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Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Councilman Vitalis Lanshima is encouraging people all over District 21 to come together and help with neighborhood cleanups on Saturday March 10th.
“This is a great opportunity for everyone to show their civic and neighborhood pride and engage other residents in the community,” says Lanshima. “We all want to make our neighborhoods great places to live and it begins when we all work together.”
The cleanups are in collaboration with Brightside neighborhood cleanups and provide a way for community members to help keep neighborhoods lean and green.
Sign up your family, church group, school, sports team, business, community group, neighborhood association, etc.
The District 21 Office will coordinate with Brightside to provide gloves, trash bags, brooms, rakes, shovels, and t-shirts.
SIGN UP HERE: https://goo.gl/p2RSfM
Register a team of 3 or more individuals or sign yourself up
Indicate which location you plan to target your cleanup efforts at the following sites:
- I-264 Ramp & 3rd Street
- 3rd Street – South
- Taylor Blvd-South
- I-264 Ramp & Southern Parkway
- Taylor Blvd-Palatka
- Southern Parkway-South
- 3rd Street by Rutherford
- Elementary & Value Market
- I-264 Ramp & Taylor Boulevard
- Preston Hwy by Wesley House
For more information, contact Councilman Lanshima’s office at 574-1121.
The Kentucky Exposition Center goes to the dogs March 15-18 when thousands of canines compete in the Kentuckiana Cluster of Dog Shows and the Greater Louisville Training Club Agility Trials.
Kentuckiana Cluster of Dog Shows During the Kentuckiana Cluster of Dog Shows, top dogs from around the world will be judged based on conformation, obedience and agility. Winners of early rounds and AKC Champions will then move on to compete for Best of Breed. Depending on their performance, they can advance to group competition and Best of Show.
Special highlights during the show include:
- NEW: Puppy competition
- Dock-diving: dogs compete by jumping into a swimming pool and chasing a Frisbee
- Animal rescue organizations
The dog shows run Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 18 and are open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily in the West Wing, Pavilion and West Hall. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors (age 60 and over) and children (age 4-13). Thursday admission is free.
For more information, visit www.thekentuckianaclusterofdogshows.org.
Greater Louisville Training Club Agility Trials The dog agility trials run Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 18 and are open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily in Broadbent Arena at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Admission for this event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.greaterlouisvilletrainingclub.com.
Parking at the Kentucky Exposition Center is $8 per vehicle and $20 per bus.
Louisville families with children of all ages are invited to a free resource fair showcasing summer activities for children, youth, and families on Saturday, March 10. Themed “SOAR” which stands for Summer Opportunities and Resource Fair, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the DuValle Education Center gym, 3610 Bohne Ave.
SOAR will feature local summer activities for children and teens including a wide variety of summer camps, parks and recreation programs, as well as employment, internship, and volunteer opportunities from a full list of exhibitors. This event is being held in March to allow individuals time to plan ahead and register for opportunities while openings are available.
More than 20 vendors and other agencies providing information and resources plan to participate including:
- Academy of Music Production (AMPED)
- Bellarmine University
- Catholic Enrichment Center
- Community Dental Family Dental Care
- DOODs Inc.
- Early Childhood Education
- ECHO (Exploited Children’s Help Organization)
- Falls of the Ohio
- Family Scholar House
- First Gethsemane Baptist church
- 4-H College of Agriculture, Food Science, and Sustainable Systems
- 4 Your Child
- KET
- Louisville Free Public Library
- Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
- Make It Count Consulting
- Norton’s Children’s Hospital Prevention and Wellness
- PACT in Action/Center for Women and Families
- Reimage
- Summerbridge Louisville
- Summer Explorations/ First Virginia Avenue Baptist Church
- SummerWorks/Kentuckiana Works/Youth Build
- University of Louisville Family Dental Care
This event also features a drawing for a summer program scholarship at Junior Achievement.
“Summer is a time to have fun, explore new places and ideas, learn new skills, make new friends and even make a little money”, stated Elisa Freeman-Carr, administrator of Ujima Neighborhood Place. “We’re excited to host the SOAR event to connect children and youth, especially those from lower income households, with the many wonderful summer programs, classes, camps, and other opportunities offered in our community.”
SOAR is also hosted by Jefferson County Public Schools, the Louisville Free Public Library, Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation, the Villages of Park Duvalle and multiple Neighborhood Place sites including Ujima, Cane Run, Bridges of Hope and South Central.
For questions about the SOAR event, or if you represent an agency which would like to participate, please contact Elisa Freeman-Carr at 313-6145 or Elisa.Freeman-Carr@louisvilleky.gov or Buffie Daubard at 313-4447 or Buffie.Daubard@jefferson.kyschools.us. You can also download this flyer to share with others who may be interested.
Construction will soon get underway on a $330,000 project for new restrooms and other utility services for the people who use Waverly Park in Southwestern Metro Louisville.
