General Sense of Outrage

COME OVER HERE

2008-10-09T18:11:00.002-04:00

"General Sense of Outrage" is officially finished. Find everything that's here and everything that will be there at www.leoweekly.com. The new LEO News Blog is called Fat Lip, and you can hit it directly at fatlip.leoweekly.com

Lovely.

The new Vehicle-Bicycle public service annoucement

2008-10-08T10:40:00.004-04:00

The new local public service announcement staring Police Chief Robert White is timely given the grime context. It's about motorists and cyclists sharing the road.

hat tip to The 'Ville Voice:

The spots are a good start, and let’s hope the G.M.’s at local stations put them into a regular rotation. By raising the awareness of cyclists on the road, they’re hoping we can cut down on the number of vehicle-bicycle accidents.

It's something to keep at the forefront of our minds given the recent accidents coupled with the tragic death of Jen Futrell, who was hit by a car while riding her bike on Bardstown Road near Grinstead Drive early last week. (PB)

Addendum to C-J story on murder-suicide

2008-10-07T15:24:00.009-04:00

In reading this morning's Courier-Journal story about an apparent murder-suicide in which police say a Fairdale mother killed her two young daughters and then herself yesterday, I was perplexed by a photo than ran alongside the article online.

The photo — showing the mother, Hope Orwick, alongside her husband, Chris, and one of their daughters — was taken by a C-J photographer in 2004, but there is no explanation as to why.

Curious to find out more about the photograph, I searched the C-J's archives and learned that on June 3, 2004, the newspaper printed a lengthy story about the Orwicks and their 3-year-old daughter, Lindsey, who was born with an extremely rare genetic defect called cri du chat syndrome. The story focused on the support the family received from the WHAS Crusade for Children, and how that helped their daughter achieve a relatively normal childhood.

About a year after the story was published, Chris Orwick died, although it's unclear how. One woman quoted in today's C-J article said she knew Hope Orwick from a church group and that, "I would just want people to know that she loved her children, but I think she missed her husband."

Metro Police responded to the family's Appomattox Road home last night and found Hope Orwick dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Her two daughters — Emily, 9, and Lindsey, now 8 — had been fatally stabbed.

I find it odd that The Courier-Journal would go out of its way to dig up this archived photo, yet fail to mention any details from its previous story on the family. (SK)

UPDATE:

A story in today's Courier-Journal provides additional details, including a mention of the paper's 2004 article on the family.

McCain camp getting dirty

2008-10-07T14:55:00.002-04:00

The decision by the McCain campaign to go negative is having a disturbing affect on crowd participation. Beginning with the "paling around with terrorists" comments from VP nominee Sarah Palin over the weekend, columnist Dana Milbank notes that the reactions to the red meat have worked a little too well.

When McCain recently asked, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" a supporter yelled the answer: "Terrorist!"

Turning up the volume on questions of Obama's character and associations is a gamble to stop McCain's sinking poll numbers. It just might work, but it has apparently opened up a dangerous door that the campaign may not be able to shut.

From The Washington Post:

"...Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media."

At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, 'Sit down, boy.'"

Other reports of Palin rallies are even scarier. Maybe it's being overblown, but it seems some McCain/Palin events are turning into angry mobs. Certainly the McCain/Palin campaign cannot be held responsible for what a fiery supporter shouts, but they are responsible for dousing these crowds with gasoline. (PB)

Center of city attention

2008-10-07T11:30:00.001-04:00

Arguing against the multi-million dollars in funding going to the Baltimore Based Cordish Company to develop downtown Louisville, Metro Council Republicans have taken their opposition to Center City to the airwaves.

Last night on FOX 41, Councilman Hal Heiner, R-19, appeared on Point of View with a guest editorial poking holes in what he calls another "government giveaway" by Mayor Jerry Abramson.

"Our Mayor has signed an agreement with a Maryland developer to give away $36 million in cash and property in hopes they will build downtown," he says. "Unfortunately the Mayor's agreement only requires the developer to invest $12 million of their own money to receive our generous $36 million gift."

Saying the Mayor "blew this deal", Heiner petitioned the public to call their Councilperson in the hopes of stopping the deal. Council Republicans announced their opposition to the Mayor’s plan last week after Democrats passed the ordinance to purchase $12.2 million in property in a 6 to 4 vote that fell along party lines in the Budget Committee.

Highlighting the troubling financial markets, members of the minority caucus voiced their concerns regarding the giveaway of millions in taxpayer subsidies that if passed by the Metro Council this week, would be the single largest downtown investment in Louisville history.

With completion expected by 2010, the Center City District project would cost more than three times as much as 4th Street Live, covering well over six city blocks with the core of the project located on the 6-acre lot known as the Louisville Water Company Block.

"During tough financial times, our city is opting to do what it always does – give away assets and tax dollars to bring development downtown," Councilman Ken Fleming, R-7, said. "During tight times, when the Mayor says he is forced to work with a meat and potatoes budget, he is out giving away acres of prime real estate, promising to fund architectural drawings or renovating privately owned buildings."

The Mayor's office, however, says the multi-million dollar purchase is a critical continuation to the downtown development puzzle.

"When you think about the momentum we have in this community, the possibility of putting a $250 to $450 million investment downtown in a central location is very important," Chad Carlton, a spokesman for Abramson told LEO Weekly.

Over the past few weeks council members have submitted questions and inquiries to the Mayor’s Office as well as his Economic Development Director, Bruce Traughber, seeking clarification on issues related to the purchase. Carlton says those inquiries and feedback regarding the development agreement between the Mayor and the Baltimore-based Cordish Company have been helpful.

Council Republicans say some of the questions have been answered, but others have not and in reviewing the project more questions have arisen causing greater concerns.

"The Center City Project was first presented through a slideshow with renderings of the buildings and promises of up to $400 million dollars in economic investment for the downtown area," Heiner says. "After many questions, and further investigation the project’s minimal investment requirements are closer to $12 million with few protections for the citizens of this community."

Heiner says he will vote no on the proposal due to the "failure of this administration to protect taxpayers and the Mayor’s unwillingness to fix vital aspects of the development agreement".

Carlton says Councilman Heiner, however, has consistently opposed downtown development projects to the detriment of the city.

"You don't have to look very far into the the rhetoric of Councilman Heiner to see the word downtown. On this project, on the Arena Project, and Museusm Plaza, he's been against it all. The consistency is his opposition to improving downtown and its renaissance," he says.

The bad blood between Councilman Heiner and Mayor Abramson is nothing new. Earlier this year it spilled over in the pages of LEO Weekly during a one-on-one interview where with the Mayor. Heiner was a leading critic of the Mayor's library tax, a ballot initiative to increase occupational taxes to pay for better libraries. The ballot initiative failed and was rejected by voters 2-to-1. When asked about the Councilman's alternative to fund the libraries expansion plan, Abramson called Heiner a "snake oil salesman" .

Carlton says they're confident the Council will pass the ordinance to purchase the Center City property. The ordinance will be voted on by the entire Metro Council at their next meeting, October 9, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. (PB)

Comparison chart

2008-10-06T09:57:00.005-04:00

Bye Jen.

2008-10-06T09:37:00.005-04:00

Jen Futrell, the woman on the bike who was run down on Bardstown Road near Grinstead Drive early last week, died Saturday at University Hospital. The C-J ran a nice piece on Jen in yesterday's paper.

I knew Jen — not well, but we were more than acquaintances. We met a few years ago, at an early 8664 event. Most of the room had cleared following the presentation, and we kinda stood there looking at each other, probably wondering what the hell the other was doing hanging around late, getting the finer details and such. Jen, her friend and I ended up at a bar nearby, drinking beers for a few more hours and discussing the future of downtown, a subject on which she had strong, clear opinions. She was that night, as was often the case, on her bike.

We kept in touch, and just about every time we saw one another out, she'd talk to me about LEO — good, bad, brutally ugly. She had no qualms telling me I was full of shit (when I have been), and I always sought our random conversations for their unusual depth and, really, for her unusual honesty. She was an absolutely compelling person, and full of real courage.

The last time we talked was a few months ago at Nachbar in Germantown. She was on me about the future of LEO — it had just been sold, and she was concerned about the change. I didn't know much about what would happen then, and I told her I'd do my best to keep it moving in the same direction I'd been pushing for the past few years, of which she (at least loosely, it appeared) approved. After about 15 minutes of deep, involved talking, she laughed, kinda paused and looked at me hard, and then — somewhat dismissively — asked when I would leave Louisville for a bigger market, a place more appreciative of and open to alternative art, writing and ideas. She told me I shouldn't stay here too long.

Goddamnit. This is awful, a terrible feeling. I'm sorry — to her close friends, of which there are many, and her family — that this city isn't there yet on cycling. Despite her best efforts, which were tremendous, she couldn't change it all. Nobody can, not as quickly as it needs to happen. She tried to have an impact on your mind and keep the one on this planet as small as possible. That's an important example before us.

Please, people in cars and on bikes, be careful. A few seconds saved is never, ever worth this.

If you're feeling compelled to get involved in some way in the ongoing effort to bring further awareness of cyclists and pedestrians to drivers of cars in Louisville, check this out.

Someone posted this in the comments section of an earlier post here about Jen. Take a look. (SG)

Yarmuth to vote 'Yes' on bailout

2008-10-03T13:05:00.001-04:00

With reluctance U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-KY3, said he plans to vote for the economic bailout approved by the Senate.

"I do intend to vote for the Senate bill that is before us today," Yarmuth said during a conference call with local media. "I hate the bill I voted against on Monday, I hate the bill I'm going to vote for today, but I hate it less."

Yarmuth said the bill has made important improvements from the original bailout legislation that failed to pass in the House earlier this week.

"I'm very glad that some of the provisions that have been added will be very helpful to average citizens in Louisville," he says.

The added provisions include an alternative minimum tax, which will save about 30,000 households in Louisville from having their taxes increased, a mental health parity provision, which puts mental health on par with physical health needs and the extension of property tax at a deduction.

Yarmuth says he decided to vote for the "rescue package" primarily because he's convinced that the ongoing economic crisis coupled with the immediate psychological anxiety over the market could lead to an economic meltdown.

"The risk of doing nothing is to great to take and could lead to a longer and deeper recession," he says. "I don't appreciate the position we've been put it, I don't like the position the American people have been put in." Besides blaming the Bush the administration for ratcheting up the fear factor and being unprepared, Yarmuth said Democratic leadership also failed to give the public another option.

"I'm mad at our leadership for not providing an alternative proposal," Yarmuth says.

Before today's vote the freshman Congressman said he had two conversations with Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama this week. Yarmuth said he reached out to Obama on Wednesday and the two had a one-on-one conversation where in an analogy the Illinois Senator explained the bill was imperfect but necessary. Obama told Yarmuth, "all we're doing here is patching up a hole in the boat to get it to port" until the boat can be fundamentally repaired.

LEO Weekly asked Yarmuth if he was worried about the political fallout back home.

"Was it the safe political move for me to make today, no. It never is to change your vote," he says."But I think not only have circumstances changed but the legislation has changed over the last week as well." (PB)

Ghost bike

2008-10-03T10:00:00.011-04:00

For those who don't know, above is a ghost bike. It is a symbol used by cyclists and advocates to denote the injury or death of a fellow rider.

Jen Futrell was struck earlier this week on Bardstown Road near Grinstead Drive. She is at University Hospital, has been taken off life support and, as of last night, was still fighting (according to postings by her friends on Louisville Hardcore). We'll update this when we find out more. Last night, many of her friends and some family gathered at the site of the ghost bike.

Jen was the first of two cyclists struck by cars this week in this part of the Highlands. In the second case — of a woman run down from behind (like Jen, according to early accounts) on East Broadway — the driver was charged with DUI. That happened last night, apparently while the ghost bike for Jen was being placed. Wow.

I'm not sure how long this ghost bike will remain; in the past two instances where ghost bikes appeared following a cyclist's death, the city removed them post haste. Something about them being in the right of way. I have to think it's more about the chilling message it sends in a city trying really hard to focus on other aspects of cycling. (SG)

Keeping Louisville Yarmuth

2008-10-02T13:55:00.000-04:00

Trading on the popularity of the trademark Keep Louisville Weird marketing campaign, the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd, held a rally outside ear X-Tacy on Bardstown Road today, unveiling its new slogan -- "Keep Louisville Yarmuth".

Campaign staff passed out buttons and bumper stickers while the crowd of about 100 chowed on free pies from Wick's Pizza. The event was hyped as a rally, and Metro Councilman David Tandy, D-4, emceed amid speakers, including former Democratic Congressional candidate Andrew Horne, who spoke about the evils of Northup, McConnell and Bush. The speakers made the event a bit of a snooze — at least the part in between the live music by The Ladybirds and The Genius File.

Part of the bummer was that Yarmuth was unable to attend due to the upcoming vote in the House on the $700 billion bailout, which passed the U.S. Senate last night 74-25.

More pictures below. (PB)

From sports reporter to VP nominee

2008-10-01T16:10:00.001-04:00

I thought it was an urban legend but it's true. Sarah Palin was once a sports reporter at KTUU, Anchorage's NBC affiliate. Watch below.

Makes you wonder which local anchor could be VP in 2012? Hmm. (PB)

McConnell campaign trickery?

2008-10-01T15:27:00.002-04:00

Bruce Lunsford's new ad alleges that McConnell tricked a vet into talking smack about Valor Healthcare, a company that provides care for U.S. military veterans. Lunsford has been CEO, chairman and now is a director.

New Yarmuth ad addresses bill failure

2008-10-01T10:30:00.000-04:00

We tackled the "truthiness" of campaign advertising in this week's LEO, challenging both candidates in Kentucky’s 3rd District congressional race on their half-truth and misleading messages.

From LEO Weekly:

"Just days after the Yarmuth ad first aired last month, the Northup campaign responded by pointing out that the state children’s health insurance legislation never took effect. In the Northup ad, entitled “Lowest,” a male narrator mockingly asks, “John, that didn’t become law, now did it?”

