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Photo: LouVelo
Mayor Greg Fischer announced that with the financial backing of nine local businesses, Louisville’s bike share program will launch this spring and will be called LouVelo.
LouVelo is owned by Louisville Metro, which has contracted with CycleHop, a leading operator of major municipal bike share programs throughout North America, to run the program. The LouVelo network will begin with 300 bikes positioned at 28 bike share stations in downtown, Old Louisville, NuLu, near Waterfront Park, and points in between.
Another 15 stations are under consideration to expand the network. The city is working with the University of Louisville with an aim to place multiple stations on the school’s Belknap campus by fall 2017. Plans for expansion into other neighborhoods, such as Russell and the Highlands, are also being developed.
The service makes bicycles available for short-term use. The bikes can be picked up at one station and returned to any other station in the system, which makes it easy for people looking to get from one location to another during the work or school day without driving a car, and those riding for leisure, recreation or just touring the city.
LouVelo sponsors include Norton Healthcare, JP Morgan Chase & Co., UPS, Main & Clay, Genscape Inc., The Brown Hotel, KentuckyOne Health, Atria Senior Living, and The Eye Care Institute.
“These great community partners know that quality of life is a critical factor in maintaining and growing a talented workforce in Louisville,” Mayor Fischer said. “LouVelo is one of the many things we’re doing to enhance quality of life in our city.”
“We are pleased to be a sponsor of the bike share program,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. “LouVelo’s goal of offering bicycles across the community aligns with our mission to improve the health of our community.”
The Mayor noted that bike sharing is part of the Move Louisville long-term multimodal transportation plan, which calls for accommodating all users of the city’s transportation system — pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transit riders — in the best ways possible. It’s also a great way for people to reduce their carbon footprints and increase wellness while serving the routine objective of getting from one place to another.
LouVelo is another way that Louisville is growing its network of cycling facilities, such as bike lanes, that are making it easier and safer to get around the city on two wheels.
Dave Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of CycleHop, said “We are excited to offer a new mode of public transportation to the residents and visitors of Louisville. Providing healthy, sustainable and fun transit alternatives is at the core of CycleHop’s mission. We are very grateful to Mayor Fischer, our sponsors and everyone in Louisville Metro who has made this mission a reality.”
An official launch will be announced soon. Riders will then be able to buy daily, monthly or annual passes. Until then LouVelo is offering a $99 Founding Member plan that includes an unlimited number of 60-minute rides for a whole year. A station map and signup details are available at www.louvelo.com. LouVelo can also be found on Twitter and Facebook under LouVeloBikes.
Startup costs to develop the LouVelo plan and to purchase and install bikes and stations were funded through a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant of $1.1 million matched with $273,000 from Louisville Metro. Operational costs for the program will be covered though user fees, sponsorship, and an annual appropriation from metro in the amount of $50,000.
Mayor Greg Fischer announced the appointment of two new key officials with the aim of improving the city’s resilience and improving racial equity.
Eric Friedlander will be Louisville Metro’s Chief Resilience Officer (CRO), leading the city’s efforts to help prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from chronic stresses and acute shocks. The CRO is an essential element of Louisville’s partnership with 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.
Kellie Watson will be the city’s Chief Equity Officer, leading the city’s bid to improve racial equity within Louisville Metro’s policies and practices. Equity is a key component of resilience and the two officers will work closely together.
“Our city has been experiencing exceptional growth over the past seven years — $9 billion in investments, and tens of thousands of new jobs. But we have to make sure we’re growing the right way,” Mayor Fischer said. “Under Eric and Kellie, our resilience and equity efforts will collaborate — because we know our most vulnerable citizens are often the hardest hit by crises. Together, they will move forward to strengthen and better prepare our city for the big challenges of today and tomorrow.”
City takes next step as one of the world’s 100 Resilient Cities
Friedlander transitions to the Chief Resilience Officer role after serving since December 2015 as director of the city’s Department of Community Services. He previously served as deputy secretary of the state Cabinet for Health & Family Services and other agency leadership roles.
Friedlander will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resiliency Strategy for the city. The new position and resiliency efforts are funded and supported through 100 Resilient Cities, which last year selected Louisville to join its network aimed at building urban, environmental and economic resilience.
“My career has been focused on health and human services,” Friedlander said. “The people who are often the first to be hurt in catastrophes big or small, sudden or slow-moving, are often the people who have the least resources. Cities must plan for how to respond to the shocks and stresses found at the intersection of race, poverty, the environment and the economy. I am excited to begin the process of creating Louisville’s Resilience Strategy.”
