It’s that time again. Watch us on the teevee and send us all of your hooker & coke money! (People always complain when I say that…)

We discussed everything under the sun this week. From charity to the Democratic outrage at the Fischer campaign. It’s all here.

Yes, we got some good entries in our little contest to win a copy of Shane Sellers‘ book, “Freedom’s Rein.” The winner is Jeff Ashley, who wrote the winning entry, which we’ve included below.

I just finished reading the book last night, and recommend it as a telling story about the struggles jockeys go through, and the particular struggles that Sellers has endured, even if some of his battles were of his own doing. It’s a rags to riches to rags story, as Sellers traces his journey from an abusive Louisiana childhood to winning millions and riding in the Kentucky Derby. Then he explains the odd story of how he was banned from the sport, later blowing his last wad of cash on a big farm and a woman after losing his wife and kids, who were living in Louisville.

Sellers names a few names in the book, detailin [Read more →]

The court challenge to the city’s dangerous dog ordnance, based on the plaintiffs’ contention that it was enacted unfairly, has been denied by Jefferson Circuit Judge Martin F. McDonald.

The ruling leaves in place the current dog ordinance, enacted late last year.

Bottom line: the dog ordinance enacted by the Metro Council withstood the court challenge and remains in place.

Chris Thieneman, the often controversial political figure and current primary challenger of Anne Northup for the 3rd District Congressional nod, is up on television with his first commercial. The winner will face current Rep. John Yarmuth in the fall.

Rick will have more on the story a bit later.

Next Tuesday, May 13, there will be more than 500 events held nationally to celebrate LIVESTRONG Day. It’s the brainchild of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, one of the most professional and efficient charitable organizations in the country.

In Louisville, the celebration of cancer survivors will take place at Slugger Field during the Louisville Bats game with Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Please consider coming out to join us whether you’re a survivor or not. Jeanine Redding, my wife, is organizing the Louisville event, and will throw out the first pitch. The national event unites people affected by cancer and raises awareness and funds for the cancer fight.

There will be yellow armbands for sale ($1) and a special message from Lance Armstrong will be played on Slugger Field’s big screen. And is so happens the good folks in the Bats’ promotional department will be selling hot dogs and Pepsi for a dollar. Ticket prices start at $7.

We may seem like heartless critics of politicians and media types, but we do like to contribute something of value to our world. So we’re jumping at the chance to promote something that does some good.

Especially when the beneficiary is a cancer research organization, given that our families have been touched in many ways by cancer. So tomorrow, May 10, the good folks at Java Brewing Company on Frankfort Avenue (where many Page One/Ville Voice rants originate) will host a yard sale, with the proceeds to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer - Pediatric Cancer Research.  Java will also donate 10% of its sales to the foundation.

You might remember the horse Afleet Alex, who finished third in the 2005 Derby before winning the Preakness and Belmont, and the news that was generated when its owners donated a portion of the horse’s winnings to the cause. The organization was even allowed to set up a stand at Churchill Downs.

Other businesses on Frankfort Avenue are encouraged to participate by donating a portion of their proceeds on Saturday to the foundation, which has raised more than $18 million.

Come by to help out a good cause.

Whoa, Boy. In Dan Klepal’s C-J story this morning on the city budget, Jerry Abramson says the city would be a “hurtin’ cowboy” if not for a few breaks it got in the budget. Still, he’s singing the budget blues again, cutting another $3 million from the city budget for this fiscal year, just weeks before he is scheduled to offer up a new budget for next year.

He found another $3 million in excess money, including $1 million from the city’s health insurance plan and $800,000 from money set aside and not spent on bond issues. But the Mayor’s not getting a free pass — the Council’s Kelly Downard says it’s no economic downturn, but mistaken projections in the budget that are to blame.

How bad does it have to get before it’s time to eliminate some of the 7,000 jobs in Metro Government, rather than cutting services?

Poolish Move: The C-J’s editors think closing the city’s swimming pools is the wrong direction for the city to go to save money, and take a shot at the crazy idea of replacing them with “spray-grounds” that simply spout water in sprays. Hmph. Wny not just open up fire hydrants?

Clinton and the Ky Dems: Hillary Clinton will speak tonight at a downtown Louisville fund-raiser sponsored by the Kentucky Democratic Party. You can go for $50, and be among the 1,000 expected. The Herald-Leader reports the Clinton campaign is running a new ad in Kentucky and hopes for a big win here. Officials hoped Obama would also appear at tonight’s event, but he chose to campaign in Oregon this week, which also has a May 20 primary.

