Chad Lawhorn of the Lawrence Journal World specializes in keeping an eye on what’s going on in Lawrence. He told Lawrence Central Rotarians on Nov. 11 that one of the biggest issues currently with the Lawrence City Commission is the loss on the ballot of the police department consolidation and expansion.
When he was asked what contributed to the loss he said there were three reasons:
The first was the controversies over Rock Chalk Park, resulting in a loss of trust in the electorate. The second was the fact that people don’t want taxes raised and the third was the location of the proposed new facility.
“I think,” he said “that the issue could have survived one or even two of the questions in voters’ minds, but not all three.
“City commissioners still believe there’s a need and are going to continue to work on it. In the next election, three of the five commissioners are up for re-election and there may be some changes. Several people who have not served before are considering running. The Commission wants to rebuild trust with the voters, so it’s going to be an interesting time.”
In other issues he said the momentum of the city seems to be moving south. There is property for development along south Iowa street and the Southwest Traffic way is now a going concern. “There is a lot of vacant space there that realtors are looking at,” he said.
He discussed the pros and cons of online newspapers and ended with a question about his column. He was asked what his wife thinks of mention of her in his writing. “When she quits laughing, I quit writing,” he said.
