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A talent contest to save a theater brings together a wide variety of talented animals performing popular song favorites when “Sing” closes out another great season of Free Summer Movies at Iroquois Amphitheater on Saturday, August 12th at 8:00pm.
“This is a great movie to help close out ten years of the Free Summer Movie program that began as a way to showcase one of the best entertainment venues in the area,” says Councilwoman Marianne Butler (D-15). “Once again, Iroquois Amphitheater has delighted audiences and introduced people to Iroquois Park.”
“Sing” focuses on the efforts of Buster, a koala, who tries to save his late father’s theater. He decides to hold a talent contest and a wide range of talented animals come forth to audition and save his father’s legacy. The 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment stars the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly.
“We appreciate the support we have received from the Metro Council over these past ten years. With the Council’s help, we have enjoyed entertaining thousands of families at the Iroquois Amphitheatre with the Free Summer Movies program over that time,” says Seve Ghose, Director of Metro Parks. “We forward to their Council continued support over these next ten years and beyond.”
The Free Summer Movies program is made possible by several Metro Council members. For the 2017 movie season, more than 5,000 people attended the free films that were shown on Monday and Saturday nights. The final Monday night film will be The Legend of Tarzan on August 14th. Joining Councilwoman Butler as sponsors this year are Council Members Rick Blackwell (D-12) Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13), Dan Johnson (D-21) President David Yates (D-25), Mary C. Woolridge (D-3), David James (D-6), Cindi Fowler (D- 14), Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5), Angela Leet (R-7), Pat Mulvihill (D-10), Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4), Bill Hollander (D-9), Robin Engel (R-22), Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Madonna Flood (D-24), and James Peden (R-23).
Concessions are available. No outside food is permitted. Iroquois Amphitheater is located at 1080 Amphitheater Road, off New Cut Road. To learn more about events at Iroquois Amphitheater, call 502-368-5865.
Photo: The Kentucky Center
A Charlie Brown Christmas LIVE! ON STAGE
Saturday, December 9, 2 p.m., 7 p.m.
The Brown Theatre
315 W. Broadway, Louisville 40202
The classic animated television special comes to life in this faithful musical stage adaptation featuring all your favorite Peanuts characters and the classic Vince Guaraldi score. Join Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and the gang as they stage a play, save a tree, and learn the true meaning of Christmas.
Tickets go on sale Friday, August 11, at 10 a.m., through The Kentucky Center Ticket Service online, by phone (502.584.7777), and at The Kentucky Center box office (501 W. Main Street).
Please note this performance does not take place at The Kentucky Center. The historic Brown Theatre on Broadway is located several blocks away from the Ohio River, near the intersection of Broadway and Third Street.
Photo: The Kentucky Center
HOME FREE: A Country Christmas
Thursday, December 7, 8 p.m.
Brown Theatre
315 W. Broadway, Louisville 40202
Home Free is known for their show-stopping performances that combine their signature all vocal, no instrument music with quick-witted humor.
On this tour, fans will hear new music from the re-release of Full Of (Even More) Cheer, new Country hits like Maren Morris’ “My Church”, Pop slams like Shakira’s “Try Everything”, and fan favorites like the Calypso arrangement of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.
Tickets go on sale Friday, August 11, at 10 a.m., through The Kentucky Center Ticket Service online, by phone (502.584-7777), and at the box office (501 W. Main).
Please note this event does not take place at The Kentucky Center. The historic Brown Theatre on Broadway is located several blocks away from the Ohio River, near the intersection of Broadway and Third Street.
Mayor Greg Fischer has signed into law an ordinance that would require Louisville Metro Police to report allegations of child abuse against one of their own to state authorities.
The law codifies a policy Mayor Fischer put into place this spring requiring an extra layer of reporting when it comes to Metro employees accused of child sex abuse. The policy and ordinance, passed recently by Metro Council, was spurred by the abuse allegations in the LMPD Explorer case.
The Mayor cited the Metro policy and ordinance as examples of the city’s process working correctly. Once a weakness in reporting requirements was identified, the city strengthened the process through internal policy change. Meanwhile, Metro Council passed the ordinance, which the Mayor has now signed.
