Lawrence Journal-World 02-26-11

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L A W R E N C E

JOURNAL-WORLD

®

75 CENTS

More rain, snow

High: 44

‘They’re really learning some fundamentals’ “

This is not the speaker’s building. This is the people’s building.”

Low: 32

Today’s forecast, page 10A

— House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence

INSIDE Free State sweeps city showdown games In a Lawrence high school basketball showdown, the Free State girls beat Lawrence High, 55-36, and the Free State boys edged out LHS, 58-57, on Senior Night at FSHS. Page 1B KU BASKETBALL

Morningstar on fire from 3-point range Kansas University men’s basketball senior Brady Morningstar was recently stuck in a 2-for-19 slump shooting three-pointers. Not anymore. Now he has the best percentage in the Big 12. The Jayhawks face the Oklahoma Sooners today at 3 p.m. in Norman. Page 1B STATE

Kansas House passes voter ID measure A bill containing Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposed Secure and Fair Elections Act, requiring people who register to vote for the first time in the state to prove they’re citizens, won LEGISLATURE House approval on a 83-36 vote Friday, sending it to the Senate. Page 2A

QUOTABLE

To be uplifted spiritually, you should come to it to be around other people who are enjoying music and understand celebration through music. You get to hear the heritage of African-American struggles. The music, it touches your inner being, your soul.” — The Rev. Verdell Taylor, pastor at St. Luke’s AME Church, which will put on a Black History Month Musical this weekend. Page 3A

COMING SUNDAY A group in Lawrence is taking steps to combat underage drinking.

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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Faith Forum Horoscope Movies Opinion Poll Puzzles Sports Television Vol.153/No.57

LJWorld.com

SATURDAY • FEBRUARY 26 • 2011

7A 1C-4C 6C 2A 10A 10B 5C 5A 9A 2A 5C 1B-7B 5A, 5C 30 pages

Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photos

STUDENTS WATCH AS AN EGG IN A PROTECTIVE CASING is dropped from the second floor of the Eaton Hall atrium Friday during the Kansas University Engineering Expo. The competition tests teams’ abilities to create a casing that allows the egg to withstand the fall without breaking. It was among about a dozen contests at the annual expo, which continues today.

Trial and error is name of the game for aspiring engineers By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com

ONLINE: Watch the video at LJWorld.com

Having meticulously assembled her bridge with all the care of a licensed engineer, Ainsley Agnew felt confident that her 3.75 pounds of uncooked pasta not only would traverse an assigned 30-inch-wide chasm, but also would hold up to the intense weight of personal expectations and intense competition. Turns out only one thing could bring her down: 26 pounds of sand suspended from her glued-together span of wagon wheels, ziti and lasagna, during Friday’s Engineering Expo at Kansas University. “It just collapsed,” she said with all the smiling innocence of a 10-yearold fifth-grader and aspiring chef — which, of course, she is. “A trapezoid is a pretty good shape to build with. You should build with a trapezoid or a triangle. That works better.” Such lessons were stacking up Friday throughout the lobbies, hall-

ways and classrooms of Eaton and Learned halls at Kansas University, as Ainsley and more than 1,300 elementary and secondary students participated in 11 competitions designed to spur interest in youngsters who just might end up engineering the next high-tech wireless phone, reliable car-safety system or ultra-efficient bridge structure. That their pasta bridges snapped, or paper gliders missed their marks, or uncooked eggs dropped from the second floor cracked upon impact shouldn’t be seen as a problem, said Stuart Bell, dean of engineering. Far from it. “You really learn something when you fail, or when something doesn’t work right, you take it to heart,” he said. “They’re really learning some fundamentals. In engineering we say, ‘Always building products better, and better, and better.’” Engineers learn, regroup and improve. “We always make things better,” he said.

