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Saturday December 6, 2025
Local Connection
Mayor Greg Fischer today announced that Metro Hall is now equipped with beacons tied to a mobile app to help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate indoor public with audio cues.
The mobile app, Nearby Explorer Online, was developed by Louisville’s American Printing House for the Blind and is available for free on Apple and Android devices.
Through this app, people who are blind or visually impaired are able to locate destinations, restrooms, airport security, points of interest and more.
“Nearby Explorer is a perfect example of our compassionate city working and innovating to help improve accessibility,” Mayor Fischer said. “I’m proud that we could partner with American Printing House for the Blind and the James Graham Brown Foundation to install beacons to Metro Hall, and I’m proud of the work our Office of Civic Innovation has done to expand this program. This will be a big help for citizens, and that’s what we’re all about.”
APH is excited to partner with the City of Louisville to make a more accessible world. “It’s liberating to know what’s around you and to know what direction to go,” said Larry Skutchan, Director of Technology Product Research at APH. “With Nearby Explorer you have options that you don’t have if you’re always dependent on somebody else to take you places.”
Beacons have been installed in public spaces across Louisville through support from the James Graham Brown Foundation and Louisville Metro’s Office of Civic Innovation. Beacons are installed at:
- Louisville International Airport
- KFC Yum! Center
- The Hyatt Regency Hotel
- Frazier History Museum
- Kentucky Science Center
- 21c Museum Hotel
- Muhammad Ali Center
- Kentucky Center for the Arts
- Actors Theatre
- Walgreens store on Frankfort Avenue
- Crescent Hill Public Library
- Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS)
- The McDowell Center
American Printing House is in the process of mapping buildings and installing more beacons across Louisville. The end goal is to make every public building in the world a place that can easily be navigated independently. Nearby Explorer not only helps people who are blind or visually impaired, but can also help people who are sighted work their way through complex indoor spaces.
The Muhammad Ali Center is proud to announce its upcoming Daughters of Greatness speaker, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Goodwin, a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times #1 Best-Selling author, will speak at the Center on Friday, December 7th. The event will begin with a hot breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the program will follow from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Throughout the year, the Daughters of Greatness breakfast series invites prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice to share their stories with the Louisville community. The Daughters of Greatness series provides a place for dialogue and discussion on current issues of justice, community engagement, and social movements within the Louisville area and beyond.
Ms. Goodwin will also appear at the Kentucky Author Forum on Thursday, December 6th at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts at 6pm and will be interviewed by Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of five bestselling biographies.
Goodwin is known for her highly regarded studies of American presidents. Her career as a presidential historian and author was inspired when as a 24-year-old graduate student at Harvard she was selected to join the White House Fellows, one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service.
A meeting with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 resulted in Goodwin’s first book, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, which will be re-released in spring 2019. Her second book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, was a best-seller. Following the release of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, Goodwin published a memoir detailing her youth in Brooklyn. She returned to presidential literature thereafter, releasing Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln in 2005. In 2013, she wrote the critically acclaimed and The New York Times bestselling The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism (November 2013).
In her seventh book, Leadership in Turbulent Times (published on September 18, 2018 by Simon & Schuster), is the culmination of her five-decade career of studying the American presidents. Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.
Well known for her appearances and commentary on television, Goodwin is seen frequently on all the major television and cable networks and shows including Meet the Press and The Late Show with Colbert Report. Most recently she played herself as a teacher to Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons and a historian on American Horror Story.
Goodwin graduated magna cum laude from Colby College. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Government from Harvard University, where she taught Government, including a course on the American Presidency.
Among her many honors and awards, Goodwin was awarded the Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sarah Josepha Hale Medal, the New England Book Award, as well as the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.
Goodwin lives in Concord, Massachusetts. She was the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room, and is a devoted fan of the World Series-winning team.
Seating is limited. Tickets are $20 for Ali Center members, $25 for non-members, $15 for students. Tables of 8 and 10 are also available.
Reservations must be made in advance by clicking here or by contacting Erin Herbert at eherbert@alicenter.org.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Kentucky Author Forum, please visit https://kentuckyauthorforum.com/event/doris-kearns-goodwin/
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Metro Louisville will continue the celebration of the holiday season when Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin invites District 2 residents to Newburg-Petersburg Park for this year’s “Light up Newburg”, on Saturday, December 8th.
