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CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday. December 6, 1994
3A
Downtown frets about South Lawrence growth
By Carlos Tejada Kansan staff writer
Editor's note: This is the second of four stories about growth in Lawrence.
In many small towns in Kansas and across the nation, downtown business is a thing of the past.
The culprit? Suburban commercial development. Malls and strip development drew business away from traditional downtown areas in the 1980s, forcing many local businesses to close.
Lawrence avoided that fate. But some Downtown Lawrence business owners are worried that a growing commercial business area on southern Iowa Street poses a similar threat. They say the national-chain department stores moving into the area will draw business away from Massachusetts Street, a Lawrence tourist attraction and one of the city's biggest commercial areas.
Supporters of the businesses on South Iowa Street disagree. They say the new businesses moving in serve a different kind of shopper than Downtown Lawrence does, so they will not take away Downtown's customers. They also say both business districts can coexist in Lawrence's steadily growing economy.
Pat Kelheh, president of Downtown Lawrence, Inc., a business association, said that the growing area worried her. At this time, two department stores, Kmart and Wal-Mart, are open, and a Target department store is scheduled to open early next year. Payless Cashways, a hardware store, also is set to open next year.
"It has been shown that if you have a lot of peripheral development, downtown dies," said Pat Kehde, owner of The Raven Bookstore, 8 E. Seventh St.
Kehde said only about 20 viable downtown business areas remained in small towns across the nation.
National chains have a different economic impact than local businesses, Kehde said. Local businesses
invest their profits back into the community. They also tend to offer healthier employment opportunities, she said. National chains often employ workers at low wages.
Part of the problem, Kehde said, is that national and regional chains have an advantage over local businesses. She said the chains used their considerable resources for marketing and advertising, an expense many local businesses can't afford.
"People say all the time, 'What's wrong with good old American competition?' Kehle said. "But it's not exactly fair competition."
Kehde said the problem would grow worse in the future because most of the southern Iowa Street strip was zoned for commercial uses. South Iowa Street's zoning allows and encourages developers to build additional stores in the area.
The amount of commercial zoning, Kehde said, is a backlash against a time when Lawrence was growing more slowly and wanted to attract more growth.
"Lawrence is like the girl in high school who had braces and glasses but who grew up and got contacts and got a perm," she said. "Now all the boys ask her out, and she can't say no."
Kehde said she did not favor cutting off all commercial growth at the city's edges. She said that growth had to be carefully watched to make sure it didn't pose a threat to downtown.
Kansan staff research
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
soup mails and large department stores, including Target and Payless Cashways, are moving into the growing business area of South Iowa Street. Some Downtown business owners fear the area will drain customers away from them.
"There's tendency to polarize this whole argument," she said. "That's not what it is. It's about managed growth."
But Frank Male, president of Citizens for Progressive Douglas County, said the amount of growth in the area should not be alarming. He said that despite the commercial zoning, growth in the area probably had peaked.
"I don't think it can keep growing," said Male, co-owner of Lawrence Landscape, 535 North St. "We might get J.C. Penney's to move there in a year or two or five, but it's starting to get saturated."
Moving South
Male said Downtown businesses owners such as Kehde shouldn't worry about competition. He said Downtown served certain markets and tastes, while South Street Street
stores dealt in common household items.
"It's comparing apples and oranges," Male said. "It's not apples and apples."
City officials should take steps to make sure Downtown business stays healthy, Male said. But, he said, other areas shouldn't be sacrificed for the sake of Downtown.
"We want Downtown to survive, but we don't think protectionism is the wav." he said.
Marsha Goff, who once lived where the new Target is being built, said the new stores brought economic benefits to the city.
"Those stores employ a variety of people, from blue collar to professional managers," she said. "I think we should recruit jobs on all skill levels like that."
Goff helped organize a deal to sell her property and her neighbors' property to Target's parent corporation when it wanted to build a Target in the area. The neighborhood, which had been called Neider Acres, was finally sold earlier this year.
Celebration of diversity to focus on winter holidays
By Nathan Olson Kansan staff writer
Tonight will hold a very merry multicultural celebration at the University of Kansas.
As part of its series of dialogues celebrating diversity, the KU Coalition Against Racism and Discrimination will present "Sharing the Light: Hamukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas" at 7 onight at 100 Smith Hall.
"Kwanza' means 'first fruit' in Swahill," she said.
"The extra 'a' was added because the celebration is African-American based."
