Thursday, March 25, 2010

Peanut VS. Wingnut - An Epic Struggle

Wingnut Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins (R-25) is claiming in an email blast that State Auditor Crit Luallen's report on the sorry state of oversight and fraud out of the mayor's office has somehow "vindicated" him. While we agree that the situation is worse than we thought, the idea that Hawkins has been vindicated is ludicrous, offensive, self-serving and downright stupid . Councilman Hawkins, if anything, is a co-conspirator in this ordeal, given his elected position on the council. He then has the balls to blame the misspent funds and abuse uncovered by Luallen as the reason the South End has been "neglected".

My friends, it is the policies, attitudes and sick, destructive politics and pandering by Doug Hawkins that is to blame for the state of his district. If he had spent as much time representing the voters in the 25th as he has patting himself on the back, creating phony emails, doing push polls and offensive robo-calls, the 25th would be a much more enjoyable place to live and work. He has embarrassed himself and the 25th since Day One in office with his tiring antics and goofiness.

We constantly hear that we need investment in Southwest Louisville. District residents have nearly knelt and begged for retail, infrastructure improvements and jobs. They have not materialized under the watch of Doug Hawkins. I do not know how much more clear it could be. Hawkins simply is incapable of representing his district, and that is the real shame here.

If the filing deadline had not already passed, I'd run my miniature schnauzer Peanut against him in the primary.

The amateurish, idiotic email sent by Hawkins is copied below for your [dis] pleasure:

Hawkins Vindicated By Auditor Again!

Metro Louisville is once again abuzz over another financial scandal in the Mayor’s administration, with a highly critical State Auditor’s report and the firing of two top officials. But let’s face it, what is really new here? The State Auditor, a long time, high-ranking Democrat, has once more confirmed the exposure of these financial problems are not just partisan talking points. They are the considered opinion of every honest official of either party who has looked into this mess.

The Auditor was particularly critical of the sweet-heart deal the Cordish Company received for a downtown project likely never to happen. Same old story- tax dollars taken to support a few friends of the administration for pie-in-the sky idea downtown, rest of community, like South End neglected. Again, what else is new?

The Auditor hits a gusher of problems every time she looks into any corner of our Metro Mayor’s administration, from the callous and incompetent way the Animal Services is run to the fiasco she found two years ago when the Housing Department lost millions of dollars through sheer neglect and outright theft by the head of that department.

That’s not even mentioning the numerous other scandals Metro Council has been able to uncover on its own such as- the sweetheart deal sale on Naval Ordinance the Mayor gave his law clients that’s cost us millions of dollars, the give-away of Slugger Field, the staggering mismanagement of MSD and the massive fee increases to fix the problems, the never-ending saga of chiseling police or firefighter pay and pensions, the misuse of private funds and tax money by the Health Dept. and the Free Public Library for political campaigning, and on and on.

Is it any wonder the Mayor had his friends in Frankfort hold up Sen. Seum’s transparency bill, SB 80 once again, to keep the Metro Council from having any real oversight of Metro finances? The current state of affairs is so sad that the Metro Council has much more information about the operation of independent offices, like the County Sheriff and the County Clerk, than it does over the actual government, Metro Louisville, it is supposed to be in charge of.

I know some people have thought I was too critical over the years about the Mayor’s financial policies and budget. But can any serious person in our community now say my concerns were not justified?

It’s too bad so much of the hope and opportunity in our Metro government has been squandered these last 8 years. We can at least thank our State Auditor for showing us part of what went wrong and that the villains in all this have names and faces.

Villains. As if we are engaged in "an epic struggle of good vs. evil". Hell, we just want a department store and a steak house.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

WFPL's "A Look At Merger"

89.3 WFPL's Gabe Bullard has a timely story on the successes and failures of our merged metro government. Bullard interviews Valley Station resident Tim Keith for his take on how merger has affected Southwest Louisville. Have a listen.

PART 1
PART 2

SW Young Professionals Group Goes Under

- The Southwest Young Professionals, a group formed under the umbrella of the Southwest Dream Team, has given up and decided to disband due to lack of interest. Chairperson Josh Suiter says:

I wanted to let you all know that I have resigned as chairman of the Southwest Louisville Young Professionals. There have been some changes in my life and my job that have led to this decision. In addition, after speaking with the President of the Southwest Dream Team (Vince Jarboe) it has been decided to disband the Young Professionals. We never got the response we had hoped for and with no leadership the group cannot move any further.

- Sun Valley Community Center will host a workshop called Learn to Live Well with Diabetes this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn how to prevent diabetes or how to live a better life if you are afflicted with it. Physicians will be on hand to answer your questions.

