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haroldbratcherThis week, three local candidates running for office held a town hall forum where they took questions from the voters. Michael Payne, Harold Bratcher, and Shane Ranschaert each had a turn at the microphone where they were able to talk not only about policies, but also about why they became involved in politics. All three candidates are running for office for the first time, and all three are unhappy with the state of politics in the Louisville area and felt that the best way to help the community is to become involved. With the election fast approaching and the Presidential race garnering so much attention, it can be easy to lose track of local races.

Harold Bratcher is running the US House of Representatives, District 3. District 3 in KY is all of Jefferson County, and therefore, all of Louisville. Representatives will go to Washington D.C. to represent all the citizens on Louisville in the United States Congress for a 2-year term. Bratcher graduated from Valley High School (class of 1991) and we worked for some trucking companies. He recently opened his own freight company and has been operating out of Louisville since 2013. Bratcher is running against incumbent John Yarmuth, who is seeking re-election for his sixth term.

Bratcher focused on three major talking points: supporting small business, preserving the Constitution, and immigration. Being a small business owner himself, Bratcher knows a lot about what is needed to run a small business. NAFTA and TPP have been brief topics in the recent presidential debates, but Bratcher has believed for years that NAFTA has negatively impacted this country’s economy and believes that the TPP will be just as bad, if not worse. “NAFTA cost a minimum of 1 million union, and non-union high paying manufacturing jobs,” he said, adding that this equals about 25% of the manufacturing capacity that was here previously. With the unemployment rate being as high as it is, he believes the answer is to invest in small business. “Giving $100 million to 100 small businesses will create more jobs than giving that money to one big corporation,” he said. He also proposes cutting taxes across the board, which he believes will create more jobs and by putting more money in consumer pockets, will result in more revenue in taxes.

Bratcher identified himself as a “Constitutional Conservative” and believes that government needs to be smaller and less involved in our everyday lives. He applies this to every Constitutional right, including the first and second amendments.  He admitted that he is a new firearm enthusiast, but recognizes that the laws being proposed are already in place in some of the highest gun crime cities in the nation. “If the laws don’t work in Chicago, why would they work here,” he asked. He also believes that individual, civilian gun-ownership keeps America is safer as nation. Bratcher went on to talk about balancing the budget: “Everyone is concerned about the D and the R. This is why we have no balanced budget and this is why there is gridlock. I’m willing to work towards the middle, but it needs to be a give and take.”

Being the only candidate running for a federal office, Bratcher was the only one to talk about immigration. Bratcher understands that this is a country of immigrants and accepts immigrants who come to the United States legally. His first concern, however, is that we have millions of homeless Americans here and we should address that problem before trying to take on the task of helping other countries.

Michael Payne is running for State Representative, District 28. District 28 starts in the southern part of Pleasure Ridge Park and continues south along Dixie Highway to West Point, KY. State Representatives go to Frankfort, KY where, like the federal House of Representatives, they serve a 2 year-term where they represent a portion of Kentucky residents for state legislation. Payne is a graduate of Valley High School (class of 1990) and went on to study at both Sullivan University and University of Louisville. He has worked as an engineering specialist for UPS, an engineering manager for a local material handling firm, and currently works at Sullivan College as an instructor. Payne is running against incumbent Charles Miller, who is currently seeking re-election for his tenth term.

mikepaynePayne focused on several major talking points: the economic depression, the education system, and crime. Payne believes that best way to address the economic issues is to attract new businesses into the state and Kentucky is having a hard time competing with the surrounding states. He stated that the best way to encourage investments into the state and to encourage entrepreneurs is to reform the tax code with a flat tax and improve the work force through training programs that promote hands on, technical skills.

When it came to education, Payne said, “Don’t throw more money at the problems.” He feels that teachers are being prevented from doing the jobs because of curriculum standards as well as social standards. He believes teachers know best on how to teach their students and that the state needs to take a step back and allow them to teach. Further, Payne says that he would like to see subject matter experts within a field to be allowed to teach without the need for certifications. He feels that this would enable students to learn more and encourage critical thinking. As for higher education, Payne said tuition rates need to be frozen and universities need to start acting like the businesses that they are, not charities. Payne also believes that public universities should be opened up to accommodate concealed carry weapons for license holders on campus while private universities should be left to decide on this issue for themselves.

