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THURSDAY • NOVEMBER 13 • 2014
Gay marriage now legal in Kansas U.S. Supreme Court lifts hold; couples make plans
By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday authorized samesex marriages to go forward in Kansas, lifting the stay one justice had granted on an order from a district court in Kansas City, Kan. In a one-page statement, the court said: “The application for stay presented to Justice (Sonia) Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied.
The order heretofore the case Oct. 10 challengentered by Justice Sotoing the state’s refusal to mayor is vacated.” grant marriage licenses “We won! Let marto same-sex couples. The riages begin,” Doug Bonplaintiffs were lesbian ney, legal director for the couples in Douglas and American Civil Liberties COURTS Sedgwick counties who Union of Kansas, said in had been denied licenses an email heralding the court’s because of a 2005 Kansas condecision. stitutional amendment defining Bonney was the lead attor- marriage as a union between ney for the plaintiffs who filed one man and one woman.
The order, however, does not necessarily end the legal battle in Kansas. It merely lifts the stay that had been placed on a temporary injunction issued last week by U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree, ordering court clerks in Douglas and Sedgwick counties to begin processing same-sex marriage applications even though the laws banning such marriages
are technically still in effect. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who has fought to keep the state’s ban on gay marriage in place, insisted Wednesday that the order was limited in scope. “Although the preliminary injunction is in place, it remains under appeal in the 10th
New KU residence halls taking shape
Please see MARRIAGE, page 4A
Alvamar sale deal reached By Chad Lawhorn @clawhorn_ljw
John English/special to the Journal-World
THIS AERIAL PHOTO, LOOKING TO THE SOUTHEAST over Kansas University’s Daisy Hill, shows the McCollum Hall replacement project: the two buildings under construction at center. Pictured from left are Templin, Lewis, Hashinger and Ellsworth residence halls. The two new freshmanfocused residence halls, at a cost of nearly $48 million, are to open in August 2015. They replace the nearly 50-year-old, 10-story McCollum Hall. Iowa Street is visible at the bottom of the photograph.
Bigger snow plows coming
W
hen the snow starts falling, the Batmobile will not be plowing the streets of Lawrence, but do expect to see some winged vehicles tackling the job. For the first time, the city’s Public Works Department will equip four of the department’s snow-plowing trucks with a device called a “wing plow.” The plow is mounted on the side of the truck and extends about eight feet. City officials are optimistic that the new piece of equipment will allow major roads like Iowa, Sixth
Town Talk
Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
and 23rd streets to be plowed more quickly. “We think it will speed up the process by about a third,” said Mike Perkins, the street division supervisor for the city.
Journal-World File Photo
the truck, but motorists will need to use care. “It is a clear, clean path right behind the truck,” Perkins said. “That is the best place to drive.” Thiel also recently provided city commissioners with his best estimate on what type of winter we’ll have this year. “I think we’re pretty much going to have a repeat of what
we had last year,” Thiel said. “I think we’re going to have a lot of cold weather early and a lot of small events early.” The city had 30.2 inches of snow in 20132014, as measured in downtown. That was the second highest total of the last 10 years, trailing only the 36.4 inches in 2009/2010. The 10-year average is 17.4 inches.
INSIDE
Sunny, cold Business Classified Comics Deaths
High: 31
Larger cities have been using the wing plows for awhile, said Mark Thiel, the city’s assistant director of public works. “We’re probably one of the smaller cities that are using them,” Thiel said. “We’re just trying to stay ahead of the game. It is another tool for us.” Perkins said the new wing plows will make it more important than ever for the city to follow the advice of not passing a snow plow. The trucks will be equipped with special lights to draw attention to the fact that a blade is hanging off the side of
Low: 10
Today’s forecast, page 6A
2A 4B-8B 10B 2A
Events listings Horoscope Going out Opinion
6A,2B Puzzles 9B Sports 4A Television 5A
9B 1B-3B 6A, 2B
Vol.156/No.317 16 pages
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A deal has been reached for west Lawrence’s iconic Alvamar golf and country club to be bought by the same developers building the Rock Chalk Park sports park. Bob Johnson, chair of the Alvamar board said a deal has been struck with Bliss Sports, the group led by longtime Lawrence builder Thomas Fritzel. Johnson said both sides are conducting their due diligence, and he expects the deal to be finalized in March or April. “For the community of Lawrence and the golfing com- Fritzel munity, it probably is the best thing that could happen,” Johnson said. “These buyers are people who have been in this community their whole lives and their futures are in this community.” An attempt to reach Thomas Fritzel for comment wasn’t successful. Speculation about a Fritzel purchase of Alvamar has been heavy for months. That speculation has included talk that 18 of the 36 holes of golf at Alvamar could be eliminated to make room for other development. Johnson said such a change hasn’t been communicated to the Alvamar board. “Obviously, it is the buyer’s decision,” Johnson said. “But we have heard nothing to believe that the golf course will be anything other than what it is now. If I were to predict, I would say the chances are overwhelming that it will be a 36hole facility.” Johnson, though, said Please see SALE, page 3A
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