cmetz@ljworld.com

Over the next several months, the Kansas Department of Transportation will spend $100,000 to establish a plan on how to cope with growth near the intersection of Kansas Highway 10 and Sixth Street. The area, which encompasses a 1.5mile segment of Sixth Street from George Williams Way to East 800 Road, has been slated for future development. With this growth, transportation issues are expected to emerge, said KDOT spokeswoman Kim Qualls. The idea, Qualls said, is to create a map for future development that accounts for traffic volumes, safety

concerns and pedestrian access. “It’s a big-picture plan for the corridor, so it’s not being done piece by piece,” she said. To gather feedback from those who live nearby or travel the stretch of road and other stakeholders, KDOT is hosting an open house from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center at Free State High School, 4706 Overland Drive. KDOT staff and other members of the planning team, which includes the city of Lawrence, Douglas County and the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, will be there to answer questions on the project and gather input and ideas for the plan. The plan, which will be done by

srothschild@ljworld.com

TOPEKA — Senate leaders on Friday praised the Kansas Bioscience Authority even though some members of a Senate committee have questioned salaries and expenses at the agency. “They are one of our bright lights,” Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said of the KBA. Senate Vice President John Vratil, R-Leawood, and Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, made

similar comments. But recently several members of the Senate Commerce Committee have expressed displeasure with the $250,000-per-year salary and $100,000 bonus paid to KBA Chief Executive Officer Tom Thornton. Twelve of the agency’s 21 employees have salaries of more than $100,000. “They’re very exorbitant for Kansas salaries,” said Commerce Chair Susan Wagle, R-Wichita. Wagle has held one hearing on KBA finances and

Lawmaker says he might ban lobbyists for behavior many say never occurred srothschild@ljworld.com

LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL juniors Kailey Wingert and Kayla Hicks carefully set a mouse trap as they prepare to test their Rube Goldberg machine Friday at KU’s Engineering Expo. Ainsley, who will leave Cordley School for middle school next year, figures she could return to the Expo next year with a stronger design. That, she said, “and lots of glue.” The Expo continues from 9 a.m. to noon today, with tours and open houses at Eaton and Learned halls, northeast of 15th Street and Naismith Drive. — Schools reporter Mark Fagan can be reached at 832-7188.

local engineering firm BG Consultants, is expected to be finished by the end of this summer. Already, KDOT is designing improvements to the Sixth Street and K-10 interchange that will include dual left turning lanes and traffic signals at the ramps between K-10 and Sixth Street. The hope is to help ease traffic congestion, particularly during afternoon rush hour. Longer term, KDOT is looking at widening the Sixth Street bridge over K-10 to allow for additional left-turn lanes and pedestrian access. As of now, KDOT hasn’t found a way to fund the improvement projects. — Reporter Christine Metz can be reached at 832-6352.

Praise for KBA, plus questions about salaries By Scott Rothschild

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By Scott Rothschild

Study to examine traffic at K-10 and 6th By Christine Metz

Unions demand proof of allegation

plans another one for Friday. The KBA’s main mission is to lure bioWagle science companies and research to Kansas. It led the effort to bring the National Bio and AgroDefense Facility to the state. Vratil said he was satisfied with the KBA leadership and salaries.

“You get what you pay for. If you want to hire cheap labor to run the Bioscience Authority, you’re going to get a cheap product,” he said. Emler said that often legislators say government should be run more like a business. That’s what is happening with the Bioscience Authority. “The Bioscience Authority has done a tremendous job bringing in NBAF and animal health initiatives,” he said. — Statehouse reporter Scott Rothschild can be reached at 785-423-0668.

TOPEKA — House Speaker Mike O’Neal on Friday accused union members of making threats and sexually explicit comments, while union leaders denied the allegations and demanded that O’Neal show evidence to back up his charges. In a news conference, O’Neal said he would investigate video from Thursday’s demonstration by several dozen union members, and O’Neal was considering banning union lobbyists who participated from the House gallery or other areas of the Capitol. House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence said he didn’t think O’Neal could do that. “This is not the speaker’s Please see UNIONS, page 2A

A look at how labor laws work in Kansas By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com

Teachers in Wisconsin continue to express their anger over being stripped of their collective bargaining powers. Kansas University distinguished law professor Elinor Schroeder studies labor laws and is paying attention to what’s happening in Wisconsin. While not familiar with that state’s laws, Schroeder guessed that Wisconsin would be friendlier to unions, given that Wisconsin was the first state to adopt collective bargaining, and because it was a more liberal state than Kansas. Also, Kansas is a rightto-work state, meaning that it’s illegal to require that a person pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment. Wisconsin has no such restrictions. In Kansas, when negotiations between teachers and school boards break down, mediators and factPlease see KANSAS, page 2A


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