 Public Works has alerted our office that they intend to pave a section of Arnoldtown Road from St. Andrews Church Road to Hardwood Forest Drive during the week of April 17.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has been out this week paving Palatka Road to improve the integrity of the road.
Thank you for being cautious for both your cars and the workers as they seek to improve our community.
 Had a blast yesterday welcoming Altitude Trampoline Park of Louisville to our Southend Community. Thank you Chuck Hall and your family for investing in our families, providing a safe environment for our kids to play and an amenity second to none in our city. If you have not had the chance yet, I recommend you stop in and see what Altitude Trampoline Park is all about.
http://www.wave3.com/story/35138726/new-trampoline-park-opens-on-dixie-highway
   
Thursday, President Yates joined members of the Council in the Groundbreaking of a new Freedom House for addiction recovery center at 1025 South Second Street.
The Volunteers of America are seeking to double their capacity to serve newborns and mothers battling the disease of addiction.
The Metro Council supports Volunteers of America in their partnership to fight the Opioid crisis in our community.
 In
the past few weeks since Officer Nick Rodman's death in the line of duty as an
LMPD Officer, Louisville Metro has mourned his sacrifice and many have attended
memorials and events to honor his legacy. Officer Rodman leaves behind his
wife Ashley, son Mason and newborn daughter Elly Jean. The below is a link
for ordering a t-shirt to benefit the family of Ofc. Rodman. The proceeds from
the shirt sales will go directly to the Rodman Family. You can place your order
here.
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 The Kentucky
Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) advises motorists of the temporary closure of
KY 1865 (New Cut Road) in Jefferson County. KYTC has granted a permit to CSX
Railroad for closing this road due to crossing repairs.
New Cut Road will be closed for repairs the following weeks:
-
Outer
Loop (near Old Third Street Rd.) - 7:00pm April 21 - April 24
The date and duration of this work may be adjusted if
inclement weather or other unforeseen delays occur. Visit goky.ky.gov for the latest in traffic
and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. You can also
get traffic information for the District 5 counties at facebook.com/KYTCDistrict5 and twitter.com/KYTCDistrict5 .
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 In
addition to the systematic block by block Pothole Blitz Metro Public Works
performsbeginning in March each year, the Roads and Operations Division works
year- round patching potholes whenever they are reported to us. Public Works
encourages anyone who spots a pothole in Louisville to report it to MetroCall
as quickly as possible. There are several ways to do it:
Whichever method you choose, make sure to be as specific with
location information as you can. Don't assume someone else has reported it.
 Help Brightside make a Difference this Spring!
Registration for the Brightside & Passport Health Plan Spring Community-Wide Cleanup is open!!
The cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 15th with the suggested cleanup times of 8:00am – 12:00pm. (If the date we have set doesn't work for your group, that's OK, we will support any cleanup that takes place in the weeks surrounding April 15th.)
Register here:
https://louisvilleky.gov/government/brightside/brightside-passport-health-plan-community-wide-cleanup
All cleanup teams will receive bags and gloves at no cost, and the first 5,000 volunteers to register will also receive a free t-shirt. Brightside welcomes groups of all sizes, big and small and if you're not sure where you would like to hold your cleanup we can help with that too, just give us a call or send us an email and we will be happy to make a suggestion.
Supply pick up will be held on Sunday, April 9th at the Iroquois Park Amphitheater, 1080 Amphitheater Rd, 40214 from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm.
All supplies are pre-packaged by group for team leaders to collect. If a group fails to pick up their supplies on April 9, and they have t-shirts, the t-shirts go to other volunteers on a first come, first served basis. Groups who do not have t-shirts can call Brightside on Tuesday, April 11th to see if any t-shirts have been returned.
Brightside is proud to be holding our Cleanup with the Mayor’s Give A Day Week of Service for the fourth year. Cleanups are an integral part of Brightside's mission and without the help of your volunteer group, and many other volunteers throughout the year, we could not achieve our goals of a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Louisville.
The
Riverside Garden Club will offer a variety of herbs, perennials, annuals,
vegetables, Kentucky native species, heirloom tomatoes, gardening items and
good gardening advice.
The sale will take place on Friday, April 14 from 2-7 p.m. and from 8 a.m. –
3 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. All proceeds of the sale support the historic
gardening program at Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing and its mission to
interpret historic farm life on the Ohio River.
 WHEN: April 17, 2017 6:30pm
WHERE: Southwest Regional Library, 9725 Dixie Highway
WHAT:
Flooded roadways, destroyed homes and raw sewage overflows are
reminders that our city’s ability to thrive depends on the most basic public
health and safety protection systems – wastewater, stormwater and flood
protection. MSD has completed an extensive analysis of these systems, and
input is needed from the community to determine how soon the critical projects
should be completed.
