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SubscribeIt is a free program that helps low income people and families in Metro Louisville and every year returns millions to the local economy.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is once again ready to help those who qualify to get the most from their income tax refunds during the 2018 tax season at the Sun Valley Community Center.
“The VITA program offers free assistance to those who may not realize all the tax breaks or deductions they are entitled to and in return it brings more money back to Metro Louisville,” says Councilwoman Cindi Fowler (D-14). “There are many volunteers who come together with the goal of helping families and our community.”
VITA is a program of the Louisville Asset Building Coalition. It is a free tax preparation program for low income families making less than $64,000 per year, or who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Councilwoman Fowler has for many years been a volunteer to help families and individuals in the filing of their tax returns.
The LABC says these are the items you should bring to take advantage of this free service:
- Social Security card and photo ID
- Social Security number or card for your child
- Last year’s 2017 tax return
- W-2’s and 1099 from an employer
- 1099’s for interest, dividends, state tax refund or other income if applicable
- 1095 for health insurance (1095As, Health Insurance Marketplace Statements will be mailed by February 2nd)
- 1098 for education credit with detailed information
- Documentation of deductible expenses including medical, charitable contributions, business expenses, mortgage points, educational expenses
- Total paid to daycare provider and daycare tax ID
- Appropriate information for direct deposit
The Sun Valley Community Center is located at 6505 Bethany Lane.
“Sun Valley is a convenient location for many people in Southwest Jefferson County. However, with the help of other members of the Metro Council, VITA is able to offer other locations through Metro Louisville. Those locations are easy to find by simply typing in an address and clicking online,” says Fowler. “We are always in need of volunteers to be tax preparers or greeters. If you would like to help, the program will train you and let you know where you can be of assistance. Simply get in touch with my office if you would like to join our family of volunteers.”
The LABC also provides a website which gives information on who can qualify for the free program and what you should bring with you before a visit
Here is the list of 2018 VITA Locations throughout Metro Louisville:
- Sun Valley Community Center
- Tuesday, Thursday: 10am – 7pm
- Wednesday: 10am – 4pm
- Saturday: 10am – 2pm
- Call 502- 937-8802 or 305-0005
- Walk-ins welcome
- Americana Community Center
- 4801 Southside Drive
- Thursday: 5:30pm – 8:30pm
- Saturday: 9am – 3pm
- Call 502-366-7813
- Bates Community Development
- 1128 Jackson Street
- Monday: noon – 7pm
- Thursday: 10am -4pm
- Saturday: 10am – 3pm
- Walk-ins welcome
- Call 502-305-0005
- Edison Center
- 701 W. Ormsby Ave, Ste. 201
- Monday, Wednesday: 9am – 1pm
- Call 502-305-0005
- First Neighborhood Place
- 1503 Rangeland Road
- Tuesday, Thursday: 9am – 1pm
- Call 502-305-0005
- Louisville Urban League
- 1535 W. Broadway
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Th: noon – 8pm
- Saturday: 10am – 4pm
- Call 502-305-0005
- Nia Center
- 2900 W. Broadway
- Tuesday, Thursday: 1pm – 5pm
- Call 502-305-0005
- Portland Promise Center
- 1831 Baird St
- Friday: 7pm – 9:30pm
- Saturday: 9am – 3pm
- Sunday: 3pm – 7pm
- Walk-ins welcome
- Salt and Light Community Development
- 3025 Gerald Drive
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 6pm – 9pm
- Call 502-305-0005
- United Crescent Hill Ministries
- 150 State Street
- Friday: 10am – 4pm
- Call 502-574-3908
- Bridges of Hope Neighborhood Place
- 1411 Algonquin Parkway
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10am – 4pm
- (SELF FILE ONLY)
- Walk-ins welcome
- Wesley House Community Services
- 5114 Preston Highway
- (Mobile Site Only)
- Please call 502-305-0005 for dates or to make an appointment.
For more Information visit:
https://www.labcservices.org/index.php/volunteer-resources/volunteer-pos…
www.louisvillekyvita.cascheduler.com
For an application:
http://www.labcservices.org/images/pdf/2017-18-VolunteerApplication.pdf
For more information about the VITA program at the Sun Valley Community Center, contact Councilwoman Fowler’s office at 574-1114.