The Northup ad is misleading in its own right, omitting that the bill’s downfall was the result of the president’s pen and not because of the “do–nothing Congress” or any failure on Yarmuth’s part."

The Yarmuth campaign released a new TV ad highlighting that the bill failed due to President Bush's vetoes. Notice, however, Yarmuth still refuses to mention Northup by name. (PB)

"50,000"

Flier slimes Katie King

2008-09-30T20:45:00.003-04:00

Another disgusting attack campaign flier has hit Louisville's political scene. This one is aimed at District Court Judge candidate Katie King, daughter of Metro Council President Jim King.

Sent to "King James" and "Princess Kathryn", the flier contains two pictures allegedly of King with her bent over showing a tattoo on her back and the other holding her ankles with "Bend Over...Grab Your Ankles" in bold letters.

Signed by "Fanny 'Clew' O'Dye", the flier was mailed to LEO Weekly's offices earlier today as well as other TV reporters and bloggers. No word if voters in the general public received the attack piece.

King, 28, faced dogged questions and criticisms about her lack of experience once she entered the race, but she won convincingly in May among a 10-person field of experienced litigators. She will face David Holton in the general election this fall.

Claiming responsibility for the King flier is the "Citizens for Family and Moral Values", the same faux group that claimed responsibility for a homophobic flyer put out against Democratic Metro Council candidate Ken Herndon. Mailed to voters the Saturday before the election, Herndon narrowly lost to incumbent George Unseld by a razor-thin margin of 112 votes in his bid for the 6^th District seat.

LEO Weekly has been covering that ugly saga from the beginning, go here and here to read more.

Herndon told LEO he officially filed a defamation lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court today in the hopes of discovering who produced the mailer against him last spring. (PB)

Main Street strikes back

2008-09-30T15:20:00.001-04:00

As this Hobbesian decade comes to perhaps its final sad chapter, America facing economic uncertainty seems rather poetic.

After international terrorism, multiple wars, domestic destruction, a sickening popular culture and a crumbling infrastructure, a financial meltdown is almost scripted.

The failure to pass the record $700 billion bailout in the House has been the headline and will likely control the news cycle for the remainder of the week. Meanwhile, others worry about what's brewing beneath as the noticeably rising temperature of average Americans begins to steam.

From Fortune:

A month of historic government interventions shows signs of triggering a political version of climate change - unleashing a new era of class fury that could hurt U.S. companies, business leaders, and wealthy investors for years.

"A potential calamity," predicts Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. "If the reactions we're seeing hold, we could have real spasmodic anger directed at businesses and corporations."

It's true, physical and online outrage is palpable. However, the anger was already present. The bailout was more of a catalyst than cause to the present general sense of outrage.

Remember LEO Weekly's interview with journalist David Sirota? In June we talked to the author of The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street & Washington, about the brewing revolt.

We asked Sirota why Americans were so pissed off. He said, "...they're pissed off because they see a direct connection between the policies of the government and the current crises we're living through — health care, energy, national security. People no longer see government as playing a passive role, but they actually see the government contributing to and creating the crises we're now facing."

Watching Congressional leaders and President Bush quickly turn the giant federal government tanker around to save Wall Street while it annually stalls, brakes and burns out on making health care universal, college tuition affordable and energy efficient is a reason to be pissed off.

Whether it will result in changes at the fundamental level is uncertain. This momentary frustration with the market could end up being just another temper tantrum by the poor, working and middle-class before returning to our prone position. (PB)

Pro ball in Louisville?

2008-09-30T13:26:00.003-04:00

A little birdie says the Women's National Basketball Association might bring a team to Louisville, thanks to a new downtown arena slated to open in November 2010.

"I've talked to David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, and he's planning on coming here in the next two or three months to look at Louisville for a possible WNBA team," says Jim Host, chairman of the Arena Authority.

During a recent interview with LEO Weekly, Host said it's unlikely an NBA team would consider relocating to Louisville because U of L will have scheduling priority at the new arena.

But, Host said: "I do think it's very, very possible a WNBA team might come because they play in the summer," presenting no major scheduling conflicts with the university.

It wouldn't be the first of the arena guru's predictions to come true — let's hope he's right once again. (SK)

Yarmuth voted against failed $700 bailout

2008-09-29T15:35:00.000-04:00

Joining 40 percent of Democrats, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-KY3, voted against the $700 billion emergency bailout, which failed to pass the House today in a 228-205 vote.

This is an unusual vote against party lines for Yarmuth, who votes with Democrats 97.7% of the time. However, as national media outlets pointed out, the bailout bill faced bi-partisan opposition inlcuding more than two-thirds of House Republicans.

Stuart Perelmuter, Yarmuth's press secretary, was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, the Dow fell more than 700 points. (PB)

U of L 'outraged' over records release @ PageOneKY

2008-09-29T15:25:00.001-04:00

Via a press release issued this morning, University of Louisville Provost Shirley Willihnganz says she is outraged over the leaking of university information about a degree program and a student’s academic career posted on a local blog.

The story, published on PageOneKY, was about another questionable degree awarded by the university's School of Education & Human Development, which has been under watchful scrutiny due to the Robert Felner scandal.

"The university takes seriously its obligation to protect our students' records and privacy," said Willihnganz. "We are outraged that anyone would violate that trust."

The student in question is philanthropist Lewis "Sonny" Bass, a former U of L football player from the early 1940s who has been one of the university's wealthiest donors over the decades. Bass' multi-million dollar contributions to the university include a project to help single mothers earn their college degrees and a tennis center for the men's and women's teams.

According to the original PageOneKY story:

"Mr. Bass was offered an honorary degree over the summer. But he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted an actual, earned degree. So individuals within the College of Education enrolled him in a fast track program that would give him credit for life experience, which has to be documented in the form of a portfolio.
A student was assigned (and paid) to assemble a portfolio for Bass but eventually grew to be uncomfortable with the arrangement. At one point, after complaining, she was reportedly offered more money to appease her worries but eventually backed out of the process. A new student was then assigned.

According to professors we spoke with at UofL, Bass never showed up to classes he was supposed to attend this summer. He never did any of the work required of him. And professors were uncomfortable giving grades to him– that he didn’t earn– since he was never in their classes."

Jacob Payne, blogger at PageOneKY, told LEO Weekly nothing confidential was posted in his story and the university is trying to distract the public from the PR nightmare of another fraudulent degree.

"The university is trying to do damage control and attack my character and credibility," he says. "They want to threaten people because Bass is one of the biggest contributors and he's upset at my news organization."

Payne says his sources at U of L have told him that Bass was initially upset with PageOneKY for breaking several stories about the Felner scandal over the past several months. He says today's press release is a direct retaliation to the Bass post.

U of L says that's not accurate.

"It's not about the blog," U of L spokesman John Drees says. "It's about the violation of federal regulations."

Drees told LEO Weekly the university cannot release any records about a student besides basic directory information without the express written permission of the student. He says that whoever released the information has violated the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of student education records and applies to all schools that receive federal funds, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Drees says the university is in conversation with its legal counsel but would make no further comment on what actions the university may take.

"It is vital for the university to protect its students' privacy," he says. "This is a serious breach of their information." (PB)

More good news for Lunsford

2008-09-29T14:14:00.002-04:00

The Rothenberg Report, a somewhat influential non-partisan newsletter that rates American electoral campaigns, has reclassified the McConnell-Lunsford Senate race as having a "Narrow Advantage for McConnell," a day after the second poll in a week has lodged the race at a statistical dead heat. Rothenberg also cited another unpublished poll as firming up those results. (SG)

Tied?

2008-09-27T11:49:00.002-04:00

The C-J is reporting the results of a Bluegrass poll in the race for U.S. Senate: a statistical tie between Bruce Lunsford and Mitch McConnell. It comes on the heels of a Survey USA poll released earlier this week showing McConnell at 49 percent and Lunsford at 46 percent.

Neither campaign comments on polls. (SG)

McCain wins debate!

2008-09-26T16:32:00.001-04:00

McCain wins debate! Huh? (SG)

City to get millions for transportation improvements

2008-09-26T11:34:00.004-04:00

The Mayor's office will announce this afternoon grants from the state of between $4 million and $5 million to make further transportation infrastructure improvements, including adding more dedicated bike lanes and paths in Louisville.

Chad Carlton, a spokesman for Abramson, says the grants will help fund road projects on La Grange Road, in Newburg and in J-Town. As well, Carlton says the city is filling in gaps in the 30 miles of dedicated bike lanes and marked bikeways around town, a welcome reprieve for people like me, who use bikes to commute and know how badly it sucks to be cruising along in a bike lane and suddenly find myself back in the race with cars. Carlton singled out Taylorsville Road as one area that's uncomfortable for cyclists now and needs to be addressed.

"It'll keep that momentum going and keep the focus on bikeways and pedestrian ways for both commuting and errand running, as well as exercise and enjoyment and environmental health," Carlton says.

There are currently about 100 miles of marked bike lanes and extra-wide roads meant to accommodate cyclists, Carlton says. Go here for all the info on biking in Louisville. (SG)

UPDATE: Here's the list of projects benefiting from the state's cash infusion:

Bike Lanes and Safety Signs and Markings $250,000

Kentucky and Louisville will invest $250,000 to restripe roads to add bike lanes and to post Share the Road signs. The investment will help fill in the gaps in the existing bike corridors and create more cross-community pathways to improve safety for cyclists.

Louisville will add about 20 miles of bike paths in the coming year – five miles of striped bike lanes and 15 miles of signed bike routes. Louisville currently has 30 miles of bike lanes, 100 miles of signed bike routes and 30 miles of multi-use off-road paths. Some of the roadways that are priorities for bike lanes are Taylorsville Road, Poplar Level Road and Stonestreet Road.

The city will post Share the Road signs along roads and streets throughout the community that are too narrow for bike lines but are often used by cyclists. Some of the roadways that are priorities for signage are River Road, Frankfort Avenue, Stony Brook Drive, Old 3rd Street Road and Johnsontown Road.

Education and Safety Campaign $125,000
With more cyclists and pedestrians using our roads, education is critical to making our roadways safe. KYTC and Louisville will spend $125,000 on educational efforts, including public-service advertisements, brochures and training classes that underscore the rules for motorists, cyclist and pedestrians and promote the Share the Road theme.

Louisville Metro will begin running a new round of public service announcements in early October through a partnership with Insight Communications. A more comprehensive communications campaign will be launched next year.

LaGrange Road Bicycle & Pedestrian Improvements $1,035,000
This project includes widening a 1.5-mile section of LaGrange Road from Lakeland Road to Bowen Elementary to provide bicycle lanes and add a sidewalk on the north side of roadway.

It will provide connections to several other planned transportation improvements including turn lanes and pedestrian crossings at LaGrange Road and Whipps Mill Road near Bowen Elementary, bike lanes at University of Louisville’s Shelby Campus and the Louisville Loop, a 100-mile multi-use trail encircling the city.

Olmsted Parkways Multi-Use Path System $1,200,000
The grant will be used to design and construct a 0.6-mile multi-use path along Algonquin Parkway from Winkler Avenue to Sharp Street. The project will improve access for pedestrian and cyclists to this residential neighborhood and adjacent businesses.

River Road Corridor Bicycle Improvements $1,217,375
This grant will be used to design and implement bicycle paths along the River Road corridor between Zorn Avenue and US 42 in Prospect. Improvements will accommodate all modes of travel, with a focus on the growing number of bicyclists who are attracted to this scenic corridor along the Ohio River and numerous public parks.

A corridor management plan for the route east of Zorn Avenue will be completed next year and construction of bike paths is planned for 2010 and 2011. The project is a segment of the 100-mile Louisville Loop project.

Bluegrass Industrial Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail $656,766
This grant will help fund development of a bicycle and pedestrian trail system along Bluegrass Parkway, Tucker Station Road and Plantside Drive. The total includes matching funds from the City of Jeffersontown of $131,353.

Walkable Communities Improvements $375,000
This grant will fund sidewalk improvements identified during the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement Pedestrian Summit and included in the Community Walkability Plan. The focus is on heavily used TARC routes and corridors for pedestrian commuting and local-destination trips.

Newburg Middle School Safe Routes to Schools $126,550
This grant will fund a number of safety improvements around the 1,000-student school including enhanced lighting, additional stop signs, a crosswalk, on-street bike lanes along Exeter Avenue and a renovated walking path to Petersburg Park and a nearby Boys and Girls Club.

Which one is more coherent?

2008-09-25T20:07:00.000-04:00

PETA boiling mad at KFC

2008-09-25T14:31:00.008-04:00

Holding up graphic pictures of scalded chickens and with two of its members crammed into a tank of "bloody" water (Hawaiian Punch), the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demonstrated outside a Louisville KFC restaurant today to protest what it calls the abusive treatment of chickens in slaughterhouses that supply the fast-foot chain.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, every year millions of birds are immersed in tanks of scalding hot water that are intended to remove the birds' feathers after they are dead. According to PETA, the voltage used to paralyze the birds before slaughter usually leaves them conscious.

Nicole Matthews, a spokeswoman for PETA, tells LEO Weekly the problem is that many of the chickens are still alive when they are scalded to death. She says PETA is focusing on Louisville in the hopes that KFC executives will be responsive to their recommendations, and she expects demonstrations will continue and escalate in the coming weeks.

LEO Weekly contacted Yum! Brands, the world's largest restaurant company, which owns KFC and is headquartered in Louisville, but they were unavailable for comment.

"We're heating things up to help customers see exactly how cold-hearted KFC is when it comes to chickens," Matthews says. "People flock to other restaurants when they learn that KFC is too cheap to make basic changes that would prevent birds from being scalded to death."

