A lot of you knew James Bickers better than I did. We did some work together years ago, and I occasionally saw him at events like the Waterfront Wednesday shows, but I really felt like I knew him because of the great stories he told on WFPK during his years as a morning host. His death, at age 45, registered as a shock for his colleagues at Louisville Public Media and his listeners, which number into the thousands. Reading tributes online, it’s obvious that we’ve all lost a man with a great mind and a great voice, and he will be missed. Here’s a link to LPM’s tribute.
It was a tough week for Larry O’Bryan, my WKU Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brother and longtime political consultant. According to WFPL, O’Bryan “admitted to helping funnel the kickbacks between MC Squared and Longmeyer. O’Bryan will have to pay $642,201 back to the state, the same amount of payments he received from the consulting company. He will be sentenced in January.” It involves a scheme hatched with Tim Longmeyer, the former Personnel Secretary in the Beshear administration, who on Thursday was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
On a brighter note, there are a couple of great new podcasts out, which you can listen to here while you’re getting ready to watch the big game from Clemson Saturday night.
On the Rusty Satellite Show, I got to talk with the actress playing Lady MacBeth in the upcoming Actors Theatre play. Jessica Frances Dukes is thrilled to be in Louisville, and finds the timing appropriate for her role in a production about what some people will do for power in the name of political ambition. Like murder.
I also visited the Germantown Mill Lofts, where retired JPCS principal Mike Suttles lives. He’s the driving force behind the Garvin Gate Blues Festival (Oct. 7-8 in Old Louisville) and is instrumental in creating a new program called Blues in the Schools.
Here all this great stuff, plus the high-energy promoter Lauren Hendricks, my guest co-host, on this link:
The 21st EatDrinkTalk podcast is a good one. Steve Coomes is back with some great stories from his vacation, and he talks with one of the founders of Red Hog on Frankfort Avenue, which opened to rave reviews last week. I got to eat a chicken BBQ pizza prepared by Anoosh Shariat at Noosh Nosh, and talked with him about the challenge of running two restaurants.
Plus, we’ve got EatDrinkTalk news about the closing of Rouz, the C-J’s hiring a food critic, and changes at the Silver Dollar. Plus, there’s our favorite eats and drinks from the week. Just hit the PLAY button below:
Here’s a short list of things Louisville has to offer this weekend: the Idea Festival is wrapping up at the Kentucky Center; the St. James Court Art Show in Old Louisville; Paul Thorn is playing an acoustic show Friday (I’ll be in the front row!) and a full show Saturday at the KCD Theatre; the Louder Than Life Festival is making noise downtown on the Riverfront; the FAT Friday Trolley Hop rolls on tonight on Frankfort Avenue, a CRAFT Beer and Pizza event at the Yum! Center; and, wherever you are Saturday night, you’ll stop to see the Cards on national TV at Clemson. Enjoy!
