With no functioning lights at the Robinson Center tennis courts, regulars may have to adjust their schedules to play during the day until the lights are replaced.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL.117 ISSUE 19
Across the country, people remembered the anniversary of the Sept.11 attacks by visiting memorials and holding ceremonies.
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
PAGE1A
OUTAGE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Switch failure causes power loss on campus
Lack of electricity affects thousands across Lawrence, lasts about 30 minutes.
BY BEN SMITH
Nearly 11,000 people found themselves in the dark yesterday when a temporary power outage struck a large section of Lawrence and the University of Kansas.
The outage occurred when a switch failed in what a Westar Energy spokeswoman referred to as the Ren substation.
Gina Penzig, spokeswoman for
Westar Energy said the outage affected the area of Iowa Street from Clinton Parkway to Peterson Road and east of Iowa Street near Haskell Indian Nations University.
Penzig said the first report of the
"We have a temporary fix in place with a permanent fix scheduled to be put into effect later this week."
everything later, people exited the Kansas Union. Wayne Pearse, building engineer for the unions, said the Union staff's first action was to make sure that everyone in the building was secure.
outage came at 3:50 p.m. and within 30 minutes power was restored to all Westar customers.
"We checked all the spaces in the building to make sure we found anyone who might be in trouble." Pearse said. He said his staff was able +the lights briefly flickered and then everything went dark.
"We have a temporary fix in place with a permanent fix scheduled to be put into effect later this week," Penzig said.
GINA PENZIG
Wester Energy spokeswoman
rescue people trapped in elevators when the power outage hit.
Pearse said the Union had an "excellent emergency generator," which kicked in to provide some light during the outage.
Kelley Puckett, Wichita sophomore, was in the Kansas Union working in the offices of the nontraditional student association when the power went out. Puckett said she was working at a computer when
These outages were similar to the outages the campus encounter as the results of a hailstorm in April. In the past two years a microburst in March and a squirrel in February 2005 also led to blackouts.
Kansan staff writer Ben Smith can be contacted at bsmith@kansan.
com. Kansan reporter Courtney Hagen contributed to this story.
Edited by Aly Barland
COURTS
Arsonist sentenced for campus fire
Former student caused $8 million in damage to Watson Library, two Lawrence businesses
BY DAVID LINHARDT
A former KU student was sentenced yesterday in Douglas County District Court to five years in prison for setting fires on campus and at two Lawrence businesses.
David Jay, 26, was convicted in July of one count of aggravated arson and two counts of arson. The five-year sentence will begin after Jay finishes serving a six-year, four-month sentence for convictions of 13 counts of arson in Johnson County District Court.
Court Jay's attorney, Angela Stoller, did not return several calls requesting comment.
Jay had used "starter logs" to set a fire in the stacks at Watson Library. He used the same material to set fires at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Pkwy., and at the dental office of Keith Jones, 647 Country Club Terrace.
Kansan staff writer David Linhardt can be contacted at dlinhardt@ kansan.com.
Jay set the fires in March 2004 and later fled to California before turning himself in to authorities.
The fires were set within a week's time and damage totaled $8 million.
— Edited by Dianne Smith
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BUSINESS
Alan Mulally, left, and William Ford, Jr. laugh during a news conference at Ford Motor Company headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., Sept. 5. Ford is stepping down as CEO but will remain chairman of the troubled automaker. Mulally, previously CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane division and a graduate of the University of Kansas, has been named president and CEO at Ford.
NOTHING BUT PRIDE, RESPECT FOR FORD COMPANY'S NEW CEO
BY JACK WEINSTEIN
His professors knew.
When Alan Mulally left the University of Kansas in 1969, it was no secret he would hit it big.
"We knew when he graduated he would be very successful," Eddie Lan, professor of aerospace engineering, said.
Mulally, who earned a bachelor's and master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University, was named CEO of Ford Motor Company last week. He had spent the last 37 years at Boeing, the last five as the CEO of its commercial airplane division.
Ian Roskam, Mulally's graduate professor, was more specific.
"I expected him to be the president of Boeing," Roskam said. "And he did."