Metro Council President David James (D-6) has announced the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Metro Council’s Standing Committees for 2018.
Several of the Metro Council’s Standing Committees will be realigned to focus on key issues and address priorities and needs for Metro Government.
“I want to thank the members who have agreed to serve as chairs and vice chairs this year. I want to make sure we continue the positive efforts the Metro Council has made in recent years,” said James. “The Council has recently adopted some committee changes that will strengthen our oversight of Metro Government and I believe we are ready to begin a new year with our focus on serving the people of Metro Louisville.”
Among the changes:
Appointments is a free standing committee
Contracts has been merged with Labor and Economic Development
Sustainability & Parks has been separated from Public Works & Transportation and the two are now separate committees
The new Government Oversight Committee has new powers and has incorporated the old Government Accountability, Ethics and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
Community Affairs & Housing is now a separate committee
Health & Education is now a separate committee
President James will chair two committees: the Committee on Committees and the Committee of the Whole. The President of the Metro Council is also an ex officio member of all other committees.
Chairs and Vice-Chairs for Metro Council Committees in 2018
Committee on Committees:
- David James (D-6) Chair
- Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5) Vice Chair
Committee of the Whole:
- David James (D-6) Chair
- Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5) Vice Chair
Appropriations NDF’s and CIF’s:
- Rick Blackwell (D-12) Chair
- Julie Denton (R-19) Vice Chair
Budget:
- Bill Hollander (D-9) Chair
- Kevin Kramer (R- 11) Vice Chair
Appointments:
- Mary C. Woolridge (D-3) Chair
- Marilyn Parker (R-18) Vice Chair
Community Affairs and Housing:
- Barbara Shanklin (D-2) Chair
- Stuart Benson (R-20) Vice – Chair
Government Oversight, Audit and Ethics:
- Brent Ackerson (D-26) Chair
- Scott Reed (R-16) Vice – Chair
Health & Education:
- Angela Leet (R-7) Chair
- Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13) Vice – Chair
Labor, Economic Development and Contracts :
- Marianne Butler (D-15) Chair
- David Yates (D-25) Vice Chair
Parks, Sustainability:
- Cindi Fowler (D-14) Chair
- Brandon Coan (D-8) Vice Chair
Planning, Zoning, Land Design, and Development:
- Madonna Flood (D-24) Chair
- Glen Stuckel (R-17) Vice Chair
Public Safety:
- Jessica Green (D-1) Chair
- James Peden (R-23) Vice Chair
Public Works, Facilities, Transportation and Accessibility:
- Pat Mulvihill (D-10) Chair
- Robin Engel (R-22) Vice Chair
Yard waste collection in the Urban Services District of Louisville Metro (the former City of Louisville boundaries) is now on seasonal shutdown. Regular collection on yard waste routes is suspended until March 12.
Seasonal suspension of yard waste collection was done on a two-week trial basis in 2017 and found to be successful. Because of that success, yard waste collection will go on seasonal shutdown annually from January 1 until the middle of March.
The shutdown is possible because yard waste collection volumes are very low in the winter months. It allows Metro Public Works to direct additional resources to the effort to clear our streets and roads, including interstate highways, of litter in advance of spring along with other solid waste activities.
During the suspension period, citizens should not put yard waste out for collection. Any yard waste problems should be reported as usual to MetroCall at 311 or 574-5000. Those calls will be handled on an as needed basis rather than running crews fulltime on routes across the city.
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts has a long, award-winning history of improving arts access for people with disabilities. Adding to a robust and dedicated effort to ensure the arts are available to everyone, The Kentucky Center is now the first performing arts venue in the United States to employ Indoor Explorer technology to assist visitors who are visually disabled.
The “Indoor Explorer” app, developed by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), based in Louisville, Kentucky, presents a groundbreaking opportunity that advances access to the arts for those who are blind or have low vision.
APH has taken advantage of Bluetooth, beacon technology with the app for use on iOS devices. Once visitors to The Kentucky Center download the app, they can easily navigate every aspect of the venue from the entrance, to the box office, and the restrooms and, of course, the performance theaters. The Kentucky Center’s volunteer staff will be prepared to help patrons to their seats.
