Frankfort has turned into a literal cesspool. Now everyone is peeing all over everybody else when it comes to Congressional redistricting. [H-L]

Steve Beshear was apparently one of the worst persons in the world on Friday. Not for bungling gambling for four years straight but for the Ark Park. [Page One]

Black and Latino students are performing at levels of 30 years ago. Is anyone paying attention to this? [HuffPo]

Is MSD really making big changes after that scathing state audit from Crit Luallen? [FOX41]

Work on the Sherman Minton is expected to be completed before the March 2 deadline. [Business First]

Jefferson County Public Schools needs consistent curriculum policies and the audit identified several areas for improvement. [WAVE3]

Work on a pedestrian bridge connecting elevated plazas downtown is moving forward. [Broken Sidewalk]

Okay, let’s get serious: There’s an accident involving a JCPS bus nearly every day, right? Come on, people, stop hitting school buses! [WHAS11]

Here’s more on those ten recommendations put forth by the Jefferson County Public Schools curriculum audit. [WFPL]

You’ll roll your eyes really hard at this story. Anyone who believes their 14-year-old hasn’t heard of blowjobs? Uh, yeah, maybe they have bigger problems than a piece of literature to worry about. [WLKY]

People are still freaking out about Rand Paul’s Nashville airport incident yesterday. [84WHAS]

We’d read it.

But we can’t decide if it’s creepy to profit off that mess or silly not to.

Thoughts?

So you’re definitely going to want to snatch up a copy of Jim Higdon’s The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate’s Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History – if just for the cover alone:

Here’s a teaser:

When Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in November 1980, Jack Smith’s days as US attorney were numbered. In 1981, the same year Harold Brown resigned in disgrace from the DEA, Smith stepped down when a Republican was appointed to his post. Yet, there for a period of time, Smith was in a position to evaluate the sorts of accusations that would follow Harold Brown to the grave. So, did Jack Smith think the drug-trafficking allegations against Brown and Thornton were credible?

“Well, of course, I don’t know for sure,” he later said. “I don’t have any facts to back that up, but that’s not what you asked. You asked if it was credible, and yeah, I’d say it’s credible.”

The book has nerves rattled in Frankfort and everybody is buzzing. We’ll be focusing on it over the next few months and will have a full review sometime soon.

Something tells us the book will be a hot ticket item in Kentucky.

Note: Pre-ordering will save $9 over retail. So it’s a good idea to be an early bird.

Louisville politics and Kentucky politics suck you-know-what.

So I bought ten sets of these two TERRIFIC bourbon books to give away:

Leave a comment on this post or email Jake (if you’re skeerd) – letting us know what drives you to drink and why you love bourbon.

We’ll draw winners sometime on Sunday evening.

P.S. If you don’t win? You should pick them up at your local bookseller or order them from the University Press of Kentucky.

As of last evening, there were several schools without volunteers. Fathers, grandfathers, uncles, older brothers are needed:

• Coral Ridge 4
• Kerrick 4
• Luhr 3
• Rangeland 3
• Sanders 3
• Shacklette 3
• Smyrna 4
• Stonestreet 3
• Watson Lane 3

Though, those needs could be different as of this posting.

If you’re interested in helping, contact Allene Gold at 502.485.3710.

Richards’ book was obtained by the team’s coach, David Barhorst, at WFPK’s fund drive last month.

All proceeds from the auction of the book – which you can bid on at eBay by clicking here – will be used by the team to participate in the Kentucky Youth Rugby League.

If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, here’s your chance to help some students out.

Solar power may already rival coal – allegedly – prompting an installation surge. Here’s wishing. [Bloomberg]

Passport Health Plan is doing the right thing by dropping its fight to keep its records secret. Good move for building public trust. [Debby Yetter]

Greg Fischer appointed three new members to the Metro Sewer District board: Yvonne Hatfield, James Craig and Tom Austin. Two out of three contributed to his mayoral campaign, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. Can you guess the two? [WFPL]

David Williams and Richie Farmer are hitting the television with the first campaign ad of the season. [Page One]

Metro Animal Services gave a woman’s dog away after the agency knew she wanted him. Wayne Zelinsky was director when it all went down. And you wonder why staffers drop like flies. [WHAS11]

UPDATE @ 10:50 A.M.: LMAS folks finally got back to me. According to sources who hate us and like us, the dog was in pitiful shape when LMAS received it. Nails were curled under its paw pads, the former owner allegedly admitted to not having had it to see a veterinarian in ages. Could definitely be argued that the dog is better off in a different home.