Thieneman TV: In the 3rd District Republican primary, Chris Thieneman is doing his best to make Anne Northup uncomfortable. He’ll start airing commercial spots this weekend, and we hope to have a copy for you here today. He says he’s got $125,000 to spend, including $60,000 of his own money.

Is Fischer on Drugs?: He claims he won’t be in the pockets of the big pharmaceutical companies, but Democratic Senate candidate Greg Fischer turns out to be profiting from them. As Page One reports, Fischer has personal investments in Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Bradmer. Fischer’s getting a nice, expensive political education.

Enough Already: We think Jack Conway’s doing a good job and all, but touting his work against online perverts over and over again is getting a little old. Jake’s keeping track of such things, and counts six press releases since January on what a fine job Conway’s doing fighting MySpace and Facebook. Most of us can’t imagine our kids getting in that kind of trouble online, and if they did, I’m not sure Conway’s agreements will do much to prevent it.

I don’t pretend to have any expertise on sewers — it’s not a topic that I can generate much enthusiasm for. I can attest that there are few public agencies that bring about more complaints and controversy than our own Metropolitan Sewer District. How else to explain the fact that MSD spokesman Bud Schardein gets more TV face time than the Mayor.

The government agency’s practices have been investigated and criticized by the likes of LEO and been subject to the scorn of citizens. A plan to divert sewage from the Jeffersontown wastewater treatment plant to the West County Plant in the Southwest has met with resistance in Valley Station. But the J-town and Floyds Fork plants are so far past capacity that the EPA won’t allow new hook-ups, stalling area construction. There seems to be no efficient solution. [Read more →]

Here’s just the news you need to bring you out of that rain-induced bummer-dom:

Louisville has been recognized as one of the most-improved cities in the U.S. for biking by Bicycling Magazine. In the story, the magazine credits Mayor Jerry Abramson for the 2005 Bike Summit he organized that kicked off the local cycling surge. Add in enthusiasts like John Schnatter and David Jones and before you knew it there were plans for a 100-mile loop around the city, which I hope to ride in the next few years.

Given that you can’t watch a newscast without a story about high gas prices, and the Mayor’s three-year-old initiative looks pretty visionary. The magazine cites Humana’s bike-sharing program downtown (hey Mayor, when you gonna expand that one for the rest of us?) and those twice-yearly city-wide “Hike and Bike” events, and, hey, we’re looking pretty good as a bike town.

Barring something unforeseen, like oversleeping, I’ll be doing the Memorial Day event with the Mayor and probably 4,000 others.

Meanwhile, we’re working on pedestrian-friendly initiatives, too, and the Mayor’s first Pedestrian Summit is this weekend.  It probably won’t feature suggestions like this one from the Onion.

Is the African-American point of view under-represented in the mainstream media in Louisville?

That’s not his main point, but it’s something that’s implied in Phillip Bailey’s post on The SOULution, a resource for some really intelligent thought on African-American issues.

Bailey points out that consumer choices for those issues, in terms of mainstream media, are limited to a monthly column by Ricky L. Jones in LEO, Betty Baye’s weekly column in the Courier-Journal, and Javicia Harris’ blogs for Velocity. You could conclude taht there’s not a lot of voice given to the black POV in town.

Of course, there’s plenty of coverage of West End issues in the newspaper and on TV news, but that’s almost always about crime.

Bialey makes a point, in a column he wrote for a local “hair” magazine called L-Stylz, that A-A journalism is not well-represented by the Louisville Defender (for which I couldn’t even find a Website), which he says has been reduced to a “clerical photo gallery.”

Admittedly, I’m not sure there’s a demand for such information, but I think Bailey’s efforts on The SOULution will help.

Lovin’ on Bruce: The Herald-Leader’s profile of Bruce Lunsford, by Sarah Vos, couldn’t have been written any more to the liking of the campaign. First, it ignores the existence of a primary opponent, and explains away the Vencor business history in the way the campaign would like, making the point that an investor who held on to his stock would be doing quite well today. And Bruce’s childhood, like one of those fish stories, gets tougher every election. I don’t doubt that he really went five years without indoor plumbing, but it’s not something we talked about in 2007.

