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Louisville is already experiencing a negative economic impact from California’s decision last week to ban state-funded travel to Kentucky, Mayor Greg Fischer said today.
In a news conference at the Waterfront, Mayor Fischer, Karen Williams, President and CEO of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, COO for Greater Louisville Inc.; and other business and community leaders outlined concerns about the ban’s impact on the city’s tourism industry.
Williams said two conventions, one for 2018 and another for 2021, decided this week not to come to Louisville, citing concerns about the travel ban. Together, those conventions had an expected economic impact of $2 million.
“That’s $2 million that would have covered the salaries of waiters, waitresses, hotel staff, museum workers and hundreds more people who work downtown but live all over this community,” the Mayor said.
He added that any lost convention also means less money for the Tax Increment Financing district that helps fund the KFC Yum! Center and the new Omni Hotel.
And the potential economic impact extends beyond downtown, he said, noting that the 24 million tourist visits Louisville sees each year translate to about $3.5 billion in economic impact for the city and $14.5 billion for the state. And overall, Louisville tourism generates about $1.5 billion tax revenue for the state.
Williams added that Louisville’s commitment to compassion, fairness and equality “is a boost to our city’s economic development efforts, given that cities that are inclusive are increasingly winning in the competition for residents, businesses and employees.”
Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, C.O.O. of Greater Louisville Inc., also spoke during the news conference, noting, “Compassion and diversity are consistently embraced by Greater Louisville’s business, civic, and community leaders as keys to economic development and community building. We continue to market these and other assets to the world as we work toward advancing our mission of growing the regional economy.”
Attorney General Andy Beshear announced his office has entered into a settlement with Louisville-based Bryant Heating and Cooling Co. Inc., to resolve alleged violations of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act.
In the assurance of voluntary compliance filed in Franklin Circuit Court today, Bryant agreed to provide more than 7,100 customers a one-year extended warranty on their HVAC unit. Bryant, headquartered at 4531 Bishop Ln. in Louisville, with offices in Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana, also agreed to strengthen future customer protections and pay a penalty.
Beshear said the agreement was reached following an investigation into the company’s business practices after complaints were made to the Office of the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau of Kentucky.
“While these allegations are serious, I want to commend Bryant for taking responsibility and working with my office to come to a good resolution,” said Beshear. “My office will continue to work with Bryant to ensure the agreement is carried out in the best interest of Kentucky customers.”
Under the terms of the customer restitution agreement, Bryant will provide approximately 7,100 consumers who purchased furnaces, air conditioners, air handlers and heat pumps between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 22, 2017, a one-year warranty extension on ancillary parts and labor.
Beshear said Bryant customers receiving the extended warranty should expect a letter from his office and warranty information from Bryant in the next 30 days. Eligible customers will not need to do anything further to be included in this warranty extension.
Bryant also agreed to maintain the appropriate state licenses for all their HVAC installers and technicians, and provide customers with a detailed, written contract prior to work commencing.
In settling the allegations, the Office of the Attorney General also secured more than $500,000 for the General Fund of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Beshear said his office is committed to protecting Kentucky families and encourages Kentuckians who have a complaint regarding any business to file a consumer complaint with the Office of the Attorney General online.
Citing a resurgence in the auto industry, Forbes magazine has named Louisville as the No. 1 city in the U.S. where manufacturing is thriving. Since 2011, manufacturing employment in the Louisville-area has grown 30.2 percent, bringing the employment total to 83,300 jobs, representing 12.41 percent of jobs in the local economy.
“Louisville continues to lead the way with our long-standing tradition of excellence in manufacturing. And that tradition provides the foundation necessary to be a global leader as we shift into a new era of flexible, advanced manufacturing,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “This No. 1 ranking is an affirmation of the strength, quality and dedication of Louisville’s outstanding manufacturing workforce.”
Louisville’s diverse manufacturing economy includes such major manufacturers as Ford, GE Appliances, Clariant Corporation, Faurecia and Raytheon. Louisville also is home to FirstBuild, an innovative makerspace dedicated to designing, engineering, building and selling the next generation of home appliances.
To ensure that Louisville remains competitive in the manufacturing sector, the city is partnering with the Kentucky Manufacturing Career Center (KMCC) and the Kentucky Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education (KY FAME) to create a pipeline of highly skilled employees who provide employers with the workforce they need.
KMCC and KY FAME offer workforce development programs to participants at no cost. KY FAME has a 98 percent job placement rate for graduates and has more than 125 member companies, while KMCC has awarded more than 3,000 certificates and credentials, and recently celebrated its 1,000 job placement.
