Sunday November 16, 2025
Local Connection
Weather
Traffic
@LouisvilleDispatch
@LouisvilleDisp
SubscribeLouisville’s adult population has set a new record for college attainment, according to 2015 data released this week from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Highlights of the data include: The percentage of working-age adults with at least an associate degree now stands at 44.7 percent, up 3 percentage points over the previous year.
The percentage with at least a bachelor’s degree was also up to 35.7 percent, a 2.4 percentage point increase.
In addition, in the annual ranking of 15 “Peer Cities” tracked by the organization, Louisville moved up to the No. 9 position for adults with at least an associate’s degree, passing Greensboro, N.C. These are the most significant gains since 55,000 Degrees was created in 2010.
“This is the kind of news we’ve been working toward,” said Mary Gwen Wheeler, the executive director of 55,000 Degrees, Louisville’s education movement. “We are optimistic for the future as our partners continue to make positive progress toward our community goal. Louisville is continually developing the type of workforce we need for a 21st Century economy. There is still work to be done – we can’t get complacent.”
55,000 Degrees started six years ago, with a simple goal: By 2020, 50 percent of working-age adults in Louisville should have at least an associate degree. In 2010, just 40.1 percent of Louisville adults had a college degree.
“To compete in today’s economy, you need a highly skilled workforce,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, chairman of the 55,000 Degrees board. “We are encouraged to see progress being made, but we know we have to keep working.”
Education attainment has become a key measure of whether cities have the skilled workforce needed for a 21st Century economy. Growth in college attainment comes from increasing the percentage of high school graduates who go on to complete college degrees, from encouraging adult workers to return to school, and from attracting college-graduates to the region because of quality of life and work opportunities.
In preparation for the Brightside Community-Wide Planting Day on November 5, Brightside will be partnering with several local garden centers to host plant sales in support of Brightside programs and initiatives.
“Keeping our city clean and green is truly a community-wide effort,” Brightside Director Gina O’Brien said. “We are grateful to these local nurseries for their partnership and ask Louisville residents to support these local businesses so Louisville can add more green to their yards while supporting Brightside at the same time.”
Portions of sale proceeds will be donated to Brightside to support their clean and green initiatives. Participating nurseries and sale details are as follows:
- Plant Kingdom (4101 Westport Road): 20% of tree sales from October 26 through November 9
- St. Matthews Feed & Seed (225 Chenoweth Lane): 10% of all sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Tower View Farms & Nursery (12523 Taylorsville Road): 20% of all tree sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Ken Mulch (2708 Outer Loop): 10 % of all sales on October 29 and November 5
- Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center (12902 Shelbyville Road): 20% of all plant and plant material sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Frank Otte Nursery and Garden Center (2930 Bardstown Road): 10% of all sales on October 29 & 30, November 5 & 6
- Idlewild Butterfly Farm (1100 Logan Street): 10% of all sales on October 29 and November 5
For more information on the Fall Plant Sale, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/brightside/fall-plant-sale
To sign up as a volunteer for the Community-Wide Planting Day event in Parkland on November 5, please visit https://louisvilleky.wufoo.com/forms/brightside-volunteer-interest-form/
Louisville Metro Government will begin this week installing locally created, low-cost wireless smoke detectors in vacant and abandoned properties, in an innovative way to reduce fire risk.
The city’s Innovation Delivery Team is guiding this one-of-a-kind project, with support from Louisville Fire, the Vacant and Public Property Administration, and Codes & Regulations.
The smoke detectors, which use a cellular 3G wireless connection to alert authorities when a fire erupts in a vacant and abandoned property, were created through a partnership with local civic hackers. The idea is to avoid devastating fires and protect homes located nearby.
“This project represents the best of what ‘Smart City’ technology can be for Louisville,” said Grace Simrall, Chief of Civic Innovation.
“This innovative technology is the result of the local tech community and Metro Government working together to solve a real problem for residents living near vacant properties. We want innovation and technology in our community to benefit all of our residents, and this pilot project is a step in the right direction.”
Fires in vacant and abandoned properties tend to cause greater damage because they’re not reported as quickly as blazes in occupied homes. The fires often spread to neighboring occupied homes. The issue of fires in vacant and abandoned properties is particularly pronounced in Louisville Fire’s District 1, which includes parts of west Louisville.
Using Louisville Fire data, the Office of Performance Improvement & Innovation found that 44 percent of the fires in Fire District 1 that became “involved” (2 or more structures) between 2012 and 2015 started in a vacant property.
Seeing an opportunity to innovate a solution, Louisville Metro Government enlisted help from the maker space LVL1, which in turn hosted a hackathon of local civic hackers and makers.
Civic hackers Nathan Armentrout, James Gissendaner and David Jokinen developed the product and software to run it, with an end cost of $150 per smoke detector, which are expected to work for up to 10 years.
“This new, innovative tool will provide quicker alarm notifications to fires at our city’s vacant properties,” said Laura Grabowski, director of the Vacant & Public Property Administration. “With this technology, we hope to contain these fires and provide more safety for neighbors of vacant properties. This project would not be possible without the teamwork of multiple Metro departments and the civic hackers who created the wireless smoke detectors.”
