Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Sunny and hot.
Wednesday
August 25, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 6
Online today
Check out this hot site of the day before heading to Sandstone Ampitheatre.
Sports today
http://www.lilithfair.com
The football team is not the only one with spirit. The spirit squads and band have spent countless hours preparing for the season.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Brown Bear closes after two years
Commission rejects compliance outline
(USPS 650-640)
.Bv Derek Prater
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A decision made at last night's Lawrence City Commission meeting may have spelled the end for the Brown Bear Brewing Co.
Despite a business plan presented to the commission by brewery owners to bring the Brown Bear, 729 Massachusetts St., into compliance with zoning regulations, a motion to reintaste the brewery's liquor license was not seconded.
Shawn Schlegel, co-owner of the Brown Bear since its opening two years ago, said that this was apparently the end of the Brown Bear.
"This is the city I live in, that I made my home, and it's taking my livelihood away from me," he said.
The Brown Bear's previous license
expired Friday, and city officials declined to renew the license because the brewery was not meeting a requirement for drinking establishments in the downtown area.
The C-3 zoning ordinance was passed by the commission in 1994 to stop the proliferation of "pure bars" downtown. The ordinance requires that new drinking establishments in the downtown area make at least 55 percent of their gross receipts from food sales. Previously established businesses were exempt from this requirement.
Last week, as the owners of the Brown Bear were applying for their new license, an internal audit showed that the brewery earned only 50 percent of its revenue from food sales.
Without a liquor license, the Brown Bear has been closed since Saturday, and the owners were left with the option of making an appeal to the commission for another chance.
See LIQUOR on page 2A
Commission to monitor drinking establishments
by Derek Prater
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Derek Prater
The Lawrence City Commission's ongoing imbroglio with neighborhood bars took a turn toward a more comprehensive approach last night at the city commission meeting.
In reference to a proposed ordinance regarding Los Amigos, 508 Locust St., David Corliss, director of the city's legal services department, recommended that city officials monitor all drinking establishments and issue a quarterly report to the commission.
Cortliss told the commission he thought that the special conditions applied by the ordinance to Los Amigo's license would not hold up legally without sufficient data to support those conditions.
The ordinance was rejected by the commission and replaced by an agreement between the city and the bar.
Corliss said that monitoring drinking
establishments would allow the city to be more proactive in situations such as the one with Los Amigos.
In April, the commission adopted an ordinance that placed additional requirements on Los Amigo's liquor license because of complaints from neighbors. Neighborhood bars The Wheel Cafe, 507 W. 14th St., and The Hawk, 1340 Ohio St., also faced additional requirements on their liquor licenses created by the commission last winter.
The owners of Los Amigos challenged the ordinance requirements and began negotiations with the city to address any problems.
Los Amigos agreed to post signs in the bar encouraging patrons to respect nearby residents, hire a private security service for Friday and Saturday nights, and designate one person to coordinate traffic on those nights.
Ted Boyle, a representative of the North Lawrence Improvement Association, was disappointed with the commission's decisions.
"I think the commission got bullied by the lawyers of the bar and disregarded the feelings of the residents down in that area."
Edited by Matt James
The Brown Bear Brewing Co., 729 Massachusetts St. displays a sign telling customers it is temporary closed. Photo by Chad Cummings/KANSAS
Vicky White, Overland Park freshman, will perform a 20-minute set at the Village Stage at Lilith Fair tomorrow night. Lilith Fair, in its third and final year, will be held at Sandstone Amphitheatre in Bonner Springs, and will feature several artists including Sarah McClachan and the Dixie Chicks. Photo by Christina Neff KANSAN
McLachlan's Lilith Fair to end after three years
By Emily Hughey writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Throngs of women sprinkled with an occasional man dance to the pop, rock, rap, folk and country sounds of female artists on stage.
Welcome to the third annual Lilith Fair.
Tomorrow will be the third and last year of musical artist Sarah McLachlan's brainchild - a solely female artist music festival. Some students are going for the first time, some for the third and others have vowed to never go back.
And one University of Kansas student will enter the Lilith Fair gate at Sandstone Amphitheatre in Bonner Springs with a dual identity. Vicky White, Overland Park freshman, will be both a performer and a fan. She will perform a 20-minute set at the Village Stage at the festival and then wander the crowds as a fan.
"I'm hoping that I'm going to have backstage passes," White said. "I'm playing on the Village Stage, which doesn't sound very prestigious, but I really want to meet some people."
White was selected through an online contest on Lilith Fair's Web site (www.lilithfair.com). She said she was so ecstatic when she found out she had been selected that she called all of her friends.
"They called my manager and my manager called me, but they didn't tell me why," White said. "They just said 'It has to do with the Lilith Fair.'"
Although White said she had always wanted to go to the festival, she hadn't been able to afford a ticket. This will be her first time at Lilith.
Randi Sereres, Lenexa junior, bought two tickets to the festival as a birthday present for a friend. She said she typically didn't attend female musicians' concerts,
but that she liked this year's line-up of artists.
