L A W R E N C E
JOURNAL-WORLD
®
75 CENTS
SATURDAY • JANUARY 22 • 2011
Some sun
High: 31
Low: 14
Today’s forecast, page 12A
INSIDE
Winter warriors
Medical case to be heard 2nd time
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Snow is no obstacle to these hard-core bicycle commuters By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
Do pets pose another threat to safe driving? Lawmakers have been banning drivers from texting or using cell phones, but experts say an unrestrained dog in the car also can be deadly. Tens of thousands of car accidents are believed caused every year by unrestrained pets. Page 7A MEN’S BASKETBALL
KU looking forward to big game today On the eve of today’s showdown between the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks and No. 11 Longhorns, Kansas University men’s basketball players say they expect a tough game. “In my eyes it’s definitely a rivalry,” KU junior forward Marcus Morris said. Page 1B
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QUOTABLE
Facebook has become the cool kid on the block, and now Google wants to prove it can still be cool, too.” — Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land. Google is richer than ever, but it’s not as cool as it once was. Facebook, Twitter, and Groupon are thorns in Google’s side, raising worries that the online search leader may be losing the competitive edge that turned it into the Internet’s most powerful company. Page 7A
COMING SUNDAY Sports reporter Matt Tait travels to Normal, Ill., to chat with folks about Sheahon Zenger, KU’s new athletic director.
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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Faith Horoscope Movies Opinion Poll Puzzles Sports Television Vol.153/No.22
7A 8B-12B 11A 2A 12A 8A, 7B 11B 6A 9A 2A 11B 1B-5B, 12B 5A, 2B, 11B 28 pages
On his way to work Friday morning, Terry Culp bundled up in long underwear, jeans, a Tshirt, thermal top, coat, stocking cap and two pairs of gloves. “I try to make it so I don’t sweat,” said Culp, who bikes 4 miles to work in snow and frigid temperatures. “They look at me like ‘What are you doing out here?’” Culp said about those he passes on his daily route from east Lawrence to Scotch Fabric Care at Sixth and Florida streets. Culp is among a group of winter warriors — hard-core bicycle commuters and recreationists — who keep on pedaling despite the snow. Some even like it. “It’s fun,” said Benn Stover, an employee at Cycle Works who keeps riding in the winter to stay in racing shape. “It’s a different challenge, different scenery. I do different routes because it takes longer to ride in the snow. It slows you down. It’s not as windy, and you get a workout in at a slower speed.” Bicycling enthusiast Eric Struckhoff said the streets were too slick Friday for him to bike up the hill for his mile-anda-half commute to Kansas University. Thursday evening he was able to make fresh tracks on local trails in Lawrence. Riding through 8 inches of fresh snow is doable but calls for pretty hard pedaling. “There are a few people in town were it’s kind of an unspoken race to be the first one down to the trails after the first new snow,” Struckhoff said. Winter bicycling requires several layers of clothes, sturdy tires, a
LJWorld.com
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Doctor removed wrong ovary; dispute persists over damages By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos
KANSAS UNIVERSITY GRADUATE STUDENT Julian Kuettner, of Engen, Germany, dismounts his bicycle for the last stretch up 13th Street toward the KU campus on Friday. Many local cyclists continue on two wheels throughout the winter months, but often at a much slower pace. Top photo: Lawrence resident Terry Culp maneuvers his bike through snow Friday on his daily commute to work. lot of lighting and a well-tuned bike, Stover said. In the past few months, Culp has picked up a few tips on winter biking. He figured out that in insulated coveralls he sweats too much. He has also learned to avoid loose snow. “Your front tire goes one way and your back
goes the other direction,” Culp said. And when his feet start to lose circulation, the best thing to do is to get off and push the bike for a block or so. Culp started commuting by bike last April when his truck needed transmission work. So far, there have been just two days that the weather has
kept Culp off his bike. One of them was Thursday. Sure, Culp said, he could ride the bus, but the bike is always right there. He does, however, admit looking forward to warmer weather. “Summertime. I can’t wait for it,” he said. — Reporter Christine Metz can be reached at 832-6352.
T OPEKA — In a rare move, a highly watched medical malpractice lawsuit will be reargued before the Kansas Supreme Court. Chief Justice Lawton Nuss on Friday ordered re-arguments for 9 a.m. Feb. 18 in the case where a doctor removed the wrong ovary from a Eudora woman. The dispute is over a cap in damages to the woman and has pitted some of Nuss the state’s largest special interests against each other. The Supreme Court first heard arguments in the case in October 2009 and has not issued a decision. Since then, former Chief Justice Robert Davis died and has been replaced by Justice Nancy Moritz. It was also announced Friday that Justice Eric Rosen would recuse himself from the case, although no reason was given. He will be replaced by David Knudson, a retired judge from the Kansas Court of Appeals. Each side will be given 90 minutes before the court. Nuss has ordered that no further legal briefs will be allowed to be submitted. Already numerous interests have weighed in on the case. In 2002, Amy Miller went in for surgery to remove her right Please see COURT, page 2A
UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS
Brownback mum on bill to repeal in-state tuition By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — Conservative Republicans in the House have teed up a bill to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students residing in Kansas. But their fellow conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback refused Friday to say what he thinks about that. “I’m not ready to comment on that,” Brownback said. He said he supports a proposal that requires voters to show a photo ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register to vote.
But on the instate tuition issue, he declined to weigh in. The law was signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, in 2004. Under the law, a student is eli- Brownback gible for the lower in-state tuition rate at a higher education institution if he or she has attended a Kansas high school for three years or more, graduated or received a GED, and signs an affidavit that he or she will apply for
legal residency when eligible to do so. Approximately 400 students in 2010 were benefiting from the provisions of the law. Many attempts to repeal it have failed, but opponents of the law believe they have a better chance of repealing it now because of the large number of new conservatives elected in the House. But Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka said that while the repeal measure would probably pass in the House, it wouldn’t in the Senate. He said the law is helping give some students “the chance to pursue
the American dream.” While in the U.S. Senate, Brownback had been an early supporter of the so-called Dream Act, which would have allowed in-state tuition for the children of some undocumented immigrants, and provided a way toward permanent residency. The federal legislation was similar to laws that were approved in some states, including Kansas. But in December, Brownback, in one of his final actions in the Senate, voted against the measure. — Statehouse reporter Scott Rothschild can be reached at 785-423-0668.
Judge Tacha going on senior status, which opens up vacancy on 10th Circuit Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org
By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com
A Lawrence federal appeals court judge is taking senior status, a move that will create a vacancy on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Deanell Reece Tacha said she will make the move official on Thursday when she becomes eligible for senior status after her 65th
birthday on Wednesday. Judges on senior status carry a reduced caseload, but continue to draw their full salary. In 2010, federal appeals court judges earned $184,500 per year. President Barack Obama will nominate Tacha’s successor, subject to U.S. Senate confirmation. Tacha, nominated by President Ronald Reagan, has served on the court for 25 years.
“I am the most fortunate person to have had 25 years of service to this nation,” Tacha said. “And I will keep on serving.” The 12-member court already has Tacha one vacancy, Tacha said, and her departure would create a sec-
ond opening. Several other judges on senior status assist with the caseload as well, she said. Tacha said she is continuing to weigh whether she would accept an offer, if extended, to become Pepperdine University’s law dean. She is a finalist for the post. She hasn’t heard from Pepperdine officials yet, but if she were to Please see TACHA, page 2A