“This is a great day for the families and neighbors who use Waverly Park for fun, exercise and recreation,” says Councilman David Yates (D-25). “Waverly Park attracts people from all over the city and state to traverse our spectacular mountain biking trails but I hope today’s investment will show them this park has much more to offer.”
Councilman Yates, along with other Council members and Louisville Parks and Recreation, officially broke ground on the project on Wednesday. The Councilman secured the funding to move this phase of the project forward.
“Waverly Park is one of the true destination parks within our collection, and we’re pleased that this work is under way,” said Parks and Recreation Director Seve Ghose. “These added amenities should help make the experience, whether it be fishing, biking, hiking or relaxing, more enjoyable.”
The $330,000 project includes civil/architectural designs and new utility services to bring both water and electrical service into the park. A new water fountain for both man and his best friend in front of the Waverly Dog Park is now operational and the new restroom will also feature two water fountains. Work includes walking paths and parking spaces.
Over the years, working with Louisville Parks and Recreation, Councilman Yates has managed to secure funding for a dog park and better parking. A water line was installed in 2017. It was funded in the budget and is fully operational. The next project will be to replace the rotted dock that was removed from Waverly Lake with a new fishing dock in the future. The Councilman is working to ensure there is funding in the upcoming budget for that project.
“I want to thank all those who have supported our efforts in Waverly Park. Like so many of the parks in our system, this is one more reason why the Southend is a wonderful place to live,” said Yates.
For more information about the improvements at Waverly Park, contact Councilman Yates office at 574-1125.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will open the application period for prospective charter schools on April 16 when it releases its Request for Charter School Applications (RFCSA). The 60-day application period, for schools looking to open in the 2019/20 school year, will run through June 15.
Potential applicants are encouraged to take advantage of technical assistance opportunities offered by JCPS throughout the application period. Each application will be reviewed based on its merit against the rubric published in the RFCSA. There is no incentive in submitting an application early.
The Jefferson County RFCSA will include the Kentucky Charter School Application as well as additional questions specific to community needs in Jefferson County. In addition, the RFCSA will include more information about the form, format and information required for the completion of the application.
Cassie Blausey, director of school choice for JCPS, said the district must move forward with the application process even though state funding has not yet been determined. “Charter school legislation was passed during the 2017 legislative session. As a result, all local school boards are automatically charter school authorizers and required to comply with the legislation,” she said. “The RFCSA is the board’s action to comply with the legislation.”
Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Blausey at cassiopia.blausey@jefferson.kyschools.us, or at (502) 485-3138, for more information.
Photo: Louisville Metro Housing Authority
The Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (LAHTF) has announced the allocation of FY18 funds. LAHTF allocated about $8.76 million to 22 different projects which will assist in the creation or preservation of 1,115 units to projects in 8 Metro Council Districts.
Because of Trust Fund dollars, 775 of these units will be updated and upgraded while maintaining their affordability. 340 of the units will be brand new, through new construction or renovation of a vacant property.
The allocation was celebrated at the ground breaking of Middletown Apartments, a project that was allocated FY18 funds, as well as funds from Louisville CARES. The Apartments will consist of 80 one, two and three bedroom units on Urton Lane.
“An increase of affordable housing units, scattered across our community, is essential for our residents to reach their full human potential,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “When families are cost-burdened by their rent, they have to give up other things like time with children, food or other essentials. The allocation by LAHTF will open housing opportunities for people who need them while simultaneously attacking other problems in our community like vacant properties.”
“Fully funding the Trust Fund is the only way we can begin to move the needle on the affordable housing shortage,” LAHTF Executive Director Christie McCravy said. “Projects and jobs are created, residents have choice…it’s a win for the entire community.”