About seven members of the animal rights group stood in front of the KFC at 1004 Bardstown Road holding up large pictures of scalded and mutilated chickens. Known for their audacious demonstrations, the call to boycott the restaurant gained a few supportive cheers from onlookers and honks from passing cars, however, many others stopped traffic to yell "Get a job!" or "I love KFC" to the protestors.

"We got a laugh out of the whole idea," says Jeremy Snyder, the manager at KFC, who tells LEO the corporate office gave him a heads up about today's protest. "They're trying to show everyone we torture chickens, I guess. Really, it is their own opinion, their own judgment. If they don't like the way we treat chickens it really doesn’t matter."

The Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act was passed in 1958 to protect animals during slaughter. The law requires that the animals be stunned into unconsciousness to ensure a quick, relatively painless death. Matthews says the federal law does not apply to poultry.

"The animals that people eat do not need to be slaughtered in inhumane ways," Matthews says. "We have new technologies for KFC to implement. They've said it only costs about 2 cents more per meal. People everywhere are recognizing that KFC stands for cruelty," she says. (PB)

UPDATE:

KFC spokesman Rick Maynard sent LEO Weekly the following statement.

"KFC is committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens. We're proud of our responsible, industry-leading animal welfare guidelines. We buy our quality chickens from the same trusted brands that consumers buy in local supermarkets.

While we don't own any poultry facilities, we require all of our suppliers to follow welfare guidelines developed by us with leading experts on our Animal Welfare Advisory Council.

We don't comment on PETA's activities and publicity stunts, which speak for themselves."

Are you $@^%ing kidding me?

2008-09-25T14:17:00.002-04:00

From Rolling Stone:

"We just wanted to choose a really large number." – a Treasury spokesman explaining to Forbes that the $700,000,000,000 the administration is asking for is “not based on any particular data point.”

Say what? (PB)

In the know

2008-09-25T12:08:00.004-04:00

In cryptic I-know-something-you-don't-know fashion, Arena Authority Chairman Jim Host tells LEO Weekly that Mayor Jerry Abramson is preparing to announce details about a new development near the downtown arena site.

"The mayor is going to make an announcement Friday about a new development that nobody even knows about that's going to happen close to the arena," says Host. "They're having a press conference at 10:30 on Friday morning. He called me about it himself."

No word from the mayor's office yet, but we'll keep you posted. (SK)

UPDATE:

The mayor's office just issued a press release confirming Host's intel was indeed accurate. Mayor Abramson will discuss the latest downtown development — Whiskey Row Lofts — at the corner of Second and Main streets above Bearno's Pizza tomorrow morning.

Large Hadron Collider broken

2008-09-25T09:57:00.004-04:00

Hopes that leaders in Washington could use the Large Hadron Collider to beam opposing protons into one another -- thus recreating space, time and the American economy -- to save the failing market will have to be postponed until early 2009.

National Geographic reports the LHC has been shut down at least until springtime after an electrical glitch sparked a large helium leak inside the machine's tunnels. (PB)

In defense of elitism

2008-09-24T15:24:00.003-04:00

Heralded as a leading voice among the "New Atheists", Sam Harris points his provocative, acerbic pen at GOP Veep candidate Sarah Palin. For Harris, being a snob isn't always bad. (PB)

From Newsweek:

"The problem, as far as our political process is concerned, is that half the electorate revels in Palin's lack of intellectual qualifications. When it comes to politics, there is a mad love of mediocrity in this country. "They think they're better than you!" is the refrain that (highly competent and cynical) Republican strategists have set loose among the crowd, and the crowd has grown drunk on it once again. "Sarah Palin is an ordinary person!" Yes, all too ordinary."

I-64 makes national top teardown list

2008-09-24T14:06:00.007-04:00

The Congress for the New Urbanism released its list of top-10 prospects for highway teardowns in North America. Among those listed on the "Freeways Without Futures" list: Interstate 64 along the waterfront.

The stretch of I-64 through downtown Louisville ranked seventh on the “Freeways Without Futures” list. CNU says tearing down such outdated sections of interstate would stimulate valuable revitalization by replacing aging urban highways with boulevards and other cost-saving urban alternatives.

“Cities like San Francisco that have removed freeways and reclaimed waterfronts have turned them into magnets for people and investment,” CNU President and CEO John Norquist says.

In a press release, 8664 co-founder J.C. Stites says he's confident Louisville’s political leadership will embrace the opportunity to create a more vibrant and sustainable city by getting rid of I-64.

"Urban planners and average citizens from around the country have recognized what an incredible opportunity Louisville has to transform our city for the better," Stites says. "It’s too bad it’s taking so long." Stites says he's confident Louisville's political leadership will embrace the idea.

Chad Carlton, a spokesperson for Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, says there's no merit to the the notion of tearing down I-64.

"It's clear CNU did not look at the tremendous disruption and impact tearing down a critical piece of infrastructure for the U.S. and this community would have," Carlton tells LEO Weekly. "Dumping thousands and thousands of cars into the downtown grid would have a devastating impact on this community."

Meanwhile the five-year anniversary of federal approval to build The Ohio River Bridges Project, which Mayor Abramson supports, is being underscored by a lack of funding that threatens the project, says Carlton.

"With every delay, the cost escalates while our congestion and safety issues are not addressed and the project's benefits are not realized," says C. Edward Glasscock, chairman of Build the Bridges Coalition, a broad-based group advocating for the project. According to Glasscock, a one-year delay can add $400 million to the project’s costs because of inflation.

Carlton added that more than a decade of research including millions of dollars in engineering has made it clear to the the mayor that political leaders need to finish this project sooner than later.

In 2003, the Federal Highway Administration signed the Record of Decision approving the design and construction of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. The mainstream plan for changing Louisville's transportation system, the Ohio River Bridges Project would expand Spaghetti Junction and add two new bridges including one in the east end.

"In a region that serves as a major logistics and economic hub, we need faster, safer travel across the Ohio River and on our connecting highways," Glasscock says. (PB)

Northup on offense, Yarmuth stays positive

2008-09-24T12:14:00.006-04:00

Electricity brings back those continuous campaign ads and in the KY-3 Congressional race we see the candidates contrasting strategies. Republican Anne Northup is sticking with her aggressive strategy against Congressman John Yarmuth, a Democrat.

Northup's first television ad, titled "Results", depicts Yarmuth's position on offshore drilling as weak and reminds voters about America's ongoing energy crisis. By staying on the offensive, the former Congresswoman may have found her more comfortable voice.

Northup's "Results"

In contrast, Yarmuth's latest ad, "Darryl", sticks with the pleasantries. It trots out his accomplishments as a congressional freshman and shows he's "in touch" with the community.

Yarmuth's "Darryl"

Question of the day, with Northup on the offensive will Yarmuth be forced to respond? (PB)

32 words

2008-09-23T15:20:00.004-04:00

As Congress rushes to stop the bleeding on Wall Street, one overlooked part of the $700 billion bailout is one of the more disturbing sentences in American history. It references the authority the bailout would give to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

From Huffington Post:

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Yikes! (PB)

Lunsford within 3 points

2008-09-23T12:22:00.005-04:00

The latest SurveyUSA poll shows Democratic Senatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford in a statistical tie with U.S. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican. Six weeks until Election Day, McConnell leads Lunsford 49% to 46 %.

From LEX 18:

Six in 10 voters tell SurveyUSA they are focused on the economy, ahead of all other issues. Among voters focused on the economy, McConnell went from a six-point lead six weeks ago to a nine-point deficit in the latest poll, a 15-point swing to Lunsford.

Lunsford, a Louisville businessman who ran in the Democratic primaries for Kentucky governor in 2003 and 2007, also gained ground among women, where six weeks ago McConnell led by 11. In the latest poll, the candidates are tied.

In western Kentucky, McConnell had led by 20 points but now leads by 11. In north-central Kentucky, McConnell had led by 12 and now leads by two. In eastern Kentucky, McConnell had led by 26 and now leads by 11.

Among voters 50+, McConnell's lead has been cut by two-thirds. Among wealthier voters, McConnell's lead has been cut in half.

Because of McConnell's stature on the national stage, pundits have said the McConnell-Lunsford battle is one of the top five races in the country. (PB)

Creative times in Louisville

2008-09-23T11:12:00.006-04:00

All the way from the Big Apple, art group Creative Time has been hired by Louisville Metro government to develop a master plan for creating more public art in the city.

At a press conference at Waterfront Park, Mayor Jerry Abramson said the group of artists and curators will spend the next year studying Louisville’s visual arts history and laying out a strategy for funding and placing more public art in all parts of the city.

According to Abramson's spokesperson, Chris Poynter, the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Public Art will pay the group $50,000 and expect the first recommendations next fall.

"We hope they lay out a strategy to develop and fund public art," Poynter says. "Over the years we've done art piecemeal. This gives us an opportunity to step back and look at the city as a whole with historians, neighborhood associations, business leaders and artists at the table."

Metro government hopes this master plan will not only be a broad blueprint for the city, but makeup for failed attempts at public art, such as the graffiti wall two years ago, which was decommissioned in April 2007 after random vandals dritied the wall with foul language, racial slurs and other hackscratch. Read more here.

Founded in 1974, Creative Time is a non-profit public art organization that has developed public art in New York City for over three decades. It has worked on everything from abandoned storefronts and warehouses to the Tribute in Light that shines every Sept. 11 at the World Trade Center site.

Meredith Johnson, a Creative Time curator and producer, says in the past two years the group has expanded to consultant other cities such as Los Angeles, New Orleans and Denver on public art. However, this is the first master plan project for the group, according to Johnson.

"Artwork that is relevant to place is artwork that has a powerful affect," she says. "So developing a plan that is Louisville-specific and really responds to the community, its history and current conditions in a dynamic way is our goal."

Johnson told LEO Weekly the initial conversations are meant to set up a framework but the mission in the next year is to find ways art can interact with the entire city beyond downtown. If the plan is to work the city must show a broad support for its artistic community.

"We want to think about polices," she says. "It'll be intersting to see in the next year how it evolves and how the city can support the artists."

All point that the kickoff to the process begins this Thursday at the IdeaFestival, where Mark Beasley, a curator of Creative Time, will deliver a keynote speech about public art at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Set for 11:30 am, Beasley's speech costs $18 and includes lunch. (PB)

Courses coming to a campus near you

2008-09-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

Conservatives Try New Tack on Campuses

Ketchup: Much Maligned Vegetable
Peace Through Murder
Ask Not What Your Global Corporation Can Do for You, Ask What You Can Do for Your Global Corporation
Prophets: Gateway to Profits
No Banker Left Behind
Death, Dying and the Tax Implications
History of the Universe: 6000 Years And Counting
Slavery & How Best To Ignore It
Applied Fear Analysis
Marriage: Why Your Uncle Might Not Qualify
Prosperity Through Shopping

(JW)

Today is World Car-free Day

2008-09-22T10:47:00.003-04:00

Hey folks — today is World Car-Free Day, so take a moment to consider how dependent you are (or aren't) on your car, then leave it in park all day. In Louisville, Tim Darst of the Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation is spending the day riding TARC all over the city.

I did that once, and wrote about it. A difficult, though not altogether impossible, task. (SG)

Some questions for Ralph Nader

2008-09-16T10:27:00.002-04:00

Stephen George interviewed Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader last night. Before the interview, he asked if I had any pressing questions for Ralph. Here ya go:

Barack Obama recently said, "The American people aren't stupid." Do you agree?

Keeping in mind that rural voters consistently vote against their own economic self-interest, what would you do as president that would be against the economic interests of rural voters?

George Carlin said, "Voting in America is like rearranging the lawn furniture: You can vote all you want but you still end up with the same fucked-up lawn." How would you rearrange the lawn furniture?

If George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove were sleeping on a cruise ship that was sinking, which one would you smother with a pillow first?

Have you ever shot a moose?

It's well established that anyone who doesn't vote for Barack Obama is racist. Why are you so racist?

If you won the election, would you, like, totally shit your pants or what?

Is there a teensy part of you that wants to nail Sarah Palin?

When do you think the American empire will crumble? I've got 2035 in the office pool but I trust your advice.

My dad said liberals are what you get when hippies fuck dogs. Name three regulatory measures a Nader administration would take to curb the crisis on Wall Street.

(JW)

Yarmuth campaign HQ burglarized again

2008-09-15T12:33:00.006-04:00

The campaign headquarters of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth was burglarized again last night, this time was considerably more serious than the last.

According to campaign spokesman Christopher Hartman, gone are computers and monitors, a TV, some palm pilots and other things they expect to find missing in the coming hours. It's the second burglary of the office in a week.

"(They got) plenty of sensitive campaign information," Hartman says. "This time, they got the information they were looking for."

After a break-in Tuesday, the campaign staff discovered a server and some other small items missing.

They're not sure when the break-in was, except that it was overnight and a crowbar was used to break through the front door. There was no power in the office due to yesterday's wind storm.

More details forthcoming. (SG)

UPDATE:

Hartman says both the LMPD and FBI have been contacted by Yarmuth's campaign manager, Dan Geldon, to investigate the two burglaries.

"We're upset, this is very serious," he says. Hartman had told LEO Weekly last week that after the first break-in the staff's morale was down but they were going to move forward. Today they're all in a bit of shock, he says, and after having a second break-in within a week's time with valuable campaign information taken he believes there may be a financial setback.

Unlike before, the intruders went upstairs where Hartman, Geldon and other important offices were located. Cracked open, leaving splintered wood around the door's lock, the Finance Office was ransacked.

"Our finance office was broken into but uniquely they took none of the cash," he says. Hartman estimates the total loss exceeds the $2,000 from the previous break-in, but the value of the materials outweighs their price tag.

More details forthcoming. (PB)

The same 'fearless impersonator'?

2008-09-12T13:19:00.003-04:00

In her C-J column yesterday, Betty Baye told us of her weird stalker-sorta person, someone who has apparently donated a small amount of cash to the Republican Party of KY and to a current Republican candidate in her name so that she will show up on a roll somewhere and of course be privy to the deluge of campaign bullshit from the party and one of its candidates.

