The Lawrence Times

Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission members voted on a 4-4 tie to recommend denial of a permit for a massive solar farm north of Lawrence after a meeting that stretched hours into early Tuesday morning. The permit will soon go to the Douglas County Commission for consideration. City Planner Mary Miller outlined the project and said city staff recommended approving the permit. The motion included recognition of a series of conditions that the planning commissioners had discussed in order to ensure certain topics would be forwarded to the county commission. The Kansas Sky Energy Center, a 159-megawatt solar farm, would be built, owned and operated [...]

Animal advocates followed Shebah the dog’s plight as she ran loose in the cold November. As she made her way across Lawrence, Shebah appeared in social media photos that revealed hip bones and ribs thrusting against her fur — signs of malnourishment. Her teets hung low, weighed down and engorged. At some point, she’d been separated from a young litter. Shebah evaded several attempts by Lawrence Humane Society staff, officers and community members to rescue her; however, at least one family successfully connected with the dog. They delivered Shebah to the Lawrence Humane Society the first time on Nov. 18. Animal Control then authorized [...]

Owners of a dump near Lawrence will have to pay more than $34,000 in upgrades and penalties for violating clean air regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday. The Hamm Inc. landfill, which is just outside Lawrence along U.S. Highway 59, takes solid waste from Lawrence’s municipal pickup service. During an inspection of the landfill in March 2022, the EPA found the landfill was emitting an illegal volume of methane gas and failed to correct it. Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change by trapping heat. But it’s far more potent. Landfills can release huge [...]

Several business owners have filed a lawsuit against the City of Lawrence, asking the court to order the city to close and disband two camp areas where people experiencing homelessness are living. The lawsuit asks the court to address public health and safety concerns that plaintiffs attribute to the city’s handling of the local homelessness crisis. Specifically, the lawsuit mentions the city-sanctioned camp behind Johnny’s Tavern in North Lawrence — which the city has dubbed Camp New Beginnings — and other camp areas on the river levee, as well as the camp in the area of Seventh and New York streets near the [...]

The Lawrence Police Department is prioritizing calls by how solvable they are, LPD Chief Rich Lockhart told city commissioners Tuesday, and the addition of four non-officer responders has helped with efficiency. The department is now using a solvability matrix to guide its members’ efforts, he said. They’re going to focus and investigators’ time on violent crimes against people and the most severe and solvable crimes. Emergency dispatch will help classify calls as they’re received, and Lockhart said someone with the department will call people and let them know they’re going to have a delayed response and offer to schedule a time [...]

The Lawrence Public Library has rolled out new rules for its campus and lawn — including banning smoking, vaping and verbal harassment — and prescribed consequences for breaking them. Repeated instances of such behavior could now get a patron suspended for a period of a week to six months, under the library’s new code of conduct. Violent or threatening behavior may result in longer or indefinite suspensions. The library has received numerous complaints from patrons about safety issues in and around the library. Library administrators pledged to improve public safety in the library, but the lawn and parking garage are owned [...]

Lawrence school board members will meet Monday for a brief agenda that includes considering the district’s portion of tax breaks to help fund construction of a downtown affordable housing project for people ages 55 and up. The board’s agenda as of Sunday afternoon listed only reports from board members and the superintendent and consent agenda items, or a list of items that are generally considered routine and are approved with one motion unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull something for further discussion. A report about the crossing guard and Safe Routes to School programs was postponed because [...]

The Lawrence school district will hold two public input sessions to get the community’s feedback on how to best prepare graduates for what comes next. During its “Portrait of a Graduate” public input sessions, district leaders hope to learn the experiences and skills that community members think students should possess when they graduate. Patrick Kelly, chief academic officer, said the input will help the district “identify the postsecondary assets our community values and would expect upon graduation.” “In today’s world, the demands for students are tremendous as they move on to college, career, and adult life,” Kelly said via email from [...]

Planning commissioners asked many questions but opted not to take any final action on proposed wind regulations at 2:37 a.m. Tuesday after hearing from 80 people and one peregrine falcon. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission in January 2022 asked city staff members to review existing regulations for wind energy systems, particularly commercial ones, to better align them with recently adopted solar regulations. City staff members produced a draft of new regulations in January 2023. The planning commission voted in March to form an ad hoc committee to help revise that into a second draft. Get a look at the draft and how [...]