Super Stubbon Delegates: Also in the H-L, there’s an explanation of the thinking of the Kentucky superdelegate split — three for Clinton, two for Obama and three: Gov. Steve Beshear, Dem. Party Chair Jennifer Moore and Vice Chair Nathan Smith — who insist they’ll wait until after the May 20 primary. Terry McBrayer, the first to declare for Clinton, says there’s a lot of pressure coming from Washington to end the suspense.

Is the Derby Over?: Somebody please tell the editors over at the C-J, who have all the five-day old news heading up their Website.

JCTA Endorses Thieneman: I’m told the powerful Jefferson County Teachers Association has endorsed Chris Thieneman in the 3rd District Republican Congressional primary. That’s a big one, and indicates that Anne Northup may have a tougher primary fight on her hands than expected. Thieneman will begin airing TV spots soon.

We Made Politico!: More evidence we’re making the big time in the blog-world — our mention in Politico columnist Ben Smith’s column.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent, will be in Louisville next week, and you can join her for lunch.

She’ll discuss journalism, politics and world events with area journalists in an event sponsored by the Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. That’s a pretty big deal.

The award-winning reporter will appear in an informal setting Wednesday, May 14 at Noon at the Mary Anderson Room at the Kentucky Center. Your $12 admission includes a box lunch.

To RSVP, contact Beth Newberry at newberry.beth@gmail.com or call her up at 592-7657.

The Obama Presidential campaign isn’t giving up on Kentucky, despite poll results that show him trailing Hillary Clinton here by a wide (62-28) margin. In fact, the campaign is cranking up the heat by releasing a list of prominent politicians around the state who are supporting him.

Today the Obama campaign released a long list of current and former elected officials that form its “Kentucky Leadership Committee,” and announced its 14th state office location, this one in Frankfort. The list of Obama supporters include six Metro Council members - Cheri Bryant Hamilton, Tom Owen, Barbara Shanklin, David Tandy, George Unseld and Mary Woolridge.

Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh is an active supporter of Hillary Clinton, who has plenty of local political supporters. Seems that officials of the Democratic Party, with the exception of Gov. Steve Beshear, are stepping out and taking sides in the race.

See the Obama list after the jump:

[Read more →]

Seems like something eerie is going on in town today, testing the response capacity of local media outlets.

Around 10 this morning, a plane crashed shortly after takeoff near Bowman Field, landing in someone’s yard on Hughes Drive. It was the second plane to end up in a yard near Bowman in a month. On April 6, a Colorado pilot crashed on Valletta Drive in Seneca Gardens. Today’s plane came to rest on the opposite side of Bowman, near the Big Spring Country Club.

The C-J’s Chris Kenning has a story up on the event, and the paper has pictures online, but it looks like the C-J has discontinued time-stamping its reports, so I’m not sure how quickly it responded. The TV stations all have video up on the crash.

It can’t make residents feel very comfortable living around the airport. Look for some sort of investigation to get underway by the Metro Council on Bowman traffic.

Shortly afterward, a fire started on the Big Four Bridge, and WHAS-TV and WLKY-TV have video of the event as it’s happening. WAVE-TV’s online coverage includes a story and pictures, but no video is immediately available there, or on Fox41.

Conclusion from Mr. Obvious: TV station Websites are the place to go for pictures and video of breaking news events, and WHAS and WLKY are the best bet to have live video of breaking news.

Here’s what I hear people who support Greg Fischer say most frequently about him: he’s a nice guy, and he’s smart.

So I’m wondering how he justifies the mean-spirited attacks he’s produced on Bruce Lunsford, especially in the face of growing resistance from everyone who’s anyone in the Democratic Party. Today the Lunsford campaign released a letter from John Y. Brown III criticizing Fischer’s tactics and asking people to sign a petition asking Fischer to stop with the attack ads.

Page One has a long list of prominent Democrats who have signed the petition.

Here’s a link to my feature story in LEO this week about a police-citizen conflict in Audubon Park.

The citizen is pissed because after living and parking in the same spot for a decade, the police department in Audubon Park has started enforcing a previously unknown parking ordinance. The police say that getting away with it for years doesn’t mean you can continue breaking the law.

So Suzette Sewell Scheuerman has become a royal pain in the police department’s ass. She’s confronted police chief Carl Reesor at 5:00 a.m., been cited for riding through town yelling about her situation out the window of her car (her court case on that one comes up this month), and covered her front yard with signs critical of the police department.

She thinks the police have a vendetta against her, while the Chief says she’s just not following the law. She says she’s moving and renting out her house to students.