“Eric will be a key leader in helping Louisville better understand its challenges and develop the solutions to solve them in an equitable and impactful way,” said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities. “Eric will lead the city’s resilience building efforts and will bring Louisville significant benefits in the form of private sector contributions, technical expertise, best practices from around the world, and more.”
The CRO will work within city government to break down existing barriers at the local level, account for pre-existing plans, and create partnerships, alliances and financing mechanisms that will address the resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents, with a particular focus on low-income and vulnerable populations. The CRO will focus on issues such as:
- Louisville’s built environment challenges;
- Environmental and sustainability issues; and
- Economic and social challenges that keep all Louisvilians from thriving and reaching opportunity and success.
The CRO will oversee the Department of Community Services, which will be renamed the Department of Resilience and Community Services, and will work closely with the city’s Office of Sustainability and Office of Health Equity to develop and implement the Resiliency Strategy.
Watson to focus on improving equity
Watson assumes the Chief Equity Officer role following nearly three years as the city’s General Counsel. She was previously the city’s Human Resources Director and the Director of the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission.
Her new assignment will focus on ensuring that policies and practices — on matters ranging from hiring and promotions to procurement procedures — throughout Louisville Metro Government align with Mayor Fischer’s goal of improving racial equity in the city. Both the Department of Human Resources and the Human Relations Commission will report to Watson.
“Louisville Metro reaches citizens in countless ways every single day, and it’s important that we’re always mindful of racial equity as we go about our work,” Watson said. “Mayor Fischer’s goal of ensuring our city is a platform for helping citizens reach their full potential can only be achieved through working toward greater racial equity.”
The new Chief Equity Officer position is part of Mayor Fischer’s efforts to focus on equity issues in Louisville, which included a 2016 city leadership retreat and the city’s work with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity.
“Eric and Kellie are experienced and respected leaders in our city government,” Mayor Fischer said. “They have the know-how to identify and implement concrete steps to make Louisville more resilient and equitable, which benefits every resident in every neighborhood of our city.
“We’re looking to these two outstanding civic leaders to concentrate their efforts — independently and collaborative — to build a more resilient, equitable city.”
New general counsel, Resilience and Community Services director named
Mayor Fischer today also announced that Jeff Mosley will be the city’s new general counsel, and Gena Redmon will become Director of the city’s Department of Resilience and Community Services.
Mosley most recently served as Deputy Chief of Louisville Forward, the city’s integrated economic and community development arm. He’s previously served as general counsel of state agencies, including with the state Finance & Administration Cabinet.
Redmon most recently served as Deputy Director of Community Services, and previously served in the Executive Administrator roles for OMB Grants Administration and Community Services.
Photo: State Treasurer website
April is financial literacy month in Kentucky, and Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball is launching a digital educational campaign to promote its importance, her office announced Wednesday.
“As a former bankruptcy attorney in Eastern Kentucky, I know how critically important it is for Kentuckians to have a deep understanding of their personal finances,” Treasurer Ball said in a statement. “Financial literacy is a form of financial freedom. If Kentucky families know how to set budgets, save money, and invest earnings, they can free themselves from potentially tough financial situations.”
The Treasurer’s digital financial literacy education campaign will feature daily social media posts of financial literacy definitions and tips, initiatives in her office, and other informational tools from Treasurer Ball on smart financial decision making.
“This is a quick and easy way to teach people financial literacy basics,” Treasurer Ball said. “This is an opportunity for Kentucky families to learn something new and get a better understanding of how money works.”
Throughout the month long educational campaign, Kentuckians will learn about budgeting, savings, checking credit reports, preventing identify theft and many more important financial resources.
You can follow the educational campaign by liking Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball on Facebook or Twitter.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
Twenty years ago this December, seven elk were released atop Potato Knob in Perry County in front of thousands of onlookers. The landmark restoration of a free roaming elk herd in Kentucky was off and running.
Fast forward to present day. There are now more elk in Kentucky than any state east of the Rocky Mountains and each year the prospect of harvesting one compels tens of thousands of hunters to apply for Kentucky’s quota elk hunts.
Those interested in applying for 2017 should not delay. Applications must be submitted online at fw.ky.gov by midnight (Eastern time) April 30.
“For the person who has always wanted to elk hunt but just couldn’t afford to hunt out west, consider applying for a Kentucky elk quota hunt,” said Gabe Jenkins, elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Our application and permit costs are low in comparison and our elk hunters enjoy some of the highest success rates in the country.”
