You know what’s strange?

Ray Barker is a candidate for the First District Metro Council seat.

Yet he continues to appear in television spots for Kaufman, Stiger & Hughes.

When you run for political office, you have to stop that sort of thing.

Otherwise you’re making a contribution to your campaign that must be reported to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Possibility City!

That’s right – Metro Government denied Joe Riffe the prosthetic leg he needs.

My resolve has been tested today. I have to admit, I got the wind knocked out of me. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve let doubt creep in like it has today. I got a phone call from the company that I’m working with to get and fit my prosthetic. It seems Humana Insurance surprised them by not only denying my knee, but they denied everything. They denied the knee, the socket, the foot…everything that has to do with me walking. Humana is the only major insurance company left that does not provide a way to get the microprocessor controlled prosthetics, and their bullish actions have got me worried. They responded to my prosthesist that until they provide a request that includes a mechanical knee that is covered by Humana, they will continue to deny me. What does this mean for me you ask…it means my dream of being a paramedic stops here.

Click here to read the entire thing.

Our understanding is that Metro Government is self-funded (or something similar) and Humana merely covers what Metro Government says it wants to cover.

So, there you have it.

Greg Fischer and crew couldn’t give two flips.

Hiring a few friends at $100,000 a pop to “innovate”? Sure. That’s fine. Making sure someone who actually wants to serve the public gets to do so? Not so much.

But you – the reader – can actually put pressure on Greg Fischer to make this happen.

You know what to do.

Pro-tip to the charter schools folks: Having these Metro Council people write a letter in support of your group of religious extremists and teabaggers is not exactly a positive thing.

These folks:

Jon Ackerson, Stuart Benson, Cheri Bryant-Hamilton, Kelly Downard, Robin Engel, Ken Fleming, Bob Henderson, Dan Johnson, Kevin Kramer, Jerry Miller, Barbara Shanklin & Glen Stuckel

Wrote this letter:

CLICK FOR PDF

Eyes rolling yet?

Really. Here’s an excerpt from the Kids First Kentucky press release promoting Stephenson:

BAEO Kentucky Coordinator Pastor Jerry Stephenson stated, “As awareness of public charter schools grow so too does support, and as this petition indicates we’re experiencing an all time high in support for public charters.” Pastor Stephenson continued, “Now is the time for our elected officials to act, not on behalf of the teachers unions, but on behalf of the children. It’s time Kentucky finally put kids first.”

Charter schools still aren’t going to happen in Kentucky. Not until these folks learn to work on both sides of the aisle and abandon the Bluegrass “Institute” and anti-gay hatemonger Jerry Stephenson.

It’s enough to gag a maggot.

This is how hard the mainstream fell for the state government audit cover-up and ended up complicit in the white wash. [Page One]

Every day there’s another story about people freaking out over the Sherman Minton. Here’s your story for today about lane closures. [WHAS11]

Oh, look, here’s a cute op-end in A Kentucky Newspaper from Steve Beshear about how Kentuckians deserve to vote on gambling. They do. They just don’t want to vote on whether or not the horsey set gets constitutional rights to ownership. [C-J/AKN]

Now we’re back to “no confirmation” that Amazon is opening a distribution facility in Jeffersonville. [FOX41]

Need another reason to think that mortgage fraud “settlement” was an absolute joke? This audit uncovered extensive flaws in foreclosures. [NYT]

State Rep. Joni Jenkins has fought for years to strengthen animal cruelty laws and the legislature just rolls its eyes. Here’s hoping State Rep. Ron Crimm has success with his latest legislation, as he’s also been in the fight (trying to do the right thing) for several years. [WAVE3]

Now the State Fair Board’s Harold Workman says he is “very confident” that Kentucky Kingdom will reopen in 2013. Remember the story we ran last week? If not, you’ll probably want to read it. You’ll learn why Workman is talking out of his rear end with your tax dollars. [WFPL]

