Now in its 24th year, the Taste of Frankfort Avenue is a much-anticipated event that features tastings from more than two dozen of the finest restaurants located on or near Louisville’s Frankfort Avenue. The Taste of Frankfort Avenue has become a significant celebration of the vitality of the Frankfort Avenue corridor – the unique area of Louisville from the river to St. Matthews – where a wide variety of fine ethnic, family and gourmet dining establishments thrive.
 
Special this year is a Sip and Swig on Stage with Brown-Forman, where VIPs can experience bourbon tastings from the new Coopers Craft and Old Forester, Bubbly from Korbel and enjoy a Taste of Frankfort Avenue Cocktail! And don't forget the most amazing raffle in town: Shop, Dine and Play on the Ave, offering the chance to win gift certificates to your favorite shops and eateries all along Frankfort Avenue. This year’s prize package is worth over $2,000.

Tickets are $45 each, or $75 for VIP tickets. Click here to purchase tickets online.

Due to rain events during the Crescent Hill Fourth of July Celebration, some of the fun items that were to be auctioned at the festival will expire soon. In order to give you the opportunity to enjoy these experiences, there will be a Silent Auction of about 15 items at the Peterson-Dumesnil House on Thursday, August 4, 4:30pm – 9pm. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Peterson-Dumesnil House Foundation. Don't miss this chance to acquire some new treasures and benefit the P-D House!

With school going back in session soon, it’s a good time for a reminder that you can help the air by becoming idle free.  Sitting still with the engine idling costs you money (an estimated $70 per year for the average driver) and pollutes our air.  It contributes to those Air Quality Alert days, when the air is unhealthy for “sensitive groups” - seniors, children, and people with breathing ailments such as asthma and COPD – and, less frequently, for everyone. 

I was pleased to join representatives of the Air Pollution Control District (APCD) at a recent meeting of the Frankfort Avenue Business Association, promoting APCD’s Idle Free campaign.  Some reminders may be going up on Frankfort Avenue soon. 

In the meantime, you can help immediately.  If you’re going to be sitting for more than ten seconds in the school pickup lane or waiting at a drive through, turn off your vehicle. If you’re worried about this being hard on your car, there’s more information on APCD’s Myths and Facts page, but basically, modern cars don’t need to warm up more than a few seconds and are robust enough to handle frequent restarting.

So, if you’d like to help our air, turn off your car and let everyone breathe easier. More information is here: http://www.helptheair.org/idle-free.

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. 

For basic details for below case/s please visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/PlanningDesign/.  Click on “Search Case Information” link on the left navigation bar.  Then select the “home” tab and select the type of case and enter the case number.  For specific case information please call or email the listed case manager.  If you have any questions please contact Planning & Design directly at 574-6230.

Case No. 16DEVPLAN1145
Subject Property: 240 Masonic Home Drive
You are invited to attend a review of a Revised Detailed District Development Plan for a proposed 72 unit assisted living facility located in the Northeast section of the Masonic Homes development. No new access or changes to existing access to abutting streets is being requested with this revised plan. Revisions requested on this proposal from the most recent plan (15DEVPLAN1186) approved by the Planning Commission on February 18, 2016, are the reconfiguration of parking and vehicle use areas to reduce the overall parking on the subject site, along with increasing tree preservation.
Case Manager: Joel Dock (joel.dock@louisvilleky.gov)
Meeting Type: Planning Commission
Date: Thursday, August 4, 2016
Time: Meeting will begin at 1:00 PM and continue until all cases are heard
Location: Old Jail Building, 514 W. Liberty Street 

Case No. 16VARIANCE1055
Subject Property: 240 Masonic Home Drive
You are invited to attend a review of a proposal for a Variance of the required side yard to allow a building connection from the proposed Grove Point assisted living facility (16DEVPLAN1145) to an adjacent existing nursing home facility.
Case Manager: Joel Dock (joel.dock@louisvilleky.gov)
Meeting Type: Board of Zoning Adjustment
Date: Monday, August 15, 2016
Time: Meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and continue until all cases are heard
Location: Old Jail Building, 514 W. Liberty Street 

From Bluegrass to Bollywood, Sacred Heart School for the Arts has After-school Arts for Everyone! Registration for fall after-school arts classes is now open. Classes begin the week of August 22.

For nearly 50 years, Sacred Heart School for the Arts has provided after-school community arts opportunities in Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts. Open to all students ages three and up, young artists can be introduced to a new art form or experienced artists can perfect their discipline. All students, regardless of their level of expertise, are provided with the opportunity to showcase their talents through performances, recitals and exhibits.

New this fall in the music department, SHSA will offer mandolin lessons for students three and up. Bluegrass’ influence on today’s popular music has led to a resurgence of this beautiful instrument. In addition to mandolin, students may also choose from banjo, brass, cello, dulcimer, guitar, harp, violin, viola, woodwinds, piano and more! SHSA also provides vocal training for singers ages six and up.

