My office is partnering with the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) to provide FREE tax preparation services again in 2017. The service is FREE if you earned $55,000 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or less in 2016 or if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Call the office today to see if you qualify and make your appointment! Appointments are available on Fridays (February 3, 17, March 10, 24, and April 7, 14) between 9:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Please call the office at 574-3908 to make an appointment.                         

Do you instead file your own taxes? Through the LABC website there are two options to self-file online. The “Turbo Tax Freedom Edition” is available if you have $31,000 or less in income. The software has a well-designed interview process that guides you through the process of making decisions about your filing status, inputting your income and making decisions about deductions and tax credits for which you may qualify. The other option is “My Free Taxes”, which is available if you make $62,000 or less. This program is developed by H&R Block and uses an interview process. Please visit, http://labcservices.org/index.php/free-tax-filing-at-labc-services, for more information.

AARP also offers free tax services at Clifton Christian Church, 131 Vernon Avenue, in D9 on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. More information is available here or by calling 394-3433.

The construction of new assisted living and independent living units at Masonic Homes continues. Washington Square neighbors will again be impacted by Masonic Homes' use of the emergency gate beginning Monday, February 6. Masonic Home contractors will make two additional road cuts to install utilities which will require the rerouting of traffic on campus. Campus traffic will be rerouted so that all vehicles may enter via Frankfort Avenue, but exiting traffic will need to use the emergency gate at Washington Square. The gate will be labeled as exit only. Masonic Home security staff will monitor the gate from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. They anticipate that the project will take two weeks to complete.

Masonic Home is working with St. Matthews Mayor Rick Tonini to plan for any peaks in traffic that may require additional assistance or monitoring from St. Matthews Police.

Sydney Blandford, a student at Holy Cross High School, chose to concentrate her senior project on pollution by creating an awareness initiative, organizing a clean-up project at the Beargrass Creek Greenway. The clean-up will concentrate on the area near Lexington and Grinstead on Saturday, February 18th from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. 

Volunteers should park at the old Jim Porters lot on Lexington Road, then walk to the entrance at Lexington and Grinstead for donated breakfast items from the Clifton McDonald's and Heine Brothers' Coffee.

Sydney has also collected donations from local businesses, including case prizes, which will be given away to volunteers by random drawing at the event. 

Registration is open for the 2016 Kilowatt Crackdown, a program of the Louisville Energy Alliance which recognizes non-residential building owners and operators that use less energy than their peers. This year’s competition will recognize the best performer in 2016 and the most improved from 2015 to 2016 in various building type categories.

Have you made energy efficiency upgrades to your building this year? Want recognition? Register for the Kilowatt Crackdown today: http://www.louisvilleenergyalliance.org/kilowatt-crackdown-registration.html. The registration deadline is February 10, 2017. Commercial buildings, schools, worship facilities and other non-residential buildings are eligible.  The Louisville Energy Alliance offers free technical assistance and resource sessions for all participants.

Cutting energy use can save money by reducing operating expenses and increasing property asset value.  An increase in energy efficiency also contributes to increased employee productivity and health, and enhances the comfort of the tenants of commercial buildings.  It also helps the environment. In 2006, commercial buildings and industrial facilities generated 41% of Louisville Metro’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

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. 

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the importance of welcoming foreign born residents to Louisville.  Last month, the Clifton Heights Community Council’s  newsletter, published regularly by the neighborhood association for one of Louisville’s most diverse neighborhoods,  featured a story by Sue Vislisel about a long-standing program at one Clifton Heights church, which is excerpted below. 

About five years ago, a journey of a thousand kindnesses began with a single gesture in a small Clifton Heights church. The pastor at Christ Community Church, 2917 Cleveland Blvd., reached out to a visiting Chinese international scholar and her family to help them acclimate to Louisville, and a movement began.

Since then, Pastor Philip Bramsen and his wife Diane, Assoc. Pastor Shing Chow, and their 30+ person congregation have formed a network of support, food, fellowship and conversation for many Chinese internationals living in Clifton Heights. Every Friday night, 25-30 congregation members and kids, Ph.D. candidates, visiting scholars and professors from China, who study and research at the University of Louisville, meet for a hosted dinner, casual conversation and Bible exploration and explanation.

The academic programs and projects of the Chinese provide visas for 3-month to 2-year stays. Many have left spouses and/or children in China while they further their education at the University, but now still live and work in largely Chinese-speaking environments.

The meals are often a delightful mix of American fare and authentic Chinese dishes prepared, in large part, by Diane Bramsen or Shing Chow. The conversations and other visits with congregation members, give the Chinese professionals, many of whom are specialists in pharmacology, pediatrics, neonatology, dentistry and other medical fields, opportunities to learn and receive practical help for navigating a new culture and language. How do you get a driver’s license? What about insurance? What are all those strange foods at Kroger? They have formed a network of assistance that the Chinese visitors can access informally and be given or guided to someone who can answer questions or provide help. 

Photo: Shelly King (Co-Owner of Quest Outdoors), Cammie Cox, Jennifer Rubenstein (Director of LIBA)

D9 resident Cammie Cox is this year's winner of the Buy Local, Win $1000: hoLOUdays Contest. Cammie, a Crescent Hill resident, received her prize of $1,000 in gift cards to local businesses of her choice. The contest is part of an annual holiday campaign coordinated by the Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) that encourages residents to shop locally during the holidays.

