Larry Hausman is kicking off his congressional campaign on Monday the 25th, 11:00 A.M., Bowman Field Airport Terminal. [Press Release]

Not surprisingly, your hometown newspaper thinks it’s fine and dandy to prey on the emotions of consumers by using Haiti to make a buck. Guess it’s no worse than a non-profit having overhead costs. Though, it’d be just as easy for a business to donate a portion of proceeds rather than use a disaster to to pull in profits. [C-J]

Yesterday President Barack Obama announced the Presidential Citizens Medal. Get all the details and watch the video at the link. [White House]

Jefferson County PVA Tony Lindauer wants to know what you think. [Take The Survey]

How sad. Somebody jumped to their death from the Heyburn Building yesterday. [C-J]

Fairdale Bigfoot is still running for mayor and he’s got a new advice column this week! Relationship advice time! [Consuming Louisville]

That Jesus Museum in Northern Kentucky is going to be pissed that the Louisville Zoo is about to play host to some robodinos. [WHAS11]

Big news for the corner of Market & Cambell. New restaurant, wine shop. Excitement! [C-J]

Suburban dollars fund urban services but benefits are often shared? [WFPL]

Ellen Call is the new spokescritter for Insight in Louisville. Maybe she can make their shiz work and maybe call it quits with the 900 Insight Phone 2.0 mail pieces every Louisvillian receives every day? [C-J]

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is holding its annual conference in Louisville January 14 through January 17 at the Seelbach. [Press Release]

What does Greg Fischer love about Louisville? His campaign staff reached really far for this one, kids. [Consuming Louisville]

You ready for tomorrow night at 9:00? A&E’s The First 48 premiers with a focus on LMPD’s Homicide Unit as it investigates the double murder of Dion & Timela Smith in March 2009. [Press Release]

Greg Fischer has been very busy touring the lieberry and stuff. [Twitter Machine]

Oh noes for the McMahan fire chief. Spending city money on his shiz. Smooth move, duder. [C-J]

Why is Jerry Abramson still screwing police officers and keeping their money? This is not a political issue and it’s time for him to stop sticking it to the most important folks in the city. [WLKY]

On the 18th University of Louisville students will go door to door asking for donations for Dare to Care. There will be three 15-passenger vans making the rounds from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. Contact Pam Curtis (502.314.6646), Brigid Welch (812.599.9042) or Natasha Ramsey (859.621.7553) to get involved. [Press Release]

WAVE3’s News Director, Lee Eldridge, is allegedly leaving to pursue other business opportunities. [Click the Clicky]

Sparkman is the U.S. Census worker who was found dead near a cemetery in Clay County.

UPDATE @ 2:00:

State & Federal officials have ruled the death of U.S. Census worker Bill Sparkman a suicide.

Sparkman’s body was found duct taped and gagged in September near a cemetery in Clay County.

The sad press release says Sparkman held two life insurance policies that don’t cover suicide.

Another Update: Sorry. Forgot to include the press release.

Click here for that.

Local altars will be installed in lobbies of museums, libraries, schools and social organizations and will be free to the public.

The various altars:

• Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft – altars to Yuma 14 border-crossing victims, Beverly Hills Supper Club fire victims, disaster victims and others (October 19th through November 11th, multiple activities)
• 21C Museum Hotel – Seventh Street side – installation of 10,000 paper monarch butterflies to commemorate people who died immigrating to the United States
• Frazier International History Museum – altar honoring jazz musician and WWII veteran Tito Puente
• Louisville Science Center – UofL’s Society of Physics Students marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s birth
• Muhammad Ali Center – Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana members honoring deceased loved ones
• UofL’s Ekstrom Library and Schneider Hall lobbies – altars by Spanish and Fine Arts students
• Mellwood Arts Center – altars to recently deceased artist Bill Christie and Jen Futrell
• St. Francis High School – honoring Bob Marley
• Archdiocese of Louisville – altars at Catholic Charities and Maloney, Flaget and Catholic Enrichment centers noting multiculturalism, immigration and victims of cancer and natural disasters
• Indiana University Southeast – Barr Gallery lobby in Knob View Hall, altar by Graphic Design and Spanish classes to U.S. victims of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, noon November 2 through 11:00 A.M. November 4.

