The Crescent Hill Community Council sponsors the 2015 Spirit of Crescent Hill Awards and Dessert with the Mayor, tonight, Thursday, September 3 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Avenue. Please bring a dessert to share!

2015 Spirit Awards Recipients

• St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
• Steve Disney
• Mark Gaff
• Marie Goodwin
• Stephanie Miller
• The Louisville Water Company

Just off Cannons Lane in D9, the Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is constantly monitoring air quality.  Readings are taken for ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, inhalable particulates, fine particulates and lead.  The data is reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and distributed to the public through a variety of channels.  The APCD website (https://louisvilleky.gov/airquality) includes a map showing the current local air quality and a guide to the 

Air Quality Index (AQI), which translates air quality data into numbers and colors that help people understand when to take action to protect their health.  While APCD is currently using a map from the EPA’s Air Now service, it expects to roll out an improved reporting website soon.

In the meantime, the non-profit Institute for Healthy Air, Water, and Soil (http://instituteforhealthyairwaterandsoil.org/) uses Twitter to report air quality forecasts and readings from the Cannons Lane site every morning.  The username is @AirAlert_40207.  On July 25, a day in which the Cannons Lane site recorded the highest levels of ozone in Louisville Metro, the Twitter feed included six alerts.

On high ozone level days, take these extra steps to reduce pollution: 

• Choose a cleaner commute - share a ride to work or use public transportation.
• Combine errands and reduce trips. Walk or bike to errands when possible.
• Avoid excessive idling of your automobile.
• Refuel your car in the evening when its cooler.
• Conserve electricity and set air conditioners no lower than 78 degrees.
• Defer lawn and gardening chores that use gasoline-powered equipment, or wait until evening.

Kentuckiana Air Education (KAIRE) is the APCD’s clean air education and outreach program. If you’d like to help the air, go to the KAIRE website (www.helptheair.org) for more information.

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Last month residents of Cottonwood Condominiums in Clifton Heights contacted my office about overgrowth obstructing a sidewalk and portions of Muncie Avenue.  I agreed to report the issue to Metro Public Works (MPW) but also said we would help with a volunteer cleanup,  which would get the job done quicker.  Condominium residents volunteered and, with just a few hours of work, the area was cleared. 

Work to repair the concrete and stone monument on the northeast corner of Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive began last week.  The monument was damaged early on the morning of July 12, when a car travelling east on Grinstead ran a red light at Lexington and crashed into a crosswalk signal pole and the monument.  There was a witness to the incident and the driver was charged with driving under the influence.  

My office contacted Metro Public Works, which made a claim with the driver’s insurance company to cover the cost of the repair and then contracted for the work.   It is expected to take about a week.     

The Louisville Free Public Library has a new director. Jim Blanton is a Kentucky native and comes to us from the Daviess County Public Library in Owensboro where he also served as director. He has only been on the job a week, but he's already hard at work helping ensure Louisville's libraries continue to be the best they can be.

Stop by one of the community meet-and-greets at the Library in September (see below); get to know Jim and share your ideas for the future of LFPL.

• Jeffersontown: Thursday, Sept. 10, 10:30-Noon
• Shawnee: Monday, Sept. 14, 10:30-Noon 
• Okolona: Monday, Sept. 14, 5:30-7 
• Main: Monday, Sept. 21, 11:30-1
• St. Matthews: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10:30-Noon 
• Southwest: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 4:30-6:00 

The recent cooler weather is a reminder that Autumn is just a few weeks away. That means it's time to plan ahead for Louisville's first fall leaf season under the updated Yard Waste Container Regulation. Most residents adapted well during the grass season to the requirement for yard waste containers that can be reused or composted. Leaf season, because of the high volume of material, will require extra work. More paper bags and/or reusable containers may be needed. But the need for those additional containers can be avoided if you follow our Love Em and Leave Em practices. The key is to mulch leaves with a lawnmower. The leaf mulch can be left on the lawn to act as a soil nutrient. Higher volumes of leaf mulch can be captured in the mower bag for transfer to other containers. Mulched leaves need only a small fraction of the container space necessary for intact leaves. Read more at www.lelelouisville.com. 

