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Saturday January 24, 2026
Local Connection
In preparation for the Brightside Community-Wide Planting Day on November 5, Brightside will be partnering with several local garden centers to host plant sales in support of Brightside programs and initiatives.
“Keeping our city clean and green is truly a community-wide effort,” Brightside Director Gina O’Brien said. “We are grateful to these local nurseries for their partnership and ask Louisville residents to support these local businesses so Louisville can add more green to their yards while supporting Brightside at the same time.”
Portions of sale proceeds will be donated to Brightside to support their clean and green initiatives. Participating nurseries and sale details are as follows:
- Plant Kingdom (4101 Westport Road): 20% of tree sales from October 26 through November 9
- St. Matthews Feed & Seed (225 Chenoweth Lane): 10% of all sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Tower View Farms & Nursery (12523 Taylorsville Road): 20% of all tree sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Ken Mulch (2708 Outer Loop): 10 % of all sales on October 29 and November 5
- Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center (12902 Shelbyville Road): 20% of all plant and plant material sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center (2930 Bardstown Road): 10% of all sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Idlewild Butterfly Farm (1100 Logan Street): 10% of all sales on October 29 and November 5
For more information on the Fall Plant Sale, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/brightside/fall-plant-sale
To sign up as a volunteer for the Community-Wide Planting Day event in Parkland on November 5, please visit https://louisvilleky.wufoo.com/forms/brightside-volunteer-interest-form/
Louisville Metro Government will begin this week installing locally created, low-cost wireless smoke detectors in vacant and abandoned properties, in an innovative way to reduce fire risk.
The city’s Innovation Delivery Team is guiding this one-of-a-kind project, with support from Louisville Fire, the Vacant and Public Property Administration, and Codes & Regulations.
The smoke detectors, which use a cellular 3G wireless connection to alert authorities when a fire erupts in a vacant and abandoned property, were created through a partnership with local civic hackers. The idea is to avoid devastating fires and protect homes located nearby.
“This project represents the best of what ‘Smart City’ technology can be for Louisville,” said Grace Simrall, Chief of Civic Innovation.
“This innovative technology is the result of the local tech community and Metro Government working together to solve a real problem for residents living near vacant properties. We want innovation and technology in our community to benefit all of our residents, and this pilot project is a step in the right direction.”
Fires in vacant and abandoned properties tend to cause greater damage because they’re not reported as quickly as blazes in occupied homes. The fires often spread to neighboring occupied homes. The issue of fires in vacant and abandoned properties is particularly pronounced in Louisville Fire’s District 1, which includes parts of west Louisville.
Using Louisville Fire data, the Office of Performance Improvement & Innovation found that 44 percent of the fires in Fire District 1 that became “involved” (2 or more structures) between 2012 and 2015 started in a vacant property.
Seeing an opportunity to innovate a solution, Louisville Metro Government enlisted help from the maker space LVL1, which in turn hosted a hackathon of local civic hackers and makers.
Civic hackers Nathan Armentrout, James Gissendaner and David Jokinen developed the product and software to run it, with an end cost of $150 per smoke detector, which are expected to work for up to 10 years.
“This new, innovative tool will provide quicker alarm notifications to fires at our city’s vacant properties,” said Laura Grabowski, director of the Vacant & Public Property Administration. “With this technology, we hope to contain these fires and provide more safety for neighbors of vacant properties. This project would not be possible without the teamwork of multiple Metro departments and the civic hackers who created the wireless smoke detectors.”
Voters can honor Kentucky veterans’ service by casting their ballots in their honor during the upcoming general election on Nov. 8. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is reminding Kentuckians to participate in her office’s “Vote in Honor of a Veteran” program.
“The more than 300,000 veterans who live in our Commonwealth deserve our respect and admiration for their service. All of them have given of themselves to protect our rights – especially the right to vote – and many gave their lives,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief election official. “We owe it to them to go to the polls on Election Day and cast our vote in their honor.”