Well, we've got one too.

Ricky Jones, who's written for us for many years, got the same form letter from Steve Robertson, chairman of the Republican Party of KY. It says, in part: "(Democrats) have been in control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives since 2006. Yet, the Democrats still blame Republicans for everything from global warming to the high price of gas at the pumps."

Blatant untruth? Sure. Seems to me the argument put forth by Democrats is that humans are causing global warming and the government needs to do something about it. Under 8 years of Bush, there's been virtually no movement on that issue. In fact, the Bush administration has rolled back 30 years of environmental-policy advancement, notably on coal issues.

Democrats are arguing, too, that the U.S. needs a broad energy solution that includes deferring some of the pressure we're bringing on the world's oil reserves to other sources — and, importantly, by conserving. Republicans have said we should drill in ANWR to bring the price of gas down. That's a low-supply, high-cost equation that'll probably save us a few cents on the gallon in about a decade, according to the Bush administration's own science.

Hm. I've gotten a little off track here. We're in a brutal election the Republicans can't win on issues, so I guess that's why people like Robertson feel the need to lie. Thanks to our little friend for putting Jones on your list. At the very least, the spectacle is entertaining. (SG)

Jeff. Co. GOP to send 1,000 tubes of lipstick to Obama

2008-09-10T13:53:00.005-04:00

The "lipstick" war between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain has been this week's shootout that has consumed this week's news cycle thus far. It has arrived to Louisville accordingly.

Calling it a "thinly veiled sexist attack" by his party, the Jefferson County Republican Party is coordinating a statewide effort to send 1,000 tubes of lipstick to Sen. Obama’s campaign headquarters.

“It seems to me that Barack Obama and his surrogates want to denigrate Sarah Palin at every pass,” said Jefferson Country Republican Chairman Brad Cummings.

Calling the story "phony" and "foolish", Obama has responded today, calling the dustup a faux constroversy and that the McCain campaign will "seize on an innocent remark, take it out of context, throw up an outrageous ad because they know it is catnip for the news media." (PB)

Stephen George lives in Louisville

2008-09-08T16:09:00.004-04:00

Our fearless leader is the latest local maverick featured on the website ILiveInLouisville.com. He even wore a tie. Check it out here. (PB)

Straight Outta Geneva

2008-09-08T11:09:00.004-04:00

In honor of the Large Hadron Collider, which comes to life Wednesday, check out the Large Hadron Rap:

(JW)

Tough talk at the bus stop

2008-09-05T14:12:00.008-04:00

Surrounded by her husband, fellow Metro Council members and dozens of members of the community, Councilwoman Judith Green, D-1, held a press conference to discuss the need for more initiatives to combat violence in the aftermath of an attack on two of her sons at a bus stop at the corner of Greenwood & Cecil streets this week.

On Wednesday, James and Joshua Green, both Central High School students, were beaten and robbed by a group of teenagers while they were on their way to school. Beaten unconcious, Joshua was hospitalized.

"My whole adult life I've tried to help children and youth," Green says. Both she and her husband have adopted more than 11 children, all of whom have attended Central High School. "I understand (that) hurt people hurt people. These children were hurting and I suspect that they may have parents or social issues they're dealing with. I'm here to help any of these children and their parents."

Green asked parents to be more vigil in their neighborhoods and of their children, especially at bus stops during the school year. Like many in attendance she stressed the need to take personal responsibility for what goes on in the West End.

"The community needs to become constructively angry," the Rev. Clay Calloway, of the Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition, says. Calloway called JCPS officials and learned that with over 60,000 bus stops, the school district has only a handful of security personnel. "We nee to take need to take the lead."

Eddie Woods, director of the LIFE Institute, a grassroots youth outreach program headquartered in west Louisville, told the audience his group plans to engage gangs leaders with a message. "This community will no longer tolerate predatory activity," Woods says. "It's over."

He says that he has learned that over 50 young people were involved in some sort of initiation that targeted at least three JCPS bus stops. Meanwhile, Louisville Metro Police Department officers said no type of criminal activity would be tolerated but did not acknowledge the speculation of growing gang activity in Louisville.

Talking off the record, many in attendance said this proves there's a gang problem in Louisville among area youth, but they're a decentralized, younger and brazen group of "cliques" that aren't easily identified and often wind up detoured by after-school programs and job offers.

One thing is for sure: The bus stop at Greenwood & Cecil will be one of the safest in the city. Not only has Green's husband pledged to walk with his sons to the stop every day, but members of the Louisville Metro Police Department said car and foot patrols near the corner during bus hours have been increased. (PB)

McSame?

2008-09-04T22:29:00.002-04:00

Turns out a former Bush speechwriter penned Sarah Palin's RNC speech — some of it before she was even chosen.

More of the same?

Real shocker there. (SG)

Wayside still considering Mercy property

2008-09-04T17:48:00.008-04:00

Just days after the Original Highlands Neighborhood Association voted 8-0 to actively oppose preliminary plans for Wayside Christian Mission to purchase the former home of Mercy Academy on East Broadway, Wayside's chief operating officer Nina Moseley says her agency is still considering buying the $2.7 million property.

"There are a lot of folks there that would support us if we choose to go there," Moseley says, referring to neighbors she says have backed the agency. She adds that the neighborhood association's vote and opposition will factor into Wayside's final decision.

The neighborhood association sent letters to Wayside, Mayor Abramson and members of the media Sept. 2 saying the group had surveyed neighbors and found overwhelming opposition to a proposal to move one of Wayside's facilities — the one it operates on East Market Street, which houses only women and children — into the neighborhood.

During a press conference this evening, Moseley told reporters Wayside has yet to receive any communication from the neighborhood association. Moseley made a presentation to the group last month, and says three board members and one resident took her up on an offer to tour Wayside's facilities prior to that meeting.

"What we had proposed for that area is only our women and families programs, so it would be our women's shelter, it would be our families shelter, and it would be our child development center for homeless pre-schoolers in that area," she says. Wayside also would hold classes and volunteer activities there.

In its letter to Wayside, the neighborhood association says neighbors are turned off by the amount of people the new Wayside would house ("upwards of 350," according to a subsequent press release), and that "the additional 300-350 inhabitants (not including “others’ who likely present themselves in and around the facility) would negatively impact already existing issues of safety, security, and parking within this rather small neighborhood."

Among the most distinctive portions of the Original Highlands are the Baxter and Barret corridors, which house all manner of bars, clubs, restaurants and retail shops. Some residents have long complained that it's too much action for the neighborhood.

Moseley says they've got the wrong idea about who Wayside would serve at Mercy.

"These are not ladies that are going to be trolling the bars," Moseley says.

For a better idea where the OHNA is coming from, here are other reasons listed in the letter to Wayside:

Neighbors believe that the entry of WCM into the Original Highlands would likely “tip” the sensitive (and critical) balance now existing between the neighbors and the bars and pubs located on the Baxter and Barret commercial corridors;

Neighbors believe that the Original Highlands is already carrying its fair share of responsibility to assist in providing for the health and welfare of those people less fortunate than most of us;

Neighbors believe that the presence of WCM in our neighborhood would serve as a disincentive for new buyers to purchase and invest in the general upgrade of their unique home creating a declining trend and a possible reversion back to the 1960’s and 1970’s ‘blighted” neighborhood;

Neighbors believe that there would likely be a depreciation in the value of their property;

Neighbors believe that there would be an increase in crime and panhandling within the neighborhood;

Neighbors believe the WCM did little in terms of doing an analysis of our unique neighborhood by, among other things, failing to review the vision for our neighborhood set-forth in the “neighborhood plan,” and failing to review the City’s parking study that reflected a serious parking situation existing in and around the “Original Highlands;

Neighbors believe that placement of the facility would generally disrupt, if not eliminate, the unique culture that has developed within our neighborhood over the past thirty years.

Moseley says the agency's board of directors will ultimately make the call, but she offered no timeframe for a decision. She says the Mercy property would need very little renovation, and that if Wayside moved in, it could begin services quickly.

Wayside sold its East Market property (which included nearly an entire block) to Gill and Augusta Brown Holland earlier this summer, after neighbors opposed (loudly) Wayside's plans to tear down the buildings as part of an expansion effort. (SG)

No black Republicans

2008-09-04T11:02:00.011-04:00

With the historic nomination of Barack Obama on the Democratic side guaranteeing to bring out the black vote like never before (many suggest it'll shatter the GOP's lock in the south), the C-J examined why there are so few black GOP delegates at the Republican National Convention this year.

Basically everyone says Obama is the leading cause for 36/2380 GOP delegates being black. Perhaps, but decades of neglecting African-American issues while exploiting the "southern strategy" may have had something to do with it. There are plenty of conservatives in black America.

Though some Republicans are troubled by it, our top GOP leader doesn't seem to mind. Check out Sen. Mitch McConnell's quote:

"The good news is we do much better with Hispanic voters and Asian-American voters."
-- Mitch McConnell

Interesting. (PB)

Downtown arena deal applauded

2008-09-03T18:13:00.004-04:00

The Louisville Arena Authority today announced that a plan to pay for a new downtown arena has been finalized. But rather than shed light on the complex financing plan (details, details), Arena Authority Chairman Jim Host spent most of today’s meeting thanking, well, pretty much everyone in the room.

After a representative with Goldman Sachs glossed over the complicated bond deal, Host rattled off a long list of thanks, asking each group in the audience to stand for applause: Metro Council, the Downtown Development Corporation, Greater Louisville Inc., LG&E, the University of Louisville … just to name a few.

The love-fest continued with Gov. Steve Beshear, Mayor Jerry Abramson and U of L President James Ramsey heaping praise on the project, before accepting a giant ceremonial check (that’s right, the kind they give lottery winners and game show contestants) for $349.2 million.

As for the financing, here are the details that came out of today’s meeting: The Arena Authority secured $349.2 million in bonds to pay for the 22,000-seat facility, which is slated to open as the new home to U of L basketball in November 2010. Over the next 30 years, the city is expected to pay $585 million to cover the cost of the principal and the interest. (SK)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce caught in a lie

2008-09-03T15:17:00.007-04:00

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been called out by Bruce Lunsford's campaign for engaging in what they're calling a "deceptive and false statewide advertising campaign."

Last week, the group began airing attack ads against the Democratic senatorial candidate, saying he was opposed to offshore drilling and citing editorial passages from the Paducah Sun newspaper as a source. One problem: The quote never appeared in the Paducah Sun pages.

Once television stations took notice of that and other inaccuracies, they reportedly called the U.S. Chamber telling them to change the ad. The business agency responded by removing the fabricated quote, but continued to cite the Sun editorial that Bruce Lunsford opposes offshore oil exploration.

“Not only will Mitch McConnell say and do anything to hold onto power, special interest groups who seem to be trying to protect the status quo will do the same to help him,” Cary Stemle, spokesperson for the Lunsford campaign, says. “In this case, they’ve been called out on their fabrication and acknowledge it, yet they continue to misrepresent Bruce’s positions. Kentuckians deserve better.”

Though the advertisement was changed, the Lunsford campaign maintains that it is still inaccurate.

Stay tuned for more info. (PB)

AFL-CIO, Lunsford to canvass Metro L'Ville

2008-09-03T13:52:00.004-04:00

Joined by Democratic senatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford, volunteers from the KY AFL-CIO plan to canvass Metro Louisville on the day Sen. John McCain officially accepts the Republican nomination for President.

On Thurs., Sept 4, 50 union volunteers will go door-to-door in what will be nationwide effort to "educate working people on Sen. John McCain’s record," according to Rachele Huennekens, spokesperson for AFL-CIO.

Citing McCain's voting record, Huennekens told LEO Weekly that volunteers are canvassing at 150 locations across the country and key cities in the Bluegrass, including Paducah and Bowling Green.

"We'll be armed armed with fresh information on McCain/Palin ticket," Huennekens says. (PB)

Chandler endorses Lunsford

2008-08-26T12:11:00.003-04:00

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler endorsed Democrat Bruce Lunsford this morning at a breakfast for the Kentucky Democratic Caucus in Denver. Chandler's endorsement is a key development for Lunsford's Senate campaign.

"I am delighted that Ben has publicly expressed the support that he’s been expressing to me privately throughout the year,” said Lunsford in a statement. “I’m thrilled to have Ben’s endorsement, and very grateful for it. Ben and I are united in the fight to put an end to the Bush-McConnell policies that have damaged Kentucky and the nation this decade."

Lunsford and Chandler have a contentious history: The pair did battle in the 2003 gubernatorial primary, which ended with Chandler as the nominee (he later lost to Republican Ernie Fletcher). Chandler went negative at the last minute, prompting Lunsford to endorse Fletcher in the general election. (SG)

Glover/Gibson '08

2008-08-26T09:55:00.005-04:00

Give B-Rock credit, picking Sen. Joe Biden for Veep was a smart choice. Besides shoring up the inexperience tag it augments another character trait he lacks -- toughness. Unless he's reprimanding radical pastors or dead comedians, Obama isn't hard-hitting enough.

The lovable black guy can't be, really. The popularity of Bill Cosby, Will Smith or Tiger Woods is connected to the ability to challenge but not chastize (white) America (see: Obama's '04 DNC speech). Leave the dirty business of hammering, yelling and public gaffes to the tough as nails white dude. The formula made for good partnership in pop culture, particularly buddy cop movies such as the "Lethal Weapon" series.

It's not that Barack Obama is milquetoast; it's called code switching. For black folks in the mostly white workforce and white-owned business world it is a neccessary survival skill. And Barack is vying for the most notoriously white controlled American apparatus -- the U.S. government. (PB)

Kragspeak on press day

2008-08-25T17:14:00.001-04:00

College football's reigning master of CoachSpeak, Cardinal mentor Steve Kragthorpe, held his final press conference of the pre-season Monday in anticipation of the opener against rival Kentucky. He called the Wildcats a "very, very good team." He used the word "excited" a felonious number of times. I stopped counting when he hit double digits. The only actual news he shared was the season-ending torn ACL injury to linebacker Mozell Axson.

