Kim Callahan

Backstage, Theatre Lawrence is a bit like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory; but instead of industrious Oompa Loompas whipping up candies there’s a small army of volunteers building, painting, decorating, sewing — putting in thousands of man hours to create an extraordinarily short-lived confection: the set for a few hours of live theater. Since the end […]

The two men competing to be the next district attorney for Douglas County have both been highly critical of the outgoing one-term DA, citing high turnover in the office, poor outcomes in the courtroom and damaged relationships with police and judges, among other issues. Each candidate has downplayed the role of partisan politics in his […]

Michael Coffey has been wanting to film a thriller in Lawrence for the past seven years — ever since he conceived of the screenplay for “One Eye Open.” He found the perfect setting right away: the Ludington-Thacher House — that mid-19th century brick mansion that turns everyone’s head as they drive down the 1600 block […]

The City of Lawrence has filed a lawsuit in Douglas County District Court against a local landlord on behalf of a prospective renter who was allegedly discriminated against based on source of income. The city earlier this year approved a nondiscrimination ordinance that prevents landlords from refusing applications from tenants who receive rental assistance such […]

A Douglas County jury on Thursday convicted a Lawrence man of beating a woman with a sex toy after he found it in her nightstand drawer and allegedly became enraged. The jury also found the man guilty of criminal damage to property, but acquitted him of the trial’s most serious charge: aggravated domestic battery by […]

Story updated at 6:48 p.m. Monday, June 24: Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez’s right-hand man, Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden, is no longer employed by her office, and the local sheriff confirmed his deputies saw Seiden on Friday seemingly impersonating a controversial public commenter. The abrupt departure took many in the legal community by […]

The end of the school year marked a proud beginning Friday for renewable energy in the Lawrence school district. Students at Prairie Park Elementary erupted in applause – and school pride — as their fellow students cut the ribbon on the first-ever solar project among district buildings. Their principal, Jason Townsend, at an outdoor school […]

The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously approved the sale of the former East Heights Elementary School building to Flint Hills Holding Group LLC for $875,000. The Flint Hills group is led by developer Tony Krsnich, who is known for numerous income-affordable housing projects in Lawrence, particularly in eastern Lawrence. The group’s plan is to […]

We’re all from somewhere, and every somewhere is fascinating. That was the message of Thursday’s International Night, an annual event at Sunflower Elementary School organized by Molly Soukup and Valisha Buselt, who run the English as a Second Language program at the school on Inverness Drive. It’s a message that second-grader Ethan Lin gleefully embraced […]

The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously agreed to grant development incentives for a project to help convert the historic Turnhalle building into an event space and restaurant — incentives that have already been approved by the city and county commissions. Before the board voted 7-0 to grant a 15-year, 70% Neighborhood Revitalization Area tax […]