Voters can request a “Vote in Honor of a Veteran” button from their county clerk or the Secretary of State’s office. The button can be personalized to include the name of a veteran the voter will honor on Election Day. Voters can also submit online tributes to the veterans they are honoring at sos.ky.gov.
Grimes is passionate about supporting Kentucky’s active-duty and veteran military members and their families. As Secretary of State, Grimes has advocated on their behalf in a range of issues from voting to business creation to job opportunities, and she played an integral role in the creation of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame.
Following a trip to the Middle East, Grimes fought for improved voting procedures for deployed military which resulted in the Commonwealth’s first Kentucky Military Heroes Voting Initiative, allowing military to receive absentee ballots through a secure online portal and cutting out weeks in the military absentee process. More than 4,500 military and overseas voters have utilized the portal ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Military voters who qualify can access the portal at GoVoteKY.com.
The Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability and the Louisville Sustainability Council (LSC) are hosting the third annual Sustainability Summit on Saturday, October 29, 2016. Highlights will include innovative speakers from across the U.S. and a focus on opportunities for residents to actively engage in creating a more sustainable Louisville.
“Making Louisville more sustainable is an ambitious goal that we can achieve if everyone does their part,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “Individual contributions towards this effort are becoming ever more urgent in the face of local and global challenges. The Summit’s focus on action is more relevant than ever.”
The 2016 Sustainability Summit welcomes educators, leaders, innovators, and interested citizens of all backgrounds to attend the event. This year’s theme – It takes a ‘Ville – reflects on the need for everyone to contribute to community progress towards a sustainable city.
Attendees will hear from sustainability leaders from across the country. The morning panel will feature:
- Matt Gray, Director of the Cleveland Office of Sustainability,
- Jennifer Lansing, Senior Environmental Research Analyst for the Minneapolis Health Department,
- Rick Hicks, Director or of the Office of Environmental Protection and Sustainability at the Columbus Public Health Department, and
- Ryan Evans, a leading expert in the state of Utah on the impact of air quality on economic development.
Dr. Shahzeen Attari, the Summit’s keynote speaker from the top-ranked Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, will conclude the Summit with a speech entitled, Perceptions of Resource Use and Methods to Motivate Action.
Summit registrants will learn about local projects in need of participation from the community. This Showcase of Partners will include opportunities for testing water quality in Jefferson County, establishing a local food co-op, participating in multi-modal transportation options such as ride-share and car-sharing programs, integrating sustainability into Louisville’s Comprehensive Plan, invasive species removal, community-supported bike repair, and healthy landscape auditing.
“This year’s summit will have something for everyone,” said Maria Koetter, Director of the Office of Sustainability. “From national experts to homegrown pioneers, the event aims to engage a diverse audience to support idea generation and specific efforts to help achieve the city’s health and sustainability goals.”
The 2016 Sustainability Summit is proud to receive support from Presenting Sponsors Yum! Brands and Humana, as well as TARC, K. Norman Berry & Associates Architects, PNC, UPS, Partnership for a Green City, and many others, all of whom are committed to sustainability.
“We are building upon last year’s summit, which focused on Improving Air Quality, where many great ideas for short and long term projects were identified. This year’s local project showcase will have a direct impact on improving Louisville’s air quality, as well as improving Louisville’s STAR Community rating, especially in the areas that were identified as key gaps,” said Emily Chandler, Louisville Sustainability Council Executive Director.
To kick off the Summit, registrants are invited to attend the first public showing of Beargrass: The Creek in Your Backyard on Thursday, October 27, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Clifton Center. The film showing is open to the public with a $5 suggested donation to benefit the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Beargrass Creek Alliance, and Salt River Watershed Watch. Summit registrants will receive a free drink ticket.