The heroin epidemic and the rising crime rate has effected everyone in the community. Payne believes that law enforcement needs to be given more ability to do what is needed, and that the judicial system needs to be able to sentence certain offenders more. While believing that dealers and other distributors need to be held accountable, he believes that there needs to be a “compassionate hand to the addicts”. Once in jail, rehabilitation programs need to start and programs need to be in place that allow the addicts access to affordable treatment when they leave jail.

shaneranschaertShane Ranschaert is running for Metro Council, District 14. District 14 is in the far southwest portion of the county, including most of Valley Station west of Dixie Highway between Greenwood Rd and the Gene Snyder, south to include Valley Village, areas surrounding Jefferson Forest to the county line. Councilmembers stay in Louisville where they represent their district for a four-year term. Ranschaert is running against incumbent Cindi Fowler, who is seeking re-election for her second term.

Ranschaert also had three talking points: adequate representation for the southwest portion of the city, taxes and regulations, and the rise in crime and heroin use. Ranschaert said he is tired of seeing Southwest Louisville ignored until election time and he wants to make sure that the residents of District 14 feel like they matter all the time, not just when politicians are seeking votes. Ranschaert explained that he would like to see taxes in the city cut, stating that Louisville is the third most taxed city in the US and one of the most regulated cities in the US. He wants to cut taxes and address infrastructure issues, such as the malfunctioning flood pumps along the Ohio River. He cited a similar plan to Payne’s for addressing the rise in heroin use and crime and wants police to be able to more effectively perform their duties, and wants to see task forces developed to utilize all local agencies to make Louisville as uncomfortable as possible for drug dealers. He also wants to see addicts being helped and treated and not just pushed through the system.

If you did not have the chance to attend the town hall, all the candidates have contact information on their websites and all three candidates have Facebook pages and welcome your questions. As with any election, it is important to be informed and voters should take the time to research the candidates before making a decision. A sample ballot for your location can be found on the Jefferson County Clerk’s website. The deadline to register to vote in this election cycle was October 11. If you are not registered to vote, you can still register, but you will be eligible to vote in the next May primary.

In late August, residents and stakeholders of the neighborhoods surrounding the Urban Government Center attended a series of workshops hosted by Develop Louisville’s Office of Advanced Planning designed to gather community input on the proposed redevelopment of the Urban Government Center. Attendees offered suggestions on possible reuses of the 12-acre campus, which includes several buildings located at and around 810 Barret Avenue and a parking lot at 814 Vine Street.

Louisville Metro Government has been relocating the occupants of the Urban Government Center, and the remaining occupants will vacate the space by the end of the year. The buildings are in need of substantial repair and are larger than required for Louisville Metro Government’s needs. In the coming months, Louisville Metro Government will solicit proposals for the redevelopment of the Urban Government Center campus, which is a prominent part of the Paristown Pointe neighborhood.

Develop Louisville will conduct three follow up meetings to present the information gathered during the August workshops.  Students from the University of Kentucky School of Architecture will present visual representations of community priorities expressed during the workshops, and additional community feedback will be collected to inform the redevelopment process.

Citizens are encouraged to attend one or more of the three upcoming meetings, which will take place on:

  • Tuesday, October 18, 6 pm – 8 pm
  • Saturday, October 22, 10 am – 12 pm
  • Monday, October 24, 6 pm – 8 pm

All meetings will be held at 810 Barret Avenue in the first floor conference room.

For more information, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/urban-government-c…

The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) proposes to issue an operating permit to Caldwell Tanks, Inc. (steel tank fabricator), 4000 Tower Rd. in accordance with Regulation 2.16.  The 30-day public comment period starts October 15, 2016, and ends on November 15, 2016.  A public hearing may be scheduled if the District determines that there are germane, unresolved issues or substantial public interest, in accordance with Regulation 2.07.

Drafts of the permit and summary are available at the District office, 701 W. Ormsby Ave., Louisville between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday by calling Paul Aud at (502) 574-6000, emailing airpermits @ louisvilleky.gov, or at the following website: http://www.louisvilleky.gov/APCD/docket.  Copies of the application are available upon request. Written comments will be accepted at airpermits @ louisvilleky.gov until midnight, or at the District office until 5:00 PM on November 15, 2016.

MayorGregFischerOfficialMayor Greg Fischer and members of Metro Council today celebrated great progress on repairing or replacing worn out pavement on roads across Louisville. The celebration was held at the corner of Broadway and South 45th Street along Shawnee Park, where crews recently completed the city’s 100th mile of paving for 2016.

This is the first time in nine years that Louisville has topped 100 miles of paving. The feat was last accomplished in 2007 when 104 miles were paved. The 2016 total is projected to reach 130 miles by the end of the paving season.

