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Kobach: Immigration bills likely in next session By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — Opposing sides in the debate over illegal immigration agree on one thing: When the 2013 Kansas Legislature convenes in January, there will be renewed attempts to tackle the politically explosive issue.
Arias, who is executive director of Sunflower Community Action, a Wichita-based nonprofit organization. While Kobach has succeeded in pushing aggressive measures in states such as Arizona and Alabama, he has not been
Kris Kobach, right, was an informal adviser on immigration issues to GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Romney backed so-called “self-deportation,” a term used by Kobach to describe the departure of undocumented workers because of tough immigration enforcement laws.
Please see KOBACH, page 2A
‘Wireless babies’ provide life lessons
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“There will be some action taken on immigration,” said Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who has become a national figure in passing laws in various states that crack down on illegal immigration. “We don’t know what kind of crazy thing he (Kobach) is going to throw at us,” said Sulma
Students get taste of parenthood’s highs and lows through programmable children
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Today’s forecast, page 10A
INSIDE
By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
KU media center invites storytellers Facility in Kansas Union is set up to function like a multimedia community news center, and everyone is invited to participate. Page 3A
“
QUOTABLE
You hear that all the time: ‘Is that on the test?’ Because that’s the world we’ve been living in.” — Adam Holden, assistant superintendent in the Lawrence school district, speaking of the trend to de-emphasize science education in order to focus on reading and math. Page 3A
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INDEX Classified 5C-10C Comics 9A Deaths 2A Dilbert 6A Events listings 10A, 2B Horoscope 9B Movies 4A Opinion 8A Puzzles 9B Sports 1B-4B, 10B Television 10A, 2B, 9B Vol.154/No.331 36 pages
Jessica Lemus seemed to master the task of strapping a new baby into a car seat. But everything else about the idea of bringing home an infant gave her the same uneasy feeling that most new parents get. “I’m actually really nervous for it because they’re really hard to take care of,” she said. Fortunately for her, it’s only a simulation, and the exercise lasts only a weekend. Lemus, a junior at Lawrence High School, is learning about the realities of caring for a newborn through an electronic, programmable doll that is designed to simulate, as closely as possible, the actual experience. Lemus was already getting a sense of that as she picked up her simulator baby Friday afternoon and was preparing to take it home. “As much as my parents love the project, it’s kind of embarrassing to take it out in public because, obviously, it’s kind of scary to have a baby in public if they start screaming and crying, and not knowing what to do,” she said. The dolls are approximately the size of newborn babies. But they’re programmed to
eat, sleep, cry and fuss at various intervals, and they’re equipped with electronic sensors that can monitor whether the student is tending them properly. “It’s completely wireless,” said Kristi Henderson, who teaches the class. “I just program them with my computer. I can set the difficulty level, so sometimes they get an easy baby, and sometimes not so much. There are sensors in the car seats so I know if they took the baby home whether it’s in a car seat or not. It regulates the temperature Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos so I know if the baby LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR Jessica Lemus, 16, holds a programmable doll, got too hot or too cold, top photo, and learns how to put it safely in a vehicle, bottom photo. The if it was appropriately doll, part of a pregnancy education class at the high school, is designed to Please see CLASS, page 2A simulate the experience of caring for a real baby.
County to consider permit for sand pit mining Property owners concerned about flooding, traffic, loss of farmland
By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Douglas County commissioners will be asked on Wednesday to approve a conditional use permit for a new 434-acre sand pit mining operation near Eudora. The commission will consider that permit during the second half of its weekly meeting starting at 6:35 p.m.
The application is from William Penny, owner of Penny’s Concrete, which has a dredging operation adjacent to the site on the Kansas River, and Van LLC, co-owners of the property. The site is near the intersection of North 1500 Road and Noria Road. Staff members from
the LawrenceDouglas County Planning Department are COUNTY r e c o m - COMMISSION mending approval of the permit, subject to a long list of conditions, in-
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cluding requirements that the lake that would be created by the mine will be made to look as natural as possible and that it will be used as a recreational lake when the mining and reclamation is completed in about 30 years. The proposal has generated concern among nearby property own-
ers as well as the city of Eudora about possible flooding issues, the loss of valuable farmland, threats to water quality in nearby wells and the impact the operation could have on local traffic. According to a traffic impact study that was Please see COUNTY, page 2A