“This was an example of all of us working toward a better, more in-depth reporting requirement when it involves law enforcement and children,” Fischer said.
A long-awaited project to make a Watterson Expressway exit safer is underway, making travel into Shively and Dixie Highway more efficient and less hair-raising for drivers and pedestrians.
The construction is the first phase of an accelerated plan to improve safety and traffic efficiency throughout the Dixie Highway corridor – a comprehensive set of projects that will invest more than $50 million along the highway over the next two years in the city’s busiest highway.
Mayor Greg Fischer joined Congressman John Yarmuth and representatives from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Metro Council to announce the beginning of the ramp realignment, and to preview the additional projects that will make the entire highway safer and easier to travel for both drivers and pedestrians.
“Traffic-choking designs like the current exit ramp make it difficult to get to our thriving businesses in south and west Louisville. This realignment will be a relief for every driver who travels in this area,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “This project is the jump-start for a series of improvements that will transform Dixie Highway and our neighborhoods in the south and west.”
About the realignment project
The current exit from I-264 westbound onto northbound Dixie Highway is short, and funnels directly into Dixie Highway without a designated merge lane or stoplight. Traffic often backs up along the ramp as drivers wait to safely move onto Dixie.
The project will realign the I-264 westbound ramp to Dixie Highway (US31) north into a T-intersection, including a traffic signal to safely move vehicles off the exit. The southbound lanes of Dixie are unaffected by this project. A new sidewalk under the Watterson Expressway will be added later.
“This exit ramp is a white-knuckle journey for drivers, and it’s tricky for northbound Dixie vehicles to navigate as well,” said Matt Bullock, chief district engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. “By improving this ramp, we’ll make arriving on Dixie Highway a safer, more welcoming experience for drivers and pedestrians.”
The realignment project will require the exit ramp to be closed for a total of nine consecutive days (including two weekends to limit traffic impacts). The contractor, Milestone, has not yet identified those closure dates. The $724,000 project is scheduled to be completed by November.
“The City of Shively is excited for the project to begin, and we are looking forward to the changes it will create for us and all of Dixie Highway,” said Shively mayor Sherry Conner. “We are thankful for all the support we have received from all parties – whether it was financial or moral, we appreciate it.”
More Dixie improvements to come
The ramp realignment is the first phase of a two-year construction plan for significant improvements throughout the corridor, called the New Dixie Highway Project. Those improvements will fuel transformation of a major economic corridor for southwest and west Louisville.
The New Dixie Highway Project is the first major construction project from Mayor Fischer’s “Move Louisville” initiative.
Fueled by a nearly $17 million federal TIGER grant, the New Dixie Highway Project will include new fiber-linked traffic signals, new concrete and landscaped medians, and a first-in-the-city bus rapid transit line from TARC to run between downtown and the Gene Snyder Freeway.
“The New Dixie Highway project is the largest concentrated investment in Louisville’s transportation network since we began the Ohio River Bridges Project,” Fischer said. “When complete, the new Dixie Highway will be safer for everyone, more efficient for motorists, more reliable for transit users and more enticing for business owners, consumers and investors.”
“This is another important step forward in making Dixie Highway safer and improving the commute for drivers and pedestrians alike,” said Congressman Yarmuth. “Transportation goes hand and hand with economic growth, so I’ll continue to work with federal, state, and local leaders to make sure we pursue every opportunity available to fund these critical projects.”
The project is currently up for bid through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and construction may begin as early as this fall, with completion expected in December 2019.
Find more information about the project at www.TheNewDixieHighway.com or by following Facebook (search for The New Dixie Highway), and on Twitter @NewDixieHighway or Twitter @NewDixieHighway.
Business leaders and elected officials join the development partners in breaking ground on one of the city’s newest and largest intergenerational communities – Riverport Landings. This intergenerational community will be home to families, senior citizens, single parent families and young adult foster alumni enrolled in FSH’s educational program. Situated on a 36-acre site, Riverport Landings includes various retail services and residents of Riverport Landings will have access to a 2.5 acre community park and other shared amenities conveniently located on a shared site.
