Lost in the Hoopla: In today’s New York Times, college basketball writer Pete Thamel went to Bowling Green and found out one of the reasons WKU enjoyed a run of national success in the 1960s — it was among the first schools in the South to integrate its program, at some risk to the life […]

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The Metro Council last night found a few million bucks to get the ball rolling on the library improvement project. Tune in to The CW’s Louisville Live at 9:30 this morning as I ask Metro Council president Jim King how they found the money and what it will be used for.
The Metro Council approved the […]

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Local government has approved $47 million in bonds for infrastructure near Museum Plaza. The city’s debt service on that money amounts to about $3 million a year, and the money is in the budget. Those bonds were to have been issued within the month.
Now that the Museum Plaza project is delayed, what do you think […]

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When the library tax referendum came up last year, I was quick to jump on board. A regular library user myself, it was a no-brainer. A small tax that would help finance new libraries would be a good thing.
But then there was a horribly bungled public campaign for it. The misleading signage, questions over employee […]

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All the work done by Hal Heiner and Jim King to create what King called an “intellectual discussion of hope” was well-received by members of the Metro Council and the mainstream media. The idea that the library funding could happen and the construction of new structures could commence in 2011 seems at least possible. […]

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The speakers at yesterday’s meeting of the Libraries, Parks and Cultural Assets Committee had nothing but praise for the plan put forth by Hal Heiner and Jim King yesterday, which called for half ($100 million) of the proposed financing for libraries in the rejected referendum last fall. Here’s the PowerPoint.
There would be no new taxes […]

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They’ve been working at it for a couple of months now, and today we’ll find out what a special Metro Council work group has come up with to finance a major expansion of the local library system.
The Parks, Libraries and Cultural Assets Committee, headed by Robin Engel, will hear the plan put together by a […]

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In late October, the two sides waging a war of words over the proposed Library Tax referendum were pushing their agendas at press conferences. One of the contentions of the “No” folks was that library employees were spending their work hours promoting the tax plan. So Chris Thieneman (yes, we managed to get him in […]

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Mayor Jerry Abramson sent out an e-mail today to city employees with the bad news — 480 employees with take-home cars are going to have to start paying for gas. Naturally, that begs the question - why is the city providing vehicles for 480 employees? And, why is it that the Mayor employs a driver […]

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Which would you prefer first, the good news or the bad news?
Mayor Jerry Abramson’s 19th State of the City speech offers the good news about downtown projects, Parks initiatives, employment, Every1 Reads, neighborhood projects that add to the city’s quality of life. Geez, if he’d stopped right there, you’d get the idea that we’re in […]

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What to do on a slow “not really a holiday morning” at City Hall? The Mayor is trotting out a Top Ten list for the media — with each item one worth following in 2008. How many of these accomplishments will come to fuition? How many will be successful? And where’s the Library in all […]

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During the weekend, the Courier-Journal brought news of some unhappy financial realities.
The Downtown Arena: Wait ’til next year, says arena authority chair Jim Host, hoping that the nation’s credit crisis will ease and interest rates will go down in early 2008. The Authority is working on projections that are no longer valid, Host said, and […]

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Cutting Back:  A lot of unfortunate financial news seems to be coming to a head around here.
Let’s see, the city has no money for libraries and the pressure is mounting against the funding needed for the Museum Plaza project. A Web site at LMPD.com, not an official police department site, shows statistics claiming the city […]

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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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OK, we had a little disagreement with WHAS-TV over the use of their video on our site. They pulled our videos from YouTube, we protested, met with the GM, got the videos back up. LEO covered the story, and while we’re not thrilled with their coverage, we’re happy with our 15 minutes in the spotlight.  […]

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And what were they doing in there?  Talk about a frivolous lawsuit. Workers at the Kroger Distribution Center in the East End have sued, claiming they deserve some money because the company placed a surveillance camera in the men’s restroom.  The suit claims workers have suffered because “their most private activities in the restroom have […]

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The defeat of the library tax by such an overwhelming margin has the folks at City Hall scratching their heads. The $16.5 million windfall for the city’s budget won’t happen. In fact, there will be pressure to raise the library’s budget, starting with the $1.5 million annual boost suggested by Hal Heiner’s proposal. It puts […]

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Whether you support or oppose the tax increase for Louisville libraries you’ll be well represented tonight. Below are details for gatherings on both sides of the issue:
Libraries Yes
5:30 P.M.
Frazier History Museum
829 Main Street
Support the Library, Not the Tax
7:00 P.M.
Chris Thieneman’s Office
4901 Fern Valley Road
Both are open to the public and the press.

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What took so long? Jefferson Circuit Judge Denise Clayton’s ruling yesterday that Churchill Downs can’t be exempted from the city’s smoking ban reeked of common sense. Nothing in the city’s ordinance had more people scratching their heads than the track’s exemption.
Clayton, who was appointed last month to the Kentucky Court of Appeals by Gov. Ernie […]

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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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