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Friday January 23, 2026
Local Connection
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer will be sworn this morning for his second term. Also taking the oath of office today are Metro Council members, the sheriff, county clerk, county attorney, sheriff, circuit court clerk, and coroner, among others.
The event – open to the public and free to attend – is at 10:30 a.m. at Louisville Metro Hall and will feature music arranged and led by Louisville Orchestra Director, Teddy Abrams.
Seating is limited in the Rotunda; however, there will be additional viewing opportunities from the fourth floor of Metro Hall – including a simulcast on large screens in the Mayor’s Gallery.
Special event will honor legendary Master Distiller Jimmy Russell with Wild Turkey “Diamond Anniversary” bourbon
Louisville, Ky (December 30, 2014) – Varanese Restaurant, located at 2106 Frankfort Avenue, will host the Russell’s Reserve Bourbon Dinner on Thursday, January 15, with a reception at 6:30pm and dinner at 7:00pm. The dinner will feature a tasting of Wild Turkey’s limited edition “Diamond Anniversary” bourbon, which was made in celebration of Jimmy Russell 60 years with Wild Turkey. The evening will also include legendary Master Distiller Jimmy Russell as a guest speaker, and a four-course dinner paired with cocktails made with Russell’s Reserve bourbon. The cost is $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (502) 899-9904 or emailing letsdine@varanese.com.
The menu will consist of:
Reception
Reception Cocktail – “Pomegranate-Clementine Old Fashion”
First Course
Flight: Russell’s Reserve 6 yr. Rye / Russell’s Reserve 10 yr. Small Batch
Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel / Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary
House-Made Pastrami Carpaccio with Bourbon Whole Grain Mustard, Rye Bagel Chip and Micro Mustard Greens
Second Course
Warm Grilled Frisee Salad with Confit Butternut Squash, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Tossed with Maple-Bourbon Vinaigrette
Third Course
“Espresso & Aztec Chocolate Manhattan”
Brown Sugar Glazed Ham with Red Eye Gravy
Served with Spicy Bacon Grilled Red Cabbage, Oven Roasted Potatoes and Yams
Fourth Course
“Butter Pecan Bourbon Cocktail”
Butter Pecan Ice Cream over Sugar Fried Flat Bread, Bourbon Anglaise, Salted Caramel and Brûléed Bananas
For information or to make a reservation, please call (502) 899-9904 or log on to www.varanese.com.
The 1033 Program was created by the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997 as part of the US Government’s Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services (DLA) to transfer excess military equipment to law enforcement agencies. To date, the program has put $5.1 billion worth of military hardware into the lockers, offices, motor-pools, and equipment rooms of law enforcement agencies around the US.
For years the program has been widely criticized, including in audits by the DOD Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, which noted in one report that “DOD does not have management controls in place to assure that excess
inventory is reutilized to the maximum extent possible.” The GAO report found that much of the property disposed of by the DOD was in new, unused or excellent condition and that the remainder of the program was rife with inefficiencies, waste, fraud and abuse.
Following police response to widespread protests, some of which turned violent – resulting in the destruction of buildings and vehicles and looting of stores, over the recent Michael Brown grand jury decision, there were many complaints about the growing “militarization of police” in the United States. These complaints turned to calls for increased transparency in the program by the public as well as politicians, including Kentucky’s own Rand Paul, who said “Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies—where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement.”
The Marshall Project has compiled a list of which agencies received which assets as a part of the 1033 Program. Kentucky has received at least$46,047,672 though the program since its inception. Locally, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has received $442,883.76 in government assetts, Jeffersontown PD received $494,233.15, LMPD received $384,252.61, Metro Corrections received $19,365.00, and St. Matthew’s PD received $21,495.69. UofL Police Department was near the bottom of the list, receiving only $1,132 in relatively innocuous assets while the University of Kentucky Police Department received $89,612 worth of 5.56mm rifles (10) and trucks (2). Some of the larger equipment received locally include:
- A $200,000 120mm Mortar Carrier for JCSO
- A $177,447 MK3MOD0 bomb robot for LMPD
- 139 5.56mm rifles for JCSO $69,361.00
- Six 5.56mm rifles for LMPD (fewer than UKPD received)$2,994.00
- 15 7.62mm rifles for JCSO
- Ten 7.62mm rifles for LMPD$1,380.00
- Various vehicles, night vision equipment, clothing and other law enforcement gear
View the full list compiled by The Marshall Project below: Continue reading
Area students received the following notification today following a supposed twitter prank in which the user threatened to “shoot up UofL”:
UofL Police Department has received a tweet from an unknown subject saying he is on his way to “shoot up UofL.” Report suspicious activity to 852-6111
Social media networks exploded with activity as word of the threat spread by email, text message, and phone while concerned family members rushed to warn others or check on their friends and family.