Bollywood dance is available for ages three through adult. This fun, unique style of movement is a fusion of traditional and classical Indian dances with jazz, hip hop and modern dance. Ballet, tap, jazz and modern class options are also available for all ages. Creative Movement allows preschoolers to explore movement to music, great for self-expression and for development of motor-skills and balance.

SHSA offers a variety of visual art opportunities for students in preschool, elementary and middle school. Classes cover art forms such as ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, paper mache and more!

This fall, the drama department offers Fair and Folk Tale Theatre (ages 4-6), Beginning Drama (grades 1-2), Intermediate Drama (grades 3-5) and Youth Drama (grades 6-8). Classes are designed to teach basic concepts of acting and theatre through age-appropriate exercises and theatre games, developing the three tools of the actor: voice, body and imagination.

For a full course catalog, including class descriptions, visit shslou.org/shsaregister.

LMPD’s 5th Division has organized a crime and safety walk for Thursday, August 11 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Plan to meet at N. Hite and Lindsay. Street parking available. Please plan to attend to get to know the officers that serve the community and help keep neighborhoods safer!

St. Joseph Children’s Home will host the 167th Annual St. Joe’s Picnic for the Kids on Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13, at 2823 Frankfort Avenue. Join them for Friday Night Live from 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. for the official pre-party featuring food trucks, corn hole tournament, and live music. On Saturday the picnic will begin at Noon.

Volunteers are needed both days for setup, game booths and food. This is the perfect time for students to earn service hours or for groups and businesses to complete community service projects.  Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0844a8ac2ea0f85-stjoes or contact Christina Miller at christinam@sjkids.org or call 893.0241.

Review the list for available Picnic volunteer opportunities and click the Sign Up button to volunteer for shifts. When you click the Submit button, you will be prompted to enter additional information. If you are signing up a group of volunteers, please be sure to indicate how many people you will have for each shift, and indicate a contact's name for your group in the Comment section. WARNING: anything you enter in the Comment section will be visible to everyone. PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 21 YEARS OLD TO VOLUNTEER IN A BEER BOOTH.

Please mark your calendars for the 17th Annual Back to School Block Party at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Park on Friday, September 9th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Enjoy FREE Mellow Mushroom pizza, swimming, door prizes and family fun!  Make a child ID with LMPD, and check out Fire Engine 4 from the Frankfort Avenue firehouse.

We need VOLUNTEERS to make this event successful. If you are interested in volunteering or if you have any questions please contact our office at 574-1109 or email kyle.ethridge@louisvilleky.gov.

Click here to view our flyer and see a list of sponsors for the event! Youth door prizes are still being accepted. If you are interested in making a donation please contact the office at 574-1109. Thank you to sponsors who have already committed door prizes: A Reader’s Corner, Blue Dog Bakery , Carmichael's Bookstore , Crescent Hill Trading Company, Fierce Salon, Heine Brothers' Coffee, Just Creations, Margaret's Consignments, McDonalds, Mellow Mushroom, Metro Parks and Red Hog Butcher.

Louisville Water has an aggressive program to replace its remaining lead service lines. Louisville's drinking water does not contain lead when it leaves the treatment plants but lead can become a potential risk for drinking water with lead pipes and plumbing. Replacing the service lines is just one part of the equation to minimize a potential risk for lead. The focus to protect public health begins at the treatment plant where Louisville Water scientists balance the water chemistry to reduce corrosion.

Last week, the Board of Water Works, the governing body for Louisville Water, approved an additional $3 million dollars to replace an additional 1,000 Louisville Water lead service lines in 2016 and 2017. The funding brings the 2016 total for lead service line replacement to nearly $6 million to replace approximately 2,000 lines. The funding is part of their capital budget. 

What happens during a lead service line replacement?

Here is a link to a video that explains how a lead service line replacement works. Customers receive a letter prior to the start of the project that explains the work, the amount of time and what to do following a lead service line replacement. Louisville Water removes its lead service line and replaces it with a copper line. Then, Louisville Water will thoroughly flush the line with a large volume of water (or work with the customer to do this) to ensure any particles loosened during the work are removed. For the next 30 days, Louisville Water will ask the customer to flush their water lines daily.

More about Louisville Water's service lines

Approximately 2.8% of Louisville Water's 281,000 service lines are made of lead, according to the company's best-available records. Louisville Water began a program in the early 1980s to replace its lead service lines and estimates there are 7,700 remaining, primarily inside the I-264 loop. Louisville Water began in 1860 and until around 1950 it was common for water utilities to use lead for the service line that connects a customer's home to the water main. 

The electronics recycling program is available to all Louisville Metro residents free of charge and to businesses and nonprofit organizations for a small fee. Bring items to the Waste Reduction Center at 636 Meriwether Avenue Tuesday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Click here for details.