FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3A
Good luck, Jayhawks
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Gloria Diaz, Los Angeles freshman, signs a card for the men's basketball team. The Student Alumni Association created cards for students to sign to support the team for Saturday's game against Kansas State.
ENTERTAINMENT Kid Rock: Sex tapes just part of rock 'n' roll
Kid Rock blames Scott Stapp for losing a sex video showing them with several strippers, but appreciates Stapp for one thing.
"What perfect timing," Rock told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "I got a record coming up ... Maybe I should thank him."
The hard-partying rap- rocker, whose new live concert alur., "LiveTrucker", hit stores
Tuesday, defended his backstage antics, saying, "It's not any big revelation that this goes on in rock 'n' roll, especially with who I am."
Still, Rock laka Robert Ritchie) has fired back against Stapp's claim that the tape was stolen, saying the former Creed singer filmed the tape, which was made in Rock's motor home in 1999, and is responsible for losing it.
"He's the idiot because it's out," the 35-year-old Rock said. "I'm holding him responsible."
The Associated Press
LAWRENCE
Roundabout jeopardizes homes
BY CARRIE WALLACE
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Cal Santos, also known as Haunted Cal, was livid about a recent scary surprise. For more than a year, the house he rents at 1900 19th St., the "Haunted Kitchen," has played host to art, political and music events. But now he suddenly faces the possibility that those days might soon be over. The "Haunted Kitchen" may have to be torn down to make room for a proposed roundabout at the intersection of 19th and Louisiana streets.
The intersection at 19th and Louisiana streets is the most dangerous in Lawrence, said David Woosley, city traffic engineer. Between 2002 and 2004, 31 crashes were reported. Five of those crashes involved injuries, and five of them involved drivers under the age of 18, Woosley said.
"I feel like I'm in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,'" he said, referring to the opening lines of the Douglas Adams novel in which the hero wakes up to a builddozer preparing to demolish his home. "Oh well," he said, as he shrugged his shoulders. "We're gonna party till they tear it down."
During peak hours, traffic at the intersection backs up all the way to Massachusetts Street, City Engineer Terese Gorman said. Most of the accidents were
left-turn related, and round-abouts solve this type of traffic problem, she said. The safest and best solution from an engineering standpoint, she said, was a roundabout.
The intersection at 19th and Louisiana streets is the most dangerous in Lawrence, said David Woosley, city traffic engineer.
The Lawrence City Commission rejected the $1.49 million roundabout proposal in December because it said a roundabout would not be able to control Lawrence's traffic in 15 years because of its rapid growth. The commissioners thought the plan was too expensive for the short-term remedy it provided.
About 20 residents gathered at a public meeting last week to discuss the proposal. Unfortunately, the people that the proposal affects the most, homeowners in the area, were not present.
BG Consultants, a regional engineering group that paid $37,000 last month to work on this project, has drafted another proposal. This draft, centered on geometric improvements to the intersection, would cost an estimated $2.24 million, but could be as much as $3 million according to a memorandum by the Public Works Department. This roundabout could handle traffic for years to come.
If this proposal is accepted by the city commission and put on the capital improvements plan, Haunted Cal might need a
new nickname because the city would pave over the "Haunted Kitchen." Seventeen other properties would be affected and four homeowners would have to sell their homes to the city. The intersection would also be closed for up to a year.
Todd Giles has owned his home at 1900 Ohio St. for two years. He is pursuing his Ph.D. while teaching at the University of Kansas. His neighbors across the street, Yoon and Laurenza Soung, bought their home last September.
Giles and the Soungs didn't know about the proposal. The city would buy Giles' home and would take almost $10,000 of the Soung's land if the commission approves it. The Soungs said they never got a postcard about the public meeting. Giles didn't think he did either. However, Giles believes the project is justified.
"I could bitch and moan and say it's stupid, but the city could really use this, and there are only four homes," he said. "The proposal certainly seems to make sense. It would have been nice if they would have informed the residents a little more clearly than they did."
When asked why those who might be asked to remit property were not specifically told about the plan, David Hanby of BG Consultants said the draft proposal was only a project and drawings on paper until it was funded. He said he saw no reason to tell those people specifically and thought postcards sent to residents about the public meeting were sufficient.
While the city hasn't funded a complete plan yet, City Commissioner Mike Amyx said that the intersection ranked as a very high priority because it was such a dangerous intersection. He said 19th and Louisiana streets must be addressed because there are so few east-west thoroughfares.
As he surveyed the geometric improvements draft proposal for the first time, Amyx said that the commission would look at this as it did any other project. It will go on the capital improvements list while the city looks for ways to fund it. Regarding the eminent domain issue, Amyx said that the city makes "a big-time concerted effort" to avoid eminent domain. Chuck Soules, the Director of Public Works, agreed.
"We'll try to negotiate anywhere we can," he said. "We really want to avoid eminent domain."
A city commission meeting to discuss this proposal will likely happen next month.
Edited by Meghan Miller
NATION Meth use on the rise; more users seek help
Drug treatment centers have seen a substantial rise in the number of people seeking help for methamphetamine abuse, a report released Thursday said.
As trafficking in the highlyaddictive drug has spread across the country, the number of meth users admitted to substance abuse clinics more
than quadrupled from 1993 to 2003, according to a review by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The report was released hours before the Senate passed legislation to combat meth by limiting sales of cold medicines used to make the illegal drug.
States in the Midwest and South that had few meth abuse patients a decade ago are now seeing a sharp rise in the rate
of admissions to treatment centers, the report said.The findings mirror the trend of meth abuse moving gradually from the West, across the Midwest, and South to the East.
"It's not that the prevalence of meth is changing, but the addictive nature of this drug and the meth crisis is showing up in drug treatment programs," said Mark Weber, an associate administrator for the agency. "They're being overwhelmed
by the number of people showing up for treatment."
Nationwide, the admission rate for treatment of methamphenine or amphetamine abuse rose from 28,000 in 1993 to nearly 136,000 patients in 2003, the report said. The review analyzed data on the approximately 1.8 million patients admitted each year for substance abuse treatment.
The Associated Press
The Student Alumni Association is proud to announce spirit week
Stop by our table at Wescoe or the Kansas Union this week to celebrate march madness!
Each day there will be different contests and prizes to win!
Monday, Feb. 27
Monday, Feb. 27
Cocoa on Wescoe with Big Jay: 9-10:30 a.m. Free hot chocolate while it lasts!
Change for Champions kick-off: Donate your change to the Special Olympics all week.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Breakfast with Baby Jay: 9-10:30 a.m., Kansas Union. Free donuts while they last! SAA meeting: 7 p.m., Adams Alumni Center. "Beat the Buffs" - free buffalo wings!
Wednesday, March 1
Wednesday, March 1 Tradition Keeper Appreciation Day: Get spotted in your TK T-shirt, and you might win! KU Senior Night: 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse. KU beats CU! Go Hawks!
Thursday, March 2 Sign the Good Luck Card for the Basketball Team: I I a.m.-I p.m. Wescoe Beach. Score some giveaways Free Cosmic Bowling: 7-9-p.m., Jaybowl. Donations go to Special Olympics. Jaybowl
Friday, March 3 Crimson and Blue Day-wear KU colors! Sign the Good Luck Card for the Basketball Team: I I a.m.-I p.m., Kansas Union. Score some giveaways.
Friday, March 3
Saturday, March 4 KU beats KSU!
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