Mayor Fischer and the Council have quadrupled the city’s paving budget from $4.8 million in fiscal year 2015, up to $22 million in the current fiscal 2017 budget. The Council also included funds to complete a new assessment of the condition of pavement on arterial and connector roads throughout the city. The recently completed Pavement Condition Index will help guide future pavement management.

The Mayor said the increased paving budget is an integral part of the Move Louisville long-term multimodal transportation plan. “One of the top priorities for Move Louisville is fixing and maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, and this achievement of paving more than 100 miles in a single year shows that we’re committed to making that happen,” he said.

Council President David Yates, Budget Committee Chairwoman Marianne Butler, Vice Chairwoman Angela Leet; and Public Works, Bridges & Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Owen all joined Mayor Fischer for the celebration.

Yates promised to continue the increased funding. “This is the start of a decade-long annual investment to ensure our city’s roads, the connectors between our homes, schools and businesses are adequately maintained for our citizens. I am proud to lead an esteemed body willing to make the hard choices today to ensure this burden is not placed upon the shoulders of our children and grandchildren tomorrow,” he said.

“Not only do nice roads enhance our neighborhoods, they also spur economic development and have a lasting impression with visitors,” Butler said. “Members of the council, particularly the Budget Committee, were happy to work cooperatively to find additional dollars for paving our roadways.”

Leet added, “This level of financial commitment is not one we can retreat from as a community in the coming years. These last two years have been a great first step toward an even more ambitious 10-year goal of repairing our roads.” She also thanked Public Works for handling the increased load.  “They spend a great deal of time working with individual council offices to get these projects prioritized and ensure that these paving projects are completed correctly. They deserve a great deal of credit for their hard work,” Leet said. Owen, an avid bicyclist said, “Smooth pavement is a bicyclist’s delight!  I’m so pleased that our growing local economy and the Mayor and Council have allowed us to make investment in basic infrastructure.”

Most comprehensive study of 21st-century health & wellness curriculum involves 25 JCPS schools

jcpsMayor Greg Fischer, Superintendent Donna M. Hargens, Patrick H. Tolan, Ph. D. of the University of Virginia, and Owsley Brown III today announced the launch of full implementation of the Compassionate Schools Project in the Jefferson County Public Schools, as well as four major supporting investments in the effort, totaling $4.4 million.

The announcement came during a press conference at Rutherford Elementary School, where students and an instructor demonstrated exercises from the curriculum.

The Compassionate Schools Project is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of a 21st-century health and wellness curriculum. Facilitating the integrated development of mind and body, the project interweaves support in academic achievement, mental fitness, health, and compassionate character. The research aims to have a major impact on children’s education nationwide, in terms of academic performance, physical education, character development and child health policies­, due to its extraordinary scale of 50 schools and 20,000 children over the project’s seven years.

Last fall, three pilot JCPS schools (Jacob, Cane Run and Slaughter Elementary) implemented the curriculum for all K-5 students twice each week during Practical Living class. The classes served more than 1,300 students and were evaluated and adjusted for optimal teacher and student engagement, schedule integration, age appropriateness and compatibility with the data measurement plan.

Beginning this year, the curriculum is being implemented in 25 schools for two years each, with start dates in 2016 and 2017. Researchers will study these schools throughout implementation, while also gathering data from 25 schools using the traditional Practical Living curriculum for comparison.

“This project is a signature part of our effort to nurture and grow the values of lifelong learning and compassion across Louisville,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Not only are we offering 20,000 young people these practical skills for improved health and focus, but we have also made ourselves a center of education innovation that has the eyes of the country watching us.”

Mindfulness-based instruction, social-emotional skills training and attentive movement are being used increasingly in individual schools across the United States. Initial research indicates potential benefits for both behavior and academic performance. The Compassionate Schools Project is the first to implement and study these skills across a sample representative of an entire school district. It is also the first curriculum to integrate these with skills shown to aid child physical health. If successful, the curriculum can be readily adoptable by school districts across the country.

“This kind of instruction has been shown to increase attention, determination, and self-awareness – all of which are critical if we are going to reach the goals outlined in our strategic plan,” said Dr. Hargens. “While these non-cognitive skills won’t show up on standardized tests, they are increasingly vital to our students’ academic success by building capacity within themselves to self-regulate and make great choices.”

Major supporting investment

The Compassionate Schools Project is funded through collaboration of private philanthropy and local and national foundations, and supported by staff and resources from the University of Virginia and Jefferson County Public Schools System.

