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91.9 WFPK Independent Louisville is teaming up with the WAVE 3 News Abbey Road on the River to give music fans a reason to say YEAH, YEAH, YEAH on opening day of the festival. WAVE 3 News Abbey Road on the River will present the “WFPK Kick Off Concert starring Jake Clemons from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” on Thursday, May 25th at 8:30pm. The free, ticketless event will be held at the Big Four Station Park in Jeffersonville, IN – the new home of the world famous Beatles tribute festival. Attendees will also be able to enjoy live Beatles music on other festival stages, a Beatles merchandise marketplace, and on-site food and beverage.
Jake Clemons is best known for being the nephew of the legendary Clarence Clemons and his replacement as lead saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He’s been touring with The Boss, playing all the big dates, since 2012. Jake has been bringing his original music to audiences since 2010, but he’s really begun making a name for himself as a solo artist with the release of his highly anticipated 11-song first album “Fear & Love,” which was released in January. He plays guitar, sax, piano, and drums, he writes music, he sings, and he loves rock ‘n roll.
Reflecting on the album and first single Jake says: “Fear & Love is a journey that forges through loss & hardship and attempts to reconcile those challenges until finding its way to the freedom of being vulnerable and honest, mostly with yourself. The first single ‘A Little Bit Sweet,’ sits just on the other side of those losses, recognizing that yes, life is bittersweet…but a little bit sweet makes it better.”
In addition to the free kick off concert on May 25th, Clemons will also perform at the festival on Sunday, May 28th. After 12 years in Louisville, the WAVE 3 News Abbey Road on the River will debut in Jeffersonville at the Big Four Station Park on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-29. 2017 marks a number of musical anniversaries including the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love and the 50th anniversary of the release of the greatest album in rock history – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The lineup of popular musicians from that 1967 summer who will perform at this year’s festival include Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone, Grammy-winner Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon, American rock band The Grass Roots, The Family Stone, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders, American rock band Ambrosia and former Wings band members Laurence Juber (guitarist) and Steve Holley (drummer).
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.arotr.com.
WWE’s SmackDown Live is coming to Louisville. The event will be held at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, April 18 and marks the return of live, televised professional wrestling events in the Commonwealth.
SmackDown will be the first major televised combat sporting event in Kentucky since Governor Bevin streamlined the state’s boxing and wrestling regulations last November as part of the Red Tape Reduction Initiative. Prior to these changes, WWE had not scheduled a televised event in Kentucky since 2010 because of the state’s antiquated regulations.
Under the Governor’s leadership, unnecessary regulations such as the “cut rule” were eliminated. The rule required an athlete to leave a match if he or she bled, which deterred promoters from hosting live events in the state. Other regulations were amended to remove duplicative licensing processes for athletes and promoters, signaling to the industry that Kentucky is open for business.
“The Governor’s Red Tape Reduction Initiative continues to provide new economic opportunities for the Commonwealth,” said Public Protection Cabinet Secretary David Dickerson. “The Governor has proven that he is committed to making our state business-friendly, and the boxing and wrestling industry has responded.”
“We are excited to have WWE do a live taping in Louisville, and we hope that this is the first of many major events that Kentucky will host,” said Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission Chairman Chad Miller. “Our state is home to many enthusiastic professional wrestling fans, and this event provides an exciting new opportunity for Kentuckians.”
The Red Tape Reduction Initiative targets excessive and complex regulatory burdens that stifle economic development in the Commonwealth. To date, approximately 117 regulations have been repealed, and over 400 regulations have been amended or targeted for amendment. To learn more about the Red Tape Reduction Initiative, visit: redtapereduction.com.
By a unanimous vote, The Louisville Metro Council last week approved a resolution of support for any future expansion of the National Basketball Association in Metro Louisville.
“There is every indication the NBA may be ready to move forward with expansion team possibilities in the future and I think it is in our best interest to show that our city would fully support any new effort,” says Councilman Dan Johnson (D-21), the primary sponsor of the Resolution.
