Meeting For Planned Retail Center on Dixie

The Courier-Journal is reporting on a neighborhood meeting next Thursday for the purpose of discussing a new retail center at 7144 Dixie Highway across from the Southwest Government Center. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Mosaic United Methodist Church, 8008 St. Andrews Church Road.

Mark and Terry Clemons, owners of Park TV Sales and Service are planning to construct a retail center on four parcels of land they own at the site and along Textile Avenue. Before submitting a development proposal, however, they are required to hold a neighborhood meeting with adjoining property owners and community leaders.

Striking Jeffboat Workers Illegally Threatened

It has been revealed that striking Teamsters at Jeffboat were illegally threatened by the company 10 days ago in a letter mailed to their homes.  The letter, obtained by FOX41 News, states that workers would lose state unemployment benefits if they didn't return to work.  Sadly, this seems to be the operative ethic in American business these days.  There's no word on possible NLRB charges against American Commercial Lines, the operator of Jeffboat, for such an irresponsible and dirty move.

Talks between the company and the union will resume next week.  Stay out boys, until you win.  Some of us are behind you and your families 100%.  If you or someone you know is a Jeffboat worker on the picket line, please send me an email.  I'd like to speak with you. Just click my name above the Blogroll. Confidentiality is assured.

WFPL's "Next Louisville" Series- S/SW Louisville

UPDATE: Listen to the archived show HERE.

There will be a discussion on economic growth in Southwest Louisville that will be broadcast live on 89.3 WFPL Thursday. The producers want to make sure there are asses in the seats for this discussion. This shouldn't be a problem. From the Courier-Journal:

The program will air at 1 p.m. Thursday. Doors to the 70-seat Louisville Public Media studio, located at 619 S. Fourth St., will open at 12:30 p.m. Audience, phone and online questions will be fielded. Admission is free.

Also, this from WFPL:

Hey folks, this is Laura Ellis inviting you to join us for a live broadcast of State of Affairs focusing on South & Southwest Louisville, as part of our Next Louisville initiative. We’re on 4th Street between Broadway & Chestnut, next to the Louisville Palace. We’ll take questions and comments from our studio audience, calls from listeners at home, and hear from our panel members, listed below. Doors open at 12:30 & we’re live on the air from 1-2pm.

FOCUS:
Pleasure Ridge Park, Valley Station, Riverport, Cane Run, Iroquois, Shively, Fairdale Auburndale and South Central the South/Southwest end of town just goes on and on. Over the years South/Southwest Louisville has had farms, a mall (Westland anyone?), neighborhoods, major department stores, and even a zoo! Nowadays the neighborhoods keep growing, but new retail development is hard to find. Residents are proud of their area and many who move away return, so why is it so hard to attract businesses? And like other areas, South/Southwest Louisville has other challenges as well. How can South/Southwest Louisville become a bigger player in the Metro?

PANEL:
Vince Jarboe, current president Southwest DreamTeam, business owner
Robert Price, former president, resident and business owner Southwest DreamTeam
Khalilah Collins, Executive Director, Women in Transition, Resident

Mayoral Forum on SW Issues -Tuesday, April 20th

Mayoral candidates invited to April District 12 Dialogue

Forum on Southwest Issues set for Tuesday, April 20th

Louisville – They are the men and women who want to be the next Mayor of Louisville Metro. Councilman Rick Blackwell has invited the candidates to talk about where they stand on issues at the April District 12 Dialogue on Tuesday, April 20th.

“I want to give the people of Southwest Louisville a chance to hear where the candidates stand on the issues that are important to the people in this area,” says Blackwell. The April District 12 Dialogue will feature a Forum on Southwest Issues at the Southwest Government Center, 7219 Dixie Highway beginning at 7:00pm. The Forum will focus on questions about Southwest Louisville.

“The format for this Dialogue will be a little different in that it is a chance to hear the candidates. We will not have our regular representatives from Metro agencies, but you will still be able to voice a concern about a significant issue to our area,” says Blackwell. “I hope everyone will take this opportunity to come out. We are not very far away from the May Primary and it’s important to hear from the candidates before you vote.”
If you have a question regarding a Southwest issue, please email it to Mary.vetter@louisvilleky.gov or text your question, beginning with D12, to 35842. Questions must be sent in early as candidates will be given the questions a day in advance so that they may prepare thorough answers. Forum questions will be not be accepted at the event; however attendees will have the opportunity to speak one on one with the candidates.
For more information about the April District 12 Dialogue, contact Councilman Blackwell’s office at 574-1112.

Kosmos Cement Wants to Burn Tires as Kiln Fuel

The following is posted at The Local Weekly:

Currently, Kosmos Cement Company uses coal as the primary fuel for operating our cement plant. To reduce our fossil fuel usage, improve the economic viability of our operations and to support Louisville Metro’s green initiatives, we are proposing to use tires (tire derived fuel: TDF) to replace up to 25% of our traditional fuels in the production process. Because we operate under a Conditional Use Permit, we are submitting an application to modify the permit to allow us to use TDF. As a result, we are hosting a public meeting with our neighbors to explain this process and the benefits it will offer, including the potential of reducing Kentucky’s tire waste stream by up to 3 million tires a year. We will also explain the permitting and approval process at that time and answer any questions you may have. The meeting will be held on: Monday, April 19th, 6PM at Farnsley Landing, 7410 Moorman Road, Louisville, KY 40272 Please feel free to contact Shannon Sherman Graves at 933-6331 regarding any questions or thoughts you may have. See you there.

I'm not an environmental expert by any means, but I think it is a little misleading to say your company wants "to support Louisville Metro's green initiatives" by burning tires. It is common knowledge that burning tires in the open is extremely harmful to human health and the natural environment. Why would it be any different in a cement kiln along with burning coal?  The fumes emitted are packed with the many toxic chemicals that tires contain, including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, metals such as lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene, and synthetic rubber components such as butadiene and styrene. Additionally, the chlorine content in tires leads to the creation of dioxins and furans (which are extremely toxic chemicals) when tires are burned.

"TDF" stands for "Tire-Derived Fuel", and it is not without serious consequences.  Look it up.  Please attend this meeting, listen politely, and tell them to shove those burning tires up their asses. Enough is enough.

LG&E's Cane Run Ash Pond : A Call To Action

This blog post was written by Jefferson County KFTC member, Beth Bissmeyer:

You might remember seeing a Jefferson County action alert about a Section 404 permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a 5.7 million cubic yard coal ash site about a month ago. The Army Corps received well over 100 public comments--a higher number than the Army Corps is used to seeing for this type of project! But our work is not over! E.ON has to obtain several different permits for this project and they have now applied for a 401 Water Quality Certification permit through the Kentucky Division of Water to add a 60-acre coal combustion waste (CCW) landfill adjacent to the power plant. The public comment period for this is now open and ends THIS Friday, April 16th at 4:30pm.

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


Let the Kentucky Division of Water know that you oppose this permit!

**Please take action by April 16, 2010 deadline**

Send an email requesting that the Kentucky Division of Water to deny this permit to:

jesse.robinson@ky.gov

Put the Water Quality Certification agency interest # 2121 as the subject. Provide your physical mailing address and telephone number with your signature.

OR write to:

Mr. Jesse Robinson

Kentucky Division of Water

Water Quality Certification

200 Fair Oaks Lane

Frankfort, KY 40601