Roskam helped get Mulally Roskam's first master's student
a job at Boeing when Mulally completed his master's thesis at the University. Roskam spent eight years at Boeing before coming to the University to teach in 1968.
Ford, the country's second-largest automaker, announced the terms of Mulally's compensation on Friday. He will receive $18.5 million up front, including a $7.5 million signing bonus. The other $11 million is to offset the compensation Mulally lost when he left Boeing. His annual salary is $2 million. The package also includes stock options.
His compensation at Boeing was nearly $10 million last year.
Vince Muirhead, one of Mulally's undergraduate professors, said Ford made the right choice in hiring Mulally.
"He's an excellent man for the job he's getting." Muirhead said. "They couldn't have made a better choice."
lose as much as $4 billion by the end of the year.
Mulally has a tall task in front of him at Ford. Ford he replaces William Ford Jr., the great-grandson of the automaker's founder, who stepped down to become Ford's executive chairman. According to Business Week, Ford has already lost $1.4 billion this year and is expected to
Mulally is known for his remarkable turnaround in the commercial airplane division at Boeing after Sept. 11, and is expected to do the same at Ford.
"He was a damn good student," Roskam said.
He added that Mulally had a bubbly personality that helped him be a leader in and out of the classroom.
Many of the traits that Mulally used to get ahead in the business world were developed and honed at the University.
tor him." Roskam said, "And they liked it too."
"He always made students work
Mulally's mother, Lauraine, was excited about her son's new job. Mulaly told her she was the first to know.
"It think it's great" Lauraine said.
"I think he's up to the challenge"
Mullally's mother isn't the only person in her family who is proud of her son's accomplishments. His sister Maureen, who is 15 years younger than her brother and works at the University, said she had always tried to emulate him.
"He always told me perseverance pays off, work as hard as you can," she said. "He's been an inspiration to me and others."
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be contacted at jweinstein@ kansan.com.
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— Edited by Dianne Smith
CITY OF LAWRENCE
Commission proposes remedies for safety concerns Traffic report identifies roads on campus and around Lawrence that are unsafe for pedestrians
BY MARK VIERTHALER
A group of students stood in front of JRP Hall at the curve of West Campus Road waiting to cross the street.
A cherry-red sports car screamed around the corner and the group took a step back onto the sidewalk and waited for the train of cars to pass. The group then tentatively began to cross the street once again.
According to a Lawrence Traffic Safety Commission report, several spots through campus, such as the curve on West Campus Road, have been deemed dangerous for pedestrians.
The Lawrence City Commission will consider an ordinance to improve several traffic safety measures around campus and close to the new Park and Ride lot today.
Phil Hood, St. Louis graduate student, passes the spot twice a day. He bad never felt any danger himself, but said he could see why
the corner would be considered dangerous.
"There are always cars screaming and screeching around that corner;" Hood said.
Robert Hagen, traffic safety commission member, said the safety commission originally proposed a crosswalk be placed at the curve, running in front of JRP, where there was a tendency for cars to drive at high speeds without looking.
When the problem was addressed last spring, commission members expressed concern that a crosswalk wouldn't help the problem and voted to table the bill for further study.
The commission will also consider changing the speed limit on West Campus to 20 mph. The plan would place five yield signs along Becker Drive, which circles next to the Park and Ride lot.
After approaching the city commission with its findings for the intersection of 19th and Tennessee
The off-campus area near 21st and Kentucky streets was also dubbed unsafe after the Pedestrian Advisory Commission noted a lack of sidewalks in these neighborhoods.
The commission agreed last week to put up a 90-day trial "No Right Turn if Pedestrians Present" sign at the intersection.
Hagen said other areas of concern included the lack of sidewalk on the east side of Naismith Drive between 23rd Street and campus.
streets a week ago Hagen said the traffic safety commission made a recommendation to prohibit right turns during a red light while pedestrians are present because of three vehicle-pedestrian accidents in the last year.
Kansan staff writer Mark Vierthaler can be contacted at mvierthaler-kansan.com.
Edited by Nicole Kelley
jonathan Kealing/KANSAN
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