The resolution highlights the city’s love of the sport of basketball and points out the city has the facilities to accommodate a new NBA franchise. The resolution says the KFC YUM! Center is one of the best arenas in the country and the NBA would be an enhancement to local businesses and the city’s economy.
Last week, Johnson told the Community Affairs, Housing, Health and Education Committee that the recently finalized collective bargaining agreement agreed upon by the NBA and players mentions expansion over 100 times.
“There are many cities that are now beginning to send a message to the NBA that they would be supportive of any future expansion. We should always be prepared to be in the hunt,” said Johnson.
The resolution simply states, “That Metro Louisville would support an NBA/WNBA basketball franchise and the economic development it would bring to our community.”
The resolution passed with bipartisan support.
Attorney General Andy Beshear announced the launch of a statewide competition that challenges Kentucky’s legal community to donate food and funds to aid Kentucky families and children suffering from hunger.
Beshear announced the Legal Food Frenzy campaign at the Capitol Rotunda as part of the Kentucky Association of Food Banks (KAFB) Rally to Solve Hunger.
The competition is a collaborative effort among the Office of the Attorney General, KAFB, Kentucky Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the Office of the Secretary of State.
Beshear said his office and partner organizations launched the campaign to help address the lack of access to enough food that nearly one in six adults and one in five children in Kentucky face.
“My first priority is to protect Kentucky families and children, and each day far too many are struggling to obtain enough food for a healthy, active life,” said Beshear. “The Legal Food Frenzy is an opportunity for the state’s legal community to challenge each other outside the courtroom for the noble cause of reducing hunger.”
Rebecca Schafer, chair of Kentucky Bar Association Young Lawyers Division said the goals of the campaign are to raise 600,000 pounds of food or $150,000 from March 27 to April 7, 2017.
“We are excited to partner with so many great organizations to provide the first statewide hunger relief effort by Kentucky’s legal community,” said Schafer. “The campaign, with the support of attorneys across the Commonwealth, will help bring Kentucky one step closer to ensuring that all of its citizens have access to adequate food.”
Every $1 donated through the competition will return $8 or more in food to the community. Kentucky law firms, law schools and legal organizations are encouraged to sign-up online.
Proceeds and goods generated from the competition will directly aid the members of the KAFB – an organization that distributes over 50 million meals to 1 in 7 Kentuckians annually in partnership with a network of 800 local charitable feeding organizations. Its members serve all 120 counties in Kentucky.
Tamara Sandberg, executive director of KAFB, hosted the rally and said this campaign will help food banks prepare for the increase demand for food assistance during the summer months.
“Only one in 13 school-aged children who receive free and reduced-priced lunch during the school year have access to such meals during the summer months,” said Sandberg. “We are grateful to Kentucky’s legal community for taking action against hunger and helping the food banks go into summer strong and well-stocked to meet the increased demand for food among families with school-aged children.”
The organization or firm that raises the most food and funds will win the Attorney General’s Cup, signifying their accomplishment in aiding hunger-relief in Kentucky.
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky Bar Association Board of Governors and Kentucky Supreme Court Justices also attended today’s event to support the Legal Food Frenzy and rally.
The Rally to Solve Hunger also included remarks from Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles; Mark Barker, Farm Credit mid-America; Kurt Reiber, chair of the Kentucky Association of Food Banks; and Debbie Fannin with Grayson County Alliance Food Pantry.
To learn more about the Legal Food Frenzy and view a complete list of competition rules and award categories, visit http://kyfoodfrenzy.com.
The work of 24 Kentucky artists will grace the hallways of the Capitol Annex beginning Feb. 6.
The Kentucky Arts Council exhibit “Kentucky Visions at the Capitol” will be on display 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from Feb. 6 through March 31 at the Annex. The exhibit features 58 individual pieces by Kentucky Crafted artists and Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship recipients.
“Longtime legislators have always remarked how much they look forward to hosting ‘Visions’ at the Annex, but there are new legislators joining the General Assembly this session who will discover outstanding artwork by Kentucky’s finest artists,” said Lydia Bailey Brown, arts council executive director. “With the corps of artists selected for this exhibit, Kentucky’s arts community is putting its best foot forward.”
