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Federal judge refuses to block abortion insurance law By Roxana Hegeman Associated Press
WICHITA — A federal judge refused Thursday to block a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions, saying opponents failed to prove their claim that legislators’ real intent was to create obstacles for women seeking abortions.
The law prohibits insurance companies from offering abortion coverage as part of general health plans, except when a woman’s life is at risk. Patients who want abortion coverage must buy supplemental policies, known as riders, covering only abortion. The ruling means that women seeking an abortion
in Kansas will need to law’s true intent was buy a rider or pay for to impose an unconthe procedure out-ofstitutional burden on pocket if their insurabortion seekers, and ance policies are new asked that the law be or were renewed after put on hold during the the law took effect court fight. July 1. U.S. District Judge COURTS The American Civil Wesley Brown reLiberties Union sued the state jected the request, saying the in August, arguing that the ACLU didn’t provide evidence
that the law “actually has the effect of creating a substantial obstacle to obtaining abortions.” The ACLU also claimed the law was discriminatory because men can buy a general health plan for all their reproductive needs, but Brown said the group failed to show a likelihood of prevailing on that claim, too.
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But the judge told the ACLU it could try again, noting his decision wasn’t a final ruling on the merits of the group’s claims. He also ordered an expedited schedule so the case would move more quickly through the courts. The law was among several Please see ABORTION, page 6A
Theatre Lawrence exceeds $6.2M goal By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
CREWS WITH KISSICK CONSTRUCTION CO., of Kansas City, Mo., continue to dig a deep hole below the Kansas River as they work Wednesday on a new $25 million hydroelectric power plant on the north bank of the Kansas River. Construction is expected to take about two years to complete. The plant will operate in conjunction with the plant that Bowersock owns on the south bank. The new plant will produce enough electricity to power about 3,300 homes per year. The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Public Utilities has signed a 25-year agreement to purchase all the power produced at the plant that will be used to power homes and businesses in Wyandotte County.
It was fitting that there was drama. Leaders with Theatre Lawrence announced on Thursday that a flurry of lastminute donations pushed its fundraising effort past their $6.2 million goal, ensuring the organization would not lose a pair of key grants that came with a Sept. 30 deadline. “It has been like Christmas every day,” Mary Doveton, executive director of Theatre Lawrence, said. “The last couple of weeks have literally produced hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has been so gratifying to see Doveton people respond.” Amidst a celebration of streamers and champagne, members of the group — formerly known as the Lawrence Community Theater — announced they had raised $6,486,000. That will be enough to follow through on plans to build a 300-seat theater in the Bauer Farm development near Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive. Doveton estimated construction will begin this winter with completion in 12 to 15 months. The new theater will replace the group’s Please see THEATRE, page 2A
‘Green’ jobs bigger part of work landscape By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
A builder who performs home energy audits. An office manager who looks for ways to green the supply chain. An auto mechanic who fixes hybrid vehicles. And an electrical lineman who is working on the smart grid. Those are all green jobs, said Jay Antle, executive director of Johnson County Community College’s Center for Sustainability. Much has been said about
President Barack shouldn’t be how Obama’s aim to This series to create more create green jobs green jobs, but This is part as part of the nahow to transform five in a series tion’s attempt to traditional jobs exploring variregain economic into green ones. ous aspects of stability. And some “The real enthe local job of the debate has ergy is going to be: market. centered on what How do you green exactly those green existing jobs and jobs are. not just because “I think part of of environmental our problem and why our na- concerns,” he said. “It’s retional debate is skewed is the ally about making operations way we define green jobs,” more efficient that will have Antle said. positive environmental outFor Antle, the question comes.”
Donna Ginther, director of Kansas University’s Center for Economic and Business Analysis, agrees it can be hard to define just exactly what a green job is. While it’s not working in a coal plant or building oil pipelines, it could include research that is being done at KU on alternative fuels and transportation. “Anything related to bioenergy is a green job, anything related to energy conservation or sustainability would
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
JON HEGE, LAWRENCE, with All-N-1 Landscaping works, on Please see GREEN, page 2A a patio Wednesday at a southwest Lawrence home.
Repaving and various improvements coming to K-10 starting Monday By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com
The Kansas Highway 10 construction project is back on. Rumble strips and paved roadside shoulders are coming to that stretch of K-10 that runs from the edge of Law-
rence to the Johnson County line. Accompanying the safety improvements will be a new 1.5-inch-thick layer of pavement, giving the popular four-lane highway a fresh surface for the first time in 12 years. The work starts at 9 a.m.
Crews from Perry-based Hamm Construction will handle the $4.3 million job, scheduled to be finished in early November. Beginning Monday, crews will start patching areas that have major damage, starting at the eastern edge of Lawrence and working their way
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Monday. It had been scheduled to start twice before, but then postponed. “We’ll do the best we can to minimize the frustration for everybody,” said Jason Van Nice, the project’s construction manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation.
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east. They will patch in one lane for eastbound traffic at a time; after that, they’ll switch over to lanes used by traffic heading back into Lawrence. Expect patching to last a week, with crews working mostly during daytime hours. “We’ll probably be moving around quite a bit that first
week,” Van Nice said. “We’ll fix the really bad spots so they don’t get any worse.” After that, crews will turn their attention to grinding off the top inch of the highway’s asphalt — again, one lane at a time on one side of the highway — before laying down a Please see K-10 WORK, page 2A
COMING SATURDAY We’ll be at the Douglas County Dental Clinic’s free dental day, which last year provided more than $25,000 in care.
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