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Saturday January 24, 2026
Local Connection
It is the time of year as summer winds down to kick back, relax and enjoy the smooth jazz and beautiful music filling the air in Old Louisville when Councilman David James (D-6) once again presents “Jazz in Central Park” on Sunday, August 27th.
“Central Park has had another great summer of fun activities for the people of Old Louisville and now the rest of Metro Louisville can come enjoy this great event. Summer wouldn’t be Summer without Jazz in Central Park,” says James. “This is a great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon with a wide variety of music and entertainment, and best of all its free and open to any and every one.”
“Jazz in Central Park” is always a free event and open to everyone in Metro Louisville. It will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. This year’s event is hosted by Miss Krystal of WLOU, Spike Davis and Dawne Gee of WAVE TV.
Entertaining this year are the following artists:
- TRI+ADD Music
- Delfeayo Marsalis & Jerry Tolson Group
- Craig Waggner
- Carly Johnson
- Charles Walker
- Maestro J
- Kiko Sebrian
Local food vendors will also be on hand for the afternoon.
“Central Park is a great venue to bring friends, families or come by yourself to hear some very talented people bring jazz to the Old Louisville area,” says James. “So please, come and join us.”
Joining the Councilman as sponsors of the event this year are Clariant and Genscape.
For more information about “Jazz in Central Park”, contact Councilman James’ office at 574-1106.
Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
The Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation department and Jefferson Memorial Forest has been selected to receive a $30,000 play space grant from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and The Walt Disney Company. This investment supports NRPA and Disney’s combined goal of providing one million kids and families with greater access to play.
Part of the national Meet Me at the Park healthy living program, park and recreation agencies across the country were invited to share their best ideas on increasing access to play spaces for children and families in their communities. Agencies with the most innovative and impactful project ideas were chosen to receive grants ranging from $10,000–50,000 to build their projects.
Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation and Jefferson Memorial Forest will use the grant funding to create a mobile nature play component to its award-winning Louisville is Engaging Children Outdoors (Louisville ECHO) initiative.
Louisville ECHO is holistic initiative designed to increase equitable access to nature through complementary activities for youth including school field trips to nature for local fourth-grade students; out-of-school time (OST) outdoor recreational opportunities for youth from partners organizations; free community events such as the annual “Canoemobile” that engage children; and a job-training/mentor development component to create “green-facing” career opportunities for youth.
The mobile nature play unit, deemed the “ECHO Mobile” will include a modified box truck and enclosed trailer that will allow staff and community volunteers to bring the Louisville ECHO initiative further out into the community with activities and programs.
The ECHO mobile will be geared towards children age 3 to 11 and in addition to supporting recreation based-activities such as biking, archery and fishing, it is intended children to express themselves creatively through free-play with natural materials at a local park within urban neighborhoods.
“For nearly a decade, Louisville ECHO has provided positive experiences to thousands of children who don’t have ready access to nature,” said Seve Ghose, Director of Parks and Recreation. “Thanks to NRPA and The Walt Disney Company, this will ensure that this program continues to grow and extend its impact further across Louisville.”
“NRPA is proud to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company to help more children and families experience the benefits of play,” said Kellie May, NRPA director of health and wellness. “By increasing access to play spaces, this program will also provide new activities that support healthy lifestyles in local communities.”
The Meet Me at the Park program includes an Earth Month campaign as well, where funding is awarded for local park improvement projects that connect kids to nature, inspire healthy living and provide access to sports. The campaign celebrates Earth Month and the importance of local parks.
This grant is supported local through generous cash and in-kind donations from Wilderness Louisville, Inc., the Louisville Parks Foundation, Bike Sense Louisville, and YouthBuild Louisville. Metro Parks & Recreation is actively seeking additional sponsorships.
The Department of Public Health and Wellness has found West Nile infected mosquitoes in surveillance traps in six Louisville ZIP Code areas. The ZIP Codes are 40204, 40205, 40206, 40208, 40212 and 40214.
“It’s common for us to find mosquitoes infected with West Nile in Louisville around this time each year,” said Public Health and Wellness director Dr. Sarah Moyer. “What this means is people should take the appropriate precautions. They should wear insect repellant if going outside at dusk and at dawn, and should remove standing water around the home.”
Last year one person died of West Nile in Louisville, and there was one other non-fatal case. In 2015, there were three human cases in Louisville, with no deaths. In 2014 there were no cases and in 2013 there was one non-fatal human case.
In most instances, people infected with West Nile virus either show no symptoms or relatively mild symptoms. However, less than one percent of infected people develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis. Serious illness can occur in people of any age. However, people over 60 years of age are at the greatest risk for severe disease. People with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and people who have received organ transplants, are also at greater risk for serious illness.
