Raise your head if you think Frankfort will do the right thing when it comes to halting executions. [WHAS11]

Oh snap! Looks like Robert White is having a rough go at it in the big city of Denver. Check out the shenanigans going down involving an anonymous letter. [Denver Post]

If you aren’t paying attention to the problems your first responders face in Louisville, you’re going to end up with a problem on your hands some day. There’s no reason EMS shouldn’t be treated like LMPD and Fire. All are equally important and necessary for life to function. [FOX41]

Quick, let’s pretend the Energy and Environment Cabinet cares about Earth Day! [Click the Clicky]

We used to love Dawne Gee back when she looked like a 20-something on the teevee. But now that she has turned the corner to calmness and comes across as the young meemaw (we said young!) everyone wants in their life, she’s way more entertaining. You know you love seeing her pass that cash. [WAVE3]

When Jerry Abramson says small businesses should have a large role in tax reform in Kentucky? He means gigantic businesses that employ thousands and operate outside the state. [Business First]

Remember when your attorney general said he was fighting hard against gas price corruption during his campaign? Haha, right, about that. [WLKY]

Now University of Louisville folks like Jimbo Ramsey say they welcome the indigent care fund audit. Here’s hoping Adam Edelen’s ties to everyone there won’t cloud his judgement. No, of course they won’t cloud the judgment of his hundreds of auditors but that’s just something one has to question early in a new auditor’s term. [WFPL]

Did you see Greg Fischer asking his most trusted source – Facebook – for advice on how to do the most basic parts of his job yesterday? [The 'Ville Voice]

You have lots of storm debris? You can drop it off this weekend for $15 per truckload. [84WHAS]

Are the arena bonds about to be downgraded? Because that good be a very bad thing. [Bond Buyer]

The truth about the Keystone XL pipeline? Doesn’t look like the McConnell-Republican claim of jobs is based in reality. [HuffPo]

This is truly the American way. Presiding over and knowing about the theft of millions of millions of tax dollars and getting rewarded with bonuses and raises worth millions. [The 'Ville Voice]

Gasoline prices jumped a whopping 40 cents over night and Jack Conway isn’t batting an eye. Price gouging? What? [WAVE3]

Basically, no business in Frankfort get handled until after the Kentucky Chamber day on January 5. [Business First]

The entire community – or, just the few people in town who even know there’s a bridges debacle going on – are foaming about the Drumanard Estate’s historic status. [FOX41]

Occupy Louisville is pushing a discussion on homelessness. It’s fitting, since Greg Fischer doesn’t see it fit to allow even those without homes to sleep in tents in the dead of winter. Are we still pretending that Founder’s Square park is ever used by anybody for any reason? [WFPL]

Evicting the Occupy folks downtown is sure to end on a really positive note, right? Because it’s ended so well in so many other cities. [WLKY]

Absolutely nothing could be bad about this. White Castle is considering selling beer and wine in some markets. [WHAS11]

Yesterday Rand Paul and his wife had some really upbeat and happy holiday thoughts (?) for you. Check the awkward video out. [Page One]

This is a good thing, right? Ramsi Kamar is building an organic farm to provide tasty goods. [Broken Sidewalk]

Louisville is a gas guzzling city with an average of $179 spent on fuel each month — ranked at number 11. [Mint.com]

New favorite way to pass the time: reading Karen Voyer-Caravona’s biking website. She’s a former Tom Owen staffer who moved to Flagstaff, the best place on earth, and writes all about riding her bike. Go read it. You’ll feel like you’re on vacation. [She Rides A Bike]

Can you imagine if Americans lived like this and thought of bikes and groceries in this manner? [NY Times]

Yesterday marked the 90th (!!) day Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson questioned Jack Conway over his involvement in his brother’s drug scandal: “Conway is running from the voters of Kentucky who have a right to know answers to the questions surrounding his brother’s compromised investigation,” said Robertson. “We will not stop our Come Clean campaign until the Attorney General either answers our questions or is replaced by Todd P’Pool.” Jack will never answer questions and even his staff are getting frustrated. [Press Release]

Don’t go to Indiana or you’re likely to get killed with a rock. Which is crazier than getting killed by gunshot in Louisville. [WHAS11]

Eleven people died in eleven separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, July 25 through Sunday, July 31. [KSP Release]

The Princeton Review ranked Bellarmine University among the nation’s best colleges. Check the fact sheet out for details. [External PDF Link]