“The Kentucky Center has a groundbreaking history in inclusivity and accessibility so that everyone can enjoy the arts,” said Kim Baker, President of The Kentucky Center. “This technology, provided by the American Printing House for the Blind, is revolutionary because it will literally open doors and present new opportunities for our guests with a visual disability.”
“Indoor Explorer” makes use of beacons and indoor information stored in the OpenStreetMap® database. There are 23 beacons are currently located throughout The Kentucky Center. The beacons were installed during the fall of 2017 in designated spots. When used, the app looks up the beacon’s latitude, longitude and floor number. It also looks up points of interest on that same floor and reports their name, distance and position as users move and navigate their way through the building. It also allows users to use the GeoBeam or Compass feature to point the device to locations inside the building. When using the app indoors, the compass, in addition to reporting the direction, names all the building features in that direction.
“The arts are an experience of all the senses and the heart, and they are enjoyed by many people with visual impairments,” said Craig Meador, president of APH. “By adding Indoor Explorer wayfinding to their already robust array of accessibility services, the Kentucky Center is affirming that the arts belong to everyone, and that no one should ever be excluded from the artistic experience.”
“Indoor Explorer” takes advantage of small beacons that periodically transmit brief bursts of data. The app can correlate each beacon’s identification with information about its precise location. “Indoor Explorer” uses this information along with the signal strength of the beacon and any other beacons that may be in the vicinity to help determine your location. Once the app has a location, it can access points of interest (POIs) such as ticket counter, restaurants, security, bathrooms and specific theater entrances.
The technology was developed by APH, who worked closely with The Kentucky Center as well as it’s access services team. Partial financial support for the installation of the new technology in The Kentucky Center was provided by the James Graham Brown Foundation.
The free app can be found in the App store by searching “Nearby Explorer”.
The Kentucky Center’s Access Services Program offers services to ensure that the facility and programming are accessible to everyone by providing assistive listening devices, audio description, captioning, sign language interpretation, and large print programs for events and activities at The Kentucky Center and other facilities, including The Brown Theater (Indoor Explorer is not yet installed at The Brown Theater). The Kentucky Center provides these services to partnering arts groups and at other organizations such as Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. For more information, contact the Access Services Hotline at (502) 566-5111 (V) or (502) 566-566-5140 (TTY) or email Access Services at access@kentuckycenter.org.
The National Mentoring Partnership and the Muhammad Ali Center are proud to announce the Third Annual International Mentoring Day on January 17, 2018—the date which would have been the 76th birthday of boxing legend and global humanitarian Muhammad Ali.
January 15th – 21st, the Muhammad Ali Center invites mentors and mentees to visit the Center together and receive a discounted rate. Mentors will receive a $5 admissions rate and their mentee will be able to tour the Center for free.
On a larger scale, the international and universal power of mentoring will be recognized and celebrated throughout the month of January, National Mentoring Month.
Leading up to January 17, individuals and organizations are encouraged to share, through social media, photos, video, messages and stories that reflect on the real life power of mentoring and in particular: (1) what mentoring means to you in real life; and (2) how you define and describe mentoring through your experience. Mentors and mentees are encouraged to meet and visit together in real life and to share pictures and stories reflecting on the power of this mentoring relationship.
The dialogue will be captured online through #InternationalMentoringDay, #MentorIRL and #NationalMentoringMonth and on Twitter (@MentoringDay ) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MentoringDay/) and on this website:
http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org
The Muhammad Ali Center will continue its annual tradition to show Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to the community in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The screening of this historic speech is Monday, January 15th at 11:00 a.m in the Center’s Auditorium.
A panel discussion, “Continuing the Dream, Living the Legacy” will follow the showing. Members of the Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students will discuss how young people are continuing the work of Dr. King and Muhammad Ali in our community.
Though the screening is free to the public, visitors must pay regular admission prices to access Ali Center exhibits.
This public event follows the Ali Center’s planned closing for renovations January 8-14, 2018. The renovations, announced in November, include a complete redesign of the Center’s Main Lobby, the Ali Center Store, and Group Entrance.
The Offices of the Louisville Metro Council and the Metro Council Clerk will be closed on Monday, January 15th in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
The offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 16th.