LAHTF FY18 funds have been allocated as such:
- $175,000 to Winterwood Property Management for the renovation and rehab of the 27 unit Rivertown Apartments complex in District 6
- $1.74 million to LDG for the new construction of 158 units of a 316 unit multifamily apartment development in District 24
- $1 million to Housing Partnership Inc. (HPI) for the rehab of the 89 units at York Towers in District 4
- $450,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville for the new construction of 15 single family homes on vacant properties in Districts 1, 4, 5, and 16
- $350,000 to New Directions Housing Corporation and River City Housing for the renovation and rehab of 7 vacant single family homes in District 4
- $1 million to HPI and Urban Acupuncture for the new construction of a 24 unit multifamily development designed to house refugee families on a vacant property in District 5
- $30,000 to HPI for Operation Victory, a collaboration between HPI and local unions to build a home on a vacant property for the purposes of housing a homeless veteran
- $566,000 to Dayspring Community Living for the new construction of 3 single family homes on vacant properties in Districts 6 and 15, creating 9 single room occupancy housing units for the disabled
- $58,000 to House of Ruth and River City Housing for the new construction of a duplex on a vacant property in District 4
- $225,000 to HPI for the renovation and rehab of 11 vacant single family homes in District 4, 5 and 6
- $500,000 to Allied Argenta for the renovation and rehab of 125 units of the Henry Greene Apartments in District 4
- $1 million to Telesis Corp. for the renovation and rehab of 503 units at City View Park in District 4
- $250,000 to HPI for the new construction of the 80 unit Middletown Apartments in District 19
- $266,000 to Wabuck Co. for the renovation and rehab of the 16 unit Lions Arms I complex in District 1
- $200,000 to AME Church and Allied Argenta for the renovation and rehab of the 15 units Greater Community Apartments in District 5
- $300,000 to REBOUND, Inc. for the purchase and rehab of 4 vacant properties in District 4
- $189,000 to APK Development for the purchase and rehab of 5 vacant single family homes in Districts 1 and 5
- $330,000 to DF Property Holdings, LLC for the rehab of 11 vacant single family homes in Districts 4,5,6, and 15
- $100,000 to Blackrock, LLC for the rehab of 12 units of a vacant multifamily complex in District 4
- $34,000 to Yvonne and Crystal McAfee for the rehab of one vacant single family home in District 4
Additional funds were allocated to Homes of the Innocents ($10,000), HPI ($3,500) and Louisville Urban League ($15,000) for supportive housing services.
For more information on the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/housing-community-development/louisv…
Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra announce the third annual Festival of American Music at The Kentucky Center, beginning with Kentucky Classics on Saturday, March 24 (8PM). This concert features music inspired by the bluegrass state and homegrown songwriters. The second program of the Festival of American Music, Play, will be performed on Friday, April 6 (11AM) and Saturday, April 7 (8PM) at The Kentucky Center and explores some of the most potent voices in contemporary American composition; Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, and Jim James.
Individual tickets range from $27 – $85 and are available by calling 502.584.7777 or by visiting LouisvilleOrchestra.org.
Kentucky Classics (March 24) will celebrate American roots, emphasizing Kentucky-centered music and local musicians such as singer-songwriter Joan Shelley, a Louisville native whose “crystal-clear voice meditates on the spaces between people, in arrangements that evoke Bacharach and African blues influences as much as acid-folk” (UK Independent). Another Louisville native and singer-songwriter, Tyrone Cotton, will perform in a unique style influenced by his classical guitar studies at Western Kentucky University and a period of jazz immersion in Boston. Neo-folk singer and harpist Lizzie No, “an exceptionally talented artist with a gift for making an age-old music sound fresh and relevant again” (Americana UK), will make her Louisville Orchestra debut. And Michael Cleveland, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s most awarded fiddler, returns with his band Flamekeeper after their LO debut on March 10. The program is bookended with New Piece for Orchestra by Edgar Meyer and Four Dance Episodes from Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo.
When putting this program together, Louisville Orchestra’s Music Director, Teddy Abrams said:
“Our 2018 Festival of American Music celebrates music that was quite literally ‘grown’ and nurtured here in our country: a kind of music from the very earth of this nation. The first program features a range of modern soloists who derive inspiration and continue traditions from Kentucky’s folk and Americana genres. Ultimately these different solo sets lead to a special performance of Copland’s Rodeo.”
The second program, Play (April 6+7), further broadens the perspective to include a wider range of contemporary American composers. Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Wolfe’s riSE and fLY will be performed with percussion soloist Gabriel Globus-Hoenich, who was also featured on Abrams’s Muhammad Ali: The Greatest this past fall. Natural History by Michael Gordon was commissioned for the 2016 National Parks Service Centennial, and premiered at the Britt Festival under Teddy Abrams’s leadership on sacred land in Oregon. Natural History explores the spiritual connection between the land and the traditions of the Klamath tribe. The Louisville performance will feature the Steiger Butte Singers and Drummers, a Native American drumming ensemble who participated in the premiere and both a new recording on the Cantaloupe label and the documentary Symphony for Nature from Owsley Brown Presents, currently airing on PBS stations across the country. Play is rounded out with music by special guest artist Jim James, founding front-man of famed Louisville alt-rock band My Morning Jacket. He joins the orchestra for the world premiere performance of a song cycle written in collaboration with Abrams.
Teddy Abrams elaborated:
“The second week of our Festival showcases some of the great creative forces in American music today. Julia Wolfe’s riSE and fLY is a percussion concerto inspired by New York street beats and the rhythm of the American work song. Michael Gordon’s Natural History is an enormous-scale composition that I commissioned at the Britt Festival to be performed with over 150 musicians on the very edge of Crater Lake National Park, and his work is intimately constructed around a group of musicians from Oregon’s Klamath Tribe – for whom Crater Lake is a sacred place. Finally, Louisville’s world-renowned Jim James and I have been co-writing a song cycle which will be premiered at this show. His music is very special to me – he combines a beautiful insight into the world around us with a great and readily apparent human spirit.”