Lawrence Journal-World 10-12-11

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How to tackle those growing piles of leaves

City OKs incentives for Poehler project ——

Plans for studios, apartments to get $1.39M in aid By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

TURNER OMELAU, 7, LEFT, HIDES INSIDE A COMPOST BAG from his friend Taloa Lena, 6, as the two raked and played in the leaves in front of their houses Saturday in east Lawrence,. The city is encouraging people to compost or mulch leaves rather than burn them or put them in the trash.

Experts offer environment-friendly solutions By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com

ONLINE: See the video at SunflowerHorizons.com

We all love the beauty of the changing leaves. What’s less enjoyable is managing them once they fall off the trees. Here are some ways to stay green when dealing with autumn leaves.

on the ground is a great source of nutrients for lawns, said Cassandra Ford, of the city of Lawrence’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Division. 1. Use them as mulch Of course, some work has to Perhaps the easiest approach be done. to dealing with fallen leaves is Left alone, the leaves form a also the greenest. Leaving leaves sort of wet blanket and keep oth-

er important nutrients from getting through. However, running a lawn mower over the leaves a couple of times chops them up into small pieces, turning them into valuable mulch. For grass with a thick blanket of leaves, set the mower on the highest setting, Ford said. Jennifer Smith, horticulture agent for Kansas State University Research and ExtensionDouglas County, also recommends mowing over leaves as the best approach. “You’re returning organic

Senate president wants bipartisan group to study possible tax cuts By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

TOPEKA — Citing a need for public input in tax policy, Kansas Senate President Steve Morris on Tuesday announced that he was forming a bipartisan committee to study options for reducing taxes. “Right now, there are a lot of ideas being floated around, but what they all seem to be missing is citizen input,” said Morris, a Republican from Hugoton. “This isn’t some-

Right now, there are a lot of ideas being floated around, but what they all seem to be missing is citizen input. This isn’t something that should be done behind closed doors by a bunch of bureaucrats.”

— Kansas Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton thing that should be done be- Gov. Sam Brownback, also a hind closed doors by a bunch Republican, who is promisof bureaucrats.” ing to push tax cuts through The move stood in conPlease see TAX, page 2A trast to the administration of

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Consider Lawrence city commissioners ready and willing to make a big bet on east Lawrence. Commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting agreed to $1.39 million worth of public infrastructure improvements and other incentives to aid a private developer’s plans to create an affordable housing and artist studio project near Eighth and Delaware streets. “I know some people may believe this is a stretch,” said City Commissioner Bob Schumm. “I have gotten emails saying it is a very expensive project. And it is in total dollars. But some of this is work that we would have to do eventually. But what this does for us now is establish a truly iconic opportunity for us to establish an artists community an strengthen the east Lawrence neighborhood.” Kansas City-area developer Tony Krsnich is proposing to convert the vacant, four-story Poehler Mercantile Co. building into 49 apartments, with all but three of them entered into a rentcontrolled affordable housing program. He’s also purchased the former Kansas Fruit Vinegar Co. building, 810 Penn., to convert into about 40 artist studios, a gallery space and an outdoor exhibition

matter to the soil. And we know that organic matter is good for all plants. It saves on fertilizer and water for next year,” Smith said.

2. Use them as compost For some lawns, turning the leaves into mulch just isn’t doable. Lawns that are home to large, mature trees, such as those in Old West Lawrence, just have too many leaves to mow. And, sometimes the leaves are too Please see LEAVES, page 2A

Please see INCENTIVES, page 2A

Topeka votes to repeal domestic violence law Topeka’s City Council and mayor repealed the city’s domestic abuse law Tuesday night — a move designed to ensure the city wouldn’t be stuck with the bill for prosecuting such cases. Prosecutors say they’re overwhelmed with felonies and, faced with budget cuts, can’t afford to pursue the cases. Page 3A

Schools score ‘Standard of Excellence’ from state By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com

All but one of the Lawrence school district’s schools once again met the “Standard of Excellence” on state standardized tests for at least one grade level in at least one category. Like last year, only Kennedy School missed out on the Standard of Excellence in the district for each grade level and buildingwide in the three standards measured during the 2010-

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11 school year: reading, math and science. The Kansas State SCHOOLS Department of Education released the information Tuesday morning, with a report to the Kansas State Board of Education. The Standard of Excellence is granted when a certain percentage of students either meet stan-

dards, exceed standards or achieve “exemplary” scores on the tests; also mandated is a limit for the number of students who do not reach such scores. Assessments for reading and math were administered during the past school year in third through eighth grades and then once in high school. Science tests Please see SCHOOLS, page 2A ! State officials seeking

NCLB waiver. Page 5A

COMING THURSDAY We’ll give you information about how to make Lawrence a happier and healthier place to work.

Vol.153/No.286 26 pages

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


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