Kentucky residents and those living out of state can apply for each of the four permit types – bull or cow firearms and bull or cow archery/crossbow – but can be drawn for one hunting permit only. Each entry costs $10. Applicants for the youth-only hunt can put in for the regular elk quota hunts as well but cannot be drawn for both in the same year.
This year, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will issue 700 general quota hunt permits and 10 youth permits. The permit breakdown will be 100 bull archery and crossbow permits, 150 bull firearms permits, 160 cow archery and crossbow permits and 290 cow firearms permits. Youth permits are valid for use for either sex during all elk seasons.
At least 90 percent of the available elk quota hunt permits go to Kentucky residents. Last year, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife received almost 75,000 applications from more than 34,000 applicants. Kentucky residents alone submitted 46,365 applications.
Sixty-eight percent of hunters who were drawn and purchased their elk permit for the 2016-17 season filled their tags.
Bull elk hunters enjoyed the highest rate of success among drawn elk hunters last year. Eighty-one percent filled their tags and 70 percent of hunters utilizing archery and crossbow equipment successfully harvested a bull. The success rate for cow elk was 35 percent for archery and crossbow hunters and 67 percent among hunters using a firearm.
“A drawn hunter isn’t guaranteed an elk but a little planning goes a long way,” Jenkins said. “Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or hire a guide, putting in the time and effort goes a long way and increases your chances of success.”
The bull firearms season generates the greatest interest at application time, and understandably so. The past two seasons have produced two state records and five of the 10 largest bull elk taken in Kentucky since the species’ reintroduction in 1997.
The bull firearms season consists of two week-long hunts, one starting in September and one starting in October. Likewise, the cow firearms season is broken into two week-long hunts in December.
The bull archery/crossbow seasons open in September and the cow archery/crossbow seasons open in October. Each runs through Dec. 31. However, hunters drawn for a cow or bull elk archery/crossbow permit cannot hunt when an elk firearms season is open.
Applicants’ names will be drawn at random by the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) in May and randomly assigned a permit type based on their application choices. Hunters drawn for an elk hunting permit are blocked from re-applying for three years.
While waiting to learn if you’ve been drawn, explore Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s website. It offers information about the basics of elk hunting in Kentucky as well as a newer featured called Kentucky Elk University. Designed to educate hunters of all experience levels, this online tutorial covers preparations before an elk hunt, what to expect in the field and what to do after the shot.
EARLY RETURNS: The 2017 spring youth turkey season ended April 2 with hunters reporting a harvest of 1,693 birds.
The youth-only weekend precedes the opening of the 23-day general statewide spring turkey season. This year, the general season opens Saturday, April 15.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION: With spring now in full bloom across Kentucky, it’s important to remember to guard against tick bites if you plan to be on their turf.
This means minimizing the amount of exposed skin by tucking pants legs into socks or boots and tucking in your shirt, utilizing repellents containing 20 to 30 percent DEET per the directions on the label and checking your clothing and body after being in wooded and brushy areas and areas with tall grass.
Consider treating clothing and boots with a product containing Permethrin, an insecticide that kills ticks, mosquitos and other pests, but allow any articles treated with Permethrin to dry completely before wearing. One treatment can protect through multiple washings.
Should you find a tick attached, grab the tick with tweezers as close to the skin’s surface as possible and steadily pull straight back to remove. Afterward, clean the area around the bite and wash your hands.
Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton invites the community to attend the next District 5 Advisory Committee Meeting on Monday, April 17th at 6:00 pm at the Yearlings Club, located at 4309 W. Broadway.
“As we move forward into spring, we have a great program for the month that includes how you can help young people in need and learn more about a special LMPD Division and what they do to keep our community safe,” says Hamilton.
Councilwoman Hamilton has invited the following guests to make presentations at this month’s meeting:
- Jeri Swinton CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana
- Lt. Billy Hibbs of the LMPD 9th Mobile Division
- Margaret Brosko, Shawnee Neighborhood Clean-up on April 22nd
“So please come join us to find out what else is going on in the district,” says Hamilton.
Any resident of Portland, Russell, Chickasaw or Shawnee is always invited and encouraged to bring their neighborhood concerns to these monthly meetings.
For information about the meeting, contact Councilwoman Hamilton’s office at 574-1105.
Yesterday, Mayor Greg Fischer, with non-profit developer Community Ventures, welcomed the Smith family, the first residents of the Cedar Street development, to their new home. The Cedar Street development is a project to construct 28 energy efficient, market-rate, custom built homes in the Russell neighborhood.
“The Cedar Street development is an important asset to the Russell neighborhood because it adds to the strong housing stock in Russell and increases homeownership in the area,” Fischer said. “Investment like this, including the nearly $30 million CHOICE grant, will contribute to Russell’s transformation.”