Other than that, Coach K said ... NOTHING worth reporting.

On the other hand, articulate DL Earl Heyman was his usual gregarious, illuminating self. He mentioned several times how tough pre-season practice had been compared to past years. On the first day in full pads, he advised "there were four concussions." He quoted one of the trainers as saying it was "the most physical practice he'd ever seen."

Asked to comment on Hunter Cantwell, Heyman observed the new QB is "a critical thinker." "I know that because we've played chess some and he beat me twice." (c d kaplan)

Tennyson's JRC responds

2008-08-25T15:13:00.009-04:00

Saying they have no animosity towards Mattie Jones & Co., the Rev. James Tennyson, the new interim director of the Justice Resource Center, promised that the work of the Rev. Louis Coleman would continue at the organization he founded and would not be derailed in the wake of a recent split between him and Jones.

"There are too many issue that need our attention to worry about these divisions," he told LEO Weekly.

At a press conference Monday in the JRC headquarters on 28th & Hill streets, surrounded by more than a dozen people from different churches, including Frank Douglas, the director of the Nelson County chapter of the Justice Resource Center, Tennyson talked mostly about continuing the JRC's work in the community, including expanding the gun buyback program and monitoring the hiring of minorities in businesses here.

When asked about a possible legal challenge from Jones & Co., who claim her unceremonious ouster was illegitimate, Tennyson said he would have liked to have kept the matter in-house — but he's not worried.

"We have done everything legally and filed our papers with the state," Tennyson said. "We're on solid ground. I'm not worried. Right will win out in the end. We're not going to say anything negative about them, Rev. Coleman wouldn't want it."

He said the group has five board members, including himself, J.T. Woods, Rueben Pulliam, Shelby Lanier and the Rev. Milton Seymour.

"This is the Justice Resource Center," Pulliam said.

Tennyson urged those who have split with the organization to rejoin. "Those who have left, come back. Our arms are open," he said.

Look for more in the upcoming issue of LEO Weekly. (PB)

State studied 8664, then cancelled it without explanation

2008-08-25T12:03:00.004-04:00

8664 co-founders Tyler Allen and J.C. Stites are asking Gov. Steve Beshear to reinitiate a study of their alternative to the $4.1 billion Ohio River Bridges Project that had been 90 percent completed and then stopped mysteriously, according to documents the group obtained from the Kentucky Department of Transportation through an open records request.

In a letter sent today, the 8664 pair said they have concerns about the validity of the study — for which nearly $50,000 was authorized — because they were not involved.

"Today we respectfully ask that you authorize the completion of the 8664 Study and release all the findings," they wrote. "Furthermore, we ask that you share all information related to who and why the study was stopped. According to the KYTC documents, the cost to complete the study is $3,654.31. We would be willing to incur this expense."

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9, who chairs a subcommittee currently examining 8664, said her group intends to resume meeting Sept. 15, when it will hear from Ed Glasscock and Kay Stewart, members of a pro-bridges project group called the Bridges Coalition, which is funded in part with taxpayer dollars it receives through the chamber of commerce.

"Absolutely they should finish the study," Ward-Pugh, who is in Denver this week to attend the Democratic National Convention, said. "I applaud them for taking the initiative to pursue getting an answer to that question."

8664 would build only the East End Bridge. Instead of the downtown and Spaghetti Junction redesigns in the current project, it would remove the riverfront stretch of I-64 and replace it with a boulevard.

LEO Weekly has left messages with the governor's office and the transportation cabinet. We'll update this story when we hear from them. (SG)

UPDATE: The C-J reports that transportation secretary Joe Prather has ordered that the 8664 study be completed and the results made public. Meanwhile, the transportation cabinet has not returned any of my phone calls today. Neither has the governor's office.

Willie Williams emerges

2008-08-25T09:59:00.002-04:00

Remember Willie Williams, the standout U of L linebacker whose 11 arrests were as high-profile as his tackling and who was dismissed from the team four games into last season? Here's what he's up to now. (SG)

Quarterback U?

2008-08-24T22:55:00.004-04:00

It's only once a year, maybe, that we devote a cover to football. All we've got here is U of L and the Fire (show of hands: Who's seen 'em?), so, you know, not much to get riled up over.

This week we ran a cover story by Bill Doolittle, longtime LEO sports columnist, assessing the state of the Cards football program on the eve of its biggest something-to-prove season in recent memory. Doolittle's 3,000-word piece posits that the fate of the program rests on Hunter Cantwell's shoulders — in fact, Cards programs have long been dependent on their quarterbacks, as Doolittle writes. It is both an argued and reported piece, and Doolittle's analysis — as usual — seems spot-on.

Which makes us wonder ...

Our issue came out Wednesday. And here was this offering today by The Courier-Journal, a much shorter think-piece by Rick Bozich (who we happen to love over here — most of the time) about U of L being "Quarterback U" and the fate of the program resting on Hunter Cantwell's shoulders.

Huh?

Do a Google search of "Quarterback U" and see what pops up in the Top 10. Right — the LEO cover story, nestled at a strong Number 9. No C-J story. No other mention of Louisville and quarterbacks, or of Louisville and anything, for that matter.

Of course, like the vague-ish concept of Quarterback U, it's not a completely original idea that U of L's offensive success is predicated upon its quarterbacks. But what the hell, C-J: It's been on the stands for five days. And you're still going to lift it?

Bozich's piece actually does a nice job reiterating Doolittle's thesis (without any reference to it, naturally). Bozich spends about half his piece assessing whether U of L deserves to be called Quarterback U (we learn that it does). At the very least, we appreciate the vindication. (SG)

The battle for lower gas prices rages on

2008-08-22T16:04:00.002-04:00

All right, so everyone in Louisville knows we've been paying some of the highest prices at the pump in the U.S. Many Louisvillians have spent much of their time asking themselves why. Today, Gov. Beshear, Rep. John Yarmuth and Attorney General Jack Conway released an update on their ongoing investigation.

During the past two years, Louisvillians have been paying, on average, 20 cents more per gallon than cities such as St. Louis and Chicago. Louisville receives the majority of its gasoline from Marathon, who recently merged with Ashland. This merger, it seems, could give the company an unfair dominance over the Louisville wholesale market, therefore allowing them to raise the price of their gas to whatever they want. Because of this suspicion, the subpoenas (all nine of them) issued by Attorney General Jack Conway come as no surprise.

None of the men were willing to point the finger directly at Marathon/Ashland, but Yarmuth said he wants “a swift and thorough investigation.”

The companies subpoenaed will have 45 days to respond in writing. Beshear is pessimistic. “Any time you deal with oil companies it’s a tough road to hoe,” he said today. Beshear does not see the problem being solved under the Bush administration, but he assured those in attendance that “this too, shall pass.” (Brittany Tracy)

Attack of the Activist 2

2008-08-22T11:41:00.007-04:00

Before 8am this morning, my cell phone had several new text messages saying Mattie Jones had been ousted as interim director of the Justice Resource Center. The C-J did a piece covering some aspects of the story, but ignored the context in previous LEO articles.

Later this morning a press conference was held in front of the old Justice Resource Center headquarters on 16th & Maple streets. Would it be the Tennyson (the new JRC head) or Jones faction, no one seemed to know. I arrived first, too early — no one was around besides a gentleman sitting in his car waiting. Wearing an all-pearl cream-colored suit with flashy alligator shoes, he later told the press his name was 'Action Jackson'. He rolled down the window, but before he could say anything, another vehicle approached. Mattie Jones was in the passenger seat and in the rear, Gracie Lewis.

"No, not him!" Gracie screamed, looking at me. They got out the car and Mattie insisted that she had sent no press release to LEO Weekly — and therefore, we weren't allowed to cover the press conference.

"You're no media," Jones insisted. "Just a young uncle Tom." It wasn't long ago I was considered the biggest, baddest and blackest radical this side of town.

"You're just a boy," Lewis said.

Both were obviously furious that I had written an unflattering piece on Lewis' recent troubles at the KY Alliance. Eventually, Jones' son approached me saying he wasn't going to be as nice and that he'd have to call his security force — which included a few ex-Marines — to remove me from the public street.

All this died down when the rest of the media arrived -- back to the press conference.

Here's the Jones side of the story: Apparently, a JRC Board meeting last Friday turned into a shouting match, with some claiming that Jones stormed out screaming her resignation.

"Mattie stormed out last Friday saying she resigned" said J.T. Woods, who was at the board meeting. According to Woods, the group held another meeting Monday, but when Jones didn't show up, they decided to move foward without her, electing the Rev. James Tennyson, another longtime activist and close associate of the late Rev. Louis Coleman, as the new interim director.

Jones says she didn't resign.

"I wrote no letter of resignation," she said at the press conference. She said Friday's meeting was raucous, filled with unknown persons who were not officially affliated with the JRC questioning her about her ability to lead. "I refused to sit through that disruption."

Now the Jones faction is creating a new organization.

"This will be the new movement," Jones said. No name, address, mission statement or mailbox, but they're still asking for community support (prayers), volunteers and donations. Jones added that she will not relinquish her authority at the JRC either.

An open sore, the Jones-Tennyson conflict means we have a house divided over the legacy of the Rev. Louis Coleman, with two sides claiming to know his wishes, thoughts and direction posthumously. Coleman's most well-known sidekick for decades, Jones is one of the original four JRC board members — along with Tennyson. (PB)

Justice Resource Center leader ousted — CJ misses the point again

2008-08-22T08:28:00.003-04:00

Longtime civil rights activist Mattie Jones has apparently been ousted as interim director of the Justice Resource Center, the organization led by the Rev. Louis Coleman until his unexpected death on July 5. The new interim chief is the Rev. James Tennyson, according to this report from the Courier-Journal.

The C-J story, not surprisingly, fails to take the reader into the recent controversy surrounding Jones, the Center and the civil rights activism community that might help explain Jones' departure. There is a battle now between the old guard — represented by Jones and others — and the new, which practices a more youthful and generally different style of activism that stands in contrast to the 60s-style protesting, bullhorning and boycotting advocated by Jones. Tensions between the two have come to a head over the past month, as a result of a reported altercation at the Kentucky Alliance's Arts & Activism Camp between another longtime activist, Gracie Lewis, and Advocate Scott, the teenage son of Attica Scott, one of the "new guard" activists. LEO Weekly's Phillip M. Bailey first reported that story here.

The LEO story prompted threats of a boycott of the newspaper from Jones and others in the civil rights community; I met with two people who called the newspaper racist for running a story showing a black person in a negative light — racist because I am both white and the editor. As her first act at the top of the JRC, Jones threatened to protest in front of LEO's offices and urge a boycott of the newspaper — again, the newspaper never got a clear answer as to exactly what was being protested. Read the LEO story that includes this part of the saga here. The newspaper heard from numerous sources that the threatened protest had made waves in the activism community as a roundly inappropriate response to a severe and urgent situation.

There was never a protest. The C-J story wonders why there is unrest in the civil rights community and why Jones is at the center of it, but it can't find an answer. And again, the C-J misses the story because it's not paying attention. (SG)

Metro assesses the cash economy

2008-08-21T15:43:00.001-04:00

In recent news, drilling has meant one thing to the general public: oil. That’s not the case in less advantaged parts of the city, Mayor Jerry Abramson said during a press conference today. The city released a study in response to outcries around Louisville for more major retailers in neighborhoods such as Valley Station and Russell.

Today, Abramson spoke of another type of drilling, the Neighborhood Market DrillDown. “Certain neighborhoods throughout Louisville in fact have spending power and in fact have economic clout,” the mayor said. To show that, Metro’s economic development cabinet commissioned the Social Compact Organization to employ their Neighborhood Market DrillDown analysis in order to find out just how much spending power certain Louisville areas had.

What does it mean to drill down? John Talmage of the Social Compact Organization explained that by using the DrillDown analysis, his organization can data-mine areas that are considered those of lower income. Through data mining, the Social Compact Organization can find the unlisted incomes of citizens who have second or even third jobs.

“It is generally accepted that people underestimate the market potential in every urban area, but typically the lower income communities,” Talmage said. The study found roughly 50,000 citizens not documented by the recent census, as well as more than $1.1 billion in previously undocumented cash economy. Turns out the buying power of the Louisville areas studied is far more than previously thought. This did not come as a surprise to Abramson, who has previously tried to convince major retail stores to set up shop in areas such as the West End. “Now we have the hard data,” Abramson said. “We can now take this information and literally take it to the retailers and explain to them what its all about.” —Brittany Tracy

We're making Iraq rich

2008-08-08T13:31:00.003-04:00

From the Department of Foregone Conclusions: Turns out the reason the Iraqi government has a budget surplus nearing $80 million right now is ... wait for it ... high gas prices.

From a press release I just received from the House Oversight Committee: "According to data from the Energy Information Administration, from 2003 to 2008 U.S. consumers will have spent between $70 billion and $74 billion to buy Iraqi oil, the same amount Iraq has amassed as its budget surplus, according to GAO (Government Accountability Office)."

Committee chair Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has asked for a State Department briefing on the matter.

And now, for a much funnier take:

A little more on the new APCD director

2008-08-08T12:39:00.002-04:00

Metro announced today that Lauren Anderson has been named executive director of the Air Pollution Control District, the agency that monitors air quality in Louisville and develops emissions standards. Anderson replaces longtime director Art Williams, who retired earlier this year in good standing. Williams oversaw the implementation of the STAR program, which was created to reduce smog and other toxic air soups.

Anderson has been the APCD's attorney since 2003. She was also an attorney for the state's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet.

"I know that we can continue to improve air quality while being responsive to the needs of the regulated community," Anderson said in a statement. "My primary goal as director will be to ensure that we do our job well.”

