ljworld 06-27-12

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City approves Ninth, N.H. project

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Plant research program loses funding By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

THIS VIEW OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF NINTH AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, foreground center, looks to the northwest from the second floor of the Lawrence Arts Center. At right is the alley between New Hampshire Street at left and Rhode Island Street, not visible, to right. The City Commission was presented an appeal Tuesday night, related to a controversial multistory hotel/retail building at the southeast corner of Ninth and New Hampshire streets. The city’s Historic Resources Commission had rejected the project, ruling that it would negatively affect the historic neighborhood immediately east of the site.

Retail/hotel development will move forward By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

City commissioners on a decisive 5-0 vote cleared the way for a multistory hotel and retail building to be built at Ninth and New Hampshire streets. In a meeting that lasted until early this morning, commissioners said they believed there was no feasible and prudent alternative to the hotel project that had sparked concerns from a nearby neighborhood. “Is there really someone out there who is going to write a check and make a different project here?” Mayor Bob Schumm asked. “I just don’t see them. I just don’t.” Commissioners heard nearly an hour’s worth of public comment — both for and against — a proposal to build an ap-

proximately 90-room Marriott Ron Schneider, a Lawrence extended-stay hotel that also attorney hired by neighbors, has first-floor retail space, a asked commissioners. “I fifth-story rooftop restaurant would suggest that just on its and a below-ground parking face, common sense says of garage at the southeast corner course not.” of Ninth and New Hampshire Schneider said developers streets. had not adequately Opponents of the studied the feasibilproject, which inity of condominiums cluded many neighon the site, and had bors who live in the not studied retail, ofhistoric neighborfice and apartment hood just east of the uses that would not proposed site, argued require the construcCITY there are multiple tion of an expensive residential, retail and COMMISSION underground parking office projects that garage. could be built on the site Members of the developthat are smaller and less ob- ment group, which is led by jectionable to the neighbor- Lawrence businessmen Doug hood. Compton and Mike Treanor, “Can a reasonable person argued they already have rereally conclude this is the duced the size of the buildonly feasible and prudent op- ing from its original proposed tion available for the corner?” height of 79 feet at the corner

of Ninth and New Hampshire to 63 feet. The portion of the building closest to the neighborhood is about 35 feet on average. The development group also pointed to a city-sponsored study by an outside consulting group that a smaller, three-story building wasn’t financially feasible. The development team also said it was convinced providing parking for the site — even though not required by downtown zoning — is required to make any project feasible. “Who is going to build 30,000 or 45,000 square feet of building downtown and not provide parking?” asked Dan Watkins, a Lawrence attorney for the developers. “The better question is, who is going

gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com

A Douglas County judge on Tuesday morning found a suburban Chicago man mentally competent to stand trial after two of his children were found bound and blindfolded outside the west Lawrence Walmart earlier this month. District Judge Paula Martin made the ruling after Elbridge Griffy, an appointed defense attorney for Adolfo Gomez Jr., 52, said a Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center evaluator said Gomez was competent to assist in his defense at a trial. “He has a full understand-

ing of the charges against him,” Griffy said. Gomez and his wife, Deborah Gomez, 43, both of Northlake, Ill., each face two child abuse counts after A. Gomez Lawrence police found two of their children, ages 5 and 7, bound by their hands and feet on June 13 near the family’s vehicle in the parking lot outside Walmart, 550 Congressional Drive. Police have said the family was traveling from Illinois to see a family member in Arizona before their Chevrolet Suburban

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KU eager to hear NCI ruling By Andy Hyland and George Diepenbrock ahyland@ljworld.com; gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com

resent me,” Gomez told Martin. Martin has scheduled the next hearing for the couple for 4 p.m. Thursday, but the judge said the hearing would likely only be used to schedule a future preliminary hearing in the case. “I’m happy Mr. Gomez and I were able to reconcile,” Griffy said after Tuesday’s hearing. “I think he misread me.” Griffy said he would now begin to review information in the case to try to determine a defense strategy. Griffy said Gomez had asked him not to publicly discuss specific details of the case, although the de-

Although a board that considered Kansas University’s application to become a National Cancer Institute met this week, KU leaders are saying it still could be weeks before they are informed of a decision. The president’s National Cancer Advisory Jensen Board considers NCI grant applications, including those for cancer center designations, in closed session. That board met Monday in Bethesda, Md., but the university did not hear whether

Please see FATHER, page 2A

Please see CANCER, page 2A

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broke down on Interstate 70, causing the couple and their five children to stop in Lawrence two days before a Walmart customer called officers. The woman said she saw one of the bound children outside the vehicle in the store’s parking lot. During Tuesday’s brief hearing, Gomez also dropped a request he made last week to remove Griffy as his attorney and to represent himself. He had voiced religious objections to having Griffy as his lawyer because he said Griffy used a curse word the first time they met. “I believe we’ve reconciled, and I would rather have him rep-

Please see PLANT, page 2A

Please see CITY, page 2A

Illinois father declared competent in abuse case By George Diepenbrock

A successful plant research program at Kansas University that had uncovered molecules with cancer-fighting properties is trying to find new sources of money after a Kansas Bioscience Authoritybacked organization pulled out of its funding commitment. Barbara Timmermann, a KU distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry and leader of KU’s Native Medicinal Plant Timmermann Research Program, said she had never experienced anything like the premature funding cuts in her more than 30 years of research work. “The agencies always respect what they were committed to,” she said. “This hurts a lot.”

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Town Talk now in print

Vol.154/No.179 24 pages

City reporter Chad Lawhorn’s popular Town Talk blog now will make frequent appearances in the daily newspaper, starting today. Page 3A

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