The 2016 Sustainability Summit will take place Saturday, October 29, from 8:00am – 4:30pm at Bellarmine University in Frazier Hall. Registration includes a one-year membership with the LSC. Advance registration is still open and will be discounted until October 23. After that, tickets will be $50 for LSC members, $75 for the general public, and $25 for students. Tickets are available online through October 28th. Tickets will also be sold at the door the day of the event. A limited number of free scholarship tickets are available. Scholarship applications, due October 21, are available on the event website.
More information, as well as the registration form, can be found on the Louisville Sustainability Council website: http://louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org/2016-sustainability-summit/
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will hold its annual Showcase of Schools this weekend, offering parents and students a convenient opportunity to visit with JCPS staff and representatives of each school and get information about optional and magnet programs before deciding which school the student will attend next year.
The Showcase will feature all grades – elementary, middle and high – during both days of the two-day event. The Showcase will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. This year, the Showcase will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B, 937 Phillips Lane. The Showcase is relocating temporarily while the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville is under renovation.
Representatives from the Optional, Magnet and Advance Programs Office; Student Assignment; Transportation; Parent Teacher Association (PTA); and Demographics will also be available to answer questions and explain application procedures to parents.
“We’re proud of the many choices that JCPS offers and we want all of our students engaged in the choice process,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS superintendent. “The Showcase is an excellent way for parents and students to learn about JCPS, get an overview of the district and compare the program offerings designed to address the varied interests of our diverse student population.”
The online registration/ application period for the 2017/2018 school years is Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 to Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.
Regular day-of-event parking rate of $8 per vehicle will apply. For more information on the Showcase, call 485-3323. For more information on the online application process, call 485-6250.
Louisville Metro is looking for someone to donate the large Christmas tree that will stand in Jefferson Square Park through the holidays.
“It is always the main attraction of our Light Up celebration,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We hope someone will come forward with just the right tree.”
The tree should be a spruce or fir, about 40 feet tall and well-shaped. The city will cut and transport the tree to its prominent spot at the plaza in the northwest corner of 4th and Jefferson Streets. Anyone interested in donating a tree should call MetroCall 311. The tree donor will be thanked at the Light Up Louisville sponsor reception on a date to be determined.
Light Up Louisville is held annually on the day after Thanksgiving. This year, the event, in its 36th year, will be held on Nov. 25.
As absentee votes are being cast and as voters prepare to head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8, Attorney General Andy Beshear is urging Kentuckians to report any voting abnormalities to his office’s Election Fraud Hotline.
Beshear asks all Kentuckians who witness election irregularities or possible election law violations to call the Election Fraud Hotline at 800-328-VOTE or 800-328-8683.
The hotline is open throughout the year during normal business hours and from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. (EST) on Election Day.
“Each voter has the right to cast his or her ballot free of interference and intimidation, and my office is here to protect that right,” Beshear said. “I encourage anyone with possible information about violations of federal voting rights laws to call the Election Fraud Hotline. Each and every report made will be promptly investigated to ensure a fair and honest election in Kentucky.”
By law, the Office of the Attorney General has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute election law violations.
In addition to the hotline, investigators from the Attorney General’s Office may patrol precincts and polling places across the Commonwealth on Election Day in order to respond immediately to complaints.
“We are committed to enforcing clean and fair elections, and holding those who violate the law accountable,” Beshear said.
Beshear is also a member of the Kentucky Election Integrity Task Force, and has been working closely with the Secretary of State’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Offices in Eastern and Western Kentucky to protect voters and the integrity of the election.
The
Attorney General’s Office is required by statute to conduct postelection audits in six randomly drawn counties within 20 days of the election.
The Attorney General’s Office will send hotline updates to the media at 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (EST), after the polls close Nov. 8.
Members of the news media covering the election are reminded that they may be in the voting room for the limited purpose of filming the voting process. However, as per OAG 88-76, the media may not conduct interviews with voters inside the voting room, record the identity of voters or disrupt the voting process. See KRS 117.236.
