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Friday December 5, 2025
Local Connection
Photo: Project Green Heart
At 1000 Stanley Avenue this week, the first of thousands of trees was planted as part of a major health study to determine the impact of green foliage on the community’s health.
Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey (D-3) was on hand for the first tree planted as part of the Green Heart Project, a program being conducted by the University of Louisville Environment Institute and The Nature Conservancy.
“We know Louisville Metro has been losing trees at an alarming rate. As the Green Heart Project moves forward in the coming years, we will be able to have a better understanding on how greenery impacts the health of the people of our community while replenishing our tree canopy,” said Dorsey.
The Green Heart Project will examine, for the first time, if increasing greenness in an urban community will reduce the levels of air pollution in the neighborhood, decrease the risk of heart disease, and increase outdoor activity and relationships between neighbors.
Green Heart will help discover:
- How to plant trees in urban communities to maximize the removal of air pollution,
- If increasing green space affects the risk of developing obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,
- If increasing urban green space reduces mental stress, enhances social cohesion, increases physical activity, and
- If urban green space affects crime rates, property values, storm water runoff, energy use, and heat island effect.
Research teams with the project have already conducted health screenings with neighborhood residents and will recheck their biomarkers over time to determine whether the additional trees and shrubs improve their health, including cardiovascular health, diabetes, and other health indicators.
The Green Heart Project has a specific timeline:
- Baseline measurements in 2018 and 2019
- Monitor levels of air pollution around roadways and residential areas.
- Recruit hundreds of people for the HEAL Health Study to see baseline health, stress levels, lifestyle and relationships, and disease risk.
- Greening in 2019 and 2020
- Plant thousands of trees, shrubs, and grasses to create a robust and sustainable ecosystem maximized to remove air pollution.
- Monitoring in 2020 and 2021
- Track changes in pollution, physical and mental health, and social change.
- Comparison in 2022
- Compare observed changes before planting and two years after planting
“Every neighborhood in our community is special and we all want a better quality of life,” said Dorsey. “Now, we will be able to see through the Green Heart Project if the beauty of trees and greenery not only improve our neighborhoods but our health as well.”
For more information about the Green Heart Project, go to: https://louisville.edu/greenheart/about
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Over the last two years, much attention has been focused on efforts to help the homeless in Louisville Metro. One organization works with the Metro Council and other agencies to find ways to address the problem.
Councilwoman Madonna Flood (D-24) announces the next South Central Regional Forum will focus on the work of The Coalition for the Homeless on Wednesday, October 16th.
“Homelessness is a great challenge for many cities and Louisville Metro is no exception,” says the Councilwoman. “The Coalition knows first-hand the scope of the situation and resources the city uses to deal with the problem.”
The forum is set for the South Central Regional Library at 7400 Jefferson Boulevard from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Natalie Harris, Executive Director of the Coalition has been invited to talk about the group’s mission. The Coalition educates the community about homelessness and inspires action, advocates for system change and coordinates the community response to homelessness through efficient use of resources and funding.
“If you have a question or would like a better understanding of the homeless issue in the community, then I encourage you to come and join us” says Flood.
Code Enforcement Officers and LMPD Officers will also be present at the forum to answer public safety and other questions.
The South Central Regional Forums are sponsored by Councilwoman Flood and Council members Mark Fox (D-13), Barbara Shanklin (D-2) and James Peden (R-23).
For more information about this South Central Regional Forum, contact Councilwoman Flood’s office at 574-1124.
After less than a year, a new restauranteur is ready to move out of the kitchen incubator program at Chef Space and into a storefront of his own.
Open Caribbean Kitchen owner Ernst Pierre today opened his new restaurant, located at 4735 Poplar Level Road, Suite 1. Open Caribbean Kitchen serves a variety of Caribbean food, including Haitian, Dominican, and Trinidadian.
Pierre, a transplant to Louisville from Jacksonville, Fla., joined Chef Space in November 2018, where he has operated his business as part of the kitchen incubator’s membership track. Chef Space enabled him to cut his production time and easily test new recipes.
