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SubscribeMayor Fischer will appoint a Chief Resilience Officer to lead local efforts
Mayor Greg Fischer welcomed an announcement today from 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), selecting Louisville to join the 100RC Network to build urban, environmental, and economic resilience.
Louisville is among the final cohort of cities invited to join the worldwide 100RC Network. As a member of 100RC, Louisville will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century.
Mayor Fischer said entrance into the 100RC Network will help Louisville fight the resilience challenges of environmental sustainability, as well as the economic resilience challenges that impact many low-income and disadvantaged citizens. The grant will help the city hire a Chief Resilience Officer who reports directly to the Mayor.
“Louisville’s selection to join the 100 Resilient Network is not only a significant honor but will give us the tools to support a better today, tomorrow and for future generations to come. Our application recognized Louisville’s commitment to addressing and environmental issues that disproportionately impact low-income and minority neighborhoods. It will also examine income inequality in our city,” Fischer said. “As a new member of 100 Resilient Cities, we can work with the best in the private, government, and non-profit sectors in developing and sharing tools to plan to and respond to the resilience challenges ahead.”
“We are so proud to welcome Louisville to 100 Resilient Cities,” 100RC President Michael Berkowitz said. “We selected Louisville because of its leaders’ commitment to resilience building and the innovative and proactive way they’ve been thinking about the challenges the city faces. We’re excited to get to work.”
“For us, a resilient city has good emergency response and meets its citizens’ needs,” Berkowitz continued. “It has diverse economies and takes care of both its built and natural infrastructure. It has effective leadership, empowered stakeholders, and an integrated planning system. All of those things are essential for a resilient city.”
Momentum from 100RC’s two earlier challenges made this year highly competitive, spanning over 90 countries across six continents. Louisville was chosen from more than 325 applicants on the basis of their willingness, ability, and need to become resilient in the face of future challenges. The application process showed each city’s unique vision for resilience, a long-term commitment to building resilience in a way that connects silos of government and sectors of society, and specific attention to the needs of poor and vulnerable citizens. Applicant cities also demonstrated the willingness to be leaders in urban resilience, sharing learning experiences and becoming a model for other cities across the globe.
Member cities were selected upon the recommendation of distinguished judges from around the world, including: A. Eugene Kohn, Chairman of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Acha Leke, Director at McKinsey & Co Africa, Co-Founder of African Leadership Network, Ann Fudge, Vice-Chair and Senior Independent Director of Unilever, Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director-General of Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA) , Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Kai-Uwe Bergmann, Partner at the Bjarke Ingels Group, Michael Kocher, General Manager at Aga Khan Foundation, Nachiket Mor, Former Director and Current Board Member, Reserve Bank of India and Senior Advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, andNena Stoiljkovic, Vice President, Global Partnerships at the IFC.
Selected cities are now part of a global community of cities working together to build urban resilience. In the months ahead, as part of the 100RC Network, Louisville will be eligible to receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the citywide resilience-building process and engage stakeholders from across different government agencies, public and private sectors, and various communities to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge. Louisville will also receive technical support to develop a Resilience Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs, and the support and services they need as they work towards implementing that strategy. Each new network member will gain access to a variety of 100RC Platform Partners in the private, public, academic, government, and nonprofit sectors. Partners offer tools and services valued at over $200 million USD at no direct cost to 100RC members, in areas such as innovative finance, technology, infrastructure, land use, and community and social resilience. Finally, the cities will be linked together in a global network so they can learn from each other’s challenges and successes.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Louisville Division of Fire Chief, Colonel Gregory W. Frederick celebrated the promotion of 11 members to new positions within the Louisville Division of Fire. We wish them the best of luck in their new roles!
See below for members promoted and their new positions:
- Sgt. Michael Davis – Fire Apparatus Operator
- Sgt. Michael Enyard – Fire Apparatus Operator
- Sgt. Jelen Greene – Fire Apparatus Operator
- Sgt. James Perry – Fire Apparatus Operator
- Capt. Thomas Anderson – Company Commander
- Capt. Darrell Davis – Company Commander
- Capt. Jason Sanders – Arson Investigator II
- Capt. Chris Wahl – Company Commander
- Maj. Lawrence Graves – Battalion Chief
- Maj. Chris Jenkins – Battalion Chief – Chief of Investigations
- Maj. Chris Verdi – Battalion Chief
Earlier this year, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Olu Stevens dismissed the jury in Charles Evans’ trial. Evans’ Attorney, Sheila Sanders, argued that Evans’ would not receive a fair trial since the jury only had one black man. Judge Stevens agreed and dismissed the jury. This was not the first time that Judge Stevens dismissed a jury panel based on its racial make-up.
The case was put on hold again while the Kentucky Court of Appeals made the decision if dismissing a jury was within the rights of the Judge. The ruling comes almost a month later. The Court of Appeals ruled that the law requires the potential juror pool to represent a fair cross-section of the community; it does not require that the jury panel itself to be an accurate representation of the community.