Downtown installations will be featured during the First Friday Gallery Hop from 5:00 to 10:00 P.M. on November 6th.

Speaking of LEO: Former editor Cary Stemle is playing with the band Mojo Bey at Air Devils Inn on Friday night.  There it is, a reason to go to ADI.

And Guess Who’s 60?: The Voice-Tribune, first published 7/14/49. There’s something to be said for survival in the newspaper business. [Voice-Tribune]

A Reason to Watch a Game Show: On tonight’s episode of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” on ABC, Louisville native Leslie Salyer answers some questions from Regis. So she’s getting her 15 minutes of fame. [WHAS Radio]

We Just Might Have to Go See This: Hooter girls playing volleyball in the mud? The restaurant chain is doing a promotion for the March of Dimes, Aug. 29 at Iroquois Park’s riding stables.  A dozen Hooter girls per side, and you can get your picture made with one of ‘em for three bucks. No mud-rasslin’ though.

We Also Heard: Chris Thieneman hand-delivered that open records request to city auditor Mike Norman today.

This Guy Went to Atherton and WKU: J.C. Hutchins writes thrillers, including this one that involves the reader in the story in an unusual way. You get actual personal effects if you buy the book, “Personal Effects: Dark Art.” [Out-of-Book Experience]

We Have a Prescription Drug Problem: And AG Jack Conway is launching a task force tomorrow, with a $50,000 federal grant, to do something about it. [Page One]

Last Story: Two giants of media have passed away in the last two days. Cancer took both conservative columnist Robert Novak, known as the “Prince of Darkness”, and legendary “60 Minutes” producer Don Hewitt.

Bill and his wife Carol were the force behind Butler Books, the local publishing house that is responsible for dozens and dozens of local book projects. He was a former advertising executive, and started publishing in 1980. He and Carol, an executive in Metro Government, started Butler Books in 1989.

Local writers whose works were published through Butler include C.D. Kaplan, Earl Cox, Grady Clay, Sarah Fritschner, Julius Friedman, David Inman and many, many others. Butler Books has really been the only place to go with an idea for a local book, and has taken on topics from Makers Mark to the Seelbach to local weather.

Bill Butler’s friends and family are planning a memorial service on July 25 at The Olmstead.

Butler, who was 60, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

This Didn’t Suprise Anyone, Did it? Takes some gonads to build a football stadium addition in the middle of an economic downturn while your football team is sliding toward mediocrity. At a place you weren’t selling out anyway. U of L Athletic officials sure have ‘em. And season ticket sales are off at their lowest level in 10 years. [Courier]

C-J Rumor Department: One of the C-J’s top three execs, managing editor Ben Post, will retire Aug. 1, several inside sources tell us.  It’s good news — word is that his departure could save a job or two. Gannett’s next round of rumored company-wide cuts are to be announced next week.

Next Time, Use Cash: There’s just nothing good that comes from using somebody else’s money for a good time with strippers. Spencer County judge-executive David Jenkins was dodging media yesterday after it was discovered that he charged lap dances at the Thorobred Club on 7th Street (come on, David, that’s just disgusting) with his Ky. Assoc. of Counties card. Also . . . a Lexington escort service and the Godfather on Preston. Of course, Jenkins says it wasn’t him.  [Fox41]

Close to Nauseated: The idea of honoring Michael Jackson on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives was a nauseating idea, according to John Yarmuth. He’s right.  Never been done before for a celebrity, and it’s no time to start now. Check out the interview with John Ziegler. [Page One]

Boney Exclusive: We said we weren’t reporting on the David Camm trial, but still found it interesting that Charles Boney singled out WLKY’s Ben Jackey to call from prison to make sure he made his point. Which, I think, was that he won’t be testifying in any new trial. [WLKY]

Worthy Campaign: Not many of David Hawpe’s columns in the C-J elicit postive reactions, but it’s a good thing to spotlight the St. John’s Day Center’s fundraising campaign.  Homeless men in our community have to go somewhere, and St. John’s provides them with a place. And when the Center finds them housing, they often succeed. [Hawpe, Fox41]

