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The Department of Public Health and Wellness has found West Nile infected mosquitoes in surveillance traps in three Louisville ZIP Code areas. The ZIP Codes are 40212, 40213, and 40214.
“This indicates that West Nile infected mosquitoes are now present throughout our community,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. “We advise everyone to take the appropriate precautions no matter what ZIP Code you live in. You should wear insect repellant if you go outside during dusk or dawn and should remove standing water around your home.”
The Department of Public Health and Wellness advises people to take the following precautions:
Avoid Mosquito Bites
- Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. To optimize safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label instructions. More information about insect repellents can be found here at http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.
- When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don’t apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.
- Take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
Mosquito-Proof Your Home
- Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside. Use your air conditioning, if you have it.
- Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home by emptying standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires and birdbaths on a regular basis.
No human cases of West Nile have been reported in Louisville so far this year. Last year there was one non-fatal human case. In 2016 there were two human cases and one death. In 2015, there were three human cases with no deaths.
In most instances, people infected with West Nile virus either show no symptoms or relatively mild symptoms. However, less than one percent of infected people develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis. Serious illness can occur in people of any age. However, people over 60 years of age are at the greatest risk for severe disease. People with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and people who have received organ transplants, are also at greater risk for serious illness.
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness has operated a mosquito control program for more than 50 years. The department does surveillance of mosquito populations with traps strategically located throughout the community, and tests mosquitos for such diseases as West Nile, Zika and St. Louis Encephalitis.
In the spring the department pre-treats potential mosquito breeding sites with larvicide to prevent hatch offs. In the summer it treats catch basins and performs mosquito fogging in response to West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.
To check if your area has been fogged or will be fogged call the mosquito hotline, 574-6641, or visit https://louisvilleky.gov. To make a request regarding mosquitoes in your neighborhood call Metro Call at 311 or 574-5000.
Officials from the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Louisville Parks and Recreation, Mayor Greg Fischer, Council President David James, and many park neighbors celebrated the start of phase two of the Victory Park Revitalization Project at the annual Victory Park Day celebration today.
Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Louisville Parks & Recreation began the project in 2017. Phase two, an $640,000 additional park investment, includes a new playground and sprayground; addition to the lodge to allow a covered picnic area; additional tree planting and new connector walking paths.
After several public meetings with Victory Park neighbors in 2016, Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Louisville Parks and Recreation finalized a Master Plan that outlined work needed for the park. The first phase of the project included relocating the basketball court to the northwest side of the park to create a larger open area for activities; new walking path, more than a quarter mile in length; additional lighting, benches and 35 trees. Phase one was completed this spring.
Financial support for more than $1.1 million revitalization project, came from donors of Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s Campaign for Extraordinary Parks, including Humana Foundation, James Graham Brown Foundation, PNC Foundation and Kosair Charities along with support from City of Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer, Metro Council President David James and Louisville Parks and Recreation.
“Victory Park is very important part of this neighborhood and Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s wants to complete projects that ensure the surrounding residents can enjoy a beautiful, safe and clean park,” said Layla George, President/CEO, Olmsted Parks Conservancy.
“It has taken the cooperation of a lot of partners, and a lot of hard work to get to phase two of the project in Victory Park,” said Parks and Recreation Director Seve Ghose. “It’s going to be exciting to see it continue and evolve into a true source of pride for the neighborhood.”
“Parks are a community resource, and we have world-class parks because the community comes together to care for them,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “The Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a critical partner in the effort to maintain parks like Victory, and the relationship they have with Metro Government and Parks and Recreation is so important to this city.”
“The Community appreciates all of the changes we have seen in making Victory Park a true neighborhood park and they look forward to their continued partnership with Metro Parks and the Olmsted Conservancy as we move ahead with Phase II. I want to thank everyone for their commitment to improving Victory Park for the people who live here and the people and families who come to use the park for their enjoyment,” said Metro Council President David James, who represents District 6, where Victory Park is located.
Victory Park is a four-acre parcel of land that was set aside as a park space by the Board of Park Commissioners in 1919 with a design drawn in 1923 by the Olmsted Brothers. The area was noted for its magnificent trees, including gum, oak, osage orange and elm. It was originally called Greenwood Park, but its name was changed to Victory Park, in commemoration of World War I.
Victory Park has historically been the site for band concerts, plays, and gathering space for choral groups, as well as a place for active and passive play. Since its inception, this greenspace has been a focal point and a source of community pride for the surrounding neighborhood.
Mayor Greg Fischer helped break ground today to begin construction of the long-planned realignment of the intersection of Eighteenth Street, Dixie Highway and Broadway.
The $1.1 million project will ease traffic conditions at an intersection that is the hub of a major revitalization of the area. The Republic Bank Foundation YMCA and the new corporate headquarters of Passport Health Plan—projects totaling nearly $160 million and bringing over 500 jobs to the area—are both under construction at the intersection.
Dixie Highway becomes Eighteenth Street as it moves northbound across Broadway. Navigating that intersection from any direction presently requires moving through two traffic signals less than one hundred feet apart because the street zigzags at Broadway.
This project will reroute Dixie slightly eastward along the YMCA to align it directly with 18th Street, eliminating the zigzag and one of the traffic signals in each direction. Completion by contractor TSI Construction is expected by the end of October.
Mayor Fischer said, “This realignment will improve the connections between north, south, east and west as it helps to make this critical intersection a foundation for even more investment in West Louisville.”
Joining the mayor in the groundbreaking were Steve Tarver, President and CEO of YMCA of Greater Louisville; Jill Bell, Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Passport Health Plan; Metro Council President and District 6 Councilman David James; and Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith of District 4, which includes the Broadway/Dixie/18th Street intersection.
