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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 98
CITY COMMISSION
Crime prompts discussion on regulating Lawrence bars
BY JESSICA WICKS
jwicks@kansan.com
The recent crime at the bar Last Call sparked discussion at Tuesday's city commission meeting to draft ordinances and policy changes to allow regulation of bars with consistent criminal activity.
Last Call owner David Steffes gave up his fight against the city to stay open last week, but that isn't preventing the city from trying to control similar bars in the future.
The commission discussed rezoning land use and putting another layer of licensing on all entertainment establishments.
The staff attorney for the city, Scott Miller, suggested licensing that would hold venues
responsible not only for their own activities, but for the actions of their patrons. Crimes considered would include physical violence, gambling, illegal possession of weapons or the intent to commit a crime.
The owner of the Replay Lounge and Jackpot Music Hall, Nick Carroll, asked how the city would define problem businesses. He said with the addition of several new lofts in the downtown business district, he was concerned that residents in the area would call in noise complaints that could red flag otherwise compliant businesses. He said there needed to be a provision that respected the purpose of the area.
"A lot of jobs are at stake here," Carroll said. "They need to maybe tweak the system instead of a total overhaul."
Mayor Sue Hack said she agreed and called for a plan that would not damage the relationship between businesses and the city.
The creation of permits, licences and zoning led commissioners to ask about the laborious paperwork that would have to be completed and the punishing of businesses that were in good standing.
"As a business owner myself, I am concerned that the city might go past its tenure if it were written broadly enough," commissioner Rob Chestnut said.
Currently, the city cannot revoke liquor licenses because that authority belongs to the state. The city had tried to work with Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control to regulate illegal activity inside Last Call. That was insufficient because the Kansas ABC could not control
what patrons did outside the bar.
Miller said the problem was not necessarily activity inside the bar.
He said that the owner of the bar could simply throw the problem patron out of the bar and that the person then became the city's problem. He said the source of the disturbance in this case was not the patron, but the bar itself, which fostered that sort of activity
Ted Boyle, who represented the North Lawrence Improvement Association, said an unnamed bar in north Lawrence attracted crime to the area.
"We have no problems with noise," Boyle said. "It is after the patrons disperse that we have problems."
stabbings, public urination and vandalism have been reported by residents. Threats by the staff to residents in the area of the bar have also been a concern.
Commissioner Mike Amyx said that added bureaucracy was not something that he wanted to endorse.
"We need to make sure the ordinance is fair and firm so that a situation like this one doesn't happen again", Amyx said, referring Last Call incidents.
No legislation has been drafted yet, but officials plan to write ordinances based on Tuesday's discussion.
Boyle mentioned crimes by bar patrons, such as shootings,
》 ENVIRONMENT
Students question coal burning plant
Students from the University of Kansas have been traveling to Topeka to talk to legislators about the Holcomb coal plant proposals.
They have been writing letters, coordinating meetings and even testifying in front of the Senate to encourage an open discussion with legislators about energy alternatives.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NETS TRADE KIDD BACK TO FORMER TEAM
After a 14-year absence, Jason Kidd returned to the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday. FULL AP STORY PAGE 2B
weather
— Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
Friday 22 17
Light snow
Friday 31 18
Snow shower
20 8 Partly cloudy
index
Classifieds. .5A
Crossword. 6A
Horoscopes. 6A
Opinion. 7A
Sports. 1B
Sudoku. 6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise.
© 2008 The University Daily Kansan
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
LAWRENCE: AS SMART AS YOU THINK
Forbes.com names town seventh in 'America's Smartest Cities' rankings
BY RUSTIN DODD dodd@kansan.com
Welcome to Lawrence, Kansas...err.uh,
make that geniusville.
Believe it or not, Kansas students might be going to college in a town full of eggheads - at least, if you believe the rankings released by Forbes.com on Feb. 7.
Forbes.com, the online version of the popular business magazine, ranked Lawrence as the seventh smartest city the U.S. in its 2008 "America's Smartest Cities" rankings.
Judy Billings, director of the Lawrence
Judy Billings, director Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city is in good company.
"There are a lots of other college towns that didn't make that list," Billings said.
The Forbes.com rankings, based on the education of residents, looked at each metro area's percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree, the percentage with a doctoral degree, the percentage with a professional degree and the percentage with at least a high school diploma.
According to the rankings, 43.5 percent of Lawrence residents above the age of 25 have at least a bachelor's degree, while 3.8 percent of residents have a doctoral degree, 2.9 percent have a professional degree and
Former Lawrence mayor and member of the city council Dennis "Boog" Highberger said he wasn't surprised that college towns dominated the list.
"I think a university town like ours attracts people who are dedicated to education," Highberger said. "There are a lot of people here who are here because of education."
EDWARD FENSHOLT
Olathe freshman
"It finally gives us the prestige think we deserve."
Boulder, Colo. home of the University of Colorado, checked in at No.1 in the rankings, and like Boulder and Lawrence, every other city on the 25-city list was a college town.
"That's awesome," Edward Fensholt, Olathe freshman, said. After all, Fensholt knows intelligence. He earned a perfect score on the ACT in high school.
"It finally gives us the prestige I think we deserve," Fensholt said.
If University students need another way to compare themselves with their traditional rivals from the University of Missouri, the Forbes.com rankings might make them smile. Columbia, Mo., was ranked below
92. 8 percent have a high school diploma.
Lawrence also ranked ahead of Cambridge, Mass., home of Harvard University, and Iowa City, Iowa, the home of the University of Iowa.
"Hey, It makes sense," David Tafreshi, Overland Park junior, said. "You can start with education. It's obviously a lot better here than over there. KU cranks out some smart kids."
"I think it shows there might not be that much difference between Ivy League schools and state schools," Fensholt said.
"I think we are in really good company. There are a lots of other college towns that didn't make that list," Billings said. "We're very proud to be a college town and it's very much a part of who we are and what we promote."
Lawrence as the 11th smartest city.
Billings also said the visitors bureau was pleased with the rankings.
- Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
Bryan Marvin/KANSAN
MEDIA
Al Jazeera bureau chief discusses network's role
Will Stebbins, bureau chief for the Al Jazeera English news network, visited the University of Kansas yesterday to give students a different perspective on international issues.
Stop, log on, listen: Episode four of "As Heard From The Hill," KJHK's weekly radio show, available at Kansan.com.
4
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
@ KANSAN.COM
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@ KANSAN.COM
More students tour University as Spring nears
Because the weather is warming up, campus tours are starting to pick up. The KU Student Ambassadors give campus tours to prospective students.
CAMPUS
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
STUDY ABROAD
Student travel increases for KU program
The University of Kansas is tied for seventh nationally in the percentage of students who study abroad according to a recent study. The number of students choosing to study abroad has risen steadily since 2001.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A