While Louisville can no longer avoid renewing and restoring its
vital systems, the difficult truth is the solutions come with a price tag of
$4.3 billion over the next 20 years. This includes almost $500 million to
finish the remaining Consent Decree projects to meet the federal order to
reduce sewer overflows. Recognizing the magnitude of the impact on
ratepayers and the community, MSD is leading a wide-reaching community
conversation.
Dialogue is underway through presentations with community groups,
business leaders, neighborhood associations, and faith-based organizations.
A variety of public-friendly resources are also available to convey the
complex message of necessary investments, to help citizens arrive at informed
opinions, and to encourage input on the timing of these investments.
A dedicated website can be found at www.louisvillemsd.org/CriticalRepairPlan
that includes:
· A video message offering an
overview of the challenge and the opportunity to engage
· Brief summaries of the six
categories of risk to public health and safety including local pictures of real
consequences
· Links to the full Critical
Repair & Reinvestment Plan for review (hard copies of Volume 1 have also
been distributed to every public library in the county)
· A comment form to provide
direct input (http://louisvillemsd.org/community-input-form)
Louisville can no longer
avoid investing in public health and safety systems, and informing the public on
the risks and solutions is critical. The MSD team is committed to continued
community engagement and encourages input.
 Free tax preparation for residents begins Monday
VITA, AARP volunteers available across Louisville also will help residents determine eligibility for Earned Income Tax Credit
Louisville Asset Building Coalition's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, and AARP Tax Aide programs utilize trained, IRS-certified volunteers who offer free tax services at more than 20 free sites across the city. The free service is available to individuals and families who earned less than $64,000 in 2016.
Appointments are recommended for VITA free tax assistance service and can be made now by calling (502) 305-0005 or scheduling online at https://louisvillekyvita.cascheduler.com.
Starting Monday, the VITA free tax preparation sites are located at:
- Americana Community Center, 4801 Southside Dr.
- Bates Community Development Center, 1228 S. Jackson St.
- Louisville Urban League, 1535 W. Broadway St.
- Portland Promise Center, 1831 Baird St.
- Salt & Light Community Development Center, 3025 B Gerald Dr.
- Sun Valley Community Center, 6505 Bethany Lane
- Wesley House Community Services, 5114 Preston Highway
For a complete list of VITA locations, including mobile sites, as well as hours of operation, visit http://labcservices.org/ or call Metro United Way’s 211 help referral service.
Also visit the website at https://www.labcservices.org/index.php/free-tax-filing-at-labc-services for information about a free service for those interested in filing their own taxes online. Starting Monday, two software packages — MyFreeTaxes and Turbo Tax Freedom Edition — will be available for those who meet eligibility.
In addition to the VITA sites, AARP Tax Aide's mission is to serve any person comes through the door, with special attention to those 60 and older. AARP sites will open Feb. 1 at the following locations:
- Buechel Park Baptist Church, 2403 Hikes Lane
- Central Government Center, 7201 Outer Loop
- Clifton Christian Church, 131 Vernon Ave.
- East Government Center, 200 Juneau Dr.
- Iroquois Branch Library, 601 W Woodlawn Ave.
- Jeffersontown Senior Center, 10631 Watterson Trail
- Lyndon Baptist Church, 8025 New LaGrange Rd.
- Portland Branch Library, 3305 Northwestern Parkway
- Shively Municipal Building, 3920 Dixie Highway
- Southwest Government Center, 7219 Dixie Highway
For a full AARP schedule and listing, including mobile sites, visit http://www.aarp-tax-aide-lou.org or call (502) 394-3443.
VITA and AARP volunteers will help determine if residents are eligible for the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit), a refundable federal tax credit for low- and middle-income working individuals and families. Eligibility for the EITC is based on income, the number of family members and other criteria, as is the amount of your credit. Working families who earn about $53,000 or less may be eligible, with average credits last year more than $2,400.
Collectively, tax refunds filed by Louisville residents last year through the VITA campaign and AARP sites processed over 20,000 returns, adding over $19 million to the local economy, including more than $6 million in Earned Income Credits to residents.
To help preparers accurately determine EITC eligibility and prepare returns, individuals should bring:
Picture ID and Social Security cards for everyone listed on the return
Copy of 2015 tax return with all attachments and schedules
W-2s and 1099s from your employers
Other 1099s for interest, dividends, state tax refund or other income
1095 for health insurance
1098 for education credit, plus detailed financial statement from the school
Bank account number and routing number for direct deposit
Child care information, including Provider ID and actual amounts paid
Summarized list of other income/expenses for those who itemize or are self-employed
Additional tax information that may be required
Visit http://labcservices.org/ or http://www.aarp-tax-aide-lou.org for more information about the required documentation.