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness has operated a mosquito control program for more than 50 years. The department does surveillance of mosquito populations with traps strategically located throughout the community, and tests mosquitos for such diseases as Zika and West Nile virus. In the spring the department pre-treats potential mosquito breeding sites with larvicide to prevent hatch offs. In the summer it treats catch basins and fogs to control adult mosquito populations.
To check on areas to be fogged each week or to sign up for fogging alerts, call the mosquito hotline, 574-6641, or visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/health-wellness/mosquito-control-and-prevention.
To log a complaint about mosquito problems in your neighborhood, call Metro Call by dialing 311 or 574-5000 or reaching them via Twitter @LouMetroHealth.
The Department of Public Health and Wellness also advises people to take the following precautions:
Avoid Mosquito Bites
Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. To optimize safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label instructions. More information about insect repellents can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.
When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
Take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
Mosquito-Proof Your Home
Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside. Use your air conditioning, if you have it.
Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home by emptying standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires and birdbaths on a regular basis.
Councilman Rick Blackwell (D-12) and President David Yates (D-25) have a special night of fun planned for students and their families to help kick off the new school at the 11th Annual Back to School Bash this Friday, August 25th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Southwest YMCA.
“As an educator, I know the importance of starting the new school year on a positive note,” says Blackwell. “I am excited to again partner with the Southwest YMCA to host this celebration for our students and their families.”
The Back to School Bash will feature swimming, food and fun; and it’s all free. There will be inflatables, group fitness demonstrations and swim time at the Y’s pool. Mad Science will be on hand for kids to make their own slime and cotton candy.
“This is a great family event that helps our children ease into the new school year as the summer winds down,” says Yates. “It is also an opportunity to explore the many programs offered by the Southwest YMCA and how it serves our community year round.”
For Safety reasons the Southwest YMCA has the following rules in place:
Family appropriate swim wear must be worn in the swimming pool. A white t-shirt can be worn on top of suit for women and as a shirt for men if you choose. Cut-offs or shorts will not be permitted as swim wear in the pool.
Minimum of one adult per child in the pool for children 6 and under.
One parent required to stay in pool area (not necessarily in the water) for children 7 and older.
Children 7 and older who want to swim in the deep end will be required to take a swim safety test.
This is a family event—an adult must stay with the children—no drop offs.
Pizza, drinks, and cookies will be provided by Metro Council Districts 12 and 25.
The Southwest YMCA is located at 2800 Fordhaven Road, just off of St. Anthony Church Road. The event is free and no reservations or YMCA membership are required.
If you would like more information about the Back to School Bash, contact Councilman Blackwell’s office at 574-1112 or President Yates’ office at 574-1125.
For the third consecutive year, property tax rates will go down for Louisville residents, according to Metro Government’s Office of Management and Budget.
“The benefits of our economic momentum reach Metro residents in many ways,” said Mayor Fischer. “A decrease in property tax rates is one of them.”
This year, the countywide Metro real property tax rate will go from 12.45 cents per $100 assessed value to 12.35 cents. That change amounts to a one dollar savings for every $100,000 of assessed property value.
“Continued growth in our local economy and a strong real estate market are drivers of the downward movement in our property tax rates,” said Metro Chief Financial Officer Daniel Frockt.
The Urban Service District real property tax rate will hold steady this year at 35.38 cents per $100 assessed value according to a property tax ordinance filed today with Metro Council.
Both real property tax rates are at their lowest level since merger.
Property taxes fund approximately 25 percent of the city’s budget.
Metro residents have an opportunity to comment on the proposed property tax rates during a public hearing at noon on Thursday, Sept. 14, in room 106 at Metro Hall.
Once Metro Council approves the ordinance, the rates take effect on property tax bills released by the sheriff in early November.
Louisville Metro Government has filed a federal lawsuit against the three largest wholesale opioid distribution companies – Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and McKesson – for dumping millions of pills into Louisville neighborhoods while refusing to fulfill their obligations to monitor, identify, report and halt suspicious shipments of opioids.
The suit, filed today in U.S. District court under the direction of Mayor Greg Fischer and Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, seeks damages to help Louisville combat the opioid public health crisis that has impacted Louisville and has led to everything from overdose deaths to increased crime in the city.
Wholesale Distributors Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and McKesson, which together have annual revenues of $400 billion and which control 85 percent of the wholesale market share, profited greatly from the opioid epidemic. In the meantime, Louisville is struggling with the toll opioid abuse is taking on family, friends, neighbors, and public resources.
From 2012 through the middle of 2017, more than 197 million doses of prescription opioids were dispensed in Jefferson County. That is more than 258 doses of prescription opioids for every man, woman, and child in Louisville. During this same time period, more than 3.5 million doses of overdose antidotes, including naloxone, have been dispensed in Jefferson County, nearly 5 per person. There were 364 overdose deaths in Louisville in 2016.