Tom Fitzgerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council, praised Anderson, calling her "a good choice."

"Lauren has an appreciation and understanding of the importance of (the STAR) program, and of the challenges facing all the sources of air pollution in the community, in achieving our goal of healthy air," he said. "KRC believes that the mayor chose well, and looks forward to working with the new director to improve Louisville's air quality."

As head of APCD, Anderson will have a delicate dance to perform, regulating major polluters in some of the city's less advantaged neighborhoods (like the major emitters in Rubbertown) while continuing toward compliance with EPA ozone-emission standards, which are expected to extend even further in the next year or two, according to a spokesman for APCD. (SG)

City that moves mountains?

2008-08-07T18:00:00.003-04:00

It's good to admit when you've screwed something up. A few astute readers (The C-J's David Hawpe among them) wrote to tell me that a line in this week's Editor's Note contained something of a mistake.

Here's the part with the error: "Just last week, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo was in Pikeville, which calls itself “a city that moves mountains,” an Orwellian reference to the machine-driven operation called mountaintop removal that has helped take jobs, water, unique ecosystems and a certain quality of life out of the Appalachian mountains while lining the pockets of Big Coal, an industry that then lines the pockets of public officeholders — to the tune of $20.2 million in federal elections since 1990."

What I should've written is "... reads like an Orwellian reference ...," because the way I wrote it is unclear — and it shortchanges the good folks in Pikeville.

The "city that moves mountains" refers to the Cut-Through, a project that is considered legendary, not only in Kentucky but across the country, as it moved nearly as much land as Boston's Big Dig, which is second only to the Panama Canal in that department. That's substantial.

The deal was this: The Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River was causing flooding in Pikeville. Cutting a path — and essentially making one mountain into two, the way I understand it — was deemed the best-practice/only-practice for changing that. So cut a path they did. There is now a highway running through it. It took 14 years and $77.6 million, and it's the crowing achievement for a lot of folks down there, including the former mayor. People say it saved Pikeville.

Hawpe tells me that there was some coal drawn from the mountain during the operation, but that nothing about it had to do with mining.

In other words, although Pike County is quite known for mining, and the Pikeville slogan seems Orwellian, it's coincidental. (SG)

Weirdness

2008-08-07T17:43:00.003-04:00

Not surprisingly, there's been a whole F-ton of phone calls, emails and epithets hurled in our general direction for not running "News of the Weird" in this week's print edition. Sorry folks. Sometimes we have to cut content at the last second, and for probably the 5th time in 18 years, we dropped "Weird."

So ... for those of you who need it this week, go here. (SG)

Arena financing fiasco

2008-07-31T14:45:00.001-04:00

The chairman of the Louisville Arena Authority says walking away from the $249 million arena project is not an option at this point, despite the fact that plans to finance the facility have crumbled.

“I am cautiously optimistic that we will find a solution,” Chairman Jim Host told fellow Arena Authority board members this morning. “There’s too much at stake for this state and this community to walk away from this deal at this point.”

The Arena Authority was on the verge of finalizing a bond package last week when Moody’s Investors Service — a financial market analyst — issued a “negative watch” for the bond insurer. The deal was postponed as a result of the dire forecast, and now the authority is scrambling to piece together another financing plan.

If financing isn’t formalized by the end of September, Host says scheduling issues might arise. The arena currently is slated to open in November 2010, in time for the start of the University of Louisville basketball season.

Despite his cautious optimism, Host told colleagues this morning that the past week was “not a good week." “I have always operated in my life with a half-full glass,” he said, shaking his head with a laugh before adding, “That glass almost got broken last week.” (SK)

New gig for Stemle

2008-07-28T18:05:00.002-04:00

Mitch McConnell's campaign for a 5th term in the U.S. Senate just got a little dicier: Cary Stemle, who spent the last decade as editor of LEO Weekly, has been hired as the press secretary for Democrat Bruce Lunsford.

"I've never worked on this side of the story, but I have always been fascinated by the political process," he told me in an e-mail. "So when the opportunity came up, I jumped at it. I realize it's 100 days of super-intensity, and I'm ready for whatever comes my way. And I know I share a clear objective with lots of Kentuckians, and that's retiring Addison 'Mitchell' McConnell after 24 years of disservice to Kentucky. This state deserves better, and I believe Bruce Lunsford will be a huge improvement."

Allison Haley, Lunsford's press liaison up to now, has decided to move on, according to Stemle (wow...how weird is it to write that?), who added that her last official day on the job is Wednesday. (SG)

Congress finds the mountains

2008-07-25T15:27:00.005-04:00

Following up on a promise after canceling at the last minute a trip planned for two weekends ago, two members of Congress visited mountaintop removal mining sites in Eastern Kentucky today. Reps. Ben Chandler, D-KY, and Norm Dicks, D-Washington, along with a representative of the Office of Surface Mining, visited several sites and spoke with residents and media.

Two weeks ago, they missed the scheduled meeting, saying the plane they were supposed to take from Washington to Hazard, Ky., had a dead battery. (SG)

At war with Tampa

2008-07-24T11:17:00.003-04:00

This is so much fun: Mayor Jerry Abramson (D-Possibility City) is in Tampa tonight throwing a party to try and lure Louisville ex-pats back to the city. He's taking bourbon and tickets to the Derby. This is part of an ad campaign that started last fall, which is attempting to brand the River City as "Possibility City" and includes TV and radio commercials calling out competitor cities.

So The St. Petersburg Times ran an editorial today that is pretty much priceless, getting catty with the mayor and our little burg here. A taste:

"We have three major professional sports franchises. Louisville has minor-league baseball. We'll concede the compact downtown stadium has more charm than Tropicana Field, even if it isn't air conditioned."

This is a lovely little war we're starting. (SG)

Mayor, police chief discuss sharing the road

2008-07-21T19:01:00.000-04:00

Mayor Jerry Abramson and Metro Police Chief Robert White appeared together at Cycler’s Café today to speak to the public and press about bicycle and traffic safety in light of the recent death of Vance Kokojan, a cyclist who was hit by a car and killed on the Outer Loop last week. They mentioned the fact that three cyclists have died in the Louisville area over the past year in accidents involving a car. The two talked about the issues causing the jump in the number of cyclists, as well as how to solve the rising problem that is leaving many cyclists injured or dead.

“Gas prices keep climbing,” Abramson said. “More people are riding bikes to cope with rising costs.”

While he added towards the end of the discussion that the city tries accommodating cyclists as much as possible, there are still some blocks in the road. “Every road we asphalt we try to put bike lanes where safety allows,” he said.

Abramson mentioned the supportive programs at the YMCA and other community centers that are now taking the initiative to educate bicyclists on being more aware of their surroundings, and also on safety. He listed elementary safety tips that have been neglected in recent years that cyclists could follow which would reduce the number of accidents: obeying the same traffic laws as cars, riding on the correct side of the road and staying in one lane as opposed to weaving through cars that might not see the bicycle.

Both Abramson and White expressed the desperate need for both those operating a vehicle and those peddling bikes need to be aware of one another. “We are being a little more aggressive in paying attention (to negligent drivers and cyclists),” White said, but he also emphasized that law and order is not going to solve the problem. “Cyclists and vehicle operators need to start respecting one another.”

Cycler’s Café owner Joe Sohm briefly took the mic and expressed the same views: If the city of Louisville could learn to share the road, we would all be in a safer place. (Jess Mahanes)

JCPS student assignment plan in today's NYT

2008-07-20T22:58:00.004-04:00

Today's New York Times Sunday Magazine has an interesting piece examining Jefferson County Public Schools' new student assignment plan, which will be based on class status above race. The change had to come because of last June's Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-based assignment plans in both Louisville and Seattle.

The central question here is, will an assignment plan based on socioeconomic status preserve and foster diversity — and ultimately success, as measured by (at least at this point in federal policy) narrowly focused testing — in schools? Much of the research cited in the piece — including the groundbreaking findings of James S. Coleman, done at the behest of Congress in the 1970s — suggests what anybody who still remembers their formative years of schooling knows: achievement is higher in schools where there are more middle- and upper-class families.

From NYT Mag: “Researchers have been demonstrating this result since 1966, when Congress asked James S. Coleman, a Johns Hopkins sociologist, to deliver a report on why the achievement of black students lagged far behind that of white ones. The expected answer was that more than a decade after Brown, black kids were still often going to inferior schools with small budgets. But Coleman found that the varying amount of money spent on schools didn’t account for the achievement gap. Instead, the greater poverty of black families did. When high concentrations of poor kids went to school together, Coleman reported, all the students at the school tended to learn less.” (SG)

Happy Birthday Dr. Thompson

2008-07-18T17:04:00.001-04:00

Today, Hunter S. Thompson would've turned 71. Yep.

Larry Craig: Don't jerk us around...by the gas nozzle

2008-07-18T09:00:00.002-04:00

From Brave New Films:

Now, I'm no expert on energy independence, but I would think that Bush, McCain, and the rest of the Republicans pushing for offshore drilling wouldn't want Craig and his scandalous past to come anywhere near a campaign with soundbytes like this that could be misconstrued as innuendo. But that's just me.

It's Friday, I couldn't resist (pb).

The First Amendment Wins

2008-07-17T17:46:00.001-04:00

Courier-Journal reporter Jason Riley did not have to take the stand today to explain how he obtained sealed court documents in the case of Gail Coontz, a Louisville women accused of murdering her two children.

In a story published July 9, Riley delved into the defendant’s past mental health, detailing information that was supposed to be under seal in the court file. In response, the public defender representing Coontz subpoenaed the reporter to find out how he got his hands on the confidential file.

“It is not legal for Mr. Riley or The Courier-Journal or anybody else to have that information,” Mike Lemke, assistant public defender, said in court this afternoon. The attorney further argued that his client has every right to question Riley to find out who “leaked” the confidential information.

But the C-J’s lawyer, Jon Fleischaker, argued that the First Amendment protected the journalist from having to disclose the source of his story, calling the subpoena a “fishing expedition” and “a judicial circus.”

Ultimately, Judge Shaw agreed that the First Amendment precluded Riley from having to testify, although she made it clear she was troubled by the fact that sealed court documents were somehow released: “We do not want this to occur again.” (SK)

Cop's past conduct unbecoming

2008-07-16T15:29:00.007-04:00

One of the officers involved in the recent Taser death of a suspect previously had been cited for unprofessional conduct on the job.

As reported in this story, Metro Police Officers Larry Wagner and Keith Heselschwerdt responded to the Delaware Drive home of Isaac Bass on July 2 after receiving a call about a fight. A Taser was used to subdue the 34-year-old man, who collapsed, lost consciousness and died a short time later.

It turns out that in 2002, Officer Wagner was reprimanded after handcuffing a victim’s advocate (apparently without good reason), and he was cited in 2001 for causing a traffic accident in his police cruiser. Officer Heselschwerdt has not been disciplined during his five years with the department.

Both cops are on paid-administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into Bass' death.

“The investigation is still ongoing to determine if one or both officers deployed their Taser,” Alicia Smiley, department spokeswoman, explained in a letter sent to LEO Weekly today in response to an open records request. (Although I think it's clear that somebody Tasered Bass.)

Earlier this week, we sought details about any and all past disciplinary actions against the two officers, and were told that Wagner’s traffic accident was the only infraction. In today’s letter, however, Smiley stated: “This office erroneously advised you that Officer Wagner had received one reprimand for an accident. There is also a second reprimand for unprofessional conduct.” (SK)

Bomb ordinance defused

2008-07-10T20:15:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: So somebody was misinformed at last night's council meeting: Hal Heiner, who told his fellow council members that Abramson senior staffer Jim McGovern had agreed to consider new sites for a munitions storage facility to be located on Cardinal Hill in the South End, is now saying that McGovern "lied to me." Chad Carlton, Abramson's spokesperson, just told me "there was a misunderstanding on that."

Here is what, according to Carlton, McGovern and Heiner agreed upon: The administration would agree on a 30-day moratorium on constructing the facility, go back to the council and present its selection process — go through the other sites they considered, discuss why they settled on Cardinal Hill — and move forward from there. There is no intention, according to Carlton, of discussing alternative sites. He added that the discussion has become so obscured that nobody is actually talking about the real issue: What the facility is and what it will house.

"That's kind of gotten obscured in the process," he said. "Councilman Hawkins, that's been his goal, to confuse and inflame and exaggerate and to criticize the police department for even wanting to do this."

The federal government requires that Metro Police have a facility to store low-grade munitions — fireworks, confiscated ammunition, so forth — temporarily, until police can destroy it. (SG)

Nearly an hour into this evening's meeting of the Louisville Metro Council, Republican Councilman Doug Hawkins left his seat in chambers and began walking around the gallery, visiting with the handful or so of supporters who were there to support his amendment to an ordinance previously passed by the council allowing the city to build a munitions storage facility atop Cardinal Hill in South Louisville. Cardinal Hill also happens to house much of the water supply for that area of the city.

Hawkins, looking solemn but resolute, couldn't only been telling them one thing: His measure didn't have the votes to pass tonight, but it could get unanimous passage back to the public safety committee. That way, as Councilman Hal Heiner, R-19, told his colleagues a few minutes later, some compromise may be negotiated.

According to Heiner, Jim McGovern, a member of Mayor Jerry Abramson's senior staff, told the council's committee on the whole just hours before that the administration has decided to postpone for 30 days construction of the two facilities — relatively small steel rectangles that would store confiscated ammunition and other small munitions for Metro Police — so that they may search for an alternative location further away from a residential area. The Cardinal Hill site is close enough to residents' homes that the "clear zone," if something catastrophic were to occur, overlaps into several yards. (SG)

Pols Praise GE Decision

2008-07-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

General Electric's decision to establish its appliances division in Louisville as a stand-alone company is the best possible scenario for the city, according to Gov. Steve Beshear and Mayor Jerry Abramson.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Louisville and the commonwealth to keep jobs and potentially create more," the governor said in a statement following GE’s announcement this morning.