“I want to congratulate the development team—LDG, Marian, the funders and many more—who have pushed this project forward,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “This tremendous asset to southwest Louisville will provide stable housing for seniors and families, while spurring commercial development along Cane Run Road, and establishing a community center and a park that will be excellent resources for those living in these units and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I am especially pleased to see private-sector investment in affordable housing, and the recognition that safe and reliable housing leads to more productivity and security for all members of the family. I look forward to seeing this investment progress and returning once it is complete.”
Riverport Landings is a joint venture between Marian Development and LDG Development—two of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing. Combined, the companies have provided more than 9,000 affordable housing units for seniors, students and families in various cities across the country. Riverport Landings will include three types of affordable housing developments: Riverport Senior Living—a 108 unit senior property; Riverport Family Apartments—a 240 unit affordable family property and Riverport Scholar House—a 64 unit community for low-income single parent families and young adult foster alumni enrolled in FSH’s educational program. The development will also include a community park, retail space and other amenities that residents from all three properties will be able to access.
The need for more affordable housing in Louisville and throughout our country is well documented and is essential to attracting and retaining the diverse workforce needed for communities to grow,” said Jacob Brown, Chris Dischinger and Mark Lechner, principals for Marian Development and LDG Development. “The addition of Riverport Landings to southwest Louisville not only fills a need for more housing choice, but allows a nationally recognized non-profit—Family Scholar House— to fulfill its mission to end the cycle of poverty and transform our community by empowering families and youth to succeed in education and achieve lifelong self-sufficiency.”
Cathe Dykstra, Chief Possibility Officer and President and CEO of FSH, agrees. “Partnerships with high quality developers like Marian and LDG drive the expansion of physical sites to fulfill the needs of our families and young adults. We are not a housing program. We are an educational program with a housing component. Our partners allow Family Scholar House to focus on its mission and the housing component helps disadvantaged single parent families and young adult foster alumni transition from poverty and homelessness to financial independence and gratitude. Access to stable, affordable housing means these families and young adults can focus on graduating from college and looking forward to a future that includes self-sufficiency, home ownership and success.”
Funding for this $71,000,000 development was secured through Tax-Exempt Bonds, 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and HOME and AHTF funds provided by Kentucky Housing Corporation, traditional construction and capital loans provided by RedStone Tax Exempt Funding, PNC Bank and U.S. Bank, Louisville Metro Government’s HOME and Louisville CARES programs, FSH’s capital fundraising which includes grants from James Graham Brown Foundation and Frank and Paula Harshaw, and capital contributions from The Ezekiel Foundation. Edwin King, Executive Director of Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) believes the mix of funding being used for this project demonstrates the support and need for this type of development within the area.
“KHC wants to engage in innovative solutions to problems related to housing. Part of the solution is leveraging partnerships and resources to achieve this goal and produce impactful outcomes. This mix of funding and partnerships allowed partners to increase the scope of this development and produce a greater number of affordable housing units while adding intrinsic community value to the project by including a community park, retail services and a community service facility.”
Construction of Riverport Landings is underway and is expected to be complete by January 2019.
The Jefferson County Board of Education announced today that it has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to begin the process of seeking a superintendent for the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District.
The previous superintendent of the district, Dr. Donna Hargens, resigned from the position effective July 1, 2017. The district is currently being led by an acting superintendent, Dr. Marty Pollio.
The RFP seeks proposals from firms that could assist the district in a national search for a superintendent. The firm would also be responsible for helping engage the public in feedback and forums during the search. Proposals must be submitted to the district no later than September 6, 2017 at 3 p.m.
“The Jefferson County Board of Education is committed to finding the best person for this position and that means conducting a national search to identify all potential candidates and engaging all stakeholders about what they’d like to see in a future leader,” Board Chair Chris Brady said.
The district also announced the creation of a web page to keep the public aware of search developments and opportunities for engagement. The RFP is available here.
JCPS is the largest public school district in Kentucky and the 28th largest public school district in the United States. The district is home to approximately 101,000 students and has approximately 18,000 employees, including approximately 6,000 teachers.