The new owners are taking over Whiskey Row. This is good, right? Except, of course, the buildings that will be demolished. [WFPL]

Food stamp usage is still on the rise in Kentucky while everyone acts like the statewide economy is puppies and rainbows. [Page One]

A management audit at Metro Sewer District is set to begin next week. Hopes? Predictions? [C-J/AKN]

What? Thefts at Metro Animal Services? Surely not! [FOX41]

OH MY GOODNESS! Branden Klayko is alive! Check out these stories. [Broken Sidewalk here, here, & here]

For the 29th day in a row Jack Conway has refused to answer questions about his familial shenanigans and Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson is again questioning him: “If Jack Conway has returned from his fancy vacation in South Carolina, I hope he has realized that we haven’t forgotten him…and that he cannot run from this situation,” said Robertson. “His poor judgment has crippled the Attorney General’s Office for too long. It’s time to come clean.” [Press Release]

Sad to hear 732 Social filed for bankruptcy and has some troubles on its hands. Hopefully something amazing will take its place. After the chef libeled his landlord on twitter and had an all-around meltdown, calling us a “douchebag” for daring suggest Social’s situation was a sad one, well, something tells us that drama isn’t over. But, really, trashing their landlord AND half the press in the city? Laaaaawd Jesus. Guess that’s another restaurant a few thousand folks won’t be wasting their time with. [Deep Foodie Thoughts]

Greg Fischer says thousands of jobs are coming to Louisville over the next twelve months. Really. Thousands. That’s what he says. [FOX41]

Maybe the hiring of his friend at $100,000 per year to be “innovation director” will magically create thousands of jobs that will stick around over time? Should we be skeptical and stifle our laughter? [C-J/AKN]

Wait – maybe he’ll also magically make gas prices go down now that they’ve started to rise again. [WAVE3]

Jack Conway FINALLY addressed the Republican Party of Kentucky’s questioning. He says Republicans are out of bounds for questioning the fact that he gave his brother a two-day heads up on a search warrant. And wouldn’t he rather deal with that mess than the mess of a potential investigation around the KRS-Riddle shenanigans? Looking angry, Jack. [CN|2]

Read my additional thoughts on the matter by clicking the clicky. [I Leave Comments]

Metro Council is preparing for budget hearings. Does anyone predict fireworks? [WFPL]

Want to adopt a pet? Metro Animal Services is waiving adoption fees as the shelter is nearing capacity. Now would be a good time to jump on it. [More FOX41]

This couple donated more than $400,000 to the Crusade for Children, reminding us that the world is a good place. [WHAS11]

Dig in:

Spring has proved to be a tough time for many Kentucky families. Severe weather and flooding have damaged homes across the Commonwealth and left many struggling to make repairs.

During these difficult days, families have also struggled to fill their gas tanks. I would like to thank the many Kentuckians who contacted my office in the wake of the recent storms to report drastic spikes in gas prices. Some communities saw prices jump 30 cents; topping $4 a gallon.

On May 13, I filed a temporary injunction alleging that Marathon Petroleum drastically increased its prices during a time of emergency, in violation of Kentucky’s price-gouging statutes. Our request asked the court to require Marathon to lower its wholesale prices to levels before April 26 when Gov. Beshear declared a state of emergency.

I pursued this case to protect the best interests of consumers across the Commonwealth, who are hurting right now and many parts of the state saw an immediate decrease in prices at the pump. Although our request for a temporary injunction was denied, the judge was clear that his ruling did not affect the ongoing and underlying price-gouging case against Marathon.

Read the rest after the jump…

I believe Marathon has engaged in price gouging and I plan to continue to move forward and aggressively pursue this case. The price-gouging law only permits suppliers to increase prices if there has been an increase in costs to the supplier. Marathon’s cost increases in this case did not justify the price increases at the pumps. I am also pleased to see that gas prices have gone down a little bit since we sought the injunction.

In 2009, in the wake of Hurricane Ike and subsequent windstorm in Kentucky, I made it clear that price gouging would not be tolerated in Kentucky. You may recall I reached settlements totaling more than $107,000 with eight retail gas stations that gouged consumers at the pumps during a time of emergency.

At my request, Gov. Beshear on May 25 extended Kentucky’s statewide price-gouging protection laws for an additional 30 days. I appreciate Gov. Beshear’s quick response and attention to this matter.

