News & Events

- The Auburndale Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a cookout today (Tuesday) at Kenwood Elementary School, 7420 Justan Ave. The cookout starts at 5:30. [CJ]

- Ground was broken for a new firehouse in the Beechmont neighborhood. The new station will cost $3.4 million. [WAVE3]

- A Camp Taylor firefighter is in the ICU after a home explosion in Fairdale. The homeowner had poured acetone, an extremely flammable solvent, all over his basement floor. [WHAS11]

- Dr. Sheldon Berman, Superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, is scheduled to speak with the SW Dream Team. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday August 12th at 5:30 in the evening at Mill Creek Elementary School. This is not the regular meeting of the Dream Team, but anyone is invited to come and talk to Dr. Berman. The August meeting of the Dream Team is scheduled for Monday August 16th at 5p.m. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Southwest in Shively and will feature Congressman John Yarmuth.

- COMING SOON: An in-depth look at the race for the state's 37th Legislative District which is being vacated by Rep. Ron Weston. Democrat Jeff Donohue will face Republican Wade Hurt in November.

Not Everyone Has Email

Another day, another ridiculous email from Doug Hawkins. This time, it's about saving your tax dollars by refusing to support the U.S. Post Office he claims to have saved in Valley Station.

"Help me cut government waste by sending out information through e-mails. E-mails are free and timely.
A constituent asked me, “Why don’t you mail newsletters through the post office?”

It would cost metro government almost $8,000 to mail one newsletter to every household in a council district. Those are your tax dollars!

That’s a lot of money to spend on information that may be two weeks old by the time you write it, print it and mail it. For those reasons, I have never used your tax dollars to mail newsletters. Some council members mail newsletters through the post office quarterly, costing tens of thousands of dollars.

...

Like you, I’m tired of government wasting our tax dollars."

SW Political News Roundup

Here are some interesting developments and things to ponder as we approach what will surely be a crazed, whiskey-soaked election season:

- Teamsters Locals 89 and 783, UFCW Local 227 and JCTA have endorsed Republican candidate Brian Simpson in his bid against incumbent Larry Clark in the state's 46th House District.  Clark is rapidly losing labor support and is the subject of various "whisper campaigns" among union members. Influential and important people I have spoken with on the matter are taking great joy in watching Clark turn to wax as payback for years of what has been described as "back stabbing", "dirty-dealing" and "cork-screwing".

- Mayoral Candidate Hal Heiner speaks on bridge tolls:

“This afternoon the Louisville Southern Indiana Bridges Authority submitted a report to the regional planning agency with estimated tolls of $6 per trip. This would represent one of Louisville’s largest tax increases and I will not support this rate. While we realize this is a preliminary number, I urge the authority to work diligently to reduce this rate. If $6 per trip is the only way the authority can build 2 bridges, then I believe we need to reduce the scope of the project by breaking it into more manageable phases with the east end bridge being the first phase of a multi phase project. While I believe I-65 and Spaghetti Junction will ultimately have to be addressed, I find a $6 trip financially irresponsible and a burden Louisvillians will not accept.”

- Marty Meyer, candidate for the 38th District State Senate, has been busy raising big green dollars along with his campaign's profile by holding many summer events.  Neighborhood walks and phone banks are already underway, and the campaign's presence is now being felt throughout the district.  This, my friends, is how to win a race based on ideas.

- Impressive: The City of Shively has "$2 million in the bank". [CJ]

Council To Be Briefed on Cane Run Coal Ash Dump

The Energy & Environment Committee of the Louisville Metro Council will hear information about LG&E's proposed coal ash landfill expansion at Cane Run Rd. this evening. A representative from LG&E will speak for 15 minutes and a representative from the group of organizations working to stop the fill (among them being KFTC, KWA, and Sierra Club) will give a 15 minute presentation.

**This is NOT a public hearing. Council members will NOT be taking public comment at this meeting, but the public is welcome to attend and learn what's being presented. (I would certainly also encourage people, if they're able to, to attend the 6pm general Metro Council meeting. I do not know the full protocol for signing up to speak, but I do know people can call 502-574-1230 to register to address Council).**

LG&E has put forth a proposal to expand their coal waste storage at their Cane Run Rd. coal-fired power plant. This new coal ash landfill would be 60 acres large, have the capacity to hold 5.7 million cubic yards of coal ash, and reach a height of 14 stories. People living near coal ash impoundments face risk up to a 1 in 50 risk of getting cancer and risk liver, kidney, and lung damage from exposure to it. The EPA has categorized the already-standing coal ash pond as “high hazard,” meaning if a breach would likely cause human death.

To learn more about coal ash, check out KFTC's hand-out: http://www.kftc.org/publications/coal_ash_factsheet%20PDF.pdf

To get involved in this local campaign, contact Beth Bissmeyer at beth@kftc.org

Hits and (Mostly) Misses

- A Dollar General Store will open on the site of the former Salvation Army store on Dixie Highway.  The site will share the building with the recently-opened Valley Skate Zone. The store will be, by my count, the 14th Dollar General Store in South/Southwest Louisville, only 4 miles away from the location at E. Orell Road and Dixie Highway. I think that's more than enough, thank you.[The Local Weekly]

- The state will spend nearly $750,000 on new road projects in SW Louisville. Planned improvements include an access road at Farnsley-Moremen and a turning lane at St. Andrews Church Road. [CJ]

- There was a car accident early this morning that resulted in two fatalities on Grade Lane, just north of the Outer Loop. I rarely read the 'comments' posted on the Courier-Journal website but noticed there were nearly 40 of them for this particular news item, so I clicked. The callousness and insensitivity of the people that wrote the comments have hit a new low, and reflect a sense of hostility and carelessness with which I am not familiar. If this attitude reflects the popular opinion, then we are doomed as a society. Mostly, I chalk it up to a small group of unemployed tea-baggers with an axe to grind against the newspaper. But if I am wrong, both the paper and the good people in this community are to blame for not acting to resist this awful foolishness. [CJ]

Southwest Career Fair

If you or someone you know needs a job, please visit the Southwest Career Fair on August 23rd, 2010 @ Sun Valley Community Center, 6505 Bethany Lane. Confirmed employers include: UPS, Insight Communications, Crowne Plaza, Physicians Mutual, Primerica Financial, and many more. Also, many institutions have confirmed including the University of Louisville, Campbellsville University, Bellarmine University, among others.

The event will be sponsored by www.TheLifeSong.org, Louisville Urban League, JOB News, The Office of Employment & Training, and TARC.

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