The event will consist of ten minute presentations about each celebration, followed by a question-and-answer session. Participants then will divide up into smaller groups to discuss their individual celebrations and to answer additional questions.
The Hanukkah portion of the event will be presented by Devon Fitzig, Wichita sophomore, and Amy Lefko, Sioux City, Iowa, junior. Fitzig said they would tell the story of Hanukkah, light the candles, sing a few songs and show some of the traditional foods
Bryant said the purpose of the celebration, which originated in the 1960s, was to reflect on the past and to prepare for the future.
"Each night, we focus on one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa," she said.
Sharing the Light
Those principles are unity, self-determination, col-
we want to rule out misconceptions people have, like that Hanukkah is a Jewish Christmas," she said. Fitzig said the purpose of the event was to share different cultures.
"The idea is to give people a reason why we celebrate the holidays," she said.
Sharing cultures is why Vonzella F. Bryant, program assistant in social welfare, is talking about Kwanzaa. The African-American celebration, which will run Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, is not a religious holiday, she said.
are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
"I look at Kwanzaa as a time to set an agenda for the future," she said. "By doing that, by looking at the seven principles, the whole world — not just African-Americans — will be better off."
Rounding out the presentation,
Rev. Thad Holcombe, campuspastor at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, will discuss Christmas.
Holcombe said he would discuss many aspects of Christmas.
including how other countries have influenced the celebration of the holiday in the United States.
"Christmas celebrations didn't start until about 381 A.D.," he said. "And there was a time when Christmas was banned because it was thought to be too secularized."
Holcombe said that tonight's event was important to all students.
"I think it will help make it clear that each celebration is separate," he said.
KU alumnus registers as candidate
Kansan staff report
Paul Longabach, a KU graduate, has become the first declared candidate for April's Lawrence City Commission election.
Longabach, 31, filed for candidate status yesterday and paid a $10 fee at the Lawrence city clerk's office. Candidates can either pay the fee or file a petition signed by 50 registered voters.
The commission seated held by Doug Compton, Bob Schulte and John Nalbandian are up for re-election. Only Nalbandian, a KU professor of public administration who has yet to officially file for candidacy, so far has said he would run again.
Candidates have until noon on Jan. 24 to file, said Ray Hummert, city clerk.
Longabach graduated from KU in 1992 with a bachelor of
art degree in geography. His wife, Tanya Longabach, is a KU sophomore. They have one daughter, Lydia, born on Nov 27. Longabach said he did contract work for Allen Press, 1041 New Hampshire St.
Longabach said his campaign would be based on personal and economic freedom. He said he opposed city planning that restricts a property owner's choices. Some city officials have suggested using zoning to control the city's growth.
Longabach also said he supported the legalization of marijuana.
He also said he supported removing the food requirement from businesses applying for new liquor licenses in the downtown area. Earlier this year, the city commission required that businesses without a current license must earn a certain amount of their revenue from food sales in order to receive a license.
'Adopt an Angel' gets presents for needy children
By James Evans
Kansan staff writer
The season of giving has begun, and Student Union Activities is sponsoring "Adopt an Angel" to make sure that children from low-income families do not go without gifts this holiday season.
A Christmas tree sits in the fourth-floor lobby of the Kansas Union with ornaments and little white cut-out angels on it. The angels all have names such as Clinton, Donald and Chris written on them. They also list the children's ages, shoe sizes, pant sizes and shirt sizes.
Stephanie Remus, coordinator for the program, said that the group started out with 200 names of Douglas County children on the tree. The children range in age from 1 month old to 14 years old.
SUA asks that people not spend more than about $10 on the gifts they give. Remus said toys, clothing, gloves and winter clothing were
common items that were given to the children.
"We've had a great response." Remus said.
"We maybe have 20 names left on the tree."
She said that SUA had participated in the program for six years and that the program had been specifically designed to get students involved with the community. Remus said that she was going to sponsor a 6-year-old child named Senator.
Todd Folscroft, who is sponsoring a 12-year old child named Maurice, said that helping another child would help him get in the Christmas spirit.
navent done any of my Christmas shopping yet," Folscarto said. "This will be good to get me in the mode for Christmas shopping for my younger brother."
Students interested in adopting an angel can do so until Dec. 9. Presents can be left at the SUA office on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union.
The program is run in conjunction with the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. The Salvation Army will distribute the presents a week before Christmas.
Stephanie Remus, Newton junior, takes an angel from the tree located in the Kansas Union. Each angel lists the name of a child from a low-income family.
Paul Kotz/KANSAN
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