I heard Rebecca Jackson, in a press conference yesterday, say that all President Obama has to do this week is declare an emergency for our little bridge situation, and the construction will start immediately on the East End bridge. Jackson, who leads a group that has done anti-River Fields advertising, talked to media yesterday along with David Jones and Bill Samuels, and some Metro Council members. Jones has offered $10 million in a loan to get the project started. He made an appearance on Great Day Live! on WHAS-TV this morning, and said another $6 million has been pledged to the project.
I like his optimism, and his money, being on our side and vilifying those evil River Fields people.
The Council touted a new resolution critical of River Fields, which has a pending lawsuit that some say is holding up the East End Bridge. The Council resolution, however, is purely symbolic and an attempt by the Council to appear to be involved in fixing the problem. Mayor Fischer will get to speak with the President Thursday when Obama visits the Spence Bridge in northern Kentucky.
Some local officials toured the Sherman Minton Saturday, and more inspections by officials are coming this week.
Meanwhile, get used to the traffic situation as a way of life. A friend told me yesterday that it took him 3 1/2 hours to get from Floyds Knobs to the Louisville airport.

Look Who’s 50: WLKY-TV is quietly celebrating its 50th year on TV. The station has some interesting videos and slide shows on its website, if you like looking at younger versions of Vicki Dortch and Rick Van Hoose. The station is also famous in TV circles for launching the career of Diane Sawyer.
Just Show Up: The Jefferson County Teachers Association has figured out why those low-performing schools do so poorly. They don’t show up for school. Now the JCTA wants JCPS to set up a task force to investigate.
Voice Over: WHAS-TV weather guy Ben Pine left work today complaining that he lost his voice.
You Still Get the Paper?: New stats show the Courier-Journal has lost 30 percent of its subscriber base, and it’s never going to turn around. In fact, all 78 Gannett papers lost significantly in the study.
Ideas Abound: The Idea Festival starts today, and the IBM computer that won on Jeopardy will be there, taking on some local students at 12:45 at the Kentucky Center. It will be going on through Saturday.
Soggy Giants: They Might Be Giants is playing at Waterfront Wednesday at Waterfront Park, but rain is likely to affect the final show of the year.
Spare Us Mr. Bill: Bill O’Reilly, who thinks he has more power than anybody but the President, couldn’t convince enough people to show up for an appearance at the Yum Center. So his show here’s been canceled, though his peeps says it was just a scheduling conflict.
Talk Is All They’ve Got: Don’t turn on the radio if you don’t want to hear about the various potential scenarios in college football conferences. As of this moment, Billy Reed’s got the right take on the situation.