Roxie Hammill
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist in Kansas City. Find her on Twitter @roxiehammll or email her at roxieham@gmail.com.
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In the last week, the Johnson County Election Office says it has fielded well over 1,000 inquiries regarding early voting and voter registration ahead of next month’s vote in Kansas, which features a question on abortion.
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The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is rebranding so that callers just need to dial 988 — a change that is expected to have a huge impact.
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Johnson County commissioners rejected solar farm rules from the planning commission that had been criticized as some of the most restrictive in the country. The new regulations open the door to a large project planned for Johnson and part of Douglas County.
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Although Johnson County stays intact, the district now includes more rural, Republican-leaning areas that could make it harder for incumbent Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Kansas Democrat in Congress, to keep her seat.
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Six teenagers are now in custody in connection to a fatal shooting Saturday at Black Bob Park in Olathe. The Johnson County District Attorney's Office is seeking to try four of them as adults.
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A map drawn by legislative Republicans was thrown out by a lower court on grounds that it discriminated against people of color and Democrats.
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Shawnee drew national scrutiny over its new restrictions governing co-living arrangements. Before Monday’s meeting, critics gathered hundreds of signatures for a Change.org petition objecting to the new ordinance, which bans renting to four or more people who are unrelated.
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The ordinance bans renting to four or more people who are unrelated. Some social media critiques and national press coverage have said the move "effectively bans roommates."
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According to county data, COVID positivity is now 6.1%, compared to 2.2% a month ago, but officials caution that's likely an undercount, given that most testing is now being done at home and people may not be reporting their results.
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An energy company is interested in building a huge array of solar panels in western Johnson County and eastern Douglas County. But regulations passed last year by the Johnson County Commission have been criticized as being so unfriendly that they would discourage solar development entirely.