It sure is happening here, a place where a guy whose entire town is smaller than the enrollment at a Jefferson County high school believes he can fix the education problems in the state’s largest school system by firing the Board and putting the Mayor in charge. Then, he wants to the Mayor to appoint Metro Council members to run the schools. This from a man who hired a guy in a chicken suit to show up at a business forum.
David Williams thinks he can make a political issue out of Jefferson County’s school system issues by criticizing the teachers’ union and advocating for neighborhood schools. But no one’s buying what he’s selling.
And if the nonsense from Williams isn’t enough, it looks like running mate Richie Farmer is dodging a court date with his wife, who wants a divorce ASAP. Farmer, who may be the first Kentucky politician to attempt a run for statewide office while going through a divorce, is being ordered by a judge to go through mediation, which never works, in the next 30 days.
It’s not that Gov. Steve Beshear and running mate Jerry Abramson aren’t without their issues, but the circus surrounding Williams and Farmer is picking up most of the media attention, and not in a good way.
On to some issues going on around here. . .
No Scandal in Public Works: The audit ordered by the Mayor of the Public Works department seems to indicate that the city is not screwing up in collecting garbage, and will keep director Ted Pullen. The Mayor’s office indicated that every manager has to re-apply for their positions, and some of them won’t be hired back. Public Works is getting out of the business of running the F***ing Impound Lot and Fixing traffic lights. You can see all 90 recommendations here.
Building A Bridge: Here’s a new bridge just completed, right down the street from my home in Jeffersontown. It’s nice, and comes with a new path so you can walk, or ride a bike, over the Watterson Trail overpass at Ruckreigel. Another road project, connecting Blankenbaker Parkway to Taylorsville Road, was just opened recently.
Tough Times for Ramsey: After three years of saying no to pay increases, U of L President James Ramsey said yes to a 5 percent bump in salary, bringing his annual compensation to $456,132. In the past, he’s turned down pay raises because faculty and staff got none. And Ramsey says he’s still going to give back any bonuses he receives.
ONE BILLION DOLLARS: Ready with that Austin Powers accent? The U of L Foundation decided to raise its fund-raising goal from $750 million to ONE BILLION DOLLARS.
120 Jobs: From the Mayor’s Office this morning –Mayor Fischer will make an economic development announcement at 10:30 a.m. today at Metro Hall. This is a new company locating its Kentucky headquarters in Louisville and will result in 120 new good-paying jobs in health care.
FREE Tickets: Yes, I said Free. We’re giving away tickets to Halfway to Forecastle AND the Lebowski Fest this weekend on our Facebook page for Pulse of the City. Winners will be announced later today
