THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2009
NEWS
7
DOWNTOWN
Community shelter overwhelmed with influx of homeless
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
The Lawrence Community Shelter is working to find ways to accommodate an increased number of homeless in their shelter as a result of the
June 1 closing of the Salvation Army's overnight shelter.
The LCS, 214 W. 10th St., has had to accommodate about 75 homeless people in the limited space it has at this time, more than twice the number of people allowed by a city permit.
Loring Henderson, director of the LCS, said there had been a plan for the Salvation Army to close its shelter and continue to help transition homeless people to housing. However, the Salvation Army shelter closed sooner than Henderson had hoped and the LCS was not prepared to take in the
people who stayed at the Salvation Army shelter. To make space for the extra people, Henderson said, the LCS had to hire four new part-time workers and find cooks to feed everyone. He said they also had to reduce space for job programs to allow for more areas for people to sleep.
"People are doing it in good spirits," Henderson said. "The homeless are pretty flexible. Even a mat is better than sleeping on the streets."
Kate Mallula, 2009 graduate, began
ECONOMY
SEE HOMELESS ON PAGE 8
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke looks on at right, as Vice President Joe Biden answers questions during a meeting at Willard and Kelsey Solar Group in Perrysburg, Ohio June 23.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Obama enacts new council to focus on auto industry
BY JOHN SEEWER
Associated Press
PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A new government council will help auto industry workers transition to new manufacturing opportunities, including jobs in alternative energy, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday.
Biden toured the northwestern Ohio headquarters of the Willard & Kelsey Solar Group, which plans to begin large-scale production of solar panels this year. The Toledo area has been hit hard by job losses in the auto industry and is banking on more green factory jobs.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Manufacturing is facing one of its toughest periods, in at least my lifetime," Biden said. But, he said, U.S. manufacturing can be successful again if, for example, auto workers are trained to work in the solar, wind or biotech industries.
President Barack Obama was expected to sign an executive order Tuesday that establishes the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. The council will be chaired by one of the
There are close to 10 companies that are turning Toledo into a research hub for converting sunlight into energy.
president's top economic advisers, Lawrence Summers, and his labor secretary, Hilda Solis.
The recession has been particularly hard on the auto industry, which has lost more than 400,000 jobs in the last decade.