You can reach the Sun Valley Center by phone at 937-8802.

- The Local Weekly has news on a new gently-used bookstore in Southwest Louisville. Perfect Pages is now open!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

LG&E Seeking Expanded Coal Ash Pond at Cane Run

The following was copied from an environmental activist's facebook page. It is very real and is eye-opening stuff. Although the deadline for action has passed, please familiarize yourself with this issue and take a stand when you can against any more of these fragile holding ponds. Coal ash exposure puts our health at risk. The EPA estimates that up to 1 in 50 nearby residents could get cancer from exposure to contaminants in poorly stored coal ash. Other health effects may include damage to vital organs and the central nervous system, especially in children.

E.ON’s Cane Run Power Station has applied for a Section 404 permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to add a 60-acre coal combustion waste (CCW) landfill adjacent to the power plant.

The current CCW pond on-site at the Cane Run Power Station is one of 44 classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “high hazard” – meaning that a spill would result in significant damage or loss of life.

CCW is the solid waste left over from burning coal. CCW is a combination of waste from the coal plant’s air filters and the residue from coal boilers. The ashy part of the waste, called coal ash, contains concentrated pollutants, including many toxins known to cause cancer in humans.

The proposed permit would:

* Allow 5.7 million cubic yards of CCW, which contains toxins known to be hazardous to human health, to be dumped on site. The U.S. EPA states that 1 in 50 adults and 1 in 100 children that live near CCW storage sites are at risk of developing cancer

* Allow more than 3,000 feet of ephemeral and intermittent streams and 8 wetland areas to be filled

* Allow use of an inferior containment liner that deteriorate over time, likely resulting in toxic chemicals leaching into groundwater

* Ignore restoration requirements for 5 of the wetlands and require only minimal restoration for the other 3

* Allow this waste to be dumped on land located at the end of the Ohio River floodwall, clearly in the river’s flood plain putting residents downstream at risk


--Find out more about the impacts coal ash can have on your community and health here.
--Louisville District Corps of Engineers Public Notice No. LRL-2010-35 is available for viewing here.

News and Nonsense: Happy St. Patrick's Day

- According to this news release from the mayor's office, Kentuckiana Curb will receive $1,125,000 in state incentives to create 50 jobs. Kentuckiana Curb is a metal fabrication shop and manufacturer of metal roofing components located in Jeffersontown.

- An insolent child was suspended from her middle school for failure to follow directions. The next thing you know, there's a "prayer circle" outside the school and the newspaper is reporting on the situation. Sounds like someone should be praying for forgiveness for using a child to further their political objectives. [CJ]

- The Vogt Achievement Scholarship Award winners have been announced by JCPS. 8 of the 20 winners are from schools in Southwest Louisville. Congratulations to all the students.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

6 Local Biz's Get Gov't Loans - None in Southwest

From a metro government release:

Six businesses, including a new retail store in St. Matthews and downtown high-rise office tower, have received small-business loans this month from Louisville Metro Government.

The low-interest loans, totaling $392,500, will create new jobs and help expand the city’s economy, Mayor Jerry Abramson said.

The loans, approved this morning by the Louisville Metropolitan Business Development Corporation, are:

· $25,000 to Two Dazzle, a new retail store that will sell gifts, home accessories and seasonal decor. The shop, to open at 3819 Willis Avenue in St. Matthews, is owned by Ronda Simmons and Kimberly Marshall.

· $7,500 to Comfy Cow, an ice cream and desert store in Westport Village. The loan will help the shop, owned by Roy and Tim Koons-McGee purchase outdoor furniture that will double the store’s seating capacity.

· $100,000 to D & W Silks, a longtime Louisville company that will open a retail shop at 2306 Frankfort Avenue, in Crescent Hill. The loan will help the company purchase the building.

· $60,000 to Gilman’s Point, a commercial property being renovated at 220 Ridgeway Ave. The money will allow owners Theodore Mitzlaff and Stephen Smith to rehab the property, including adding accessible restrooms and improve the building’s facade.

· $100,000 to Atteberry Smith, a start-up cabinet and window business that will operate at Gilman’s Point, 220 Ridgeway Ave. The company is owned by Theodore Mitzlaff and Stephen Smith.

· $100,000 loan to Hertz Starks Building LLC, which owns the hi-rise office tower at 4th and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. The loan will assist in improving the building façade.

Of these six businesses, three are in St. Matthews. One is downtown.

Question: Are SW businesses simply not applying for these loans? Or are they being overlooked? If your SW business has applied for a METCO loan and been denied, I'd like to speak with you. Soon.