MSD invites you to attend a public meeting regarding the Clifton Heights Storage Basin on Tuesday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue. This is the third in a series of four public meetings. This meeting will provide information concerning the advanced design of the basin and how it will benefit the area. You will have an opportunity to provide input and comments regarding the project.

If you are unable to attend, questions and comments pertaining to this plan may be submitted via email at commentsIOAP@msdlouky.org. 

Biz Journals

A new hot chicken restaurant owned by Louisville restaurateur Tony Palombino is now open. Joella's Hot Chicken will be situated at 3400 Frankfort Ave. in the former location of a Boombozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse that moved to a larger space.

Palombino has been running the Boombozz Famous Gourmet Pizza chain for about 16 years. He also runs Manny & Merle, which he started in November 2012. Before Boombozz, he started and sold Thatsa Wrapp International LLC and Baja Grill Inc., as well as Wood Roasted Pizza in Kansas City and Palbino’s in Cincinnati. Ever on the lookout for new ideas, Palombino said he fell in love with Nashville-style hot chicken while in the city considering locations for Boombozz. Louisville, he said, is a great place to try new concepts.

Joella's is the first of at least three hot-chicken themed restaurants – including Butchertown Chicken Shack in D9 - set to open soon in Louisville. Click here to read the full article from Biz Journals.

Introducing Clifton's First Annual "Chili, Chocolates, and Craft Brew Fest" on Sunday, October 18th, from noon to 7:00 on Frankfort Avenue between State and Williams streets. Enter the chili cook off – there will be two divisions (restaurant and individual) and they will be judged separately. Reserve your space by September 30. Prizes from local breweries and businesses. Celebrity Judges, 5 Chili Categories (Best Booth, Crowd Favorite, 
Non-Traditional/Vegetarian, Professional, Individual).Trophies for Winners,Chocolate Tastings & Competition from local bakeries, confectioners and chocolatiers.

Click here for the 2015 Entry Form
Click here for the Official Rules

Questions please contact co-chairs Brad Curry, council Special Events chair at 418-5362 or email brad@rededgelive.com or Mike Skelton at Hill Top Tavern, 415-6405 or
 im-skelton@hotmail.com  for all the information.

St. Matthews Area Ministries has re-opened their food pantry - Hours of operation are Monday 9a-noon, Tuesday 9:30a-noon and a NEW Tuesday distribution time from 3:30-5:30p.m. & Thursday 9a-noon.  St. Matthews Area Ministries would like to thank the community for “Pulling Together” and “flooding” the pantry with donations.  They are in need of more volunteers for various duties, if interested please contact Suzanne DeGregorio at 893-0205 or email suzannedegregorio@stmam.com.

Save the date for the Annual “Pulling Together” Auction and Banquet on Friday, November 13 at The Olmsted, 3701 Frankfort Avenue. Tickets are $35 per person and tables of 8 are $216 through October 1. Sponsorship and tickets can be purchased by calling Julie Abbott at 893-0205.

Louisville Water implemented a new billing system in late March, which included new 10-digit account numbers for all services, a customer portal with enhanced payment features and the option to sign up for an e-bill. While the system sets the foundation for enhanced customer service, it has been a slow transition with longer-than-acceptable wait times for customers calling Louisville Water. Louisville Water (LW) operations are improving and while LW is pleased with the transition, they know it’s been rough and they appreciate customers’ patience.

Next Step in the Billing System Transition – Collections Process
The next step in the transition is the collections process. When LW launched the new system in March, they temporarily suspended turning off customers for non-payment. LW has now reactivated this function. Their collections process includes the customer first receiving his/her regular bill with the outstanding balance. Once the bill is past due, LW sends a reminder bill and then a few days later the customer receives a phone call from Louisville Water alerting them to the delinquency and the possibility of water service being turned off.

Customer Communication
Customers who have an outstanding delinquent balance of more than $300 will receive a letter notifying them of the collections process and shut-off timeline. LW is also communicating to organizations and churches who frequently work with customers.

Through the Louisville Water Foundation, LW, along with MSD, provide $200,000 annually for a Customer Assistance Program that helps customers who struggle to pay their bill. Three entities in our service area administer those funds. In Jefferson County, LW distributes funds through the Community Ministry Association (502.778.2815 or www.louisvilleministries.org). The ministry associations receive funding from Louisville Water and then work directly with customers on applying the funds to an outstanding balance.