Karen Sypher has finally reported to federal prison. How will she cope with not being able to have press conferences at gas stations every five minutes? Hopefully the world will never know. [WAVE3]

So… maybe it’s not a good idea to shop at Kroger in PRP for a week or two. Just a hunch. [FOX41]

David Foster Wallace is being celebrated at Carmichael’s on Frankfort Avenue and you should take note. What a treasure of a book store. [Consuming Louisville]

Public meetings to discuss proposed changes to the Ohio River Bridges Debacle will be held in June. In other words, the Bridges “Authority” will yell at anyone asking questions. [C-J/AKN]

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray met with the mayor of Atlanta to discuss budgets. Has Greg Fischer met with anyone to discuss managing a city budget? Not a slight, a genuine question. [H-L]

Here and here (Warning: External PDF Link).

So it’s time to buy local.

Or? Just join the 21st Century and get a Kindle or read books on yer fancy iPad.

This concludes your morning nerd moment.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Physically attacking a kid in Southern Indiana because he’s gay (or for any reason)? Disgusting. [WAVE3]

The Fund for the Arts board says it took personnel action against Allan Cowen after his psychotic and horrible voicemail threat. [C-J/AKN]

The University of Louisville also lost a small satellite when the launch of NASA’s latest $424 million gadget fell from space. [Space.com]

What will SEEK cuts mean to students in Kentucky’s public schools? The future doesn’t look too bright. [Prichard Committee]

It’s mind-boggling to think Gannett had meetings and spent money on this “rebranding” effort. Wonder how many millions it cost? Not even the folks at the C-J would do something this silly. [Gannett Blog]

How does the Westboro Baptist Cult hang on to its tax-exempt status? Such a hot damn mess. [Slate]

They were all over Louisville and Owensboro this weekend spreading their ignorance and hatred. [FOX41]

Congratulations to WHAS11 photog Miachel Driver for being named 2010 NPPA Central General Photographer of the Year. [WHAS11 & NPPA]

The annual used book sale at Locust Grove is coming up this weekend. Thousands of used, new and other books for sale. It is amazing. [Consuming Louisville]

WAVE General Manager Steve Langford announced on Friday that he’s retiring from the station. Will his replacement be someone we’re familiar with or an outsider? [WAVE3]

Ever considered what Brooklawn does to support kids in need? Hope you’ll do so and at the same time help me give back. [The 'Ville Voice]

That’s right. I said Ernie Fletcher was a better governor than Steve Beshear. This is just scratching the surface. [Page One]

Ed Hart may not be looking for a backup plan on the Kentucky Kingdom redevelopment front. But he should. He’s not going to get what he wants out of the state. Steve Beshear remembers 2007 and 2008 and isn’t going to give in. [WFPL]

The Faux American Family Association is once again trying to boycott Homo Depot because they don’t hate the gays hard enough. All the more reason to go on a hope improvement shopping trip or two this week. [GET ON IT]

Billy Collins and Garrison Keillor will be guests of the University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum on Thursday, April 21 at the Kentucky Center. Tickets are just $17 for a pre-sale event with wine and cheese, the interview with Collins and Keillor and an audience question and answer session. $100 if you want a fancy dinner to go along with it all. [KAF]

It’s not exactly great news that emergency alert sirens didn’t sound in Jefferson County as all hell broke loose. [WAVE3]

A for-profit company in Louisville is now the home a piece of the World Trade Center rubble. Because you can never have enough of 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! [FOX41]

You should remain fully clothed 100% of the time, no matter what, no excuses. Because you never know when some psychjob is going to break into your apartment and force you out into the cold while you’re naked. [WHAS11]

Oh wow. Some crazy ass circus cats are coming to the Kentucky Center. Bets on whether Rep. Joni Jenkins will allow the employees on her cat farm to go see the show? [Kentucky Center]