THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7A
10-year tax break keeps local plant operating
By JJ Hensley
jhensley@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
"A quiet miracle has occurred at KU since 1996." University of Kansas Provost David Shulenburger told the Lawrence City Commission Tuesday night.
Shulenburger was discussing the University's steadily increasing commitment to research, particularly in life sciences. In voting to give Georgia-based biotech company Serologicals a 10-year tax break on its manufacturing plant, the Commission took Shulenburger's miraculous tale to heart.
"The question isn't whether you would come without the abatement," commissioner David Dunfield said to the crowd. "It's do you offer enough benefits to justify the risk to the community?"
The answer was clearly yes.
With 40 jobs on the line, each averaging $47,000 per year in salary, according to company officials, competition for Serologicals was stiff among cities such as Lincoln, Neb., and Wichita.
In giving the company what amounts to a multi-million dollar tax break over the next decade, the Commission, by a vote of 4-to-1, sent a message that much of Lawrence's economic future would be connected with research at the University.
"When you look at communi
ties like ours that have significant research movements, you see within those communities significant economic development that compliments what happens at the University," Shulenburger said, citing Austin, Texas, Boulder, Colo., and North Carolina's "research triangle" as prime examples.
But as much as Lawrence needs the University's educated population and research capacity to attract new industry, the University needs good, high-paying jobs to attract faculty and graduate students to the University, Shulenburger said.
"The University's growth in research depends on its ability to attract faculty." Shulenburger
said. "Faculty members have spouses who need jobs, and they are often well-educated, and having companies that employ them in the community makes a difference."
Serologicals plans to build a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in the East Hills business park on Kansas Highway 10. The plant will be one of two in the country making Ex-Cyte, a medical supplement that enhances cell-culture growth.
In addition to the tax abatement, Serologicals' officials cited Lawrence's proximity to raw materials, airport accessibility and an educated work force as advantages.
Only two of the 40 positions
immediately created are expected to be filled with workers outside Lawrence.
"A number of KU researchers have met with leaders at Serologicals and have expressed interest in both aspects of the relationship, future employment of graduates of our programs, as well as future research collaborations," said Elias K. Michaels, director of the Higuchi Biosciences Center, and chairman of the pharmacology and toxicology department. "Serologicals will provide employment for people with training in the biological sciences, therefore providing employment for our students."
Edited by Melissa Hermreck
Senate
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
and nonvoting member of the Parking Commission, said many students complained about the signs because of the placement and confusing restrictions.
She said her job is further complicated because some campus lots, such as the lot by Learned Hall are split, meaning a portion of the parking spots are free for students, while others are reserved for faculty.
"I'd much rather have them decide to have the lots be all or nothing, making it easier for everybody." Hultine said.
Reserved faculty parking spots would be included in the petition, said Kyle Johnson, student representative on the Parking Commission and engineering senator.
Johnson surveyed lots 35 and 37, taking pictures from 5 p.m. to
7:30 p.m., to see who used the lots the most.
Of the 80 to 100 parking spots available in these lots, faculty parked in less than 15 percent of the spaces between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., he said.
Allen Ford, business professor and chairman of the Parking Commission, uses the lot by Summerfield Hall that is under consideration. Crowded parking lots forced him to park in lots farther away from Summerfield.
"Say you had to teach in the evening," Ford said. "Unless you get back around 6 or so, you probably will have to park somewhere else."
Ford said he wanted feedback from faculty who used the lots before
he could make a decision to endorse increased parking for students.
Student senators will be in the Kansas Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday to publicize the parking petition and to collect signatures.
The petition will be sent for discussion to the Parking Commission, which meets in mid-February. Provost David Shulenburger will have final say in the matter. Any decisions made will be enforced Aug. 1.
A bill failed to allow all KU students to sponsor legislation.
In other news:
A bill failed to remove holdover senators from University Council by default.
A bill failed to allow instructors to decide whether unrelated announcements and speeches are permitted in their classes.
Hermes
-Edited by Julie Jantzer
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Although the kids may not be competitive, Hermes said, the parents were.
She recalled a game with an inexperienced referee who made a bad call, and the parents stormed the court.
"I usually try not to pay attention to the parents," Hermes said.
Leah Cummings, Hermes' roommate, said Hermes' job was good for her. Her experience playing basketball made her a fair referee, and the job didn't keep her too busy.
"I envy her amount of time for naps," Cummings said. "She takes about five per week."
Last week, Hermes joined a rotating camping group to get good seats for the Arizona
"I try not to yell at the referees because I know how they feel."
Kerry Hermes White Bear Lake, Minn., sophomore
game. Hermes camped out for eight hours. She said KU's loss to Arizona was in part because of the poor refereeing.
Hermes said she planned to continue refereeing through college, although she didn't ever see herself doing it professionally.
"I try not to yell at the referees because I know how they feel," Hermes said. "After the game, I called my dad and vented for 10 minutes."
Edited by Todd Rapp
Ashcroft oversees the ATF
WASHINGTON — Gun owners may have no better ally in Washington than Attorney General John Ashcroft, once featured in a National Rifle Association magazine cover story as "a breath of fresh air" in the capital.
Now that Ashcroft's Justice Department has taken over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, gun control supporters are concerned he could begin chipping away at enforcement rules.
They say the switch gives Ashcroft the opportunity to weaken oversight and regulation in such areas as federal licensing for gun sellers, how banned assault weapons are defined and whether to expand a ballistics matching system that traces guns used in crimes.
"You have the most pro-gun attorney general in history taking over the reins of the ATF," said Matt Nosanchuk, litigation director of the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit gun control research group. "It really is a cause for concern."
The Associated Press
Justice Department officials said Ashcroft is focused on prosecuting criminals, not weakening gun laws.
"We are very aggressively enforcing the nation's guns laws and will continue to do so," Adam Ciongoli, a senior Ashcroft adviser, said yesterday.
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