Douglas County is in the early stages of imagining an Open Space Plan for preserving natural landscapes located throughout the county. Such a plan seeks to help guide the protection and management of natural lands. That can include areas like trails, native prairies, wetlands, wildlife habitats, agricultural lands and heritage sites. The specific areas in Douglas County that might end up a part of that realized vision aren’t clear quite yet, county Zoning Director Tonya Voigt and interim Sustainability Director Kim Criner Ritchie told the Journal-World in a Zoom interview last week. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some broader ideas [...]

Another group of workers employed by the City of Lawrence has voted to unionize. The city’s maintenance and Parks and Recreation workers voted this week to join Teamsters Local 696 in Topeka. The 70-worker unit is “seeking improved working conditions and wages, respect on the job, and fair and consistent work rules,” a news release from the Teamsters on Wednesday said. In January, Teamsters organizer Dale Crane told the Journal-World that key issues for the employee group were pay and policies. Crane said that employees have gotten small and infrequent raises in the past, and that pay for some employees did [...]

Progress with a new tennis facility in Kenwood Park is underway. The facility will be located where the old municipal swimming pool and rodeo arena stood ground. The new facility will have 12 tennis courts with lights along with repurposing the pool house as a clubhouse with restrooms, showers and other amenities. The Salina City Commission unanimously passed a resolution on March 1, 2021, to partner with Unified School District 305 and Salina Tennis Alliance Inc. for the project that will cost $2.6 million. Naming rights for the complex are still available. Source: Salina Journal