SEVERE WEATHER MOVES THROUGH AREA, MISSES LAWRENCE Lawrence & State 3A
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SUNDAY • MAY 22 • 2011
City playing waiting game with new treatment plant By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
It is the big bet at Lawrence City Hall. Someday the economy will improve, and builders will start constructing homes at a pace faster than they are today. And it
CITY COMMISSION
is certain they’ll all want toilets that flush and sinks that drain. But it also is a certainty that if the pace of home construction picks up significantly, the city’s lone sewage treatment plant won’t be able to handle all the toilets, sinks, showers, and, well, you get the picture.
None of that surprises city leaders. The city already has purchased a site south of the Wakarusa River to house a new $80 million to $90 million sewage treatment plant. What city leaders are trying to figure out now is when that plant should be built.
To answer that question, they are trying to f igure out the answer to a question the whole world wants to know: When will the economy turn around? The only certainty in all of this is that if the city waits to build a plant until the economy really starts to hum again, it has waited too long.
“We think it will take four years to design and build the plant,” Mayor Aron Cromwell said. “If the economy really turns around before we complete the project, we’ll have people screaming at us that they Please see CITY, page 2A
KANSAS UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT
Families celebrate graduation together
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo
TODAY’S COMMENCEMENT WILL BE A SPECIAL DAY for Ignacio Carvajal, left, and his father, Jorge Carvajal, as the two will both be graduating from Kansas University. Ignacio will receive his undergraduate degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies, while Jorge will receive his doctorate in educational psychology. The family moved to the United States in 2002 from San Jose, Costa Rica. For a complete list of KU graduates, see section C.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
MARK BOWEN HOLDS HIS SON OLIVER, 1, both of Lawrence, at Bowen’s hooding ceremony Saturday for the Kansas University department of geography. For more photos of Saturday’s events, see page 8C.
Today’s schedule Kansas University’s 139th Commencement will begin at 10:30 a.m. today, with students walking through the Campanile and down the hill into Memorial Stadium. Here are some events for graduates: ● 8 a.m., Adams Alumni Center, KU Alumni Association Open House. ● 8:30-10 a.m., Kansas Union, Ballroom, Commencement open house. Complimentary coffee, tea, juice and pastries for graduates and guests.
Like father, like son By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Moving is traumatic enough. Try moving with your family from Costa Rica to Kansas at age 13. “I was freaking out,” said Ignacio Carvajal. Now, nine years later, Carvajal will be graduating from Kansas University today with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. On the same day, his father, Jorge Carvajal, will be receiving his doc-
torate degree in educational measurement from KU. The family came to Lawrence for Jorge to advance his education. At that time, teenager Ignacio spoke little English. “Learning a language isn’t easy,” Ignacio said. But what started as a frightening Please see FAMILY, page 7A ● Graduate inspired to become higher education administrator. Page 7A
Weather plans If commencement is postponed because of weather: ● It will be announced at LJWorld.com, and alerts will be sent to people who have signed up for breaking news alerts through the website. To sign up for the alerts, visit LJWorld.com/alerts. ● If commencement is postponed and the weather begins to clear by late morning, the first attempt to hold the ceremony will be at 12:30 p.m. Graduates will assemble on Memorial Drive at noon. ● If the weather doesn't begin to clear in time for a 12:30 p.m. ceremony, a second attempt will be made at 2:30 p.m. Graduates will assemble on Memorial Drive at 2 p.m. ● The final attempt to hold the ceremony will be 4:30 p.m. Graduates will assemble on Memorial Drive at 4 p.m.
Smart meter neighborhood can soon track energy usage online By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
This week, Westar Energy customers in the Deerfield neighborhood should be able to log onto the energy company’s website and find detailed information about their energy usage. In January, in bone-chilling temperatures, Westar began installing smart meters in Lawrence as part of a pilot project. Some 1,500 meters went into
Deerfield neighborhood homes, apartments and businesses. Four months later, residents will finally be able to connect to an online dashboard that has been gathering data on customers’ energy usage since early February. “I’m pretty excited,” said Hal Jensen, the director of Westar’s SmartStar program. “After all this work, we
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Today’s forecast, page 10A
needed to operate a smart grid system. The first of its kind in Kansas, the SmartStar project will allow customers with smart meters to go online and track their energy usage by the hour. That information can help customers make better decisions on their energy consumption. One day, the information could provide the data needed to establish a new pricing
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are finally getting something out the other end of the pipeline, on the ground and in front of the customer.” The program is part of the $39 million SmartStar project, half of which is being funded through federal stimulus dollars. For more than a year, Westar has been working at its data center in Topeka to set up the computer and software technology
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Please see SMARTSTAR, page 7A
OPEN HOUSE Westar will host an open house for customers in the Deerfield neighborhood from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 2 at Deerfield School, 101 Lawrence Ave. The open house is intended to address questions from customers within the pilot area and to explain how to use the online dashboard that will track their energy usage.
COMING MONDAY Complete coverage from graduation ceremonies at Kansas and Baker universities.
Vol.153/No.142 66 pages
Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org
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