Councilwoman Marianne Butler joined Mayor Greg Fischer at the Kroger in the Wilder Park Neighborhood to hand out reusable grocery bags. April is Earth Month and an opportunity to encourage residents to do all they can for Mother Earth – one easy way is to use reusable grocery bags. Thank you to Kroger for donating the bags.

New Iroquois High School Amphitheater

Councilwoman Marianne Butler joined Councilwoman Vicki Aubrey Welch, School Board Member Linda Duncan and Superintendent Donna Hargens at the grand opening of the new amphitheater built at Iroquois High School. Congratulations to the students, teachers and mentors that helped with this project. This is something that the students can bring their grandchildren to one day and show what they built while in high school. Well done!

April 29th Mini Marathon Traffic Information

The Kentucky Derby Marathon & Mini Marathon is this Saturday, April 29, beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Main Street in downtown Louisville. For further detailed traffic information and maps go to www.KDF.org

Metro Council Mondays at the Bats

The Louisville Bats are hosting two types of Louisville Metro Government Nights.
   Metro Council Mondays: For this program, the Bats will host groups and organizations doing the good of the community. This includes 12,000 total tickets distributed for use on any of these Monday nights: May 1, May 8, June 19, July 17 and August 28. Examples include school fundraisers, charity auctions, and several others.
   Community Nights: The Bats will host two community nights, providing tickets, hot dogs, and soft drinks to non-profit groups who would not be able to afford a Bats game under regular circumstances. These two nights include 4,000 guests for each game on July 18 and August 2. Groups will need to contact the Bats office directly to sign up for the program and each group member will get a voucher for a ticket, hot dog and soft drink. Examples include mentoring organizations, social service agencies, and many more.
   To request tickets for either part of the program, organizations should contact Shelby Harding at sharding@batsbaseball.com. Please include your Metro Council District, organization name, contact name, mailing address, daytime phone and number of tickets requested. Email requests are preferred, but if email is not available please call 614-4502.

Etsy Craft Entrepreneurship Program

Applications are now being accepted for the spring and summer sessions of the Louisville Etsy Craft Entrepreneurship Program. The three-week program provides micro-business training to underemployed, low-income adults who have creative skills, to help supplement their income by selling their crafts on the Etsy online platform. The program has had more than a dozen successful classes, graduating 73 artists with marketable products. Forty graduates of the program have opened their own stores on Etsy.com, with several more in the works. Many graduates of the program have branched out to participate in local makers events, including the Made Market and the Mini Maker Faire. Dates for the six-class spring and summer sessions include:

May 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24
July 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26

All classes meet on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Nia Center, 2900 W. Broadway, from 4– 6 p.m. Registration for the program is open, but space is limited. To qualify, participants must be Jefferson County residents over 18 years of age, attend all six classes, have access to a computer, a digital camera or smart phone, and have a handmade craft product to sell. For more information on the Etsy Craft Entrepreneurship Program, including registration and class schedule, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/louisville-forward/etsy-craft-entrepreneurship

Breast Cancer Screening Sponsored by Councilwoman Butler

Trees Louisville

TreesLouisville is launching a Tree Rebate Program in partnership with the Louisville Metro Division of Community Forestry. An incentive to get homeowners to plant trees on private property and to help improve our city's declining tree canopy, this program will run through May 31st 2017 and will allow eligible participants to receive 40% back (max. $80) on the purchase price of a shade tree. Full info can be found at: treeslouisville.org/rebate

Phase 1 of the Eastern Parkway Complete

Louisville Water Company officials say they have successfully installed a new water main along Eastern Parkway. Crews installed the new 42-inch water main inside an original pipe made in 1930. Louisville Water said the water is flowing. Since November, officials said phase one of the project included replacing two miles of pipe from Eastern Parkway and Beargrass Creek near Poplar Level Road to Grinstead Drive near Lexington Road and Cherokee Park. Louisville Water said they are now focused on the cleanup and restoration phase that includes sidewalk and curb repair, grading and seeding of yards and paving. For further information go to LouisvilleWater.com/EasternPkwyProject

Google Fiber announced it is moving forward with plans for its high speed internet service in Louisville. The announcement is excellent news for faster speeds, better pricing and more competition. More information about Google’s announcement is here.

Feeding Stray Cats? Alley Cat Advocates Can Help

Feeding Stray Cats? Alley Cat Advocates can help get outdoor cats fixed and vaccinated at NO COST TO YOU! Call (502) 634-8777 today for your appointment! Cats will be vaccinated, spayed or neutered, treated with flea and ear-mite medicine, given a great vet visit, ear-tipped (the universal symbol of a neutered cat) and returned. There are no more kittens. The number of cats gradually goes down. And annoying behaviors such as yowling, fighting, and spraying stop. Call Alley Cat Advocates at (502) 634-8777 to make an appointment today!

Summer Camps at the Louisville Nature Center

The Louisville Nature Center, located at 3745 Illinois Ave, will be hosting "Summer Camps" starting in June! For further information on their numerous camps or to register call 502-458-1328 or click on www.louisvillenaturecenter.org and click on "Summer Camps".