Earlier this year, GE announced plans to get away from selling appliances, leaving the future of the company’s thousands of employees at Louisville’s Appliance Park uncertain.

But while GE’s plans to spin off the division into a new company is promising, Mayor Abramson expressed cautious optimism in a press release this afternoon: “Now, the real work begins — convincing this new company that Louisville should be the global headquarters for this new company.”

B-Rock caves on Wiretap Bill

2008-07-09T17:31:00.002-04:00

Look mommy, Mr. Hope is melting. (pb)

From NY Times:

After long opposing the idea of immunity for the phone companies in the wiretapping operation, [Senator Barack Obama of Illinois] voted for the plan on Wednesday. His reversal last month angered many of his most ardent supporters, who organized an unsuccessful drive to get him to reverse his position once again. And it came to symbolize what civil liberties advocates saw as “capitulation” by Democratic leaders to political pressure from the White House in an election year.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who was Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted against the bill.

Hawkins' bomb amendment likely to fail

2008-07-09T16:10:00.003-04:00

An initiative by Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins, R-25, to cancel the city's plans to move a magazine- and artillery-storage facility to Cardinal Hill in South Louisville is expected to fail tomorrow night, when it goes before the full council for a vote. (Read Hawkins' amendment here.)

Sources in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses said today that they expect the vote to go largely along party lines, with the possible exception of South End Democrat Dan Johnson, who has said he supports Hawkins' measure.

In his typical bravado, Hawkins has used the storage facility — essentially a small steel rectangle that would be used by police to store confiscated low-grade munitions — to shore up political support among constituents, saying both to media and in a series of public meetings that Mayor Abramson and Metro Police want to store "bombs" on the South Louisville water supply, despite repeated assertions from the LMPD's munitions experts that that is not the case. Read LEO Weekly's recent coverage here. (SG)

Louis Coleman dead

2008-07-05T16:15:00.007-04:00

Civil rights activist the Rev. Louis Coleman has died at the age of 64. Coleman had been the leader of the Justice Resource Center. Details on his death are sparse at the moment.

Mayor Jerry Abramson, who has long done battle with Coleman over various issues, had his to say in a statement: "Rev. Coleman was a tireless fighter and a voice for those without a voice. We didn't always agree with each other, but I never doubted his dedication and devotion."

We'll be following and will have something in this Wednesday's issue looking back at Coleman's various roles over the years in Louisville. (SG)

Kentucky the next carbon dump?

2008-07-01T15:16:00.002-04:00

According to this story in today's Courier-Journal, the Bluegrass state is in line to become a testing site for carbon sequestration. It's part of a $7.8 million project that will be done in conjunction with the Kentucky Geological Survey and include ConocoPhillips, Peabody Energy and E.On U.S. According to Beth Sutton, spokesperson for Peabody, drilling will begin later this year, and "injection" of the carbon into the 8,000-feet deep holes will commence next year.

I asked Tom Fitzgerald, head of the Kentucky Resources Council and go-to person on local environmental issues, to weigh in. Here's what he sent, via e-mail:

"My sense is that, while a small fraction of carbon generated annually from fossil fuel combustion may be sequestered and utilized to enhance oil recovery, sequestration in deep zones is fraught with very difficult technical, legal and other questions regarding the ability to scrub and capture the carbon emissions from existing power plants, and to pressurize, transport, and inject it in a cost-effective manner. While some public investment in research into sequestration is appropriate, since at this point we don't want to rule out any carbon management options, a far greater emphasis is needed into improving efficiency on both sides of the electric meter, on carbon-free or lower carbon energy supplies, and on management of carbon through conversion rather than attempting 'permanent' geologic sequestration." (SG)

Arrested waterfront development

2008-06-30T14:10:00.002-04:00

In a column last week about Portland, Ore., I credited the good people of Portland for having enough sense not to mar their waterfront with a Hooters. Vigilant reader and LEO contributor Jason Sitzes writes:

"Just upriver on Jentzen Beach not more than five minutes from downtown is not only a Hooters sign, but one of the largest I've ever seen… Combine our Colgate sign with Hooters and you got it. For a few days, I stayed across the river from this sign and if you looked east from my room you saw gorgeous Mt Hood and to the west you see:

Thanks to Jason for pointing out my error. I also apologize to the good people of Portland for overlooking their bodacious Hooters. (JW)

Wifey shut up

2008-06-30T10:41:00.002-04:00

Hat tip to LEO Weekly columnist Lucinda Marshall for her mention of a Louisville Southern Baptist preacher who used a recent Sunday to say, among other things, that "one reason that men abuse their wives is because women rebel against their husband's God-given authority." Right.

Read the whole deal right here. (SG)

Deal reached on Wayside buildings

2008-06-26T15:43:00.005-04:00

A group of investors that includes Gill Holland and his wife, Augusta Brown Holland, will purchase the 10-building East Market Street campus of Wayside Christian Mission, an agency that services the homeless and others in need. The group will reportedly pay more than $5 million for the property.

LEO Weekly broke the story about discord in the neighborhood over Wayside's plans to expand a month ago. Read our stories here and here.

Wayside is holding a press conference this afternoon to release the details. Look for more in next week's LEO Weekly, and on this blog tomorrow. (SG)

UPDATE: We've just received confirmation from Gill Holland that the deal has closed on the Wayside buildings. He, his wife Augusta, Tim Peters and other silent partners make up the group buying the property. Holland would not confirm a reported sale price of $5 million.

"This is a win-win for the homeless, for the arts district, and for Louisville’s history," he wrote in an e-mail.

Wayside will move its full operation to its building in the 400 block of West Jefferson Street. Along with the $4 million it had raised for the Market Street expansion, it will now have a reported $5 million more to expand the Jefferson Street facility.

The mayor has also ensured Wayside that his administration will cooperate entirely with Wayside in expanding that campus. (SG)

The Bush Legacy rambles through River City

2008-06-26T15:01:00.002-04:00

The Bush Legacy is traveling across the country in the form of a 45-foot, 28-ton biodiesel-powered bus. Sponsored by the progressive issue–advocacy group Americans United for Change, the Bush Legacy tour, which began on June 24th in Washington, D.C., has already made stops in Dayton and Louisville.

“The bus serves to educate Americans about how the conservative policies President Bush and his allies in Congress have pursued have failed America and why progressive approaches to healthcare, the economy, foreign policy and other issues provide the solutions Americans are looking for,” said Julie Blust, spokeswoman for Americans United for Change.

The bus features interactive exhibits on failed conservative policies supported by Bush and his allies, such as Sen. John McCain and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The group says McConnell is responsible for siding with Bush policies 94 percent of the time, including voting to give handouts to large oil and energy corporations, against giving $51.9 million toward after-school programs and against the increase of the minimum wage.

“Sen. McConnell will leave behind a legacy of putting loyalty to Bush and conservative ideology far ahead of Kentucky’s struggling families, seniors and veterans,” said Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan.

The stated goals of the “Bush Legacy Project” are to remind American voters why they have lost faith in President Bush, tie his agenda to conservative ideals and shift the political debate toward finding progressive solutions to our nation’s problems, according to Americans United for Change.

“The Bush Legacy leaves behind an economy in shambles, out-of-control healthcare costs, rising college tuition, nearly 4 million Americans out of work, millions more losing their homes under a subprime mortgage crisis, and record high gas, food and home heating oil prices,” Londrigan said.

The mobile museum plans to make almost 150 stops in hometowns of Bush supporters in Congress, at both national conventions and historic locations such as New Orleans.
For more information about the Bush Legacy or to take a virtual tour of the bus, visit www.BushLegacyTour.com. (Caitlin Bowling)

Northup campaign spews about LEO editorial

2008-06-25T18:29:00.006-04:00

I'm beaming with pride: Today, the Anne Northup for Congress campaign sent out an e-mail urging Louisvillians to sign her "Lower Gas Louisville" petition — and used my editor's note from today's paper to rile up the masses.

Referring to LEO Weekly as "Yarmuth Weekly" — people, John Yarmuth sold LEO in 2003 and has written one guest column for the newspaper since declaring a run for Congress in early 2006 — the Northup mailer called my piece a "vulgar, rage filled editorial — better yet, a temper tantrum." Hm. I actually thought my piece contained some decent humor, but hey, when you're 17 points down in the polls in the district you represented for a decade, the sense of humor level can get a little low.

As her campaign is wont to do, the e-mail ignores the context of my comments, saying I'm anti-Kentucky coal and the people whose jobs depend on it for invoking my well-known stance against mountaintop removal coal mining (read: NOT COAL MINING IN GENERAL), and reducing my ideas for actually addressing the "energy crisis" to a mention of buying food at a farmer's market (and this is the part they ignore) rather than paying into a food transport system that consumes billions of gallons of gas per year. Naturally, I proposed that and a few other alternative modes of transportation to replace short car trips (to save gas and money, which I actually thought Northup might find amenable) as a small portion of what needs to be a broad, multi-faceted address to the energy issue. They ignored that context, obviously, because it's unsuitable for this very fine point they appear to be trying to make.

Predictably, they carefully plucked words and phrases from the editorial to make it look all scary and liberal (I also foisted my position that we SHOULD drill for oil on American soil, a Republican position, but they ignored that because we're all screwed if Northup agrees with something I've said), try to connect it to Yarmuth, and send it out to the list!

Oh, and they close by calling my request for a serious energy policy from Northup and a broader discussion of actual energy policy a "liberal, elitist, do-nothing view on energy." And a petition urging Congress to help lower gas prices is what again? Policy?

I'm saddened, frankly, that the Northup campaign has chosen to commit yet another vital mistake this campaign season by trying to pull me into this process and use me against Yarmuth. I'm saddened, of course, because it's the pathetic behavior of a petulant child, not a serious Congressional candidate.

I'll be giving a call to Northup's campaign tomorrow to see if they're really serious about this stuff. Look for a follow-up. (SG)

UPDATE: Here is the Northup campaign mailer. Apparently some of her minions have been instructed to email me using similar language. This should be fun.

Velocity dying?

2008-06-20T14:25:00.002-04:00

We've just gotten it on good authority that Gannett, the company that owns The Courier-Journal and the weekly Velocity, is reordering all the sales representatives currently selling for Velocity to sell only bundle packages that include ads in The C-J and other local Gannett properties.

Is it a big deal? Not sure. Obviously, it suggests that Gannett is going to try and force its advertisers into Velocity, and it also suggests a certain level of desperation for both products. And, well, Velocity may be fading into another ancillary CJ pub, like the Find A Home magazine, which, by the way, has been discontinued, according to a CJ memo that was forwarded to LEO this morning.

While we'd never like to see our friends over there out of jobs, well, let's just leave it at that. Maybe if LEO made back some of the money Velocity has cut into, we could all be working for the same team. Haha. (SG)

Health Care rally in front of Humana HQ

2008-06-19T14:20:00.001-04:00

With Humana Corporate headquarters in the background, car horns honking their support, and chants of "Health care for all!", the corner of 5th & Main Street was buzzing with activity as Louisville social justice advocates led a crowd of over 200 people today in what was a nationwide protest against health insurance corporations.

Sponsored primarily by the Physicians for National Health Program-Kentucky, today's rally highlighted the growing health care crisis in America with many former patients, doctors, small business owners, union workers and activists lined up outside one of America's biggest health insurance providers. Joining advocates in San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago, many attendees punctuated their comments by proclaiming their support for HR-676, a bill drafted by Congressman John Conyers, D-MI14, which has a growing list of 90 co-sponsors including U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth, D-KY3.

"The overacrhing message is that the health care system in America is truly broken," said Dr. Garrett Adams, state coordinator for Physicians for National Health Program-Kentucky. "It cannot survive in its present form." Adams said insurance companies must be removed from the equation and the country needs to move toward a non-profit, publicly funded but privately delivered system.

Adams says the public cannot allow elected officials or candidates to mouth 'universal health care' as a way win votes without being specific about which plan they support.

"The next step is in the elections," Dr. Adams said. "Putting pressure on elected officials to endorse and enact HR-676."

Check for more in next week's edition of LEO. (pb)

LEO's 'Uprising' with David Sirota

2008-06-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

One of America's great rebel journalists of our times, author and columnist David Sirota, will be in Louisville next week to sign a few books and take a bunch of your questions at Carmichael's Bookstore (2720 Frankfort Avenue).

While certainly different when compared to other journalistic book projects by the likes of Matt Taibi, Jeremy Scahill, Naomi Klein and Thomas Frank -- to name a few -- Sirota's ability to capture the nihilism of this Hobbseian decade is masterfully capsuled in The Uprising.

One silver lining of the last 7 years of disastrous presidential leadership has been the spark of some of the best journalism books in years.

Sirota's Louisville appearance is sponsored by the Louisville Society of Professional Journalists as a part of his extensive nationwide tour to promote his latest tome, The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street & Washington, which recently made the NY Times top 20 best-sellers list.

Today LEO had a chance to ask Sirota a few burning questions on our mind about The Uprising, populism and America's general sense of outrage.

LEO: Why are Americans so pissed off?

David Sirota: Well I think they're pissed off because they see a direct connection between the policies of the government and the current crises we're living through --- health care, energy, national security. People no longer see government as playing a passive role, but they actually see the government contributing to and creating the crises we're now facing. On all these issues there is public consensus for what people want to happen. There's a public consensus for people who want a public health care system. There's public consensus for what people want out of Iraq. There is public consensus that people want the government to crack down on the energy companies and deal with the energy crisis. We can make a list on all these issues. On every major issue the government is doing the exact opposite of what the public consensus is and so as these crises have intensified people have gotten more and more angry.

L: How has the press added to or been involved in these crises?

