Lawrence Journal-World 04-25-12

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Atkinson to receive more than $419K after she steps down By Andy Hyland

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LEGISLATURE

Kan. handling of waiting list for disabled under fire By Scott Rothschild

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Kansas University and its retiring KU Medical Center leader have reached an agreement that will pay Barbara Atkinson more than $419,000 after she officially steps down from her role on June 30 and outlines her departure from the university. Atkinson announced earlier this month that she would be stepping down from her roles as executive vice chancellor of KUMC and executive dean of the KU School of Atkinson Medicine on June 30. Though the agreement states that Atkinson will be placed on administrative leave and would not be involved in any decisions relating to the university after April 9, she will be paid her normal salary, including housing and car allowances, through June 30. Atkinson earns $543,614 per year. After she leaves, she agreed to take a one-time, lump sum payment of $419,253, which represents her unpaid salary through April 9, 2013, one year after the day the university announced she was stepping down.

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TOPEKA — The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into complaints that the state of Kansas is not doing enough to provide assistance for thousands of Kansans with physical disabilities who are stuck on a waiting list for services for upward of three years. The development comes as state legislators resume the 2012 legislative session today and work on the budget, which includes funding for those with disabilities. It also follows talks and meetings between the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state officials, including Gov. Sam Brownback and his leadership team. Frank Campbell, regional Brownback manager for the Office of Civil Rights, said in a letter that his office “has concluded that voluntary resolution of the issues will not be possible.” Campbell adds, “Based on that determination, we have decided to refer our ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliance review to the Department of Justice for further investigation and proceedings.” The office of Barry Grissom, who is U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, and the Justice Department are meeting to consider further action. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was unsuccessful in an attempt Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo

DAVID LOEWENSTEIN AND KT WALSH work on restoring a mural Tuesday that was recently covered up during repairs to the building that houses Signs of Life, 722 Mass. Loewenstein organized the original mural, named “The Guardian of the Arts,” in 1993. The idea is to restore the old mural, with a few minor changes.

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City says 9th, N.H. hotel project making progress By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

New plans for a multistory hotel project at Ninth and New Hampshire streets are moving in the right direction, Lawrence city commissioners indicated Tuesday. “This is a process in my opinion that is working,” Mayor Bob Schumm said. “It is not complete yet. It is still a process that has more opportunity and agony to go. So hang in there.” A development group led by Lawrence businessmen Doug Compton and Mike Treanor on Monday confirmed they have

agreed to reduce the height of a proposed hotel/retail building on the southeast corner of Ninth and New Hampshire streets by one story. On Tuesday, city commissioners received a brief presentation on the project, which is slated to be heard by the city’s Historic Resources Commission at a special meeting Monday. Commissioners took no votes related to the proposed design of the building but did tell members of the crowd that the design was changed after the developers were informed a larger version of the project likely did

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not have enough votes to win approval. “I have been concerned about the project all CITY COMMISSION along in terms of its size and its financial aspects,” Schumm said. The previous design called for the building to include hotel, apartment and retail uses. It would have been six stories tall at the corner of Ninth and New Hampshire and five stories along much of its western edge that faces New Hampshire Street. The newly proposed design

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will reduce the height by one story along the western edge and will remove the apartment use from the project. The eastern edge of the building — the edge closest to a historic neighborhood along Rhode Island street — is proposed to be three stories tall. Neighbors on Tuesday didn’t offer any specific comments related to the new design but told commissioners they thought the project was moving much too quickly with the specially scheduled Historic Resources Commission meeting set for Monday. “We want it to slow down so we can sit down and really talk

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about what these plans mean,” said Katherine Harris, who lives just east of the location for the project. Monday’s Historic Resources Commission meeting will focus only on the proposed building for the southeast corner of the intersection. The development group on Monday also confirmed that it hopes to build a multistory apartment building, likely with 90 to 120 apartments, on the northeast corner of the intersection, where Black Hills Energy currently has its offices. But Lawrence attorney Dan

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Vol.154/No.116 26 pages

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