The Louisville Regional Airport Authority approved $140.5 million in capital projects. [Business First]

Are you ready for more of this ridiculous David Camm mess? Because it’s about to be on the teevee news non-stop. [WLKY]

Kentucky’s Medicaid contractors say they’re beginning to pay claims faster. [H-L]

MSD is teaming up with the 9th District Green Triangle Initiative, 15Thousand Farmers and Sustainable Clifton to educate the public on the benefits of rain barrels and downspout disconnection, as well as improve the water quality in the community. If you’re a local, go to the meeting on the 21st. 6:00 P.M. Clifton Center. 2117 Payne St. [Tina Ward-Pugh]

Fairness says it’s running this commercial across the state:

According to a release, the ad will initially air in Central Kentucky, eventually spreading to Eastern Kentucky.

No word on buys, the amount being spent, duration or anything like that.

Thoughts on the ad?

Jim Ramsey and Shirley Willihnganz make, what, eleventeen million combined dollars per year?

And the University of Louisville continues to raise tuition and spending more while at the same time complaining about budget cuts? All while refusing to find ways for proper employee compensation?

No worries! Aunt Shirl is giving folks some free basketball tickets. Women’s basketball.

To: UofL_Employees
Subject: Message from the Provost re: Invitation to Women’s Basketball Game
Importance: High

Colleagues,

As the budget news from Frankfort continues to be disappointing, we continue to look for ways to show our appreciation for your hard work and commitment to the university.

In that spirit, I would like to invite you to take part in an afternoon of fun with your colleagues while supporting one of UofL’s most successful and popular teams – our nationally ranked women’s basketball team.

UofL will host the University of Notre Dame for a basketball game Monday, Feb. 20, at 2 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center. Notre Dame currently is ranked fourth in the nation and is considered a strong contender for the Big East and NCAA championships. The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.

I have worked with the Athletics Department to secure 700 tickets for faculty and staff on a first-come, first-served basis. Employees can receive up to four free tickets by presenting their UofL employee IDs at either the Athletic Ticket Office in the Swain Student Activities Center on Belknap Campus or at the Office of the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, 3rd floor of the Abell Administration Center at the Health Sciences Center. The first 60 people to sign up at Belknap and the first 40 at the Health Sciences Center will receive free parking vouchers for the Yum! Center parking lot. (If you receive a parking pass, please carpool with others.)

Also, I am authorizing Supervisor Approved Leave for employees who wish to take advantage of this offer.

Because of the nature of our work, not everyone will be able to take this time off. We must be available to provide essential student services, for instance, and I am not encouraging faculty to cancel classes. Please check with your supervisor before making plans to attend the game.

For those attending, remember that parking downtown during the day can be a bear. TARC offers free transportation for students and employees with UofL ID. The #4 route loads at Fourth and Brandeis streets and drops off one block from the arena. The #18 bus loads at the Floyd Street parking garage and drops off about five blocks from the arena. Both pick up about every 15 minutes. For more information, go to http://louisville.edu/parking/tarc-service-to-kfc-yum-center or http://www.ridetarc.org/SearchByRoute.asp.

I also encourage you to attend other women’s games and to take advantage of all UofL athletics events. These student-athletes deserve our support, and I’m sure you and your families will find the games exciting. Many of the games are free or very inexpensive.

Thank you again for all you do for the university. I hope to see you at the game.

Shirley C. Willihnganz
Executive Vice President and University Provost

That’ll certainly make UofL critics happy.

You know how the Mockingbird Valley set are complaining about no longer being able to play speed racer through Lower Brownsboro?

And how this guy foams at the mouth about how business will suffer if people aren’t allowed to fly by them? (Yes, he’s likely paid by the group and doesn’t bother mentioning such)

About that silly killing business argument…

Read this story.

It’s all about area businesses benefiting from the closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge. Turns out slowed traffic is a good thing.