I also want consumers to know that I remain concerned that Marathon’s dominance of the wholesale gasoline market in Kentucky allows a distortion of our gas prices. In certain areas of the Commonwealth, it actually has a 100 percent monopoly on wholesale supply. In the long term, we must address this problem, and I turned over evidence we have developed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently formed gas task force that is charged with investigating illegal activity in the oil and gas markets.

As Attorney General, I will continue to do everything within my power to protect Kentucky consumers and to ensure that businesses that engage in unfair or unscrupulous activities are held accountable.

Jack Conway
Attorney General

An environmental group – Appalachian Voices – is suing a coal company in Bardstown over alleged clean water act violations. [H-L]

Metro Council has deemed the Whiskey Row/Iron Quarter ordinance an emergency. [WFPL]

So gas prices are at a billion dollars per gallon. Will you actually walk more and drive less? [WHAS11]

Here’s a non-shocker: a report links fracking to tainted drinking water. [Reuters]

Naturally, gas firms are attempting to dispute the study linking fracking to water contamination. [HuffPo]

As we reported yesterday, the General and Road Funds in Kentucky were both up more than seven percent during the month of April. [Page One]

Maker’s Mark, which makes the most magical stuff on earth – Maker’s 46 – is making its fancy television debut. [C-J/AKN]

Do you live near one of those fancy brothels that were busted recently? [WAVE3]

Carol Haddad says bullying on school buses has gotten worse recently. But has it? Or has the issue just gotten a lot more attention than it has previously? [FOX41]

Okay, we admit it – we’re a bit excited for the St. Matthews Farmers Market to open this weekend. Don’t miss it. [Consuming Louisville]

Here’s how the right-wing looks at the Whiskey Row/Iron Quarter deal. [84WHAS]

Click here to review an infographic that explains the President’s short and long-term approaches to high gas prices.

This was one of the more inspiring stories from this year’s Kentucky Derby. [NY Times]

Which event boasted the crazier hats? The Kentucky Derby or the royal wedding? [Slate]

The Herald-Leader endorsed David Williams to run against Steve Beshear this weekend. [H-L]

Republicans say Greg Fischer’s honeymoon is ending. What honeymoon? [WFPL]

Looks like maybe the Iron Quarter isn’t going to be completely bulldozed. [FOX41]

Gasoline prices could drop some 50 cents by summer because big oil is corrupt as all hell. [WAVE3]

A record 164,858 people attended this year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. [WHAS11]

Dig in to all of this Kentucky Derby analysis from across the United States instead of working this morning. [Paulick Report]

Cause the 137th running of the Derby was pretty cool, right? [84WHAS]

The St. Matthews Farmers Market opens this weekend at Beargrass Christian Church. It’s one of the best in the city so get on it. [Consuming Louisville]

Does the University of Kentucky’s new president have a potential Medicare scandal on his hands? [Page One]

In a release yesterday, 8664 highlighted declining traffic volumes. So let’s take a look.

According to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet – which the organization used as a snapshot – traffic on Interstates 65, 64 and 71 is falling. Here are those counts, current as of December 1, 2010:

• Kennedy Interchange at 64 & 71 – 149,000 in 2004 – 144,000 in 2008 (3% decrease)
• 65 at the Kennedy Bridge – 132,000 in 2004 – 121,000 in 2008 (9% decrease)
• 65 at Eastern Parkway – 137,000 in 2003 – 123,000 in 2009 (11% decrease)
• 64 at 9th Street – 83,400 in 2003 – 70,100 in 2009 (19% decrease)
• 64 at Waterfront Park – 112,000 in 2003 – 101,000 in 2008 (11% decrease)
• 71 at Zorn Avenue – 72,400 in 2003 – 58,100 in 2009 (25% decrease)

And you wonder why people are so outraged.

CLICK FOR PDF RELEASE

“The pro-bridges folks will try to say the decline is due to the bad economy, but it has more to do with the price of gas,” says JC Stites, co-founder of 8664. “This data also supports the fact that Spaghetti Junction is not too small, it just has a couple design flaws that could be addressed quickly and cost-effectively after an East End bridge is built.”

Why would we toll our bridges to expand Spaghetti Junction’s capacity when demand isn’t increasing? Why would we build a project based on gas prices of $1.50 per gallon when it’s doubled in just seven years? And why won’t the Bridges “Authority” embrace – or at least hear – public opinion and work to divide and phase the project? So many questions that will fall on deaf hears of the few power brokers pushing this nightmare on our city.