Michael McCardwell, a 1998 recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship and current Kentucky Crafted artist, has three pieces in this year’s exhibit: “My Town,” “Funny Drawing” and “APDYF,” all in colored ink. McCardwell said he values arts council exhibits like “Visions” as opportunities for artists to stretch their creative legs.
“Art can involve creativity and some experiments in art are not successful,” McCardwell said. “But one needs the freedom to try new things and the Kentucky Arts Council provides that support, both as an agency and through the individual staff members who take a personal interest in my work.
“It’s an honor to be in any show, and having my work in this show, one that represents work from artists across the state, makes an artist feel that their work is valued by our government.”
The artists represented in the exhibit, their media and county of residence include:
- Philis Alvic, fibers, Fayette
- Bill Berryman, graphite, Clark *
- Patricia Brock, photography, Jefferson
- Marianne Brown, ceramic, Anderson
- Jim Cantrell, watercolor/oil on canvas, Nelson
- Steve Clay, watercolor, Barren *
- Kathleen Conroy, scratchboard, Henry *
- Ray Daughtery, photography, Scott *
- Bruce Frank, photography, Scott
- Timothy Gold, oils, Kenton
- Gary Graham, wood, Fayette *
- Elsie Harris, acrylic on canvas, Fayette
- Eva King, paper, Calloway
- Michael McCardwell, colored ink, Shelby
- Gary Mesa-Gaido, photography on aluminum, Rowan
- Michael Nichols, silverpoint on paper, Warren *
- Kathleen O’Brien, watercolor, drawing collage, Mercer
- Laura Poulette, watercolor, Madison *
- Cecila Ridge, fibers, Jefferson
- Lacey Roberts, fibers, Franklin *
- Judy Rosati, hand-colored photography, Jefferson
- Sarah Spradlin, oils and acrylic, Bourbon
- Jason Sturgill, mixed media, Fayette *
- Sharon Tesser, fibers, Jefferson *
* First time exhibiting in “Kentucky Visions at the Capitol.”
Visit the Kentucky Arts Council website for a slideshow of the work on exhibit.
“Funny Drawing” (ink) by Michael McCardwell, Kentucky Crafted artist and Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship recipient. The work of McCardwell and 23 other Kentucky artists will be on display Feb. 6-March 31 in the Kentucky Arts Council’s “Kentucky Visions at the Capitol” exhibit at the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.
For more information about “Kentucky Visions at the Capitol,” contact Kate Sprengnether, arts council public art and design director, at kate.sprengnether@ky.gov or 502-892-3111.
Five new lakes enrolled in the Fishing in Neighborhoods Program (FINs) will receive stockings of trout in February, a boon to anglers tired of being house bound.
Flemingsburg Old Reservoir, an 11-acre lake in Fleming County, gets 900 trout while Leary Lake, a 5-acre lake on Lloyd Wildlife Management Area in Grant County, gets the same amount of trout. The 9-acre Logan-Hubble Park Lake just south of Lancaster in Garrard County will receive 900 trout as well.
The 2-acre Kess Creek Park Lake in Mayfield in Graves County will get 500 trout as will the Clinton Rotary Park Lake in Clinton in Hickman County. Both of these lakes are in the Purchase Region.
“We are stocking a larger-sized trout in all of our FINs lakes for 2017,” said Dane Balsman, coordinator of the FINs program for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “The larger trout now average about 10 to 11 inches long and one-half pound in weight.”
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife formerly stocked its traditional “stocker” trout of 9 to 10 inches in the FINs lakes. “We wanted to improve angler satisfaction and utilization as well as reducing hooking and handling mortality. These fish won’t be caught as many times and anglers are more likely to harvest a larger trout.”
Balsman cautions anglers fishing on a FINs lake to practice beneficial catch and release tactics when they catch a trout, especially as the water warms. Anglers can purchase inexpensive fish grabbers to prevent touching or squeezing a trout when removing the hook. These devices prove valuable when handling fish that may cause injury, such as a catfish or fish with teeth, such as a muskellunge.