"One reason is because of Sarah McLachlan," Sereres said. "She's one of my newfound favorite artists and I've always really liked the Indigo Girls and the Dixie Chicks and all the others. I just thought it would be really great to see all of them in one place."
"Women, and famous women, are out there showing that women can accomplish things in society and proving that they can be successful," she said.
But the festival is not just for women. Though they are usually outnumbered, men attend Lilith as well.
"The first time. I went inst for the artists." he said.
Doug Miller, Overland Park senior, is one such student. He has been to the festival twice and said he was looking forward to tomorrow's show.
"The first time, I went just for the artists," he said. But, he said, after talking with some of the women at the concert, he began to develop more respect for feminism and for the festival itself.
"It shows that women can excel in the rock world as well as in other avenues," Miller said. "I think it's been extremely positive for women and all women. It's encouraged them to create art and chase their dreams and other professions."
Although the male to female ratio was very unbalanced, he said he had never felt threatened.
"You could say I'm outnumbered, but I don't feel any discomfort," Miller said. "The women tend to be very receptive and I have a good time out there."
He said he would attend the concert with female friends because he didn't have any male friends interested in seeing the show — even though they liked the headlining bands.
Serenes said many men didn't attend because they thought people would think they weren't masculine.
See LOCAL on page 2A
Renters' insurance available for residence hall, apartment tenants
Rv Lori O'Toole
By Lori O'Toole
twitter@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Leilani Welbes purchased a renters' insurance policy two weeks ago when she moved into her first apartment.
Welbes, a Tripoli, Wis., graduate student, said she considered the $84 she paid for the year-long policy a small price for the security she now has in return.
she now had it and something happened, "I did not have it and something happened, 'I be screwed,' Welbs said. "I wouldn't know where to go or what to do."
women.
Thousands of students moved to Lawrence in recent weeks, bringing with them expensive computers, stereos, clothing, televisions and other personal belongings.
and other personal items A fire or a theft could destroy such belongings, and uninsured students could be left empty-handed.
Michele Kessler, student legal services associate director and attorney, said she had seen similar situations happen several times. Oh I'll never
Kessler said that about 10 uninsured students who suffered losses last year sought help from her department.
she said.
She said that was why students should consider purchasing renters' insurance.
Kessler said students should first find out if they are covered by their parents' homeowners' insurance.
"I think a lot of students think 'Oh, I never
lose anything. I don't have that much stuff'"
A renters insurance policy would cover personal property such as furniture, jewelry, carpet and appliances if they were stolen, damaged or destroyed. A landlord's insurance would not cover such losses.
She said students who are not should consider purchasing their own policy.
The Kansas Insurance Department reported most policies cover damage to property caused by a variety of hazards, including lightning, freezing and falling objects. The policies usually do not cover damage from floods, sewer backup or power failure.
Insurance agencies determined the premiums, or how much a student would pay for the year, by factoring in the geographic location of the residence, proximity of a fire sta
tion, water supply, type and age of the building, number of tenants in a building, coverage amount and deductible amount.
Area insurance agents said that they have not had an increase of students purchasing insurance since students moved to Lawrence for the fall semester.
This follows a trend reported by the Kansas Insurance Department. The department estimated that only one in four renters have renters' insurance.
Lance Wollesen, agent with Shelter Insurance, 1120 E. 23rd St., Suite C, started working at the agency last month. He said that he sold renters' insurance policies to two students last week.
Although he said that this was busier than a usual week, it was not as busy as he expected.
Jo Buzzard, agent at American Family Insurance, 1414 W. Sixth St., said that there were not many students who purchased renters' insurance.
She said this was because most students were not aware that they needed it or did not think it was necessary.
Buzzard estimated the average student cost for renters' insurance at $15 to $20 a month.
Fred McElhennie, assistant director of the Department of Student Housing, said the department encouraged residents of the residence halls, scholarship halls and of the Jayhawk Towers to be insured.
He said this was the fifth or sixth year the department had done so.
McEllenbite said the department had distributed informational brochures about renters' insurance to residents' rooms in residence and scholarship halls and the towers last week.
"It's just a matter of if something happens, and there's no negligence on the part of the department and they don't have homeowner's, they're out the cost of the article," he said. "It would be foolish not to have valuable items covered."
"We're not working for the insurance agencies," McElhennie said, "But we think it's information the students should have in hand."
Edited by Brad Hallier
BUYING RENTERS INSURANCE
1. Find out whether or not you are covered by your parents' homeowners' policy. Lance Wollesen, Shelter Insurance agent, said most students younger than 25 would be covered. However, the students' personal property is only covered by 10 percent of the total amount of their parents' policy. Wollesen said that students whose parents did not have homeowners' insurance; students whose personal property was worth more than 10 percent of their parents' total policy; or students who were older than 25 were least likely to be covered.
2. Determine the type of coverage, amount of coverage and deductible you are looking for.
4
3. Contact different insurance agencies to compare the premium. Inquire about what items the agency will not insure.
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