“There is no question our taxpayers — all 760,000 Louisville citizens — are shouldering the financial responsibility for the opioid crisis,” Fischer said.
Kentucky has seen a deadly spike in opioid overdoses and deaths that are impacting families and local communities, with Louisville hit especially hard. In January of 2017 alone, Louisville’s Metro Emergency Services answered 695 opioid related overdose calls, an average of 22 a day. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have seen drug overdose death rates increase more than 72 percent, from 2014 to 2015. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for those under 50.
In addition to the cost in human life, researchers estimate the nationwide total economic burden of the prescription opioid epidemic at $78.5 billion. The opioid epidemic is creating pressure on health care facilities as well as law enforcement agencies, resulting in rising costs, a strain on resources, and concerns about public safety.
Congress put Wholesale Distributors in a position of trust as gatekeepers because opioids are highly addictive and Congress knew there was a significant likelihood for abuse. As the gatekeepers of highly addictive opioids, the Wholesale Distributors breached their duties to monitor and report suspicious shipments of opioids and instead profited from the flood of pills into our community, leaving our taxpayers to clean up the mess they caused, according to the lawsuit.
Fischer and O’Connell want to put a stop to the problem by dramatically reducing the flow of prescription opioid painkillers into the community and making the wrongdoers pay for the treatment. The opioid epidemic has grown worse as people who were addicted to prescription pills have, thanks to heightened enforcement efforts, found them harder to come by. But the residents of Louisville and Jefferson County continue to bear the burden of the cost of the epidemic, as the costs of treatment for addiction, education and law enforcement have continued to rise. According to a federal study, roughly 1 in 7 people who received a refill or had a second opioid prescription authorized were still on opioids one year later.
“We have a lost generation of people addicted to opiates, and many have now migrated to heroin,” said Mayor Fischer. “Wholesale Distributors need to be held accountable for this epidemic by cleaning up the mess they’ve created through treatment for those struggling with addiction, educating our youth to understand the danger of opioid abuse, and keeping our communities safe.”
The issue is personal for O’Connell, whose son died of an overdose in 2014 at the age of 33.
“Matt’s death left a hole that, for a parent, I don’t think can ever fully heal,” O’Connell, said. “This lawsuit is a chance at some small piece of justice for my son Matt, and for the countless families who have been decimated by the opioid plague and the grip of addiction.”
“Our citizens are being hospitalized and are dying because of opioid addiction, and city government is struggling to respond and help,” Mayor Fischer added.
The city has hired a number of highly successful law firms, experienced in holding the powerful pharmaceutical industry accountable. Those firms include Levin Papantonio, Greene Ketchum, Baron & Budd, McHugh Fuller Law Group, Hill Peterson, Bowling and Johnson PLLC and Gray & White Law.
The law firms are taking the case at no cost to taxpayers. The firms will be paid only if they are successful in the lawsuit, O’Connell said, and would be awarded 30 percent of any monies recovered.
Attorney General Andy Beshear and the Prosecutors Advisory Council (PAC) are joining with local law enforcement officials statewide to crackdown on impaired driving during the heavily-traveled upcoming Labor Day holiday.
The Attorney General’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, part of PAC, is working with Beshear to highlight the upcoming national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, Aug. 16 to Sept. 4.
“Law enforcement visibility will be elevated and citations will be issued at a much larger rate during this crackdown period,” Beshear said. “PAC has notified all our state prosecutors to expect a greater amount of cases on their upcoming traffic dockets because of the crackdown.”
There were more than 4,200 collisions involving alcohol in Kentucky last year, resulting in more than 1,900 injuries and 119 fatalities, Beshear said.
During the 2016 Labor Day holiday weekend, there were more than 60 collisions involving alcohol, resulting in 30 injuries and two fatalities, he said.
The nationwide impaired driving crackdown will include high-visibility enforcement, high-profile events, and will be supported by national paid advertising, creating a comprehensive campaign to curb impaired driving.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is working with the AG’s office and local prosecutors on awareness efforts.
“MADD KY will continue to support the statewide campaign Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” said Rosalind Donald, MADD KY victim services specialist. “The increased patrols and efforts of our local heroes in law enforcement will keep our Kentucky roadways safe from the increase of impaired driving over the Labor Day weekend. Drunk driving is 100 percent preventable. MADD KY urges all Kentuckians to celebrate the last weeks of summer safely and with responsibility.”
“I lost my daughter Ashley on April 29, 2012, to a drunk, drugged driver,” said Theresa Martinez, a MADD volunteer and a member of the AG’s Survivors Council. “I fully support the efforts of the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign. I thank law enforcement and state officials for their hard work to prevent a senseless tragedy that my family has suffered and from happening to other families. I encourage everyone to make the right choice to not drink and drive.”
For more information, visit the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign Headquarters at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.