Scheuerman, a nurse, makes a convincing case about the police tactics going overboard, and she created a highly-detailed Website about her care. But beyond her, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else upset with the police department.

We’re Next: Last night’s Presidential Primary results in North Carolina and Indiana didn’t settle anything, so Kentucky gets a turn as a battleground state in the national race. Clinton’s margin in Indiana was razor-thin, while Obama blew her away in North Carolina. And despite the recent endorsement of Ben Chandler and enthusiastic crowds at office openings in the Bluegrass state, a Survey USA poll released yesterday shows a 62-28 margin for Clinton. Here in Louisville, it’s closer at 54-39. Check out Ryan Alessi’s analysis of the statewide race.

No Evidence, No Knowledge: Those folks from PETA won’t accept the Eight Belles tragedy for what it is, foolishly blaming the jockey and the track surface for the horse’s death. So yesterday they staged a protest in Lexington at the state’s racing offices.  PETA claims jockey Gabriel Saez should have noticed the filly was injured, despite EVERYONE in racing having said there was no way for anyone to tell. PETA’s protest was hardly a groundswell — 20 people showed up — but just as many racing supporters countered them.  It’s obvious the folks at PETA know next to nothing about racing, and their attempts to take advantage of the situation are shameful.

Beer Busts Free: It sounded like the script for a Budweiser commercial, but instead it was an actual accident that occurred yesterday on I-264. No, there was no mob of onlookers on the scene looking for free beer. Worth noting, though, that in its haste to get the story up online, the C-J originally got the location of the accident wrong.  Equally disappointing, the story attracted just a couple of jokes from readers.

Fischer Support: I went to Owl Creek last night to meet the 18th District candidates for Metro Council (more on that later) where Greg Fischer’s third cousin and scheduler touted her candidate for U.S. Senate by saying that he’s intelligent, really intelligent. Chris Lebrasseur admitted she was naive at this politics thing, adding that she really thinks Greg is smart.  28 people, including the five candidates, most with a campaign ally in tow, incumbent Julie Raque Adams and District Judge candidate Ann Bailey Smith, were there. In other words, a handful of citizens showed up.

It looks like WHAS-TV was satisfied enough with its first webcast last fall to try another election night special hosted by Joe Arnold.

This time, the online video production will feature Sean Smith from the Obama campaign, Jonathan Hurst from the Clinton campaign and analyst Scott Jennings, the sharp former White House aide now working at Peritus Public Relations.

When the Webcast idea originated last fall, it was a local first — a production specifically targeting online viewers that did not air on the station.

The production will highlight the latest Survey USA poll on the presidential race in Kentucky,which shows an astonishing 62-28 edge for Clinton in the Bluegrass State, the worst Obama showing in any contested state.

The ‘Ville Voice has received plenty of reaction for our criticism of WAVE-TV’s promoting of the turkey-hunter shooting story, so we took a look at how local stations treated it.

It was a horrible accident, by all accounts, in which a man shot his son in the head while out turkey hunting. It came on a day when several other stories competed for news time and stations launched investigative pieces for sweeps. It was the night before the Indiana presidential primary, there was still a lingering buzz about the Eight Belles tragedy, and some sicko in Fern Creek was videotaping boys in a public bathroom.

First, Fox ignored the story of the turkey hunter, and it led with the Clinton-Obama race. It had the most complete piece on the Wal-mart kook, including video of the perp’s home. And its MSD investigation, we’ve noted, was good journalism.

[Read more →]

The good folks in the South End of Jefferson County have a huge interest in what’s going on with government, perhaps more so than anywhere else in town. Ray Pierce and Paul Holliger are, in the classic sense, political activists, and for some time they’ve set their sights on exposing the Metropolitan Sewer District for misleading the public.

In Fox’s Dick Irby, they finally got someone to listen. In Irby’s five-minute piece, (yes, it was ONLY on Fox) he pinned down Bud Schardein of MSD on several issues, most relating to projected rate increases for sewer repairs, and needed improvements. Though he doesn’t appear on camera, 14th District Metro Council candidate Ed Springston has worked with Pierce and Holliger to produce information that they say shows MSD is not being realistic about its future expenses.

MSD passed a rate hike of 6.9% last year. Holliger says rates could double in five years. They’ve formed a group called STOP (Stop Invisible Taxes) to push for more oversight of MSD, an government agency that has its own board. Schardein admits there will be rate increases, but claims there is no financial crisis.

And kudos to Fox for updating its Website. Its new video player is a vast improvement.