Pierre also graduated from the Entrée-preneurship program, a free 10-week series of classes designed to foster the development of new restauranteurs and food entrepreneurs by providing front and back of house training, as well as budgeting and marketing. The Entrée-preneurship Series began in 2018 out of the city’s Small Business Development team and has graduated over 80 entrepreneurs with skills needed to start or grow their businesses in Louisville’s food industry. The program is now administered by Chef Space.
“Supporting aspiring entrepreneurs with programs like Chef Space and Entree-preneurship helps Louisville maintain its status as a world-class culinary city,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We celebrate with Ernst Pierre as he takes his business to the next level and wish him great success.”
With the support of Chef Space, members can experience the multifaceted factors of operating in the food industry with less financial overhead and insecurity as one would experience when opening their own storefront. Since its inception, Chef Space has graduated several members into their own storefronts and business spaces.
Operating since 2015, Chef Space is Louisville’s first kitchen incubator. Chef Space was started by Community Ventures, a nonprofit community development corporation committed to improving the lives of the residents of west Louisville. The 13,000-square-foot facility offers multiple food preparation and processing stations, access to capital, storage space, and training opportunities for its members.
Alongside Community Ventures, Chef Space exists because of the generous support of its funders and community partners, including: Louisville Metro Government, Community Foundation of Louisville, Community Trust Bank, the Department of Treasury New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), Gheens Foundation, Horn Foundation, Humana Foundation, James Graham Brown Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Kentucky Reinvestment Fund, Kentucky Bank’s Bank Enterprise Award, Neighborworks America, Prodigy Construction Corporation, Sam Swope Family Foundation, Texas Roadhouse, Traditional Bank, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Wilson Industries.
Additional information about Chef Space is available at www.chefspace.org. If you would like more information about Open Caribbean Kitchen and the upcoming grand opening, or about Chef Space in general, please contact Jessica Morgan at (502) 566-6076 or jmorgan@cvky.org.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
For a second time in less than a week, Solid Waste Management Services Enforcement Officers, with help from a private citizen, have located and impounded a vehicle caught on camera illegally dumping. It’s the 12th impounded vehicle of the year.
“I want to thank the citizens who assisted SWMS Officers in locating this vehicle. It’s assistance like this from the public that are making sure are neighborhoods are not being turned into someone’s personal dumping ground,” said Councilwoman Nicole George (D-21). “The message has always been clear, if you illegally dump in our neighborhoods, it will be costly when you get caught.”
According to SWMS Enforcement, on August 10th, a citizen’s private security system captured a white Ford F-150 being used to dump a couch in the Beechmont Neighborhood. The SWMS Enforcement Team was able to locate the vehicle today in the 100 block of East Adair.
In total, the illegal dumper received a citation with fines and fees totaling $750. Also, they will have to pay approximately $250 for impound and storage fees.
This is the second impounded vehicle for the week. On Wednesday, a Ford F150 was impounded in the 3500 Block of River Park Drive as a result of illegal dumping that had occurred in September in District 6.
Impounding any vehicle involved in illegal dumping was approved by the Louisville Metro Council when it amended the local ordinance on illegal dumping. The changes to the ordinance also called for fines and storage fees paid the dumper when the impounded vehicle was found.
The popular Tom Owen CycLOUvia returns to Bardstown Road on Sunday, Oct. 20. The popular event showcases alternative transit and is named in honor of former District 8 Councilman Tom Owen, a lifelong advocate for bicycles and pedestrians in our community.
The event route is shortened this year due to budget constraints. The road will be closed to vehicular traffic along Bardstown Road from Douglass Boulevard to Highland Avenue from 2 to 6 p.m. Police will facilitate motor crossings at Grinstead Drive and Eastern Parkway.
“This fun event brings people of all ages and backgrounds together to promote healthy habits, sustainable modes of transit, and safety,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “CycLOUvia also gives residents the opportunity to celebrate the small businesses along a car-free Bardstown Road.”
Commercial establishments with frontage along the Bardstown Road corridor are encouraged to open their businesses during event hours and to engage participants.
During CycLOUvia, streets are opened to people of all ages, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds looking to improve their mental, physical, and emotional health.
Since 2012, CycLOUvia events have attracted tens of thousands of people to neighborhoods across the city. CycLOUvia promotes healthy lifestyles, alternative transportation, safety, and economic development.
For more information, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/cyclouvia.
