Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday could not come to a decision on how to change general public comment procedures and, therefore, opted to make no change. Mayor Lisa Larsen had asked her fellow commissioners on Aug. 1 whether they would like to again discuss making changes to public comment procedures. She proposed the commission move its general public comment to the end of meetings; only hold general public comment on the first Tuesday of the month; and designate a specific area in City Hall where the public can record video during meetings. Commissioners heard from about two dozen people about the [...]

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved a revived ordinance banning single-use plastic bags citywide. The ordinance has been in discussion for years, and the Sustainability Advisory Board has suggested multiple versions of it. It aims to reduce the use of plastics in the city, which in turn could help reduce the city’s dependence on fossil fuels and prevent some pollution from the bags, contamination through microplastics from bags’ degradation, and animal deaths from eating the bags, among other concerns. Commissioners in a 2-2 tie on June 20 voted down the ordinance that would have banned the use of single-use plastic bags in city [...]