The work of the Louisville Asset Building Coalition and the AARP Tax Assistance Program is made possible by Metro United Way, Louisville Metro Government, the IRS, the AARP Tax-Aide Foundation and dozens of other partners.
 ADOPT a DUCK. WIN a TRUCK. CHANGE a LIFE.
Join Harbor House
for the 14th Annual Ken-Ducky Derby on Saturday, April 29th, 2017 from
4pm-8pm as they drop 30,000 rubber ducks into the Ohio River! The Duck Drop
will be at 7pm. Cheer your duck to victory as they race to the finish line!
ONE lucky duck will win a BRAND NEW FORD F150 TRUCK provided by
Swope Family of Dealerships. 2nd and 3rd place ducks will walk away
with cash prizes. And every duck in the race has the chance to win ONE MILLION
DOLLARS.
The best part, is that your duck purchase benefits individuals
with disabilities at Harbor House of Louisville. Harbor House is a local, nonprofit,
charity that lights the way for adults with physical and cognitive
disabilities. It is a day program where the participants can come and engage in
special programs like job training, educational/tutoring classes, cooking
classes, gardening, community integration, social skills, technology classes,
therapeutic activities, arts and humanities, and more!
Adopt your ducks through
Councilman Blackwell's Duck Team and support a great cause at https://www.duckrace.com/louisville/teams/3286
You can also JOIN my DUCK TEAM
from this link and help me sell ducks!
For more information about
Harbor House, visit www.hhlou.org or call
(502)719-0072.
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 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the fastest-growing
serious developmental disability in the United States. 1 in 68 children will be
diagnosed with ASD and over 3.5 million Americans live with ASD. With numbers
this high, ASD is likely to affect each and every one of us.
www.autismfriendlybusiness.com
Getting out into the community can be a struggle for those
on the spectrum and their families. The Autism
Friendly Business Initiative (AFBI) has been created to educate community
businesses about ASD and prepare them to provide compassionate customer
service. Many individuals with autism
and their families struggle to get out of the house. Grocery shopping, going out to eat, and
getting a hair cut can be challenging and when families do not feel supported
in their efforts, many choose to stay home.
Our hope is that when the community is more welcoming, individuals with
ASD and their families will be more willing to enjoy our great city and businesses
will access more customers. Participating businesses will receive a window
decal advertising their involvement with AFBI as well as advertisement on the
website and other social media outlets.
Parents and individuals with ASD will be able to identify participating
businesses within a particular industry (i.e., restaurants, entertainment).
FEAT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) of
Louisville, University of Louisville Autism Center, Kentucky Autism Training
Center, and Meaningful Day Services together with a collaborative working group,
called the Autism Friendly Community, have created a 3-part plan to open the
community to individuals with autism and their families.
Level one is extremely easy. Agreeing to have at least 80%
of staff watch a 10-minute online video will add a business to the growing list
of Autism Friendly Businesses in our community. We don’t want businesses to
become therapists, but rather return to the simple rules of compassionate
customer service for all. After that, we
would like for the business to make this training part of their new employee training
packet so that all new employees have training in the provision of compassionate
customer service. An AFBI representative will follow up at least once a year to
see how things are going and offer additional support if needed.
For
businesses willing to go a bit further, level two asks that accommodations
or modifications be made available to individuals on the spectrum and their
families. AFBI will provide industry-specific recommendations that would
qualify for level 2 enrollments. For
example, AFBI will ask businesses to take specific pictures of their setting. These pictures
can be made available to parents to prepare their child for the expectations of
that location. A little bit of
preparation can make the world of difference for a family!
Level three
participation involves businesses reviewing their hiring structures to see if
any alterations could be made to get a more complete picture of the skill-set
of the candidate with ASD. Many individuals with ASD have extraordinary skills
that may not be obvious during a face-to-face interview. AFBI would like to help businesses ensure
that their hiring practices are allowing them to get the right person for the
job!
We believe
these three simple steps can transform Louisville into a compassionate, autism
friendly city. If you are part of a business interested in becoming autism
friendly, contact us today…it only takes 10 minutes to make a difference. For
more questions go to www.autismfriendlybusiness.com or call us at 502-596-1258.
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 Update as of 4/13/17
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has alerted our office that they expect construction to resume once again along Dixie Highway in the next two weeks. Some drainage work is expected to be completed prior to resuming paving of the road.
For additional
information, you can visit the KYTC District 5 website at http://transportation.ky.gov/district-5/
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