OK, the e-mail from the 8664 folks wasn’t all that giddy, but there is some excitement in its tone.
Today, the 8664 organization is urging citizens to call Frankfort and tell Senators to approve $341 million in bridges spending, money that could get the East End bridges project going. From 8664, the result would be:
If […]

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If you’re familair with the words “Big Dig” as they relate to Boston’s massive road construction project, you probably know it’s considered a shining example of how not to build roads. They finally finished the project in December, which included a tunnel under the city, in December. Today’s Boston Globe has a story on how […]

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Let’s see, that’s $ 1.5 billion, right? WDRB’s Bill Lamb has an easy solution for the problems in state government — just sell five casino licenses in Kentucky for $300 million each. It’s that simple. Gov. Beshear, are you listening?
Bet Against Quality. Tomorrow’s game between the crappy Kentucky basketball team and the uninspiring […]

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This is a special guest post from one of the V.V.’s best pals, Steve Magruder, operator of the Louisville History & Issues site. Steve details his exchange with David Hawpe over the 8664 issue, but comes to a conclusion shared by many about the reason the C-J so strongly supports certain city initiatives. But don’t […]

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This week’s LEO weighs in mightily on some important issues around here: the fate of local radio, the fate of the downtown arena, the fate of Panhandling and Dog Ordinance issues, the fate of the city’s bonding issues. No one else has given a fair shake, media-wise, to issues like 8664.
As for the fate of […]

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It’s hard not to like John Yarmuth. A year into his first-term as 3rd District Congressman, it’s obvious that he’s having a good time in Washington, but he’s also taking his job seriously. When he spoke to about 50 folks at Spalding University last night (a mix of journalists and students), he was eager […]

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Editorial writers at the C-J are running out of ways to knock proponents of 8664 around. Today it’s calling the proposal “nutty” and suggesting that Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh should be laughed out of the room for suggesting that the regional transportation planning agency, KIPDA, study 8664’s potential impact. The editorial claims that any study would […]

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Last night, the Metro Council committee trying to keep the 8664 idea alive hosted Harold Tull, who represents the transportation area of KIPDA, the regional transportation planning agency. Much of the one-hour meeting centered on whether on not Mr. Tull’s agency could and/or would undertake a study of 8664 to assess its feasibility.
Tull was polite […]

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We weren’t able to attend Wednesday’s big meeting on the 8664 movement, but we’re glad that 260 concerned citizens turned out, and that our friend Steve Magruder provided this report for us. You’ll find this coverage to be, well, totally different than anything the Courier-Journal will ever publish. Here’s a link to Marcus Green’s story […]

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Shame on School Board: The margin was just 4-3, but the Jefferson County School Board resisted the efforts of the Frank Simon hate crowd, barely, and voted to add language to its employment policy preventing discrimination of gays and lesbians. Apparently, the board members received a torrent of phone calls from Simon-affiliated folks.  They apparently […]

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Repeat, Repeat: Apparently David Hawpe and the Courier-Journal editorial board are prepared to write anti-8664 editorials every time the proposal is discussed in public. But simply saying the same thing in a different way doesn’t make it more true. Today, the bizarro editorial calls on the 1974 movie “Young Frankenstein” to make its point, […]

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Seen in the Crowd: At Freedom Hall Saturday, Metro Council’s Glen Stuckel and Tom Owen, and PVA head Tony Lindauer. It’s going to be fun watching Terrence Williams for U of L this year, and not just because he’s a threat to go triple-double any game. During warm-ups Saturday, he spent several minutes staring down […]

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Interesting that the debate over the 8664 plan is generating plenty of talk in the media. Last week, Metro Council members Rick Blackwell and Tina Ward-Pugh announced formation of a committee to study the merits of 8664. A Courier-Journal editorial (Sorry, Folks) attacked the Council members as “reckless.”
But this week, a few media members gave […]

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One of my favorite lyrics comes from an old Steve Forbert tune:
“I don’t want to see no fortune teller, I’d rather do without prediction, I’ll see when it’s all before me, hey, what’s the hurry?”
With apologies to Steve, here’s some ideas about the future.
As Predicted: The C-J Editorial Board slammed the Metro Council for its […]

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One thing that the Metro Council’s Rick Blackwell and Tina Ward-Pugh made clear in their remarks at a Waterfront press conference today — they’re not taking sides on the 8664 proposition, which would essentially remove the interstate expressway from downtown Louisville. But they are definitely open to the idea, and want to give it a […]

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