Horne On Board for Jack: Andrew Horne is the latest Democrat to sign up to support Jack Conway’s U.S. Senate bid. [Page One]

Wondering What’s Happening with Our Fave U of L Professor: Here’s the latest in the never-ending Robert Felner scandal. [Page One]

How to Be a Reporter: Thanks to WFPL’s Gabe Bullard for pointing out YouTube’s Reporters’ Center, which gives helpful hints on reporting from people like Katie Couric and Bob Woodward. Cool? Yes. [YouTube]

How Slow Is It?: I counted six video cameras and plenty of reporters at today’s Sullivan University System news conference. The expansion was newsworthy, but the story got a lot more play because nothing was going on. And it was nice to get outside.

Long Way Down: Imagine being a doctor grossing $7 million a year, then blowing everything at casinos and racetracks. Dr. Stanly Lowenbraun killed himself in a Vegas hotel room, 10 years after initiating the largest bankruptcy case in Kentucky history. [Courier]

Power Out:  LG&E is experiencing some random power outages, (including Jake’s neighborhood) nothing widespread, but still if you call its phone system and try to talk to someone, it’s impossible to do.  The message says they’re experiencing high call volumes, so too bad for you.Which sucks.

The Grim Reaper: Add Fred Travalena, familiar to those of us who watched late-night TV in the ’70s and ’80s, to the list of celebrity deaths that’s getting kind of creepy. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays in the span of several days.

Final Four? In the H-L, Jack Brammer speculates that Steve Beshear may pick his running mate for the 2011 Governors race before the August Fancy Farm picnic, and has Jerry Abramson atop a list that includes state auditor Crit Luallen, Owensboro’s Helen Mountjoy and Tommy Thompson. By law, he has to choose someone before he can start raising money. Of course, all four say they’re not interested. [Herald-Leader]

Mays is Out: Billy Mays, TV’s famed infomercial king, was found dead in his Tampa home on Sunday. [Tampa TV]

Important Law, Silly Story: In Richmond, mall officials evicted an EKU student because her dress, which she bought there, was too short. The local paper wrote about it, and some anonymous poster wrote a false accusation in the comments. So the student sued the poster, and subpoenaed the paper in its quest to find out who the poster is. It could become an important First Amendment precedent, and is getting national media coverage. [Courier]

Here We Go Again: The busy corner of Bardstown and Taylorsville roads is the site of the next controversy involving the city’s planning department. Summary — A plan for a bank on the former gas station site was approved, then changed. Rather than get the changes approved by a committee charged with doing so, Bill Schreck and Charles Cash approved it themselves. Now the committee is upset and the bank is backing out. [Courier]

Berman’s Hot Seat: Tonight the Board of Education will talk about the job being done by JCPS Superintendent Sheldon Berman, which, if you believe a survey conducted by the teachers association, isn’t very good. [WHAS-TV]

Krekel Celebrated: It was a most unusual memorial for musician Tim Krekel on Sunday. [Courier]

Learn About the Loop — The Parks Department is hosting a public event for residents to learn about the proposed Louisville Loop. It’s from 10-1 Saturday at the Farnsley-Moreman Landing. Ride your bike. [Metro]

Cheap Beer — Is it enough to get you back to the track for night racing? [Churchill Downs]

Read The Slugger Book — Authors of the new Louisville Slugger book, “Sweet Spot: 125 Years of Baseball and the Louisville Slugger” will be signing copies down at the Museum today and tomorrow.

Carrying It Out — The New Bethel Church Open Carry Celebration is Saturday from 5 until 8. The NY Times has actually sent a reporter, Katherine Q. Seelye, to Louisville to cover it. [NYTimes]

Krekel Procession — On Sunday, you can be part of a New Orleans-style funeral procession from lower Frankfort Avenue to the Vernon Club. Bring a colorful umbrella and a tambourine in honor of Tim Krekel. Or just yourself. [Stemle]

Or Watch Some Political TV — The guests on Comment on Kentucky tonight on KET are columnist Ronnie Ellis, C-J racing writer Greg Hall and the Herald-Leader’s Larry Dale Keeling. Debriefing on the Session and they’ll talk about horseracing. It starts at 8 tonight.