DS: The anger is being stoked by a media that presents a reality they know is false. The march to war was marked by a media that legitimated the case. The public is angry at the media for artificially narrowing the debate. Think about the debate over trade and globalization. Every time you read a story in the corporate media, the people who want fair trade who are against NAFTA are basically made fun of as wide-eyed protectionists.

L: Your book deals with that a lot, how the limited audience of Washington insiders are equal in size to what most consider fringe or marginal populist groups. How do break that false legitimacy of a select few conversations and return to a more democratic public sphere?

DS: Look, the Washington press core behaves like a high school clique. It protects its own. It is part of the establishment. The rise of the Internet and more sources of media has significantly diminished the corporate media's influence. Ordinary people are not nearly as swayed as much anymore by the propaganda of the establishment media. On major issues while the media presents universal health care as a fringe position or being against NAFTA as being a fringe position, the public itself doesn't see it that way. That's in part because there are more media voices.

L: But you're very critical of flawed uses of the Internet, especially MoveOn.org, how has technology augmented or weakened uprisings?

DS: I think it has strengthened the sense of outrage. I think it has not as much empowered people to turn that outrage into political action as much as the hype. The hype is that technology has empowered people to turn their outrage into action. And I think that is right now overblown. That's because it hasn't been used in an effective way. MoveOn.org uses a top-down model. There's no real small 'd'-democracy in the organization, it's a broadcast model. So basically they blast out e-mail. Strategically the technology is being used for partisan ends instead of movement goals.

L: As a country. aren't we known to have epochs of great temper tantrums that are either quashed by government (e.g. Bonus Marchers) or enveloped in the system as a reform? What's the difference between then and now?

DS: Well I think the second outcome is the goal. If the government to responds and acts on what the people are angry about then that's a success. The danger is that the government pretends to do that but in this case I don't think that's going to happen. People have been fooled too many times. I think the public has smartened up. The changes that are necessary are so huge and the crises are so concrete -- people can't pay their energy bill, people can't pay to go see a doctor -- no amount of rhetoric or tricks is going to solve that problem. No amount of rhetoric or tricks is going to solves that problem. Real action is necessary. And I believe if real action isn't taken and it's just nice words I think these uprisings will get angrier and more intense.

L: When you said that the first person I think of is Barack Obama. At the end of this Hobbseian decade the slogan is 'Hope'. Does his candidacy represent more of that naive optimism based on nice words that mute uprisings?

DS: I think he's definitely capitalizing on that or trying to. I'm cautiously optimistic about him in that I think he does appreciate the role of movements, the concept of bottom-up politics which whereby a president or any political leader is a vehicle for change. We need this uprising to put intense pressure on him to fulfill his campaign promises and to make real change. I think the danger is that people are tricked into believing that simply voting for Barack Obama is changing things. Voting for Barack Obama, if he wins, that is a potential opportunity for change. That will not be reached if people continue to think voting for him is change.

L: Many of these uprisings you discuss in the book have various political identities, do you think they could ever unite or are the simply uprising in their own bubble?

DS: There are places for unity. There are issues and campaigns these uprisings can find common ground on. Maybe not uniting to one but underneath all of this is a sense that big money interest control the government. That provides an area of commonality and starting to consider the 'us v. them' is not black v. white, ethnicity v. ethnicity, geography v. geography, or male v. female. The 'us v. them' is the vast majority versus a tiny minority who control most of the political and financial power in this country. Even on the right the seeds of that argument among rank and file is there. Even among the Minute Men, there's an understanding that it is the government that is fundamentally corrupt.

L: Of all the movements you've seen, what's the least known but notable that the American people should know about?

DS: Shareholder democracy, the idea that people have power using their shares of stock is one of the least explored and most powerful forms.

L: PETA just bought 80 shares of Churchill Downs.

DS: See, that's what I'm saying. We're made to believe that electoral action is the only viable way to create change when direct-action is the commonly used tool. Getting involved in community organizing or shareholder democracy, any activism where people say, 'We don't care who the elected officials are, we're going to take matters into our own hands is what's unexplored.

L: Well, thank you sir. Hope the whole of Louisville comes out for the conversation next week.

DS: Me too. (pb)

Yum! Brands feed bag

2008-06-18T16:57:00.002-04:00

The Onion has a little fun at the expense of Louisville-based Yum! Brands. Behold:

New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

Iron Chefs in W. Louisville

2008-06-17T14:45:00.002-04:00

Seeking to promote good nutrition and healthy, home cooked meals in Louisville's urban centers, the Community Farm Alliance along with Urban Fresh are hosting an Iron Chef competition this Saturday, June 21st at the Victory Park Farmers’ Market at 22nd and Kentucky.

The two chefs, Richard Mezoff of the Ohio River Valley Food Venture and Executive Chef Michael Hargrove, are competing to create "Winning Market Meal" dishes that arre created from local ingredients that can be recreated by cooks at home. Mezoff and Hargrove will be judged on the originality, nutrition and overall taste, and how easily the recipe could be replicated by the average home cook.

"We're trying to make it fun to cook fresh food," said Karyn Moskowitz, business development organizer for Community Farm Alliance. With gas prices rising the cost of groceries have accrued which has given local farmer's markets record numbers across Louisville.

"We had some of our best opening weeks," Moskowitz said.

With a number of mentionable food crisis in recent memory, inlcuding basic favorites such as spinach, beef and tomato, food security has people concerned about buying food from elsewhere says Moskowitz. People feel safer knowing their food grown, picked, clean and packaged closer to home.

For more information call 502.775.4041
(pb)

I'm voting Republican

2008-06-15T09:16:00.001-04:00

www.imvotingrepublican.com. (SG)

Disappointment alert: Blue profile in today's CJ

2008-06-15T08:53:00.006-04:00

Today's Courier-Journal has a longish profile of Jonathan Blue, the chairman and director of Blue Equity and BEST, a group that owns eight companies representing famous athletes, as well as promotes some major athletic events.

It's a feel-good story, a hometown-guy-does-the-big-stage kind of stroke piece, which has its place, to be sure.

My major disappointment: There is no mention of Blue's involvement in Iron Quarter, the proposed entertainment complex to be built just west of the new Downtown Arena, to be built between 2nd and 3rd streets on Main. Iron Quarter's proposed footprint is not even a block west of the arena.

Here's the deal: As the CJ story says, "The brothers are still partners in some downtown property." Jonathan's brother Todd is the Blue who's really into development, and though they are partners in Cobalt Ventures, owner of Iron Quarter, Todd drives that train. Todd also sits on the board of the Arena Authority, the appointed body that chose to locate the arena on that particularly valuable piece of riverfront real estate. It was a contentious vote, and Todd Blue voted to put the thing downtown, where clearing of the site has already begun.

I don't really expect a story about Jonathan to dig into the suspect arrangement Todd (and Cobalt Ventures) has with the Arena Authority, but no mention at all is disappointing. It's one of the biggest developments happening in Louisville, there seems to be a direct conflict of interest that is consistently ignored, and again, we're left with no information from the city's paper of record. (SG)

Yarmuth's NASA amendment passes

2008-06-12T17:53:00.003-04:00

Today your government actually got something done.

Congressman John Yarmuth’s NASA amendment, which requires the agency to make global warming data, critical research, and other scientific discoveries available to the public, passed in a voice vote in the House of Representatives. Though not a hot button issue, the amendment underlines the importance of government transparency and its citizenry's ability to access its archives. Paramount in these times.

Check out the background info on what the amendment means here. For the debate and vote in the House, visit Yarmuth's Congressional webpage here. (pb)

Obama's 'Baby Mama'

2008-06-12T13:46:00.004-04:00

And a new firestorm is born. (pb)

From Michelle Obama Watch:

Hillary's Dems in line - not in love, with Obama

2008-06-12T10:38:00.004-04:00

Whether they know it or not, Dems are taking Sharon Woods' advice, who said at the KY Democratic Convention last weekend, "By golly, get behind (Obama)." (pb)

From AP:

Prominent supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton are embracing Barack Obama, literally and figuratively, even though some remain bitter about her loss in a presidential primary process that they feel treated her unfairly...

"I know I'm late, but I am on the train," North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said Monday in introducing Obama in Raleigh. "I'd rather be a bum on the boxcar of the Obama train than at the front of the bus with John McCain," he said of Obama's Republican opponent.

People haven't used public transit like this since 1957

2008-06-11T18:12:00.003-04:00

According to new research by the American Public Transportation Association, more Americans are using public transit now than any time since 1957. As of the first three months of this year, some 2.6 billion people had used public transit, an increase of 85 million trips over last year.

Maybe it's the $4 gas.

As I wrote in last week's LEO, it's about time Louisville thinks about a more viable form of public transit than just TARC, whose rates are about to climb again soon. (SG)

McCain the golfer

2008-06-09T11:58:00.003-04:00

Ben Ray over at What's Required has the scoop on John McCain's awesome online store and his breaking with W over playing golf while the country is at war. As Ray points out here, the real beauty is the unmoderated comments section on McCain's online store. (SG)

Hey, Big Spender: Resign or be fired

2008-06-09T11:29:00.002-04:00

An Open Letter to Jesus Chrysler, Ky. Education Commissioner Jon Draud.

Mr. Draud:

I want you to resign as Kentucky’s education commissioner because you have betrayed the public trust.

Nobody with any sense believes your initial denial of knowing about (or recalling) the infamous $13,000 worth of luxury add-ons, which put the cost of your new state car in excess of $30,000. E-mail records confirm that you and a state official discussed the proposed extravagances at length and that you declined an opportunity to relent – despite the predictable political firestorm that would ensue.

Your denial was about as plausible as the student who tells his teacher that his dog peed on his homework, then ate it. Only when confronted with the electronic evidence did you see fit to confess.

Both of us could enumerate, ad infinitum, how much that squandered cash could have done for Kentucky’s cash-strapped schools. As you know, chronic under-funding is a dire and formidable threat to our public education, to our children and future.

This scandal also came at an inopportune time for those seeking to sanitize the tainted Republican “brand.” State Senate leadership recently was forced to suspend plans for office expansions in the Capitol Annex due to budget constraints and, probably more influentially, the contested races of Republican incumbents Damon Thayer and Jack Westwood.

Thus you have betrayed the GOP by advancing the perception that yours is the party of wretched greed and gluttony. You have become the personification of egregious, egomaniacal excess. Henceforth when I hear the phrase, “Waste, fraud and abuse,” I’ll think of you.

You have betrayed the state board members who hired you and who have to be wondering, after this second strike early in your tenure, when your third strike will come and how they’ll weather yet another Jon Draud screw-up. Was this some sort of passive-aggressive revenge for strike one – being forced by public outcry to withdraw your request for more vacation days?

It would be too little, too late for you to reimburse the state for your shameless, selfish spree. I say shameless because I’ve heard no apology – only pompous, disgraceful defiance and a reminder that you represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Indeed – in all the wrong ways.

You’ll be under microscopic scrutiny, as you should be. How can you be trusted to spend tax dollars responsibly – or tell the truth in any event? Your credibility is shot.

How dare you feel entitled to order factory-installed mapping and hands-free telephone systems that could have been purchased separately – at a fraction of the cost?

Obviously, you just don’t get it.

Now that you’ve enjoyed the imperial commissionership and a Chrysler loaded with luxuries, it’s high time for a hardy helping of humility. Admit that you’re unfit for this all-important job, and vacate it before you’re forced out. The preponderance of evidence suggests that you’re finished serving the public. You’re now serving yourself at public expense.

Your arrogance is what it is: a manifesto for retirement.

Yours, Steve Shaw

Contact the writer at stevenshaw@aol.com

And she's out

2008-06-07T13:33:00.002-04:00

Hillary Clinton today officially suspended her campaign and endorsed Barack Obama for president during a speech in Washington.

"(I) extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy," she told the crowd. "This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans." (NYT)

LEO staff writer Phillip Bailey is at the Kentucky Democratic Party convention in Frankfort today. Tune in later for more reactions and reports from the state capitol. (SG)

Gov. Beshear endorses Obama, urges Clinton VP

2008-06-06T16:27:00.012-04:00

We were told earlier in the week by Gov. Steve Beshear's spokesperson that it was the Governor's prerogative to wait until the KY Democratic Party convention this Saturday to make his announcement on the Democratic presidential nomination. With Hillary all but conceding with her farewell letter, it's safe for Gov. Beshear to endorse Sen. Barack Obama, but with he's added a strange (not so subtle) caveat -- pick Hillary as the Veep.

From Gov. Beshear:

"For the last several months Democrats across the nation have engaged in a spirited contest for our party’s presidential nomination. That contest is now over. Senator Obama now has enough delegates and will be the Democratic nominee for President...

We need to put forth the strongest possible ticket this fall. Therefore, I have written personal letters to both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, urging Senator Obama to select Senator Clinton as his running mate and urging Senator Clinton to accept any such offer. In my opinion, such a ticket would be unbeatable."

Maybe Gov. Beshear and other Hillary supporters in the KDP didn't hear what one of her close advisers, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, said recently.

From ABC News:

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, one of Clinton's most vocal surrogates, shot down this very idea in an interview Wednesday with NY1 News.
Rendell reminded Clinton and her supporters that the choice for vice president belongs solely to Obama.
"He has to make the choice, and it's his choice to make," said Rendell. "You don't bargain with the Presidential nominee. Even if you're Hillary Clinton and you have 18 million votes, you don't bargain."

What did Twain say about the Bluegrass again? (pb)

CONFIRMED: RFK Jr. at Forecastle

2008-06-06T14:19:00.002-04:00

LEO just received the official word from the Forecastle Festival: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will provide the keynote address on Sunday, July 27 at 2:30 p.m. This brings the environmental component of the festival to a new, prestigious level.

"His appearance adds a massive amount of legitimacy to the organizations and causes we’ve been fighting for these past seven years," festival founder J.K. McKnight said in a press release.

Forecastle will also feature solar-powered stages. Much more from LEO on RFK and Forecastle in the coming weeks. (SG)