After a group of 2000 teenagers fighting caused Mall St. Matthews to shut down and wait for police, owners of Mall St. Matthews and Oxmoor Center have announced temporary policy changes.
Beginning January 2, 2016, on Fridays and Saturdays after 4:00 P.M., anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21. This new rule will include all common areas of the mall, fire exits, sidewalks, public transit boarding locations, loading zones, and the parking lot. This policy will not apply to the movie theater or to the individual stores. If a minor is in a store, shopping, after 4:00 P.M., they can remain in the store but will be required to leave once leaving the store. During these restricted hours, security officers will be at all the mall entrances and they will check the IDs of anyone appearing to be 17 or younger.
For adults accompanying minors, one adult may supervise up to four youths (defined as 10 -17 years old) as long as they remain with the teenagers at all times. Children under the age of 10 are included in this number.
The managers of the mall have stated that these measures are temporary, but have not indicated when they will be lifted.
A Louisville man, Lawaun Colvin, 25, has been arrested by Louisville Metro Police for robbing four local businesses on Christmas Day.
According to reports, around 2:00 A.M., Colvin, while wearing a mask and armed with a handgun, walked in Americas Best Value Hotel on Kemmons Dr. He demanded cash, but the employee fled into a locked room. Approximately 30 minutes later, Colvin, while wearing a mask and armed with a handgun, walked into another business and demanded cash. The employee at this unnamed business complied with the demand.
About 3 hours later, Colvin, while wearing a mask and armed with a handgun, walked into Day’s Inn on Fern Valley Road, where he again demanded and received cash. Approximately 30 minutes, he repeated the process again at the Waffle House on Bishop Lane.
Colvin is also a suspect in three gas station robberies that happened on December 28th. In these cases, Colvin is suspected of being the getaway driver, while accomplices Cameron Mason, 18, and Joseph Colvin, 20, went into the stores demanding cash.
Lawaun Colvin faces six counts of first degree robbery. He has entered a not-guilty plea.
Photo: Metro Corrections
As of now, 111 of 120 Kentucky counties will participate in the Republican Presidential Caucus. The Caucus will be held on March 5, 2016. The Caucus will take place before the state’s primary elections, which will allow Senator Rand Paul to run for President as well as re-election for this Senate seat.
The last time Kentucky held a caucus was in 1984 and for many voters, this will be a new way to vote. On election day, voters will arrive at a location (to be announced in January) within their county between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. Voters will see a table for each candidate with information, maybe a representative, about the candidate. When a voter is ready to cast their secret ballot, they will move to a voting area that will resemble a traditional voting booth.
Only registered Republicans will be able to participate in the Caucus. However, if you are currently 17 years old, but you will be 18 by November 8, 2016, you are eligible to vote in the caucus as long as your are registered as Republican, by December 31, 2015. If you live in one of the 9 counties that will not be participating, you will still have the opportunity to vote. You will be assigned a location in a nearby county, or you may vote by absentee ballot. Starting January 7, 2016, voters will be able to apply for an absentee ballot. Instructions will be available on the website for the Republican Party of Kentucky. Applications must be received by February 19, 2016 and completed ballots must be received by March 4, 2016. If you request an absentee ballot, you will not be eligible to vote in person.
After the ballots are counted, the delegates of Kentucky will be allocated proportionally to each candidate that receives at least 5% of the total votes. Candidates have until January 7, 2016 to file the necessary paperwork to appear on the ballot. As of now, the following candidates have already filed:
- Jeb Bush
- Ben Carson
- Chris Christie
- Ted Cruz
- Carly Fiorina
- John Kasich
- Rand Paul
- Marco Rubio
- Donald Trump
Councilwoman Cindi Fowler (D-14) has been appointed 2016 Vice-Chair of the National League of Cities’ Large Cities Council. The Large Cities Council provides a networking forum for members to discuss a wide array of issues that specifically affect large metropolitan areas, including infrastructure, economic development, and social issues.
The appointment was announced by NLC President Melodee Colbert-Kean, Councilmember- Joplin, MO.
As Vice-Chair of the council, Councilwoman Fowler will play a key role in informing NLC’s policy positions and advocating on behalf of America’s cities and towns before Congress, with the Administration, and at home.
“I look forward to the conversations with leaders from across the United States in developing policy that will positively impact our cities,” says Fowler. “Large population centers, like Louisville, have unique problems and discussing these issues in an open forum with different points of view is the first step in identifying solutions that can benefit us all.”
Councilwoman Fowler has also been reappointed to the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources committee, which takes the lead in developing policy and platforms regarding air quality, water quality, noise control, and waste management.
For more information on NLC’s other committees and councils, visit http://www.nlc.org/influence-
The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns, and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.
