LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A proposal to ban panhandling in downtown Lawrence is causing controversy in the university town.
A group of about 30 street musicians, panhandlers and their supporteres held a brief rally Tuesday in front of Lawrence City Hall to encourage commissioners to drop the idea.
Commissioner Aron Cromwell last month suggested a total panhandling ban downtown, although he said street musicians might be able to apply for a city license. Commissioners have directed staff members to research the issue.
Nicole Manriquez, an organizer of the protest, said the group supported the city’s current ban on aggressive panhandling. And she says a greater police presence downtown would address most of the concerns surrounding panhandling.
Local News
<font color="#ff0000"> Today's talker: </font> Group protests proposed ban on panhandling
Are panhandling bans a good idea? Tell us in the comments forum below.
- Local News
-
-
Electric bill to drop $6 a month in Joplin
The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved a request filed by The Empire District Electric Company, based in Joplin, to lower the fuel adjustment charge (FAC) on the bills of its electric customers.
-
Mo. Legislature officially ends its 2012 session
Missouri's annual legislative session has officially come to a close.
-
Strong to severe storms forecast for Joplin region
Storms developing across the central and southern plains this afternoon are expected to migrate into the Joplin region this evening.
-
Economic-development strategies posed for Joplin region
More than 30 people shared ideas Wednesday on ways to promote economic development in the seven counties that are participating in the Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative.
-
Kansas primary filing deadline near
Kansas candidates have until noon Friday for file for county offices in the Aug. 7 primary.
-
Date set to reintroduce rare beetle in Missouri
An endangered species of beetle will be reintroduced in southwest Missouri on June 5.
-
Senators: Missouri River flooding unifying moment
Two U.S. senators who symbolize disagreements between upstream and downstream states over management of the Missouri River say last year’s historic flooding was a unifying moment.
-
First-ever electricity for parts of India
The solar power company SunEdison is launching a program to get electricity for the first time to more than two dozen villages in India.
-
Couple 'scoop out' ice cream business from the past
When 3-year-old Brynlee Rabel tried coconut ice cream for the first time Tuesday, it was love at first taste. “She got the vanilla, but when she tasted my coconut ice cream she had to have it,” said Kayleigh Daugherty, a Joplin resident who wanted Brynlee to share the same experience she had as a little girl when she visited Anderson’s Ice Cream.
-
Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Electric bill to drop $6 a month in Joplin