To learn more about manufacturing workforce development programs, visit http://kcc.kentuckianaworks.org/JobSeekers/KMCC.aspx or http://kyfame.com/about/
Building on Louisville’s economic momentum, Ford Motor Company last week announced a $900 million investment in its Kentucky Truck Plant to build the all-new Expedition and Navigator.
“To be globally competitive in manufacturing, you have to have strong partners willing to collaborate with you and shape a common vision. We are proud to have Louisville as our partner, and congratulate them on being named No.1,” said Curt Magleby, Vice President, U.S. Government Relations, Ford Motor Company.
Ford’s new investment is in addition to the $1.3 billion investment and 2,000 jobs created at the plant in late 2015. According to Census figures, the auto industry alone accounts for 27,000 jobs in the Louisville area.
Louisville continues to be a place where locally grown manufacturers can establish themselves as global competitors. Louisville Plate Glass, founded in 1911, exemplifies the potential for long-term success in Louisville. The company recently opened a new $4 million production facility, more than doubling the company’s employment with 65 new jobs.
“After more than 100 years of continued operations, we chose to reinvest in Louisville with a new state-of-the-art glass production facility that will further strengthen our position as a leader in our market,” said Bill Stone, President, Louisville Plate Glass. “We feel confident that Louisville, with its central location and high quality of life, is the best place to invest in our employees and in our new production lines.”
The Forbes ranking is based on employment in the manufacturing sector over time, short-, medium- and long-term trends dating to 2005, plus variables that measure persistence and momentum.
To read the full article, visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2017/06/12/where-manufacturing-is-thriving-in-the-u-s/#5ab452ab1ff7
An agreement reached between Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) and Louisville Metro Government that significantly reduced a proposed utility rate increase was accepted with minor modifications Thursday by the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC).
Louisville Metro Government, along with a number of other intervenors in the case before the PSC, reached a settlement on April 19 that was more than $40 million below LG&E’s initial request for new revenue and included a drastic cut to LG&E’s proposed fixed monthly charges of $46 for residential customers who have both electric and gas service. The PSC upheld those provisions, and further reduced LG&E’s new revenues by approximately $4 million.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, in his authority as legal representative for Louisville Metro Government, has personally represented the city in the case, including settlement negotiations held in Frankfort in April.
“I take great pride that my office and I worked for more than six months to limit the impact this rate case would have on utility bills for Louisville Metro Government and for all residents in Jefferson County,” said County Attorney Mike O’Connell. “Without our efforts, customers would have experienced an additional $45 million in annual rate increases and seen a dramatic increase in LG&E’s fixed rate charges. In addition, we were able to help secure additional support for low-income customers.
“The Public Service Commission upheld nearly every provision of the agreement that Louisville Metro Government and the other interveners reached with LG&E. The PSC commissioners have stated this revised settlement represents rates that are fair, just and reasonable for customers. I hope that LG&E will honor the PSC’s decision.”
LG&E asked the PSC in November to grant an increase to its electric and gas rates that would boost the company’s annual revenues by $107.5 million. Louisville Metro Government intervened in the case on December 2 and presented facts and expert testimony that called for a substantial cut to LG&E’s request. The new rates are set to go into effect July 1.
Louisville Metro’s intervention paid especially high dividends in the debate over the fixed electric service charge. LG&E proposed to more than double the current service charge of $10.75 to $22 per meter. This increase raised concerns about impacts on low-income families, seniors and others living on fixed income, and from those in Louisville who had invested in energy conservation efforts, including solar technology. The high level of proposed increases in fixed charges was a significant factor in Louisville Metro’s decision to intervene.
The fixed monthly charge for electric service will now be $12.25, nearly $10 a month less than LG&E’s request.
Louisville Metro spends more than $17 million annually on utility bills. Following the settlement in April, Louisville Metro estimated $650,000 in cost avoidance for its utility bills compared to LG&E’s original rate increase request.
This case marked Louisville’s first significant intervention in a LG&E rate case heard before the PSC in more than 30 years. Of the Louisville Metro Council members present and voting on Dec. 15, they unanimously approved (20-0) a resolution in support of intervention. Councilmen Bill Hollander and Kevin Kramer both have offered written testimony in the case.
Other notable pieces of the settlement that the PSC upheld include an increase of $200,000 (up from $500,000) for low-income customer support through a contribution to the Association for Community Ministries; an electric bus infrastructure and rates study; and a LED lighting collaborative focused on reducing the costs that cities spend on street lights.