Forty-three lakes across Kentucky are in the FINs program. They offer fantastic fishing for trout, but also excellent fishing for catfish and largemouth bass.
“We will start in March with the catfish stockings in FINs lakes,” Balsman said. “Due to hatchery expansion, we now have the capabilities to raise all of the FINs catfish in house. We will stock about 125,000 catfish in our FINs lakes.”
Largemouth bass anglers usually turn to waters such as Kentucky Lake, Barren River Lake or state-owned lakes, such as Lake Malone or Lake Kincaid, for a chance at a trophy fish.
“We see exceptional largemouth bass in the FINs lakes, many of them big bass,” Balsman said. “We saw a 9.7-pound largemouth bass from Mike Miller Park Lake this past year, my personal best I’ve seen in a FINs lake. We routinely see 6- to 8-pound bass in the spring.” Four-acre Mike Miller Park Lake lies near Draffenville in Marshall County.
Balsman recommends early spring as the time to catch these bruisers. “We stock these lakes with trout and the bass eat them and grow big,” he said. A white spinnerbait with a silver Colorado blade works well for trophy pre-spawn largemouth bass in small lakes, especially when rains colored the water a touch. A large soft-plastic swimbait in trout colors may also work well in these lakes.
Many anglers flock to Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley each May for the redear sunfish spawn. Anglers do not need to go that far.
“Some of these lakes have really good redear sunfish in them,” Balsman said. “Three Springs Park Lake near Bowling Green and Madisonville City Park Lake South have great populations of redear sunfish. Both lakes offer trophy potential of 10-inch and longer redear sunfish.”
Lake Mingo in Nicholasville, just south of Lexington has moderate numbers of redear sunfish, commonly called shellcrackers. However, Balsman said some of them are true trophies, running 12 inches or more.
“The trout and catfish are for put and take fishing,” Balsman said. “There is trophy potential for redear sunfish and some of these lakes are great bluegill lakes as well.”
The main point of the FINs program is providing a place close to home for folks to go and have a reasonable expectation of catching fish.
“We want people to be able to go fish the FINs lakes after work in spring and summer or take the kids and fish for an hour or two on the weekends and catch fish,” Balsman said. “The convenience factor is whole point of the FINs program.”
Remember, current fishing licenses expire Feb. 28. It is a good idea to buy your fishing license soon.
The West Louisville Community Council (WLCC), One West, and Louisville Forward
are offering west Louisville the opportunity to share the historic legacy of the Shawnee, Russell, and Portland
neighborhoods through art. This partnership of local residents, non-profit organizations and city government is asking artists to submit artwork that can be considered for display on a billboard at 30th Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard on the Heritage West site.
Designs will be accepted from middle school students through adults who live, work, worship, or learn in the 40203,40210, 40211, or 40212 zip codes. Designs must help tell the story of a vibrant west Louisville community with active families, rich history, and numerous possibilities. This is an opportunity for west Louisville residents to tell their story through art.
A panel of local west Louisville artists will select the best work from each of three categories: Middle/High School (grades 6-12), Young Adult (ages 18-35), and adult (age 36+). The community will then be invited to vote for their favorite design at the March 13, 2017 WLCC Meeting. Cash awards will be presented to the 1st ($500), 2nd ($300), & 3rd ($100) place designs.
The Heritage West Art Competition will officially launch on February 6, 2017 at the WLCC Meeting held at Southern Star Community Center ( 2308 Algonquin Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40210) from 6:00-7:30pm. During the meeting entry forms and complete guidelines will be made available. Entry forms can also be downloaded at www.wearewestlouisville.weebly.com after the February 6th meeting.
The deadline for entry is Monday, February 27, 2017.
Everyone is invited to the WLCC Meeting on February 6th. In addition to launching the Heritage West Art Competition, we will present the WLCC Development Priorities & Visioning Report and initial strategies for community input regarding development of Heritage West. The Development Priorities & Visioning Report is a presentation of ideas gathered from a community visioning session held at the Louisville Urban League in September 2016.
Contact: Ramona Lindsey, wlccouncil@gmail.com , WLCC P. O. Box 11293, Louisville, KY 40291
