This week we learned that the Republican strategy of tying Democratic opponents to President Obama in Kentucky, where Obama’s approval rating is about 30 percent, still works, especially if the Dem is Jack Conway. Our next governor is Matt Bevin, who won by a wide margin in an election that only a third of registered voters in Kentucky bothered to participate in.
The good news is Bevin will certainly be different and his team will be inexperienced in Frankfort bureaucracy and methods. And he’s hired Hal Heiner for his transition team.
The bad news: He says of Kynect, the popular health exchange — “absolutely, oh my goodness” it’s going down. Bevin’s main campaign promise elicited this funny bit from HBO’s John Oliver, before the election.
Ready to JumpStart Your Life with Stacey Vicari? The extremely energetic Life Coach is offering a free event at Milestone Fitness Center on Saturday. If you want to get revved up about life, you should go. Listen to her on Rusty.
Great Pay for Drafting Jobs: Snelling Staffing’s Job of the Week — Drafting positions in the East End and Jeffersonville.
Drones in News: You knew it would come to this. WDRB this week, the station with the most coverage of the idiot in Bullitt County who shot down a drone in his back yard, unveiled its news drone with coverage of the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Danny Flanigan’s Louisville Sound: 25 years with the same band in the same town, living all this time in the same zip code. That’s not the normal path for musicians, but it works for Danny Flanigan. Listen in for Danny’s opinions on local music.
See Skip Speak: Don’t forget the next Breakfast of Champions will feature Regional Airport Authority director Skip Miller. Come join us – $20 cash for a great breakfast at the University Club and networking with an awesome group of people. RSVP Here. And here’s a link to my interview with Skip.
And in Sports: No, you haven’t heard much about Louisville’s home game against Syracuse at Papa John’s on Saturday. The game’s at 12:30. The Orange must be bad, as they come in as 13.5 point underdogs. Cards need the win to stay on track for bowl season. Meanwhile, Kentucky is preparing for its annual loss to Georgia. The Cats are 14-point underdogs there. The big point spread is Homecoming at WKU, where my Toppers are favored by 24 over Florida Atlantic.
The Heroin Epidemic: Here’s my story in Insider Louisville on the Heroin Epidemic, a very serious scourge on our society. Miss USA Tara Conner, featured on last week’s Rusty, is in recovery and was among several prominent speakers at an event on the issue last week.
Rusty Alumni News: Mary Ellen Wiederwohl and Steve Wiser are speaking at the Louisville Forum Wednesday on this topic: Preservation and Economic Development: Can There Be A Balance? Roger Baylor did not win election as New Albany’s mayor, but he’s still got plenty to say. Nice story on Christen Boone in Business First. Greg Fischer had another victory: He announced a plan to invest $5 million in community-building efforts in west Louisville, as part of an energy-producing, waste-reducing project at 17th and Maple streets.
It’s Aloft! Did you see the new Aloft Hotel opened downtown? It’s eight stories at First and Main. There are 14 hotels downtown.
Next Week’s Rusty: I’ll be talking with WAVE-TV weather dude Kevin Harned about the Brain Injury Association’s big annual event, among other things. And I’m lining up some of Jennifer Lawrence‘s family members to discuss the debut of Jen’s new movie and a benefit coming to town.