Full details on the revised agreement can be found on the PSC’s website at the following link:
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and several community partners will offer free HIV testing June 25 through June 30 in observance of National HIV Testing Week.
Testing will be done using the Clearview rapid HIV antibody test. Test results will be available within 20 minutes. No appointments are necessary.
“Of the 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S., at least one in five don’t know they have it,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, Medical Director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. “More than 90 percent of new HIV infections in the United States could be prevented by testing and diagnosing people living with HIV and making sure they receive early, ongoing treatment. We encourage people to join us this week and get tested. Knowing your HIV status is an important step to a healthier life.”
A list of testing sites and locations can be found at www.louisvilleky.gov/health.
Louisville Metro tops the list in the 2017 City on a Cloud Awards’ Dream Big category for large cities, presented and announced this month by Amazon Web Services.
The award was given to the Office of Civic Innovation (part of Performance Improvement and Innovation), which focuses on developing innovative ideas to improve access to city services. The city’s 2017 Dream Big Award submission — titled “Transit Equity: Automation, Inclusion, and Safety” — focused on improving traffic flow through real-time traffic data that automatically adjusts when it senses detrimental systematic changes, a project that is currently under development.
“Cloud services are a key component to Smart City technologies and advancing intelligent traffic management and logistics that improve the daily lives of residents in big and small ways. This award recognizes ambitions that can be achieved through Louisville Metro’s team, our partners and initiatives such as the Louisville Fiber Information Technology project, an overbuild partnership with KentuckyWired,” said Grace Simrall, Chief of Civic Innovation.
In 2015, Louisville won Amazon’s City on a Cloud contest for Best Practices. For part of that project, the city used Amazon Web Services to store Waze real-time data and transformed it for use. It was successful for Metro and this new award allows the city to expand on that success with a larger mobility project with the Traffic Engineering department.
Metro has an on-going, small pilot group of internal data consumers for the Waze CCP traffic data.
“By using Amazon Web Services to build out the city’s first data warehouse, we can centralize, share, analyze and take action on transportation data across departments. Much of this will also be sent to our Open Data Portal for the public,” says Michael Schnuerle, the city’s Data Officer. Area data sharing partnerships will include the city, state, and regional transportation agencies to improve and connect all transit.
“We continue to be amazed by the work that our customers are doing around the world to better serve citizens. This year’s City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge produced inspiring applications from cities, police departments, school districts, and our partners that use real-time data analytics, IoT services, and open data projects, all on the AWS Cloud,” said Teresa Carlson, VP of Worldwide Public Sector for AWS. “AWS is proud to recognize this year’s winners and showcase the innovation to improve our roads, provide digital learning to all students, and benefit first responders.”
More details about all the awards is available on the AWS website at:
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/publicsector/city-on-a-cloud-innovation-challenge-winners-announced/
Photo: Secretary of State website
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes on Monday joined members of the Tri Ân Foundation to break ground for a new monument honoring Vietnamese and American veterans.
“Tri Ân in Vietnamese translates to ‘deep gratitude’, a feeling we all share when it comes to all people who sacrifice for the betterment and protection of their brothers and sisters,” said Grimes. “Millions of Americans and Vietnamese veterans fought side-by-side to win a heroic battle against communist aggression in Vietnam. We are forever grateful.”
The monument, located at Louisville’s Veterans Memorial Park, is an homage to the display of heroism during the Vietnam War. The design of eight bamboo-formed concrete columns representing the eight anti-communist allies that worked together toward freedom for the Vietnamese people – South Vietnam, the United States, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, New Zealand, Republic of China (Taiwan), and the Philippines. The monument will also have a digital component to connect veterans with fellow comrades and learn the destiny of rescued refugees. Families of the fallen will learn new stories and insights behind their loved one’s sacrifice.
“The Tri Ân Foundation is so appreciative of the generosity of so many who understand how important it is we recognize the gratitude of the Vietnamese people for those who helped secure their freedom,” said Yung Nguyen, founder of the foundation. “This monument will be a testament to their sacrifice and help all gain a deeper insight to an important part of world history.”
Grimes is deeply committed to honoring the service of veterans, and she is passionate about supporting Kentucky’s active-duty military members and their families. As Secretary of State, Grimes has advocated on their behalf in a range of issues from voting to business creation to job opportunities. She also played an integral role in the creation of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame.
More information about the Tri Ân Monument and Foundation is available at tri-ancompetition.com.