LIBA launched the Buy Local, Win $1000: hoLOUdays Contest in 2008 to create awareness about the importance of buying locally, and to give local consumers an incentive to do so. This year's contest received over 2,500 entries and was sponsored by Feeder's Supply and Heine Brothers' Coffee. Shoppers who collected receipts from five LIBA member businesses were entered to win a $1,000 shopping spree at LIBA member businesses.

LIBA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the unique community character of the Louisville Metro area by promoting locally-owned businesses and to educate citizens on the value of buying locally. For more information and a member list, visit www.keeplouisvilleweird.com. 

Whitehall House and Gardens will host its sixth annual Valentine’s Dinner on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. inside its historic mansion at 3110 Lexington Road. Whether you are in search of a romantic dinner for two or simply a fun way to celebrate the holiday with a group of good friends, this event presents a perfect evening of dining and elegance. Served by candlelight inside the beautifully appointed Whitehall mansion, the Valentine’s dinner features a delicious 4-course feast prepared by Chef Gregoire Guiot of Mirabelle Gourmet Catering.

Ticket cost is $80/person for 4-course dinner or $100/person for 4-course dinner with wine. Reservations are required and are available for parties of two or for groups of up to ten guests. Parties of two will be seated at private 2-top tables. Entrée selection must be made at the time of ticket purchase. $45/ticket is tax deductible. Tickets include valet parking.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Whitehall at (502) 897-2944 or whitehall@historichomes.org. Tickets may also be purchased via Whitehall’s website at www.HistoricWhitehall.org.

Proceeds from the Valentine’s Dinner benefit Whitehall House & Gardens, a historic house owned and operated by the not-for-profit Historic Homes Foundation, Inc. Built in the mid-1850s and extensively renovated in 1908, Whitehall has been home to at least six different families, including those of a U.S. Congressional Representative, the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and the owners of one of the world’s largest conveyor companies, each stamping their own indelible mark on the property. At just under ten acres, Whitehall’s grounds and gardens represent a growing horticulture resource. A small arboretum features over 200 trees, including a rare specimen collection that has become an important source of propagation of interesting species. Whitehall’s Woodland Garden, a Victorian stumpery nestled in a wooded corner of the grounds, presents a regionally unprecedented collection of ferns and other woodland plants and is an official Display Garden of the Hardy Fern Foundation.

Olmsted Parks Conservancy has an exciting opportunity for middle and high school students to get inspired and get creative! Olmsted takes great pride in Louisville’s Olmsted Parks, and they want to hear about how students express themselves using the theme: “Parks: A Place to Play”.

Middle and high school students can enter in one of three categories:

• Essay
• Poem
• Visual Media

Entries must be relevant to the student’s expressions from one of Louisville’s Olmsted Parks, and will be judged by prominent figures in the local writing, photography and arts community. Deadline to enter is March 1, 2017. Winners will be announced on April 10, 2017. Prizes will be awarded to winners in each category. Complete rules, including how to enter, along with the entry form are available at www.olmstedparks.org. 

Louisville Metro Government has begun accepting External Agency Fund applications for FY18 (July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018). These General Funded grants are awarded to non-governmental, or "external” agencies, that contribute to the city's cultural, social and economic vitality.  All agencies wishing to submit an application are required to have at least one representative participate in a mandatory application orientation.  The mandatory orientation is available on the External Agency Fund (EAF) website at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/external-agency-fund.  The orientation will provide information about the deadlines, how to access the application and general information about the application.

The grants are available for Social Services programs, administered by the Louisville Metro Department of Community Services (LMCS), and for Arts and Creative Industries programs, administered by the Louisville Metro Department of Economic Development.

The External Agency Funds are awarded annually to non-profit organizations offering programs or services in Louisville/Jefferson County that align with the Mayor's and departments' strategic goals. Applications will be reviewed by two External Agency Fund panels, which include Metro Council members and community members, and those recommendations will be included in Mayor Fischer’s Recommended FY18 Metro budget.

For the Social Services funding program, qualified non-profits committed to providing services that achieve meaningful outcomes for Louisville citizens in the following key areas are encouraged to apply:

• Decreasing homelessness
• Increasing household financial stability
• Increasing youth, teen, and/or young adult engagement in quality programming; or
• Increasing access to services and resources for a targeted population.

For the Arts and Creative Industries funding program, non-profits committed to providing arts and cultural attractions and opportunities to the Louisville community are encouraged to apply. Eligible arts and creative industries organizations should demonstrate how a program supports the following primary focus areas of Mayor Fischer's Strategic Plan:

• Economic development initiatives related to arts and creative industries
• Creative place making and arts-based programs in neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment
• Opportunities for citizens to access and engage with visual, performing and other arts experiences 

Louisville Metro Government employs a competitive granting strategy and strives to award funding to agencies that demonstrate measurable positive impact in the community and are good stewards of taxpayer dollars.  Successful grantees will be required to report on their success in meeting goals and outcomes.

The deadline to submit an application is Friday, February 10, 2017 by 5 p.m.

For more information about EAF, and to access the application orientation, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/external-agency-fund. Please submit all questions to EAF@louisvilleky.gov .  

Effective March 1, 2017, all property located in Louisville Metro and occupied or offered for occupancy in exchange for money or any other consideration must be registered with Louisville Metro Government. Failure to register is subject to a fine up to $100 per day per housing unit.

Registration must include the rental unit street address along with current contact information of the owner and managing operator.

New owners must register within thirty days of any ownership transfer. Any change in contact information must be updated on the registry within thirty days of said change.

Registration requires an account with Develop Louisville. Visit, https://www.louisvilleky.gov/government/codes-regulations, to establish an account and access the registry, or to get detailed information and instructions on registry requirements.