“The people of District 2 always enjoy this holiday celebration,” says Shanklin. “We have some fun activities planned but more importantly this event is a reminder of the wonder of the holidays.”
“Light up Newburg” will be held from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Newburg-Petersburg Park is located at the corner of East Indian Trail and Petersburg Road.
Santa Claus will be on hand to hear children’s holiday wishes for Christmas. There will be holiday music and refreshments.
This year, the Teamsters National Black Caucus of Louisville has joined in the fun by helping bring gifts and holiday cheer to children of the area.
“We have music and fun planned as a way to offset the hectic hustle and bustle of this time of year,” says Shanklin.
In the event of inclement weather, the holiday fun will move inside the Newburg Community Center.
For more information about “Light up Newburg,” call Councilwoman Shanklin’s office at 574-1102.
Neighborhood Place joins with community partners to host the Park DuValle Holiday Festival on Dec. 1 featuring visits with Santa and a holiday concert, and a Kwanzaa Reception on Dec. 28 at Ujima Neighborhood Place. Several other valuable services and classes will take place in December including a home energy-saving workshop, a Women’s Empowerment Information Session, TARC Smart Card registration and low internet sign-ups. To learn more about these offerings, please refer to the list below.
Dec. 1, Third Annual Park DuValle Holiday Festival, 1 – 6 p.m.
Celebrate the holiday season in the Park DuValle area with a celebration of drums and snowball fight at 1 p.m. at Southwick Community Center; visits with Santa at 2 p.m. at the Dr. William Weathers Senior Building; and Holiday Bingo, the Christmas cookie factory and face painting at Ujima Neighborhood Place 3610 Bohne Ave. at 3:30 p.m. A holiday reception begins at 5 p.m. and at 6 p.m. a holiday concert and tree lighting will take place at the Villages of DuValle club house at 1804 Russell Lee Dr.
Dec. 4, Car Seat Safety Check at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 9 – 11 a.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call Norton Children’s Hospital at 629-7358 to make an appointment. Learn how to install your child’s car seat or booster seat. Find out if it’s time for a change. Car seat-fitting by appointment only.
Dec. 5, WeCare Energy Efficiency Overview at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Located at 3410 Lees Lane. Call 1-800-356-5467 for more information. Representatives from the WeCare Program at LG&E will be on hand to talk with interested persons about energy efficiency, energy usage and tips to reduce utility bills.WeCare staff can also help determine if households are eligible for a variety of free services including air duct sealing and insulation, attic and wall insulation, programmable thermostats and much more.
Dec. 5, 11, 13 and 20, A Healthy Journey for Two Educational Baby Shower at multiple locations
A Healthy Journey for Two is an educational baby shower open to any expectant mothers. Contact Mendy Mason at 502-341-5400 to register and for more information. The class will include a range of information and resources, as well as free baby items, gift cards, prizes, and snacks. Hosted by Centerstone and KIDSNow. Fathers are welcome but must be registered.
- Dec. 5 at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 1 – 3 p.m.
- Dec. 11 at South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave., 1- 3 p.m.
- Dec 13, at First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Rd. 1 – 3 p.m.
- Dec. 20 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 1 – 3 p.m.
Dec 6, 10 and 17, Sodexo Hiring Opportunities at three locations
Sodexo, a food-service agency, will provide on-the-spot interviews for positions with Jewish Hospital, Our Lady of Peace and University of Louisville Hospital. Bring your resume and be prepared for an interview. This is one of Sodexo’s busiest hiring seasons. Stop by if you are looking for employment that can lead to a full-time or part-time position.
- Dec 6, First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Road (T.J. Middle School in the W.D. Bruce Building – door #24), 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Call 313-4700 for more information.
- Dec 10, South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Call 313-4089 for more information.
- Dec. 17, Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 9am-1pm. Call 313-4089 for more information.
Dec. 6 and 7, TARC Smart Card Registration at Neighborhood Place at two locations
For more information call 585-1234. TARC Mobile Unit will be on site to register individuals for the new smart card. As of Jan. 7, 2019, paper tickets will no longer be used on a TARC bus. Customers can get a jump start in acquiring a smart card that will be required to ride the bus. Customers will be allowed to put a value on new smart cards and seniors will be able to get smart cards with a photo I.D. verifying age.
