 2A
Senate panel OKs
bill to increase school funding. Page 4A
Please see BELLA SERA, page 2A
KU Hospital expanding to meet demand By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com
WESTWOOD — Kansas University Hospital leaders on Tuesday said patient growth is leading the hospital to add new space and new patient beds more quickly than previously planned. The hospital’s board in July 2010 approved a three-and-a-half floor expansion for its Center for Advanced Heart Care, just east of the main hospital near 39th Street and Rainbow Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan. The original plan called for the opening of one 32-bed patient unit and constructing two new floors of shell space to be filled in later. A new plan now calls for adding 84 beds to the hospital on all three new floors. On Tuesday, the hospital’s authority board heard an update that said the entire space
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numbers by hiring recent graduates at low salaries or by other means. “One school reported 98.2 percent,” as an employment rate for its graduates, Mazza said. “I find that extraordinary.” Mazza said he had been aware of the employment numbers long before the rankings came out, and the school has taken some actions to counteract the low employment figures. “We don’t want to let the rankings dictate how we run the law school,” Mazza said, but at the same time, they do highlight areas where the school needs to improve. The law school has hired a new assistant dean for career services and a new career services director. Both of those people
you can’t do that,’” said Rep. Doug Gatewood, a Columbus Democrat who serves on the committee. “It’s a shame.” The House is expected to debate the proposed budget Friday. The Senate Ways and Means Committee is drafting its own spending plan and could vote on it Friday. The final version of the budget will be drafted by negotiators for the two chambers. The state commits more than $3 billion of its tax dollars, roughly half
After years of financial troubles, a west Lawrence condominium development has a new set of owners who are promising a reversal of fortunes for the development. A Wichita investment group, which includes a top executive of Koch Industries, has purchased the remaining vacant units at the Bella Sera at the Preserve condominium development at Bob Billings Parkway and Inverness Drive. Jason Todd, a real estate agent for Lawrence Realty Executives Hedges Real Estate, said his clients have purchased the property, which previously was foreclosed on, and are bringing down the selling prices on the luxury development. “When the project originally went to market, I believe there was
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would be filled in by 19 new beds for pre- and this summer. A new 32- post-surgical patients bed unit on the seventh and six new operating floor will house heart rooms. patients and family Tammy Peterman, medicine patients, while chief operating officer patients in the neuro- for the hospital, said the sciences program will hospital intends to hire be on the 32-bed acute 200 to 250 new employcare unit on the eighth ees to work in the new floor, or on the space. 20-bed intensive A new helipad care unit on the will also be addninth floor of ed as part of the the building. project, Jackson Jon Jackson, said. The helichief adminispad will accomtrative officer, modate larger HEALTH said that when helicopters, the $56.7 million proj- including the helicopect is done, along with ter for the president of planned renovations to the United States. The the main hospital, the hospital serves as the hospital would apply to designated hospital for the state to expand the the president and vice licensed limit of adult president when they are beds it can have in the in town, Jackson said. hospital, increasing to Since 1998, Jackson 745 from 620. said, the hospital has Other improvements made $770.9 million in the main hospital are worth of capital imongoing as well, includ- provements and added ing a renovation for the 3,340 employees to its kitchen, the addition of payroll.
COMING THURSDAY
6A 7C Today is Pi Day, 1B-5B as in 3.14, and we’ll 4A, 2B, 7C be at a local food festival devoted to all things pi.
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