The realigned intersection will be a Bus Rapid Transit stop at the northern anchor of the $50 million New Dixie Highway project. That project will improve safety, mobility and livability along a 14-mile corridor to the Gene Snyder Freeway. Mayor Fischer noted that the realignment is part of a long string of development announcements across Louisville, and particularly west of Ninth Street.
In addition to the YMCA and Passport projects, the list includes a $29.5 million grant to convert the Beecher Terrace public housing development into a mixed used, mixed income community, the planned $30 million Heritage West track and field facility at 30th Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, development of Google Fiber, the Chef Space kitchen incubator in the former Jay’s Cafeteria, and more.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), are seeking public input regarding the proposed construction of a multi-use path in A.B. Sawyer Park, a public-use recreational resource protected under Section 4(f) of the Transportation Act of 1966.
The general project description is to construct a shared use path through A.B. Sawyer Park from Whipps Mill Road to the Forest Green Greenway. The path will traverse under Hurstbourne Parkway and cross over Middle Fork Beargrass Creek to connect with the existing Forest Green Greenway. The project also provides sidewalk connectivity along Hurstbourne Parkway (KY 1747) from Ormsby Station Road to Tamarisk Parkway. This Hurstbourne connection also provides two access paths to the park. It will provide connectivity to existing paths that tie-in to the Limestone Belt Northeast extension of the Louisville Loop.
The purpose of the project is to enhance the park experience by providing connectivity to and within the park. This connection will allow access to existing recreational activity areas. The need for this project is identified through the limited access to the park today. Currently, the only practical access to A.B. Sawyer Park from the east is by motorized vehicle. There is demand for better connectivity to the developed recreational facilities within A.B. Sawyer Park. A.B. Sawyer Park is approximately 47 acres. The path is anticipated to use approximately 0.381 acre of the park. The alignment proposed is consistent with the path identified in the A.B. Sawyer Park Master Plan which can be found here:
Your comments will be used in determining any potential effects the proposed path could have on A.B. Sawyer Park or affect the activities, features, or attributes that make the park a Section 4(f) eligible property.
Please address any comments regarding potential 4(f) impacts anticipated from this project by Friday, August 10, 2018 to:
Lindsay Ashby
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
District 5 Environmental Coordinator
8310 Westport Road
Louisville, KY 40242
(502) 210-5400
lindsay.ashby@ky.gov
In April 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury certified 144 Opportunity Zones in 84 Kentucky counties as recommended by Governor Matt Bevin under a new community development program, the Investing in Opportunity Act, part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In Louisville, 19 census tracts are designated as Opportunity Zones.
The Opportunity Zones program is designed to spur economic development and create jobs by encouraging long-term investment in economically-distressed urban and rural areas. The program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing in Opportunity Zones.
“The Opportunity Zones program establishes the framework for investors to inject investment into projects in our city that will have a significant social impact. Projects like the redevelopment of the Louisville Gardens, the Track on Ali at Heritage West, and projects from Butchertown to downtown to west Louisville are great examples of developments that could benefit from this program,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “We look forward to continuing our work with our partners at the state and with local investors to strategically grow our city.”
To assist business owners and investors with identifying Opportunity Zones, the city created an interactive map to show exact addresses and boundaries of Louisville’s designated Opportunity Zones.
To search Louisville-specific addresses, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward/opportunity-zones-louisville
To learn more about Kentucky Opportunity Zones, visit www.KYOZ.com
To read more about Opportunity Zones in general, visit https://eig.org/opportunityzones
Third District Congressman John Yarmuth, Metro Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton and others were on hand Saturday as Louisville Parks and Recreation unveiled a new bicycle pump track in Shawnee Park as part of the West Louisville Appreciation Day festival.
“This pump track is another exciting way for young people in West Louisville and throughout our city to experience the outdoors and have fun in one of the many award-winning parks right here in our community. It was an honor to join Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton and so many West Louisville residents as we cut the ribbon on this great new addition to Shawnee Park,” Congressman Yarmuth said.
The new pump track was funded with assistance from the Aetna Foundation and built by 12 youths working over the summer who participated in Mayor Greg Fischer’s Summerworks Program and the Louisville ECHO (Louisville is Engaging Children Outdoors) program.
The project has benefitted by support from the National Park Service who provided planning assistance and U.S. Forest Service who has providing funding support for Louisville ECHO.
It’s a feature of the West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative (WLORI), which began nearly a decade ago, and, under which, plans for a new Outdoor Learning Center in Shawnee Park were released last week. Those plans can be viewed on Louisville Parks and Recreation’s website, bestparksever.com.
A pump track is a type of off-road terrain for cycle sport consisting of a circuit of banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by riders “pumping” – creating momentum by up and down body movements.
The plans were also displayed at an information booth set up by staff from Jefferson Memorial Forest and Louisville Parks and Recreation’s Natural Areas Division on Saturday.
Other components of WLORI include a new boat ramp in Shawnee Park (construction will take place in 2019) and the proposed restoration of the pond in nearby Chickasaw Park for better fishing access.
“Where a person lives has a profound impact on how they live – particularly when it comes to their health,” said Jonathan Copley CEO of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky. “The West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative is an outstanding example of how important progress can be made when communities work together to look at the biggest issues facing their neighborhoods and develop healthy, home-grown solutions. We are pleased to be a contributor to today’s unveiling.”
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office is seeking next of kin for John Elkins, III, who expired at his residence in the 1000 block of Jackson Street, Louisville, KY, on 7/25/2018. If anyone has information, please contact Deputy Coroner Rita Taylor at 502-574-0106.