The twitter handle, which apparently belongs to a University of Louisville class of 2018 student named Cameron, deleted the post after remaining up for several minutes. Following the deletion of the tweet, someone calling themselves “Jillian” posted another series of messages claiming that they were just joking, saying that they “didn’t think it was that big of a deal” and apologized if they “offended anyone.”
ULPD and LMPD reacted quickly, seeking out the person who sent the threat and warning those who may have been in danger. The all clear message indicates that the police are interviewing a person of interest. Under Kentucky law, Terroristic Threatening is a class A misdemeanor:
508.080 Terroristic threatening in the third degree.
(1) Except as provided in KRS 508.075 or 508.078, a person is guilty of terroristic threatening in the third degree when:
(a) He threatens to commit any crime likely to result in death or serious physical injury to another person or likely to result in substantial property damage to another person; or
(b) He intentionally makes false statements for the purpose of causing evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation.
(2) Terroristic threatening in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Frankfort Avenue will host a special Holiday Hop on Black Friday, November 28th. Trolleys will run extended hours from 10:00am-10:00pm to encourage hoppers to spend the day eating, drinking and shopping along the Avenue. Free trolleys will run along Frankfort Avenue from Cannons Lane to River Road, and many businesses will host music, refreshments and special sales. For more information, visitwww.fatfridayhop.org.
Special activities planned for the Black Friday Holiday Hop on November 28th include:
- The Wine Rack, 2632 Frankfort Avenue, will host a Black Friday sale where a selection of wine and spirits will be marked 25% off, as well as a wine and cheese sampling from 5:00pm-8:00pm.
- Mellwood Art Center, 1860 Mellwood Avenue, will host a $21 & Under Sale where shops and studios will offer deals for $21 or less. The 2015 Gallopalooza statues will also be showcased during the Hop.
- Urban Farmhouse Market, 2830 Frankfort Avenue, will give a free Fleur de Lis ornament to the first 30 customers who make a purchase.
- Copper & Kings, 111 East Washington Street, will host tours of the facility and the retail shop will be open until 9:00pm.
- Surroundings LLC, 2033 Frankfort Avenue, will offer 20% off everything in the store and 40% off select art.
- BAZ and BEA, 1860 Mellwood Avenue #175, will host their annual Black and White Sale where all black and white apparel and accessories are 10% off, and all customers will be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to BAZ and BEA.
- Consider Boutique, 107 S. Bayly Avenue, will serve hot holiday cider and cookies.
- Heine Brothers, 2714 Frankfort Avenue, will offer $1 off all holiday seasonal drinks.
- Vint, 2309 Frankfort Avenue, will offer $1 off all holiday seasonal drinks.
- Lexie’s Trading Post, 2224 Frankfort Avenue, will give all customers who spend $50 a $10 gift certificate valid from Dec. 1, 2014 – Feb. 28, 2015.
- Margaret’s Consignment, located at 2700 Frankfort Avenue, will host a tarot card reader and photos with Santa & Rudolph from 4:00pm-8:00pm.
- The Irish Rover, 2319 Frankfort Avenue, will host a Traditional Irish Music Seisuin (informal jam session) in the bar area beginning at approximately 8:00pm.
- Varanese Restaurant, 2106 Frankfort Avenue, will host drink specials and live jazz music.
The FAT Friday Trolley Hop, held year-round on the final Friday of every month, provides free parking and trolley transportation from TARC to participating shops, restaurants and galleries. The route runs along Frankfort, Mellwood and Story Avenue from Cannons Lane to River Road. The trolley program relies on the support of member businesses to cover the cost of the free public trolley service.