- Dec. 6 at South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave., 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- Dec. 7 at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 11:30 am. – 1:30 p.m.
Mondays through Thursdays, YMCA’s “Caring and Learning with Me” program at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Located at 1503 Rangeland Rd., side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Call Keyonna Humphrey at 974-8457 for more information and to register. This free program provides a wonderful learning environment for children ages 3-5 years old and their caregivers focusing on play and exploration. The adult caregiver is required to attend with the child/ren. Younger children ages newborn to two years old are also welcome. Sponsored by the YMCA with support from First Neighborhood Place.
Dec. 10, Bridges of Hope Women’s Empowerment Group Information Session, 5 – 6 p.m.
Located at 1411 Algonquin Parkway. Call 634-6050 for more information. This one-hour information session will give prospective participants a synopsis of an upcoming Women’s Empowerment Group and its format. Learn more about this 10-week program designed to develop the skills and confidence necessary to help uplift, empower, build support, and establish healthy relationships. The topics of focus are relationships, parenting, mental and physical health, employment, education, and self-care.
Dec. 10, 12, 17, Passport Health Care Community Engagement at two locations
Call (502) 212-6677 for more information and to RSVP. Passport Members are invited to join with representatives from Passport Health Care for one-on-one consultations to discuss plan benefits and options. This is a great opportunity as Passport aims to raise awareness and educate the community about the Passport Health Plan mission. Passport members will receive a $10 retail gift card for attending.
- Dec 10 and 17 at First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Rd (door #16) side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Dec. 12 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Dec. 11, Project Warm Energy Management Workshop at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 to register. Learn how to make your home warmer and more comfortable this winter. Project Warm’s energy management workshop will show you how to hang clear, interior window covers and more. Receive free supplies after attending the workshop. Supplies are available to all registered participants
Dec. 11, Foster Parent Recruitment Meeting at First Neighborhood Place, 6 – 8 p.m.
Located at 1503 Rangeland Rd., side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Call 595-5437 (KIDS) for more information. Detailed information will be provided on the requirements and process of how to become a foster or adoptive parent. Information such as an explanation of foster care, special needs adoption, and information on foster parent training classes will be provided. Sponsored by Kentucky Foster Care and the Special Needs Adoption Program.
Dec. 12, 17 and 20, Low Cost Internet Registration at three locations
Learn about and receive help signing up for low-cost internet plans in our community for qualifying households. Sponsored by Louisville Metro’s Digital Inclusion team.
- Dec. 12, Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 2- 4 p.m.
- Dec. 17, South Central Neighborhood Place, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Dec. 20 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 3 – 5 p.m. Call 313-4635 for more info.
Dec. 20, Free Blood Pressure Screenings at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3 – 5 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 for more information. Louisville Metro Health and Wellness health educators will provide free blood pressure screenings and health information.
Dec. 28, Kwanzaa Reception at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 for more information. In honor of Ujima, the third principle of Kwanzaa meaning collective work and responsibility, community members are invited to gather for networking opportunities and to explore ideas for community collaborations.
Mayor Greg Fischer today named Lisa Osanka as Director of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA), a post she’s held on an interim basis since April.
“The Louisville Metro Housing Authority is a national leader in neighborhood revitalization and housing development, and a central part of our efforts to give every citizen the chance to reach their full potential,” Mayor Fischer said. “In Lisa, we have a leader with expertise in housing policy and community engagement, and also an activist’s passion for helping residents.”
LMHA is responsible for over 4,500 public housing units as well as administration of rental assistance to approximately 9,200 families through its voucher programs.
Its mission is to provide quality, affordable housing for those in need, assist residents in their efforts to achieve financial independence, and work with the community to strengthen neighborhood.
Osanka has more than 26 years of experience in housing and community development. Before becoming interim director following the retirement of longtime Director Tim Barry, Osanka was the Director of Leased Housing for LMHA.
“Affordable housing is an issue I feel very strongly about, and I’ve spent a good amount of my life working to ensure that everyone in our community has a secure place to call home,” Osanka said. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to continue serving this community, especially the thousands of families that we at LMHA serve every day.”
A nine-member Board of Commissioners, appointed by the Metro Mayor, serves as the policy making body of the agency. Its funding comes from residents’ rents and annual operating subsidy from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agency also receives Capital Improvement funds on an annual basis from HUD, and applies for funds from HUD and the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to finance various modernization improvements.
