The Douglas County Courthouse is pictured in September 2018.
The Douglas County Commission will soon get its first look at a new local criminal justice program that aims to divert suspects in criminal cases away from incarceration.
The County Commission on Wednesday will meet with Douglas County district attorney’s office staff during a work session to discuss the diversion program.
According to a description provided to the commissioners, the new program’s goals include improving “quality of life” for participants through community services, increasing court efficiency by decreasing the case load processed by the district court and reducing the number of inmates housed in the Douglas County Jail.
Strong Hall on the University of Kansas campus is shown on Sept. 13, 2018.
Updated at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday
The University of Kansas will put together a framework for a new Kansas Board of Regents policy that would give university CEOs more power to dismiss, suspend or terminate employees, even those with tenure, according to a statement from Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer.
Bichelmeyer said in a video message Tuesday that while KU was reserving the option of using the policy, she hoped that it would not have to.
Tenure has long been viewed in the academic community as a way to ensure professors’ academic freedom by preventing dismissal except for the most extraordinary reasons.
A Lawrence Police Department vehicle is seen in this file photo from September 2018.
Story updated at 5:34 p.m. Monday:
Lawrence police called in assistance for possible explosives that officers found during a search of a home Monday, according to a department spokesperson.
Officers were executing a search warrant at a home near the intersection of Kasold Drive and Harvard Road when they found what they believed could be “unexploded military ordnance,” said Patrick Compton, spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department.
Officers called for assistance from Fort Riley, Compton said. Department policy states that officers should not touch or move suspected explosive devices, but rather call a bomb squad or military explosive ordnance disposal team.
Strong Hall on the University of Kansas campus is shown on Sept. 13, 2018.
Hundreds of University of Kansas faculty and staff members are objecting to a new Kansas Board of Regents policy that they say circumvents professional standards and violates the university’s commitments as a member of the American Association of Universities.
On Jan. 20, the Kansas Board of Regents approved a two-year policy that gives university CEOs more power to suspend, dismiss or terminate employees including tenured faculty members in light of the financial crisis many universities face.
A statement signed by more than 550 KU faculty and staff members states that the policy violates two of the three core principles of the Association of American Universities: shared governance and academic freedom. It also bypasses established processes KU already had in place in the instance of declared financial exigency.
To help make travel safer for elementary and middle school students, the Lawrence school district and City of Lawrence should work improve sidewalks those stude