FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7A
Water
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up what other people have put in it upstream."
Loeb said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in a 2002 report on water quality in the area had detected contaminants in the Kansas River that included pesticides, bacteria associated with livestock and erosion from poor land-use activities.
Cody Walters, Lawrence resident and spring 2002 graduate in environmental studies said he had tested the water quality of the Kansas River in a field ecology class, in which students rated the ecosystem unhealthy by measuring the habitat's diversity.
Walters said the river's low levels of ecological diversity were probably the result of pollution and the river's sandy bottoms, which were not conducive to ecological growth.
ecological groen Thomas said she didn't think pollution in the Kansas River
was significant enough to have any negative effects on tap-water quality. Although the water department dumps waste water in the river after treatment, she said, the water is dumped downstream from where the department siphons drinking water.
Both Loeb and Walters said they had little concern for tap water that came from the Clinton Reservoir.
Thomas said the reservoir might have an algae bloom in the next few months because of the
reservoir's generally shallow waters and limited flow from outside sources. She said when the reservoir's algae died, it generally caused an unpleasant odor but no harm to the public's health.
no harm to the plants Thomas said after treatment, the water department blended water that came from both the reservoir and the river.
At the home
Thomas said area residents concerned with water quality should become familiar with
their homes' plumbing, Thomas said some older homes might have poor plumbing, lead piping or galvanized steel welding, all of which could have negative health effects. She said the chances of area homes having toxic piping were low, however because Lawrence plumbing inspectors eradicated potentially harmful piping in the early 90s. If residents are concerned with their plumbing, they can call Lawrence's inspection department or their landlords to
address the issue, she said.
Ann Turner, Kansas City, Kan., senior, said she had concerns about the local water quality. Although Turner said she thought the local water quality was decent, she would prefer to use a water filter.
"It gives me peace of mind to drink what I'm thinking is fresh and clean," she said.
Contact Dayani
ndayani@kansan.com. This story was edited by Amy Schmitz.
Wescoe CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
lower cost, said Mark Reiske, associate director of Design and Construction Management. The University saved between $30,000 and $40,000 by using the program instead of contracting several private services.
"They can actually do the entire project," Reiske said. "It's worked out the best it possibly could."
The availability of labor and the low wages of the inmates makes the program's services more affordable.
Most of the inmates working on the Wescoe project earn between 25 and 60 cents an hour, Vohs said.
But the program's cheap
price tag may make it an unfair competitor to the private sector, said Tommy Bobo, North Augusta, S.C., sophomore.
"Prisoners don't receive minimum wage for what they do, thus cutting costs," Bobo said. "It's a bad thing, making money off people who are incarcerated."
Ryan Tichauer, Omaha, Neb. junior, said the University should do what it could to save money in a year of deep budget cuts and tuition increases.
"It's already spread so thin we don't need to spend more money on seats," Tichauer said. "But it obviously needs to be done."
Contact Gise at
contact us at mgise@kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Hill.
AOL shake-up creates new management
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - AOL Time Warner Inc.'s America Online division announced a new management structure Thursday in a shake-up that included the dismantling of a department whose business transactions have come under scrutiny.
The changes, which restore America Online veteran Ted Leonsis to a more prominent position, are intended to give newly appointed chief executive and chairman Jon Miller a more direct say in brand, marketing and technology issues.
move expeditiously," Miller said in an interview. He said his focus will be on increasing America Online's presence in the broadband, interactive marketing and international arenas.
"We've reduced the layers, any bureaucracy that might occur and we're going to keep people in clean, clear roles so that we can
socials.
AOL Time Warner stock closed down 75 cents, or 5.7 percent, at $12.50 per share Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
America Online, the world's largest Internet access provider, has more than 34 million subscribers.
"Jon Miller is really cleaning house, and whenever you start with a clean slate, you're going to face a drawn-out transition period before you can gain any traction," said Frederick Moran, media analyst at Jefferies & Co
who downgraded the stock to "hold" from "accumulate" earlier this week. "It's safe to say that a recovery is far from imminent."