In her role as Director, Osanka will partner with the LMHA staff and Board of Directors to carry out the agency’s goals, including plans for the $30 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant that is a driver of the renaissance underway in the Russell neighborhood.
“Lisa brings the experience, expertise and institutional knowledge needed to do this job well, and we’re pleased to see her take the helm,” said Manfred Reid, chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Louisville Metro Housing Authority since 2000. “She truly cares about the people impacted by this operation, and that’s incredibly important.”
Osanka earned her Juris Doctorate from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville and her Bachelors of the Arts in History from Valparaiso University.
Before joining LMHA, she held positions at Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Washington, D.C., Louisville Tenants Association, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and Habitat for Humanity International.
By Charlotte Stephens
Before he became a bestselling author, David Sedaris survived by working odd jobs. He picked apples in Oregon. He reinforced the edges of window screens with a stapler (to keep squirrels from invading attics) in Chicago. He cleaned apartments in new York City. And, broke and jobless after first moving to the Big Apple, he got a gig playing an elf at Macy’s “SantaLand,” which would inspire his beloved and hilariously biting personal essay, “Santaland Diaries.”
Sedaris is now a literary celebrity. he’s one of the few writers who can fill Carnegie Hall with his adoring fans and who’s been considered funny enough to appear regularly on The Late Show with David Letterman. During his days as Crumpet the Elf, however, he never thought he’d see his dream of being a published author come true. “I’m wearing a green velvet costume; it doesn’t get any worse than this,” Sedaris-as-Crumpet quips darkly. But his career would profit immensely from this time spent faking holiday cheer and herding frazzled families for their photo with Santa. It was “Santaland Diaries” that introduced Sedaris’s signature deadpan humor to a national audience, catapulting him to fame in the early 1990s.
Since 1977, Sedaris had kept a diary, often carrying a notebook with him to record experiences both bizarre and mundane. (He’s known for his ability to highlight the weirdness of everyday life, zeroing in on personal quirks or strange encounters that are often highly relateable, but that we might never think to document in such comic detail.) As with many of his other early writings, the pithy observations in “Santaland Diaries” originally came from these journal entries. According to Sedaris, “‘Santaland’ was just stuff in my diary. All I did was take things from my diary and arrange them.”
One night, he was reading exceprts from his diary onstage at a small New York club. He later recounted in an NPR interview:
“[Radio host] Ira Glass was in the audience. He introduced himself…Later, he called, asking if I had anything Christmassy for a show that he was doing at the time called…So I recorded the Santa story for that, and he put it on [the daily NPR program] Morning Edition.”
Sedaris could never have predicted the rush of popularity that followed. “My life just changed completely,” he has said, “like someone waved a magic wand.”
The rest is history. Thanks to the wild success of “Santaland Diaries,” Sedaris, in his words, “went from having 50 listeners to 50 million listeners.” Soon after, he landed the book contract that led to his first published collection of essays and short fiction, the critically acclaimed Barrel Fever (in which “Santaland Diaries” also appears). Today, there are more than 10 million copies of Sedaris’s books in print, and his work has been translated into 25 languages. Meanwhile, his recording of “Santaland Diaries” has aired on Morning Edition during the Christmas season every year since 2004, and is one of the show’s most requested features. Not too shabby for a man who’d often joked that he was only qualified for “jobs that needed no skills.”
Tickets are available online here.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is launching a new satellite office and inviting families to be a part of the process.
The new office will be located at the West Market Street entrance of The Academy @ Shawnee. On Monday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m., the district is hosting a conversation at the location, offering JCPS families and community members the opportunity to learn more about the goals of the office and share their ideas on what services they would like to see there.
“A strong commitment to family engagement has been a priority for me as superintendent,” Dr. Marty Pollio said. “A second satellite office in JCPS is one more important way we can deliver much-needed resources and services to families—and we’re excited to hear directly from them about how we can best provide that support through the opening of this new location.”
The community conversation will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 4018 W. Market Street, West Wing. The new office is expected to open early next year.
In January 2018, Superintendent Pollio cut the ribbon on the district’s first-ever satellite office, which is located inside the California Community Center on West St. Catherine Street. The office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