The $6 million development project is a partnership of the city and non-profit housing developers, Community Ventures and REBOUND – the housing development arm of Louisville Urban League. In conjunction with this project, the city has made numerous streetscape improvements such as sidewalk construction and repair, street signs, drainage improvements and street resurfacing.
“This ribbon-cutting ceremony not only signals a major step for the Smith family, but marks the beginning of a new era for Community Ventures and west Louisville,” said Kevin Smith, CEO and President of Community Ventures. “With the Cedar Street housing development and Chef Space, Community Ventures is making concerted efforts to show their dedication to west Louisville and its residents.”
The Cedar Street Development was kicked off in 2005, as the last major piece of the Russell Urban Renewal initiative, which began in 1990. At that time, developers were sold lots for $1 and built 14 homes with their own funding sources, before the national economic recession hit and the project came to a halt. These 28 homes built by Community Ventures and REBOUND will bring the number of constructed homes to 42.
For more information on the Cedar Street development, please visit http://www.cvky.org/cedar-street2
As part of an annual extravaganza of compassion and service, thousands of Louisvillians will be volunteering in ways large and small during the Mayor’s annual Week of Service, which runs Saturday through April 23.
One of the week’s largest projects will be the Brightside & Passport Health Plan Spring Community Wide Cleanup on Saturday. Already, more than 16,000 people are committed to making Louisville a greener and cleaner community, by picking up litter and debris from neighborhoods, greenspaces and roadways.
And there is still time to register: Go to www.brightsideinc.org. With the help of sponsors Passport Health Plan and the Kentucky Pride Fund, Brightside provides bags and gloves to all participating groups, and T-shirts to the first 5,000 registrants.
Volunteer for Give A Day Projects
Mayor Greg Fischer will kick off this sixth annual Give A Day week with a 9 a.m. stop Saturday at the Build A Bed event at Meyzeek Middle School, where hundreds of volunteers will work in teams to build beds that will go to Jefferson County Public School children who are sleeping on couches, air mattresses or even the floor.
Other Saturday events include a 3 p.m. bicycle giveaway to refugees at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, thanks to volunteers from Pedal Power; and huge community cleanups and picnics in the California, Parkland and Shelby Park neighborhoods. (Similar events are planned in the Smoketown and Shawnee neighborhoods on April 22.)
The Mayor’s goal for the week, which helps launch the 2017 Kentucky Derby Festival, is to break Louisville’s existing “world record” for caring and helping – set in 2016 with more than 175,000 volunteers and acts of compassion.
“When we decided six years ago to start to focus on celebrating and cultivating compassion as one of our city’s core values, the people of Louisville responded, demonstrating over and over again that this is a city where people believe in the value of doing what our great native son Muhammad Ali called ‘the work of the heart,’” the Mayor said. “That work happens every day in this city. Give A Day simply shines a spotlight on it.”
The Mayor pointed out that participating in the Week of Service can be as simple as dropping food into the Dare to Care bins at all area Kroger stores.
And for the second year in a row, the international WE Day will, in partnership with the Mayor’s office and WLKY, hold a short Walk of Compassion through downtown as a Give A Day event on April 18. The public is invited to join more than 3,000 students participating in the lunch-time walk, carrying signs of compassion.
Students from both private and public schools are a huge component of Give A Day. JCPS’ students will be planting trees, collecting items for local food pantries, organizing campus and neighborhood cleanups, writing thank you cards to police and veterans, and collecting teddy bears for police to have in their cruisers when they make runs on cases involving children.
“We are proud to once again have 100 percent participation from our schools in the Mayor’s Give A Day initiative,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “Last year, our students logged more than 1,145 days of service – that’s more than three years of kindness, service and citizenship in just one week. This experience gives our students a chance to give back to our community and participate as citizens in our diverse, shared world.”
Most local Catholic schools are also engaged in projects. St. Stephen Martyr, for example, is making care packages for cancer patients, filling decorated bags with things like hard candy, pocket tissues, hand sanitizer, lip balm and small packages of snacks. And fifth-graders at Holy Trinity will be visiting and playing games with residents of the Masonic Home.
Local businesses are also a huge part of the Week of Service, as companies large and small contribute their time, talent and treasure on projects throughout the community.
Volunteers are still needed for more than 100 projects of all kinds. To register, go to the website: www.mygiveaday.com and click on “volunteer for an existing project.”
Groups and individuals are urged to use the same website to report projects and good deeds they are doing on their own.