President David James (D-6) and several Members of the Louisville Metro Council on Thursday, October 10th officially unveiled the 2019 Edition of the “Art in City Hall” Exhibit which features the work of Louisville Visual Artists.
“There was a very positive response throughout the year when the public got the chance to see the wide range of artists and visual talent, we have in Metro Louisville,” says President James. “Art in City Hall will once again allow us to showcase beautiful works of those artists in an historic setting.”
“Art in City Hall” works in partnership with the Commission on Public Art to use the public lobby areas and hallways of all three floors in Historic City Hall as a display area to showcase these visual arts.
“We are excited to welcome an amazing group of Louisville artists to exhibit their work at City Hall. This is a wonderful opportunity to experience visual art in a civic building where the community gathers and shares dialogue,” said Sarah Lindgren, Public Art Administrator for Louisville Metro Government.
Louisville has a strong history of arts and cultural expression. When City Hall was built in the 1870s artists and craftsmen created a detailed façade including a locomotive with billowing steam and animals to represent the city’s identity and economic strength. Now, 150 years later, we still look to artists to communicate the distinctive identity of our city with many creative voices.
Over the summer, two members of the Louisville Metro Council, Councilwoman Paula McCraney (D-7) and Councilman Anthony Piagentini (R-19), volunteered to be part of a committee to review works of visual artists for the program.
“I was honored to serve on this year’s selection team. Art is a unique expression of an artist’s complex imagination. Artwork has different meanings to different people, and it will be interesting to hear comments throughout the year about how these chosen pieces speak to the heart and soul of employees and City Hall visitors,” said McCraney.
“Louisville is home to so many great artists such as our musicians, actors and ballet company to our visual artists who we recognized today. Our use of City Hall to share these wonderful works is an excellent way to remind the public that it is government’s job to create a safe and vibrant city so that all of our citizens have the liberty and freedom to enjoy the beauty and majesty of great art,” said Piagentini.
Art in City Hall includes six Louisville artists showing a wide variety of techniques in painting and mixed-media collage.
Those artists in the exhibit are:
- Ann Adamek
- William Duffy
- Beverly Glascock
- Jill Gross
- Shawn Marshall
- Yunier Ramirez
“Art in City Hall is a yearlong exhibit. The Council is honored to be part of an effort that we hope it continue in the coming years as we join many areas where Louisville artists show their talent and remind us that the arts have a very important place in our society,” said President James.
To learn more about Metro Louisville’s Commission in Public Art and its mission, go to: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art/commission-public-art
It is one of the oldest community events in Southwest Jefferson County and this weekend, the 89th Annual Fairdale Community Fair will get underway with fun for everyone.
“This Fair has such a special place in the hearts of the people of Fairdale and this area and I want to commend the Fairdale Fair Board for another year of hard work and dedication,” says Councilman Mark Fox (D-13). “This experience is much like the old county fairs where people would come out to just see what’s going on, talk to friends and see exhibits, ride some rides and have a good time.”
The theme of this year’s event is “It’s Fall Y’all”.
The Fairdale Community Fair gets underway on Thursday night, October 10th with rides and then continues through Saturday night October 12th. All events are located at Fairdale Elementary and the Fairdale Playtorium, 10104 Mitchell Hill Road.
One of the highlights of the Fair every year is Saturday’s parade which begins at 12:00pm at Fairdale High School. There are some 21 entries in the parade this year which will leave the high school and continue down Fairdale Road then on to the fair. One of the special things about the parade is candy thrown by various groups to the crowds on the sidelines.
At the Playtorium, there will be a Homemakers Contest, Sweet Shoppe and Book Sale. Booths supporting local youth leagues, churches, cub scouts, the 4H, National Guard, local PTAs and of course the Fairdale Fair info booth will also be on hand.
On Stage for the Fairdale Community Fair:
- Friday, October 11th
- Step-N-Out Dance
- Hard times and the Big Nickle Band
- Saturday, October 12th
- Jeff Thomas
- Legacy School of Dance
- Turning Point
- Jenni Carr
“Fall is in the air and I want to encourage everyone to come out and join us for fun, entertainment and rides this weekend,” says Councilman Fox.
For more information about the 89th Annual Fairdale Community Fair, contact fairdalefair2019@gmail.com .