A little common sense goes a long way. But apparently not with this crowd of folks who doesn’t want to slow down to see some poor people on a sidewalk.

Ed Hart and Bruce Lunsford have obtained the North American rights to “Great Expectations.” Which is kind of a big deal. [C-J/AKN]

Once again, this is why Greg Fischer wanted to be mayor. For the socialite photo opportunities. In the “newspaper” that will run an op-ed this week about how the GOP “must convince young people it’s the party of options.” [V-T]

So now the news of Amazon building a massive distribution center in Jeffersonville is more than speculation? [FOX41]

What? The Democratic co-sponsor of the gambling bill is employed by a horse track co-owner? You don’t say. And that’s why the gambling bill is dead in the water as it currently exists. R.J. Palmer is just the latest kink in the chain. [John Cheves]

No, this Democratic teabagger girl is not going to beat Reggie Meeks. So please stop asking about it. [WFPL]

We don’t love much about Madonna Flood but her “Doing Our Part from the Heart” campaign is something we can all appreciate and support. Note: we didn’t publish the photos she sent this year because they were filled with nothing but products that are basically the reason America is fat as a house. But that doesn’t mean her project isn’t terrific. [WLKY]

Greg Fischer first found out what Pecha Kucha is more than a year ago at 21C. The same night he broke a sweat when he realized he would have to speak to Jake if he wanted to get near Gill Holland and other community leaders. So he just sat on a couch by himself for 45 minutes. Oh, about Pecha Kucha… turns out he’s now having his own little funtimes party with a cash bar in Metro Hall on the 21st. You can come to your own conclusions. [Consuming Louisville]

What? Now Bowman Field may be keeping all those trees? Funny how that worked out. [WHAS11]

This has little to do with Louisville but a Johnny Cash museum is planned for Nashville. Which gives you more reason to visit a town that’s both smaller than Louisville and with better leadership. [Business First]

Jerry Abramson’s (remember him?) former Housing Director is set to go on trial in May. We predict the mainstream will protect her superiors at all costs. [WAVE3]

Speaking of the mainstream ignoring a massive scandal… don’t forget that a massive state government audit revealed all kinds of corruption, millions of wasted dollars and basically no direction in the Beshear Administration. It was quickly covered up (literally 30 minutes after it was release) by a press conference about gambling. [Page One]

Yes, another one of these stories.

This:

The Louisville Metro Council Planning and Zoning committee tabled an amendment to the landmarks ordinance proposed by Councilman David Yates, D-25, which would make significant changes to the city’s land development code.

The current ordinance requires residents gather at least 200 signatures to petition the Landmarks Commission for protected status for a building or monument. In Yates’s amended version, however, 102 of the signatures would have to come from people who live or own property within a one-mile radius of the proposed historical site.

Further changes would give the council final say on any landmark designations, but preservationists argue the proposed guidelines threaten historic buildings and favor developers.

Yates says the Landmarks Commission does important work, but the council should have more oversight.

“The Landmarks Commission is appointed by the mayor and therefore not held accountable by the constituents. While they do great work, we respect them and we need them…I think there should be oversight and there should also be a forum for constituents and neighborhoods who are affected to be able to voice their concerns to an open body,” he says.

The rest of the council Democrats are TERRIFIED to stand up against Greg Fischer. Even Jim King, who has turned into everything he said he was not. Absolutely laughable.

Yates, however, is stomping on Fischer’s nuts and you can expect more of this out of him.

The fact that Metro Council doesn’t want to stand up for something like this is absurd.

For the past two years, Davis Russel (who turned five in January), has collected food for Dare to Care at his birthday party. Last year he collected 86 pounds of food – and we’re not talking about cranberry sauce and artichoke hearts.

This year, however, young Davis – with the help of his classmates at St. Matthews Baptist Preschool – nearly doubled the previous year’s efforts. A total of 160 pounds of food was collected.

THAT is why Louisville can have nice things.