4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 13,2007
CITY ORDINANCE
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Jennifer McVey and Jessica Bellew, Lawrence residents, play with their pet pet Shadow in their house Thursday evening. The couple filed for a domestic partnership earlier this month.
Registry makes it official
Lawrence first in state to recognize domestic partnerships
BY SASHA ROE
sroe@kansan.com
Lawrence domestic same-sex couples can now register their relationships with the city. On Aug. 1 Lawrence became the first city in Kansas to approve a domestic partnership registry.
Maggie Childs, Queens and Allies
safety adviser,
worked for a
year-and-a-half
to see the registry
become a law.
"As chair of the Kansas Equality Coalition, I did a lot of lobbying with commissioners," Childs said. "Last March, I worked hard to oppose the proposed bill to ban domestic partnerships statewide. So on Aug. 1, I was delighted."
Lawrence resident Jessica Bellew said the legal recognition is important to her and her partner, Jennifer McVev.
The Kansas attorney general's office has confirmed that the registry did not violate the Kansas constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage. The registry is not a certificate of marriage, and it holds no legal benefits for registered couples. The symbolism and easier access to insurance benefits make the registry significant.
"It may seem silly to some, but to us it is important to have something concrete, something to point to. We can't legally marry, but it makes it feel like someone recognizes we are a couple."
"It may seem silly to some, but to
us it is important to have something concrete, something to point to," Bellew said. "We can't legally marry, but it makes it feel like someone recognizes we are a couple."
Bellew and McVey weren't concerned about health insurance benefits. Bellew is a part-time employee at Lawrence Public Library, but McVey's Overland Park employer
JESSICA BELLEW Lawrence resident
already provided health insurance for domestic partners.
The registry does not require insurance companies to extend benefits to domestic partners. However, some Lawrence businesses have domestic partner insurance benefits, and some will extend
coverage with the documentation to a registry.
"More than half of Fortune 500 companies include benefits for domestic partners already," Childs said. "The documentation will allow easier access."
Lori Messinger, member of the Kansas Equality Coalition, said some businesses wouldn't allow insurance benefits for domestic partners, but the registry made it easier for other businesses willing to extend benefits.
"If you don't have the registry,
companies require a lot of documentation," Messinger said. "The registry is official."
Frank Reeb, Lawrence city clerk and director of administrative services, said the city preferred to have the registry completed online because of convenience. The registry is available on the city of Lawrence Web site and can be paid for with Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal. To fill out a registry in City Hall, payment needs to be cash or check. The fee is $75.
Couples who wish to register must meet nine requirements to complete the registry. A few of the terms include that a couple must be Lawrence residents, be at least 18 years old, live in a permanent residence and display an interdependent relationship.
"This is a small step, but a great step," said Jonathan Pryor, Columbus senior. "The big thing is the symbolism."
Pryor, a member of KU Queers and Allies, participated in a campus petition last spring to support the registry.
The city commission approved the domestic partnership registry in May. The registry was adopted on its second and final reading on June 19, and it became a city ordinance on Aug. 1.
"It creates a category." Childs said. "It recognizes something that already existed."
Childs agreed that Lawrence set an example for the state.
Edited by Dianne Smith
CONSTRUCTION
Wal-Mart battle concludes Lawrence City Commission supports plan with 4-1 vote
BY SASHA ROE
sroe@kansan.com
The five-year battle for a second Lawrence Wal-Mart is finally over. Despite a large group of Wal-Mart-bashing protestors, the Lawrence City Commission approved the plan with a 4-1 vote on August 7.
Fourteen citizens took an hour of public comment to express their concerns about the new development at Sixth & Wakarusa Drive. The majority of the night's concerns were about increased traffic, loss of local business and the overall benefit to Lawrence residents.
"Does Wal-Mart promote the health, safety, and moral values of Lawrence?" said Gwen Klingenberg, Lawrence resident.
Kirk McClure, urban planning professor at the University, called the plan a "formula for disaster" McClure mentioned the that tremendous amount of new growth couldn't be absorbed by the city.
"Retail spending should be more than population growth, but in Lawrence it is lagging behind," McClure said. "Another Wal-Mart just means a weak economy."
Angie Stoner, Kansas Wal-Mart public relations manager, said
the new development could benefit Lawrence. She acknowledged Wal-Mart supports the community and schools. Last year, Wal-Mart Supercenter stores gave $30,000-50,000 to local charities. In Kansas there are about 19,000 people employed by Wal-Mart. Stoner said 250 new jobs could be created with the new and Wakarusa store.
"We're proud of our economic impact," Stoner said. "Wal-Mart is committed to being a good neighbor."
Bill Newsome, one of the owners of the Sixth and Wakarusa property, explained every concern had been analyzed by the staff and planning commission. The plan met every standard laid out by the city. Newsome also met the public and commissioners' concern about traffic on Sixth Street.
"The Kansas Department of Transportation has stated that 6th street can function well with this development," Newsome said.
Commissioner Mike Amyx said the plan should proceed, as long as concern about traffic was addressed. Amyx tried to add an amendment to include language that made developers help finance traffic-calming devices. The amendment failed 3-2.
Traffic was a deciding factor for Commissioner Dennis "Boog" Highberger, also. Highberger was the only commissioner to oppose the approval of the plan.
"This Wal-Mart can generate three to five times more traffic, and excessive parking." Highberger said. "We have the power and authority to refuse this request. I can no longer support this plan."
The new Wal-Mart will be about 100,000 square feet with a 6,000 square foot garden center. Landscaping plans for the area surrounding the store include a detention basin, native Kansas grasses and a permanent wetland area. Once construction begins the store should be open within a year.
Protestors were not pleased with the outcome. The city hall lobby was filled with people holding signs of "Let Us Vote," and "Wal-Mart kills local business." Erica Hunter, Lawrence resident, held a sign that resembled the yellow Wal-Mart smiley face except with a frown.
"We don't need to have two Wal-Marts in this town," Hunter said. "The best protesting I can do now is not buy from Wal-Mart."
- Edited by Darla Slipke
INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A young Iraqi girl peeks out as women pilgrims lift up for a security checkpoint leading to the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims went for the annual march, to commemorate the eighteenth-century death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a key Shia saint.
Shiites embark on ancient pilgrimage
Scores endure heat, insurgent attacks on march to shrine
BY LAUREN FRAYER
Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of thousands of Shiites marched to a gold-domed mosque in harsh heat and sun Thursday in a pilgrimage of devotion to an 8th century saint that also starkly demonstrated their political power.
Only scattered strikes by Sunni insurgents marred the event, held amid tight security to avoid the attacks that occurred during past
gatherings.
"Long live Muqtadal" some pilgrims shouted as they paraded toward the Imam al-Kadhim shrine, referring to radical Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr, whose Mahdi army is accused of death squad attacks. "May God kill his enemies!"
A few shook their fists at U.S. soldiers standing alongside the procession route, but the march was mostly peaceful.
Many said they intended their presence to show they could not be intimidated by Sunni insurgents who have devastated past gatherings, and who regularly target Shiites at markets and on buses.
to challenge the terrorism of the Wahhabists," said Hussein Mizaal, a 21-year-old college student from southeastern Baghdad. He was referring to the austere Wahhabi strain of Sunni Islam, practiced mostly in Saudi Arabia but also identified with Sunni insurgents.
"We are not afraid of anyone except God," Mizaa said.
The march comes as Iraq's government remains sharply divided, unable to meet key U.S.-sought benchmarks like a new oil law. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who heads the unity government but is accused of bias by Sunnis, was in Iran to talk about security and electricity deals.
"I have come here to get the blessing of the martyr Imam and