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‘Back in the day, everybody shopped local’
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Potential water, sewer rate increase in the works ———
City’s dispute with EPA plays into possibility By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
GRACE WHITMAN, 11, OF WOODBURY MINN., shops for Jayhawk merchandise on Black Friday at Jock’s Nitch, 837 Massachusetts St. Downtown store owners are hoping residents will participate in Small Business Saturday today and make an effort to buy from local shops.
After Black Friday, store owners touting Small Business Saturday By Meagan Thomas mthomas@ljworld.com
National retailers like Kohl’s, Best Buy and Target were crowded with Black Friday shoppers starting as early as 9 p.m. Thursday, but the number of shoppers walking down Massachusetts Street on Friday was small compared with those at the big-name stores. Shop owners downtown are hoping local residents will participate in Small Business Saturday and continue their holiday buying at local businesses for the weekend and through the holiday season. “I think that the tradition is to hit the Targets of the world and Best Buys or whatever on Black Friday morning and then on Saturday maybe continue your shopping once the box-store rush wears off,” Downtown Lawrence Inc. director Cathy Hamilton said.
Holiday markets provide local, bizarre shopping opportunities By Adam Strunk astrunk@ljworld.com
Duct tape mustaches, holy carp and busty, well, busts: These are some of the items for sale at Lawrence’s aptly named Bizarre Bazaar. Organizers expect more than 30,000 people to attend the two-day art show at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., that features about 140 vendors selling unique and often quirky homemade wares. “It’s been good,” said Aaron Dechant, who is selling earrings and other jewelry at the Bizarre Bazaar. “There’s a really
Adam Strunk/Journal-World Photo
VENDOR AARON DECHANT, OF TOPEKA, LEFT, discusses the jewelry he is selling with Lawrence residents Sarah Bodle, center, and Angela Candela on Friday at the Bizarre Bazaar, 940 New Hampshire St.
nice crowd, and everyEvent organizer one’s been good to talk Marsene Feldt said the to. We have been doing Please see BAZAAR, page 2A well.”
The city of Lawrence and the Environmental Protection Agency have been involved in a quiet four-year debate about the adequacy of the city’s lone sewage treatment plant. The debate is poised to draw a bit more attention. City leaders are pointing to their dispute with the EPA as a reason city commissioners should seriously consider a five-year plan to raise water and sewer rates by about 28 percent. “We run the risk of having the federal government insert itself into our operations and planning,” City Manager David Corliss said of a possible outcome if the city doesn’t raise its sewer rates. “I think most communities have found that to be more expensive than just making the improvements on their Corliss own.” At issue is a dispute that has received little, if any, public discussion at City Hall: The city’s sewage treatment plant technically doesn’t have a current operating permit from the state of Kansas. Since 2008, the EPA has objected to the renewal of the city’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination Permit on the grounds that the plant, at 1400 E. Eighth St., has illegal sewage discharges during heavy rainstorms. The city is confident that is not the case. It treats the excess stormwater that infiltrates the city’s sewer pipes with a product called Actiflo. “It does an excellent job of treating it,” said city utility director Dave Wagner, who stressed the city has seen no evidence that raw sewage is being allowed to bypass the plant and flow directly into the Kansas River during storm conditions. The city, however, is not so confident that the EPA ultimately will see it that way. In a report to city commissioners, city staff members said there are “no clear answers or direction” about how the EPA may resolve the long-standing dispute.
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Kobach deems Kansas’ photo identification law a success By John Milburn Associated Press
TOPEKA — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says fewer than expected registered voters cast provisional ballots in the Nov. 6 general election in response to the new state photo identification law. The law requires voters to show a valid photo identification in order to receive a ballot and cast their vote. This was the first general election to require such proof of
identity since the law was enacted in 2011. Kobach said Tuesday that only 717 provisional ballots were cast because of photo ID issues — 0.6 percent of the more than 1.15 million votes cast. “And that’s an even smaller percentage than in the primary,” Kobach said. The Republican said voters are becoming more familiar with the law and its requirements, and the relatively few problems with photo identification are evidence of that.
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numerous county-elected positions, from sheriffs to clerks to commissioners. This was the first time since 2000 that Kansas didn’t have a U.S. Senate seat or statewide elected office on the ballot, tempering voter turnout. Kobach said all of the races have been decided and there were no recounts requested for the congressional or legislative seats. The results of the general election are scheduled to be certified by the state canvassing
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“ I think the photo ID requirem e n t s are going very smoothly, in fact smoother Kobach than I expected,” Kobach said. Earlier this month, voters were asked to cast their preference for president, four U.S. House seats, 125 Kansas House seats, 40 Kansas Senate seats and
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board on Nov. 29. The board consists of Kobach and fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Kansas will hold elections for governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and insurance commissioner in 2014, along with the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Pat Roberts, who is expected to seek re-election. All 125 Kansas House seats will also be on the ballot.
Kobach successfully pushed through the new photo ID law, along with changes in the voter registration laws that require proof of citizenship to register for the first time in Kansas starting Jan. 1. Though he said he would be seeking a few changes to the voting laws, Kobach said the bigger issue that needs to be addressed was the counties where there are more registered voters than eligible voting-age population.
Another arson? Fire crews respond to another fire at an apartment complex in south central Lawrence, which has been the area of a string of suspected arson cases. Page 3A
Vol.154/No.329 22 pages