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will hold its annual Showcase of Schools this weekend, offering parents and students a convenient opportunity to visit with JCPS staff and representatives of each school and get information about optional and magnet programs before deciding which school the student will attend next year.
The Showcase will feature all grades – elementary, middle and high – during both days of the two-day event. The Showcase will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. This year, the Showcase will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B, 937 Phillips Lane. The Showcase is relocating temporarily while the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville is under renovation.
Representatives from the Optional, Magnet and Advance Programs Office; Student Assignment; Transportation; Parent Teacher Association (PTA); and Demographics will also be available to answer questions and explain application procedures to parents.
“We’re proud of the many choices that JCPS offers and we want all of our students engaged in the choice process,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS superintendent. “The Showcase is an excellent way for parents and students to learn about JCPS, get an overview of the district and compare the program offerings designed to address the varied interests of our diverse student population.”
The online registration/ application period for the 2017/2018 school years is Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 to Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.
Regular day-of-event parking rate of $8 per vehicle will apply. For more information on the Showcase, call 485-3323. For more information on the online application process, call 485-6250.
Louisville Metro is looking for someone to donate the large Christmas tree that will stand in Jefferson Square Park through the holidays.
“It is always the main attraction of our Light Up celebration,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We hope someone will come forward with just the right tree.”
The tree should be a spruce or fir, about 40 feet tall and well-shaped. The city will cut and transport the tree to its prominent spot at the plaza in the northwest corner of 4th and Jefferson Streets. Anyone interested in donating a tree should call MetroCall 311. The tree donor will be thanked at the Light Up Louisville sponsor reception on a date to be determined.
Light Up Louisville is held annually on the day after Thanksgiving. This year, the event, in its 36th year, will be held on Nov. 25.
Louisville residents are invited to bring unneeded documents and prescription drugs to be shredded and disposed of at a free event on October 29, 2016. The Drug Toss/Shredding Event is sponsored by Metro Public Works, Metro Police, and Metro Council.
Citizens can protect themselves from identify theft and divert unused medications from the waste stream or misuse by bringing items to:
1032 Phillips Lane, across from the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
Saturday, October 29, 2016
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Businesses may not participate in this event. All paper materials will be shredded on site and recycled. Shredding donated by the Louisville Branch of Shred-It Louisville. The Drug Toss will be done as a drive-through event.
Black out all personal information on all medication containers that will be tossed. For safety reasons, we cannot accept sharps, needles, lances, cosmetics, personal care or hygiene items. Medication products should never be flushed down the toilet or drain, burned in the open or thrown in the trash because they can contaminate the environment if they get into the drinking and ground water.
Additional tips to prevent identity theft:
- Do not keep Social Security cards in wallet or purse
- Do not put bills or checks in home mailbox for pickup
- Check credit reports, bank statements and credit card statements often for irregularities
- Shred all documents with personal information
- Never give personal information to someone on the phone, internet or email claiming to be your bank
- Do not store credit card numbers on shopping websites
Central High School today unveiled The Colony maker space, the school’s new home for its proposed Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) Innovation magnet program and the centerpiece of its partnership with the University of Louisville J. B. Speed School of Engineering.
In addition to helping create a college-bound culture for underrepresented students, the partnership and maker space aim to encourage more female and minority students to pursue engineering and science studies.
“Think of this as a 21st century shop class, where students can design, and create, and bring their ideas to fruition,” said Central Principal Raymond Green.
Green added that students in the STEM program will study a wide range of foundations – coding, robotics, engineering, even hacking – to give them the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world. The goal, he said, will be for them to graduate from Central with a patent or trademark in their name.
“I’m particularly proud of how student-focused this space is, from the technology and equipment that will be the new norm for students as they continue to study and hone their skills, all the way down to the name they selected for their area,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools. “ ‘The Colony’ is not only a play on Central’s mascot, but a fitting term to describe the teamwork, innovation, and hard work that will go one here.”
The center also creates a foundation for the school’s strong partnership with Speed School. In addition to providing Central with up to five scholarships per year, the engineering school will allow qualifying high school seniors to take freshman-level college classes; will sponsor robotics tournaments and hack-a-thons at the center; and will help write the STEM Innovation curriculum.
“Our goal with these maker space facilities is to increase interest in the STEM fields and to help students grow their self-confidence,” said UofL Acting President Neville Pinto. “Expect to see our Speed School students here working alongside Central students on engineering projects.”
The space is being furnished with $30,000 of prototype furniture gifted from student-focused furniture maker Artcobell and $20,000 of innovative equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters and robot fields, funded by a Verizon Innovation grant.
The unveiling was held in conjunction with a national conference highlighting dual-credit courses and college partnerships. Central was selected for one of the breakout sessions of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment (NACEP), to showcase how dual credit opportunities can effectively create a college-going culture for minority students. Two dozen attendees visited Central to learn about its deep partnerships with UofL.
“We know that high quality dual credit can have a powerful impact on students’ postsecondary success, yet fewer opportunities are available to students in the nation’s large urban school districts. Even when those opportunities are present, they tend to be available only to select students in relatively well-off schools,” said NACEP Executive Director Adam Lowe. “We hope that the partnership between the University of Louisville and Central High School will inspire others to commit to developing dual credit opportunities for students who will benefit the most from these programs.”
