THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011
PAGE 7A
CHARGE FROM 1
HOME ON THE HILL
the installation of solar panels at Lawrence Fire Department Station No. 5 and the Prairie Park Nature Center, giant circulating fans at the East Lawrence Recreation Center, and energy audits for various downtown community buildings. "She chose those because, with her knowledge and experience, those investments will make the most sense long term for energy savings," said Beverlin.
While a Jayhawk would never pass up an opportunity to beat a Wildcat, the true spirit of the Take Charge Challenge is to educate Kansas' students and residents about how energy conservation saves money and helps the environment. Since January, the combined total savings between Lawrence and Manhattan is more than $155,000.
As for the impact of the Take Charge Challenge on Kansas' energy savings, Jeff Severin, the Director of the Center for Sustainability, said, "Moving forward from here, we're going to see the benefits in terms of people making ongoing changes and improvements to make sure that we continue forward with energy conservation and efficiency in mind."
Edited by C.J. Matson
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
Long lines for the elevators form as students move into Ellsworth Hall on Daisy Hill Friday afternoon. Friday was the first day for freshmen and returning students to move into the residence halls.
INTERNATIONAL
Libyan rebels capture Tripoli
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan rebels raced into Tripoli in a lightning advance Sunday that met little resistance as Moammar Gadhafi's defenders melted away and his 40-year rule appeared to rapidly crumble. The euphoric fighters celebrated with residents of the capital in the city's main square, the symbolic heart of the regime.
Opposition fighters captured Gadhafai's son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam. The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands said he would contact the rebels to discuss his handover for trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
Associated Press reporters with the rebels said the fighters rebels easily advanced 20 miles on Sunday from the west, took town after town — welcomed by residents — overwhelmed a major military base, then swept into the capital in a stunning turning of the tide in the 6-month-old Libyan civil war.
The fighters and Tripoli residents who support them flooded Green Square, shooting in the air in celebration, clapping and waving the rebels' tri-color flag, according to television footage of the scene. Some set fire to the green flag of Gadhafi's regime and shot holes in a poster with his image.
"Now we don't call it the Green Square, but we call it the Martyrs Square," said Nour Eddin Shatouni, a 50-year-old engineer who was among the residents who flowed out of their homes to join the celebrations. "We were waiting for the signal and it happened. All mosques chanted 'God is great' all
at once. We smelled a good scent,
it is the smell of victory. We know
it is the time."
Green Square holds profound symbolic value. The regime has held pro-Gadhafi rallies there nearly every night since the revolt began in February, and the historic Red Fort that overlooks the square is a favorite scenic spot for the Libyan leader to deliver speeches to his loyalists.
Thousands of Libyans also celebrated in the streets of Benghazi, the rebels' de facto capital in the east. Firing guns into the air and shooting fireworks, they cheered and waved the rebel tricolor flags, dancing and singing in the city's main square.
Gadhafi's whereabouts Sunday were unknown. But he delivered a series of angry and defiant audio messages broadcast on state television, calling on his supporters to march in the streets of the capital and "purify it" from "the rats." He was not shown in the messages.
His defiance raised the possibility of a last-ditch fight over the capital, home to 2 million people. Government spokesman Moussa ibrahim claimed the regime has "thousands and thousands of fighters" and vowed: "We will fight. We have whole cities on our sides. They are coming en masse to protect Tripoli to join the fight."
But it appeared that key parts of Gadhafi's military were peeling away.
In a sign of the coordination among rebels, as the main force moved into the city from the west, a second force of 200 opposition fighters from the city of Misrata further east landed by boat in the capital, bringing weapons and ammunition for Tripoli residents who join the rebellion, said Munir Ramzi of the rebels' military council in Misrata.
The rebels' way into Tripoli was opened when the military unit in charge of protecting Gadhafi and the capital surrendered, ordering his troops to drop their weapons, the rebel information minister Mahmoud Shammam said.
The rebels' speedy leap forward over just a few dramatic hours was a stunning reversal for Gadhafi, who earlier this month had seemed to have a firm grip on his stronghold in the western part of Libya, despite months of NATO airstrikes on his military. Rebels had been unable to make any advances for weeks, bogged down
on the main fronts with regime troops in the east and center of the country.
N A T O
Secretary-
General
Anders Fogh
Rasmussen
oil reserves and just 6 million people. For years, he was an international pariah blamed for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. After years of denial, Gadhafi's Libya acknowledged responsibility, agreed to pay up to $10 million to relatives of each victim, and declared he would dismantle all weapons of mass destruction.
"Now we don't call it the Green Square,but we call it the Martyrs Square"
That eased him back into the international community.
But on February 22, days after the uprising against him began, Gaddafi gave a televised speech amid violent social unrest against his autocratic rule. In the speech, he vowed to hunt down protesters "inch by inch, room by room,
said Gadhafi's regime was "clearly crumbling" and that the time to create a new democratic Libya has arrived.
The sooner Gadhafi "realizes that he cannot win the battle against his own people, the better," he said in a statement, adding that NATO will continue to strike his troops if they make "any threatening moves toward the Libyan people."
NOUR EDDIN SHATOUNI
Libyan citizen
Gadhafi is the Arab world's longest-ruling, most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader — presiding for 42 years over this North African desert republic with vast
home by home, alleyway by alleyway." The speech caused a furor that fueled the armed rebellion against him and it has been since mocked in songs and spoofs across the Arab world.
The rebel force that moved toward Tripoli Sunday, taking town after town, was greeted by thousands of jubilant civilians who rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convos of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air. One man grabbed a rebel flag that had been draped over the hood of a slow-moving car and kissed it, overcome with emotion.
Rebel chief Mustafa Abdel-Jallil in Benghazi confirmed to the AP that the rebels arrested Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam but refused to give the details of the capture.
LAWRENCE
Cars drive past the construction zone on Sixth Street. This summer, the city of Lawrence begin a three-phase project to improve the streets.
ABBY DAVIS/KANSAN
Sixth Street work nears completion
IZZAT MAALI
imaali@kansan.com
Construction crews are entering the final stretch of street renovations in Lawrence.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has been doing a lot of work this summer to finish the construction along Sixth Street.
The department's project, which started in July, is a three-phase process that has been moving "incrementally to the west," said Dave Cronin, the project engineer. According to the City of Lawrence website, the construction is scheduled to finish in mid-september.
- Phase one: Laying asphalt on Sixth Street between Massachusetts and Kentucky streets.
- Phase two: Laying asphalt on Sixth Street between Kentucky and Missouri streets and adding a bus turnout on Sixth and Maine.
- Phase three: Laying asphalt on Sixth Street from Missouri to Iowa
streets and adding a turning lane and bus turnout on the northeast corner of Sixth and Michigan; widened the street and also added a 10-foot sidewalk on the south side of the street; added a few bus stops along Sixth Street.
The department has already completed phase one and two and is currently working on phase three.
The construction cost $1.2 million. The city of Lawrence paid $1 million and overlay highway rights helped pay the remaining cost.
The street remodeling has caused inconvenience for some local businesses, though. Local taxi and transportation companies have experienced some delays from the construction and have had to use alternate routes to get around.
According to a news release on the city website, there will be one open lane for traffic going each way until mid-September.
Edited by Jayson Jenks