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SATURDAY • DECEMBER 13 • 2014
Jenkins calls $1.1 trillion spending bill conservative victory By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
MITCH REIBER, OF OLATHE, fills his car up with gasoline Friday at the Zarco station at 1500 E. 23rd St. Reiber was paying $2.34 for regular unleaded. Gas prices have fallen by about 42 cents in the past month.
Dramatic drop in gas prices a gift for December travelers By Caitlin Doornbos
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Since the fracking revolution in the U.S., we are producing ansas drivers almost as much oil as Saudi have reason to be pumped this holi- Arabia.”
Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
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day season as average fuel prices have been steadily declining. Since this time last month, the average gas price in the state has dropped about 42 cents to $2.42 per gallon for unleaded gas, according to AAA’s fuel gauge report for Friday. Since December 2013, the average unleaded gas price is down
— George Bittlingmayer, KU business professor
about 60 cents per gallon, the report said. In Lawrence, that price is even lower, with the lowest price in town at just $2.31 per gallon at Woody’s Gas Express, 920 N. Second
St., according to www. kansasgasprices.com. Many other Lawrence stations, like Kwik Shop, QuikTrip, Zarco and Presto, priced their fuel at $2.34 per gallon as of Friday afternoon.
Kansas University business professor George Bittlingmayer said the growing U.S. production of its own oil is a contributing factor in the fuel price decline. Bittlingmayer said oil and natural gas prices have been falling because of the ever-growing hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” industry in the United States. “Since the fracking revolution in the U.S., we are producing almost as
Farmers and ranchers in Kansas may no longer have to worry about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcing Clean Water Act regulations on their farm ponds and drainage ditches. Under a $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by the U.S. House Thursday night, the EPA would be specifically prohibited from adopting new rules extending the reach of clean water regulations. And the agency may be prevented from enforcing many other regulations after it absorbs a 21 percent cut in its budget. That bill, along with a temporary, two-day spending bill, was passed Thursday night, just in time to prevent another partial shutdown of the federal Jenkins government. It funds all federal agencies through Sept. 30 except the Department of Homeland Security, whose funding Congress is withholding over disagreements with President Barack Obama over immigration policy. Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Republican whose district includes Lawrence, called the bill a victory for conservatives. “It continues to curb wasteful spending, rein in regulatory overreach, and will be particularly helpful for Kansas farmers,” Jenkins
Please see GASOLINE, page 6A
Please see BUDGET, page 4A
Pachamamas for sale; owner-chef cites expenses By Chad Lawhorn Twitter: @clawhorn_ljw
One of Lawrence’s more highly regarded downtown restaurants is up for sale, and likely will close in a couple of months if a buyer isn’t found. Pachamamas, 800 New Hampshire St., has been placed on the market as it has struggled to recover from the 2008 recession, when patrons didn’t have as much money to spend on a nice meal. “The last four years have just been hell trying to chase
the dollar, and I’ve wrecked my body in the process,” said Ken Baker, owner and chef of Pachamamas. Baker said he’s had two Baker back surgeries recently, which have played a role in the decision to exit the business. He said he also “has a 6-year old boy who doesn’t see his dad very much.” As for a possible closing date,
By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
Peter Hancock/Journal-World Photo
Business Classified Comics Deaths
Low: 51
PACHAMAMAS, 800 New Hampshire St., may close by Feb. 14.
Topeka — Local election officials in Kansas, including Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, told a legislative committee Friday that counties face a number of growing challenges in running elec-
tions and that combining city and school board races onto the November ballot would only make things worse. Instead, Shew told the Ethics, Elections and Local Government Committee, the state should look at other options such as mail-ballot elections to increase voter turnout
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Today’s forecast, page 6B
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Please see OWNER, page 2A
Douglas County clerk tells lawmakers that combining elections is a bad idea
DOUGLAS COUNTY CLERK JAMIE SHEW tells a legislative committee about the complexities of local elections. The committee is studying the pros and cons of moving city and school board elections to November to coincide with state and federal races.
High: 58
Baker said he plans to run the business through Valentine’s Day, unless someone buys it before then. He recently listed the building with Lawrence’s Allison Vance Moore, a commercial real estate agent with Colliers International. Baker said he is optimistic a buyer will be found, although he said it is hard to predict whether a buyer would want to buy both the building and the Pachamamas name and concept. Baker has been adjusting the
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in local races. And it should consider changes in the way elections are administered, including the use of new voting technology, to make them less expensive. The committee was charged during the 2014 session with studying Please see ELECTIONS, page 2A
First big tourney The city’s recreation center at Rock Chalk Park will host upwards of 700 second-grade through eighth-grade basketball players this weekend. Page 3A
Vol.156/No.347 20 pages