Ward Plauche, the owner of City Block (formally O'Malley's Corner) wants to know how he can get some free money for his bars. In an article in today's Courier-Journal, Plauche says, "Who can't be successful if they get money from the city and don't have to pay it back?" Indeed.
These actions by the Mayor's office cause suspicion and anger among citizens and confusion among the members of the seemingly powerless Metro Council. It illustrates how important the failed "transparency bill" was to be in helping to eliminate shady, backdoor deals like this one by stripping absolute power from Louisville's mayor. Abramson claims he has the right to spread money around, without any council or public approval, to out-of-town companies like Cordish.
But having the right to do something does not mean you should actually do it.
For more on the powerful Cordish Co. and information on their projects in other cities, see below.
http://www.pitch.com/2008-02-14/news/drunk-on-power/
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/02/04/story4.html
http://hipsubwg.blogspot.com/2009/02/cordish-co-says-proposed-dress-code-law.html
http://voices.kansascity.com/node/1943
It seems to me that bars in general aren't doing well at 4th street live. When one or more closes down because it doesn't do well, what makes the Mayor think replacing it with another, that that place will do better. I think he is trying to cover the fact that 4th Street Live isn't doing as well as he hoped it would and I think he has some kind of kickbacks with Cordish. Granted, I am a little bit older than the majority of the crowd that hangs out there, but I find it to be an inconvenient location, especially parking, unless you happen to live within walking distance. Thanks for viewing my rant.
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