RALLY LEADS KU TO 68-54 WIN OVER BAYLOR
Page 1B
L A W R E NC E
JOURNAL-WORLD ®
75 CENTS
4(523$!9 s &%"25!29 s
County may face 2013 budget shortfall
New lights, safer path
REDISTRICTING
Senate OKs map putting Lawrence in 2nd Dist.
———
Possible $2.4M gap may cause mill levy increase By Christine Metz
———
cmetz@ljworld.com
Just a few weeks into a new fiscal year, Douglas County commissioners are already bracing for the difficult budget decisions that could come in 2013. At Wednesday’s County Commission meeting, County Administrator Craig Weinaug presented a projected budget for next year. The numbers weren’t pretty. “I’m anticipating 2013 to be much more difficult than the past few years,” Weinaug said. A drop in property values combined with potential state cutbacks and increasing employee costs has the county looking at a possible $2.4 million shortfall for 2013. To “If we intentionally under- cover the gap, the county spend what we would have budgeted in to increase 2012, we may its mill levy be in a better by 2.16 mills, position to which transmake those lates into decisions less about an exdifficult.” tra $50 for a $200,000 — County home. Administrator Raising Craig Weinaug the mill levy is just one of the difficult decisions the commissioners will face as they look at the 2013 budget. Most years commissioners don’t begin reviewing the budget until June. But Weinaug said that with a possible loss in revenue, he thought it best to come before the commission early. “If we intentionally underspend what we budgeted in 2012, we may be in a better position to make those decisions less difficult,” he said. The biggest concern is an expected 2 to 3 percent drop in property values, which accounts for about 60 percent of the county’s revenue. The other looming unknowns are possible cuts from the state. The most pressing state funding issue is the future of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which covers Douglas County employees. As part of the budget projections, the county increased its Please see COUNTY, page 2A
Opposition expected in House as plan moves Manhattan into 1st District By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan congressional redistricting plan that puts all of Lawrence in the 2nd U.S. House District. The measure passed 23-17 and now goes to the House, where it is expected to face opposition because it moves Manhattan, which is now in the 2nd District, into the 1st. Fifteen Republicans and eight Democrats voted for the plan, and 17 Republicans voted against it. Today, east Lawrence is in the 3rd District and west Law- LEGISLATURE rence is in the 2nd. Legislators have to redraw district boundaries to accommodate for population shifts that have occurred over the past 10 years. The vast 1st District, which covers western and much of central Kansas, lost population and needs about 58,000 people to reach the ideal district size.
High: 42
Low: 22
Today’s forecast, page 10A
Please see MAP, page 2A
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
TWO PEOPLE WALK Monday evening beneath new LED lights that illuminate the sidewalk and area along 12th Street from Mount Oread to South Park and Massachusetts Street. The city and Kansas University worked together to create the safer path for pedestrians walking to and from campus at night.
More Statehouse news. Page 4A
Feedback sought on proposed bus system changes
Illumination improves walk between KU, downtown By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com
Those involved in planning a lighted pathway on 12th Street between the downtown area and the Kansas University campus hope the improvements will make the area safer for students walking late at night. The project has several components. An improved sidewalk on 12th Street runs from Louisiana to Vermont streets and through South Park to Massachusetts Street, said Mark Thiel, assistant director of Public Works for the city. Along the path are Vic-
“
By Chad Lawhorn
It’s not so much that lighted pathways will magically make the criminal activity disappear. If we could get the majority of students using one centralized pathway from campus to downtown, just the sheer numbers would increase the safety and deter criminal activity.” — Mark Thiel, assistant director of Public Works for the city torian-style light posts with LED lights triggered by a motion sensor. The lights have high and low illuminations, Thiel said, so at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., when few people are walking by, the lights are dimmed, but they become brighter when the motion sensor is triggered.
INSIDE
Sunny but chilly Business Classified Comics Deaths
LJWorld.com
6A 5B-10B 9A 2A
Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion
10A, 2B Puzzles 9B Sports 5A Television 8A
“It’s not so much that lighted pathways will magically make the criminal activity disappear,” he said. “If we could get the majority of students using one centralized pathway from campus to downtown, just
clawhorn@ljworld.com
Talk of a new transit station on the eastern edge of downtown will increase next week, as will proposals to change several routes that are part of the city and Kansas University’s bus systems. The city and KU will host three public meetings next week to get feedback on proposed changes to the transit system, and city leaders said they still want to hear feedback about the idea of locating a transit hub in the Santa Fe Depot at Seventh and New Jersey streets. Lawrence Transit Administrator Robert Nugent said his department hosted a meeting about the transit station idea last week, and sensed there
Please see LIGHTS, page 2A
Please see TRANSIT, page 2A
COMING FRIDAY
9B 1B-4B, 10B KU Chancellor 5A, 2B, 9B Bernadette GrayLittle will deliver the keynote speech for Fort Leavenworth’s Join us at Facebook.com/LJWorld and Twitter.com/LJWorld Black History Month.
Vol.154/No.40 20 pages
Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org