The FAT Friday Trolley Hop Program is sponsored by 9th District Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, 15Thousands Farmers, A Reader’s Corner Bookstore, Architype Gallery, BAZ and BEA, Clifton Center, The Comfy Cow, Consider Boutique, Copper and Kings, Core Fluency Pilates, Crescent Hill Radio, Craft House, Eclipse Bank, El Mundo, eyedia, Fierce Salon, Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, Gallery K, Heine Brothers’ Coffee, The Irish Rover, Just Creations, Lexie’s Trading Post, Louisville Water Company, Maker’s Mark, Margaret’s Consignment, Mellwood Art Center, Modern Cult Records, Porcini, Property Management of Louisville, Surroundings LLC, Sweet Surrender, The Tangerine Closet, The Urban Farmhouse Market, Third Lutheran Church, Varanese, Vint, Waterside at RiverPark Place, and The Wine Rack.
About The Frankfort Avenue Business Association
The Frankfort Avenue Business Association’s (FABA) mission is to enhance The Avenue as a place to do business and work to stimulate economic development along the business corridor. In addition, FABA acts as an advocate for solutions when issues emerge in the community and helps keep The Avenue looking its best through clean-up and landscaping programs. For more information, pick up a map of The Avenue at any member business or visit www.frankfortave.com. Follow us on Facebook/FrankfortAvenueand Twitter and on FAT Friday Facebook and Instagram @fatfridaytrolley.
Following last night’s announcement of a Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury decision to return a “no true bill” on each of the five indictments – meaning that officer Darren Wilson will not go to trial for the shooting of Michael Brown – demonstrations were seen in Ferguson and many of the nation’s larger cities.
Although St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCulloch spent more than 45 minutes in a press conference explaining that the grand jury saw all available evidence – including more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witness (including those witnesses who contradicted the evidence or each other) -and made their own decision, many of the demonstrators claimed that justice had not been served. Despite calls for peace from police, Brown’s family, and even the president, demonstrations quickly turned violent as protesters taunted the police, broke windows, looted businesses, and set fire to vehicles and buildings, leaving much of Ferguson smoldering this morning.
A Tumblr webpage called Ferguson National Response Network claims to have compiled a “Listing of planned responses to the Darren Wilson Grand Jury Annoouncement“, with Louisville and Lexington being among the planned demonstration cities. The website indicates that a demonstration will take place in downtown Louisville at the LMPD headquarters at 7th & Jefferson at 5pm the day after the announcement (today). Demonstrations are also planned in Lexington on the 200 block of Limestone at 6pm the day after the announcement (today).
Given the events that unfolded in Ferguson following the announcement, these planned activities may some Louisvillians worried. However, one LMPD officer with whom a Louisville Dispatch editor spoke said that they did not anticipate anything happening, but suggested that citizens may want to begin avoiding the area at 3pm if they are concerned.
The deadline for south Louisvillians who were affected by the 2012 West Point train derailment is nearing.
The derailment, which was ruled to have been a result of a broken rail section, affected nearby residents as ten of the train’s 33 HAZMAT cars were damaged, releasing potentially dangerous chemicals. Many nearby residents were ordered to evacuate while those within a five mile radius were ordered to shelter in place.
In addition to $700,000 worth of damage to rail equipment and costly rail repairs and maintenance, a fund of $3,125,000 has been created as part of the settlement in the Susan E. Morgan, et al., v. Paducah & Louisville Railway, Inc., et al., lawsuit – Case no. 3:12-CV-00818-CRS, in the United States District Court of the Western District of Kentucky.
The settlement creates three classes of participants based on if and when affected residents were ordered to evacuate or shelter in place. Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 participants are eligible to receive “ordinary benefits” of $1, 353, $812 and $270, respectively for class compensation and $338, $203, and $67 for property damage. Affected residents who experienced damages or losses which would not be covered by the ordinary benefits are eligible to apply for “extraordinary benefits” of up to $7,500.
Claims forms must be submitted by November 24, 2014. Visit the West Point Derailment Settlement website for additional details and settlement documentation.