Under the new structure, executive vice president and chief financial officer Joseph Ripp becomes a vice chairman with responsibilities including network infrastructure and technology operations.
ology operation. He and Leonsis, who is already a vice chairman, will effectively function as Miller's No. 2's. Leonsis will oversee new councils on brand, product and technology strategy.
burn, an executive who had negotiated many key advertising deals and left the company last month. The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into the propriety of some of AOL's deals.
Ray Ogelthorpe, the current president of America Online, will retire and become a senior adviser to the company. Jan Brand, previously vice chair and chief marketing officer, becomes a part-time adviser.
Miller, who took the division's top job last month, had been expected to make significant changes.
In China, bedroom wear acceptable to wear in public places
The positions of chief operating officer and president are being eliminated.
The Associated Press
cery shopping. On a recent afternoon, the 42-year-old security guard strolled through a crowded street market in central Shanghai wearing neatly pressed white pajamas with blue pintrips.
SHANGHAI, China - Zhan Chunyong likes nothing better after work than to slip into her pajamas and head out to do grocery shopping.
their bedrooms.
Other shoppers wearing pajamas or nightgowns haggled with fishmongers or looked over the goods at the stalls of vegetable peddlers.
It's a common sight in China's biggest, most prosperous city: men and women in public dressed as if in the intimacy of
You can see them in their nightclothes on busy sidewalks, walking amid the business suits as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
At supermarkets, they shuffle in slippers behind shopping carts. Some zip by on motor scooters, plaid flannels flapping in the wind.
Shanghainese say they've been wearing pajamas in public for at least 10 years, since the economy took off and they could afford to add sleepwear to wardrobes that consisted of little more than drab gray and blue Mao suits.
gray and blue mesh Far from being embarrassed, they say pajamas are more comfortable than regular clothes especially in Shanghai's notoriously hot, sticky summers — and
easier to wash. They're a luxury and a way to flaunt new wealth.
"Only people in cities can afford clothes like this. In farming villages, they still have to wear old work clothes to bed." Zhan said.
Residents seem to look on it as a charming local quirk. So do officials in charge of keeping Shanghai looking smart.
"Some say it's not civilized, but it's just a harmless habit of the residents," said Zhang Limin, a spokesman for the City Environment Supervision Office.
Many in the city of 17 million are surprised to hear people elsewhere don't parade in public in their pajamas.
her plaque.
"Pajamas look good and feel good. Everyone wears them outside. No one would laugh," said
Wang Hui, a 17-year-old high school student in a pink nightgown decorated with a smiling kitten face.
She and a friend, who was dressed in light green pajamas, were stepping out of a convenience store with canned tea and bags of potato chips.
bags of potato chips. Wang said she changes out of her school uniform as soon as she gets home. Her mother and father also put on pajamas. Then they head out again.
"I have three more summer gowns like this one. I wear a different one everyday," she said.
Li Xiaoling, who owns a shop in central Shanghai that sells nothing but pajamas, said she could tell someone's social status with a glance at their sleep wear.
A member of the new professional class might splurge on a $12 pair, with high quality material and a stylish cut. But most Shanghainese still favor pajamas costing $2 to $5.00.
Patterns and styles go in and out of fashion, just like other clothing.
This year it's bright solids for women, and tightly patterned plains for men.
"Women always select the most carefully because they need to wear them shopping," said Li.
Pajamas are even worn to work
On a nearby street lined with auto garages and shops selling car parts and tires, Yan Huizu hits in a sidewalk kiosk selling newspapers and magazines.
about her work in cotton pajamas decorated with smiling brown bears and the English word "Panda."
Yan lives across the street and said she often doesn't put on regular clothes for days at a time. She wears the pajamas she slept in, changing at night after bathing.
Asked whether she feels embarrassed out in her bedwear, she laughed.
“It's not embarrassing at all,” she said. “People in the city are all used to it. They even praise and admire you if you have on a nice pair of pajamas.”
Still, there are limits. Pajamas aren't welcome in better restaurants and department stores.
rams and teapots "They don't let you enter," Yan said.