Today, the project’s chairman, Owsley Brown III, announced four major grants:

James Graham Brown Foundation of Louisville: $1,000,000
Owsley and Victoire Brown, Christina Lee Brown, and Augusta and Gill Holland: $2,750,000
Hemera Foundation of Boulder, Colo.: $900,000
Paul Tudor Jones and Sonia Jones of Greenwich, Conn: $796,000

“This extraordinary support is a major endorsement of Louisville’s focus on compassion, innovation, and the flourishing of our children. The Compassionate Schools Project brings all of it together and is a model for the entire nation,” said Brown.

Also making key supporting investments are: C.E. and S. Foundation, Margaret Brown de Clercq, Patricia Gabriele and Vincenzo Gabriele, and the Gheens Foundation. The total raised to date is $6.4 million.

 “Of the programs we’ve seen in almost ten years of grant making, few have had as much potential as the Compassionate Schools Project,” said Rob Kaufold, Executive Director of the Hemera Foundation. We see this as a unique opportunity to make a significant advance in research on the application and benefit of mindful awareness practice within education.”

The Compassionate Schools Project aligns with state and federal standards for health, physical education, nutrition, social and emotional learning and the Common Core standards. The project adds a new instructor in each school where the curriculum is being implemented, enhancing the Jefferson County Public Schools’ existing leadership and excellence in wellness education. Over the span of this funded project, more than 10,000 elementary school-aged students will be served.

More information is available at compassionschools.org.

Two top leaders in Mayor Greg Fischer’s administration who helped build a data-driven culture of innovation have accepted new roles in the community that will allow them to continue their focus on making the Louisville region more entrepreneurial.

Chief of Civic Innovation Ted Smith, who is passionate about healthcare and technology, will become a full-time entrepreneur again as CEO of Revon Systems, a young health technology company in Crestwood that is revolutionizing clinical trials while empowering patients to seek appropriate care through artificial intelligence technologies. Revon was founded by Dr Cedric Francois and the co-founders of Potentia and Apellis Pharmaceuticals.

Theresa Reno-Weber, Chief of Performance & Technology, has leveraged her private sector experience to bring Louisville to the cutting edge of government performance improvement.  She has accepted the position as President and CEO of Metro United Way beginning in January, where she will continue her work driving data-driven policies and collective impact across our community.

Fischer today also named their replacements.

gracesimrallGrace Simrall, founder of iGlass Analytics and most recently executive director of innovation for Intel Care Innovations, will be the city’s new Chief of Civic Innovation. And Daro Mott, currently Chief Innovation Officer for Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio), will be Chief of Performance Improvement.

Simrall starts this week, and Mott, who previously was director of quality and performance for Louisville Metro Government and integral to the success of the LouieStat program, will return this fall/winter.

Simrall has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a master’s from the University of Louisville.  Mott earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and has two master’s degrees from the University of Louisville.

“Daro and Grace will make a powerful team and will continue to create a culture of innovation and continuous improvement in Metro Government,” Fischer said.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to serve the community,” Simrall said. “I look forward to continuing the work of my predecessor, Ted Smith, and welcome new collaborations across all channels.”

“Louisville leads the nation in local governments which have fostered a culture of data-driven innovation,” Mott said. “It is an honor to return to Louisville to lead its continuous improvement journey and help Louisville win a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.”

Fischer today thanked Smith and Reno-Weber for their exemplary service to the citizens of Louisville, calling them pioneers, both locally and nationally. “Ted and Theresa have helped make Metro Government more innovative and have taught others nationwide and globally how to transform their city governments,” the Mayor said.   Continue reading

Councilman Tom Owen will be meeting’s featured speaker August 29

Metro Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host the first in a series of three public meetings on Beargrass Creek restoration efforts from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Monday, August 29 at the Douglass Community Center.

Metro Parks and the Corps are partners in a planning effort entitled: “Beargrass Creek Trail Conceptual Shared Use Path and Ecological Restoration Plan.”

The plan area will extend generally along Beargrass Creek from its confluence with the Ohio River to the area of the Grinstead Drive/Lexington Road intersection.

As part of the planning effort, there will be three public meetings over the next five months to gather public input and to share the planning team’s findings, alternate courses of action, and final recommendations.

The Douglass Community Center is located at 2305 Douglass Blvd, 40205.

The intent of this meeting will be to seek public input on potential shared use path segments in the study area. A highlight of the meeting will be Eighth District Metro Councilman Tom Owen discussing the history of Beargrass Creek.

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