 Google Fiber is coming to Louisville.
Google Fiber said it plans to test ways to deploy super-fast Internet, with speeds about 20 times faster than conventional broadband, but that details of services in Louisville will come later, according to a news release. Residents can sign up for notifications about progress at google.com/fiber/louisville.
Ashley Kroh, a Google Fiber official working on the Louisville effort, said Wednesday that it's too early to say if the network will eventually be extended outside the boundaries of Jefferson County. The initial effort, she said, will focus on reaching residences in some yet-to-be-disclosed parts of Metro Louisville.
"Google Fiber's commitment to constructing a
gigabit fiber optic network in Louisville is exciting for both our people and
businesses. The infrastructure will provide a platform for further economic
development and technological investment into our community. The welcome
increase in competition for both television and internet will improve the
quality and cost of these services throughout our city, positively impacting
every customer in this market. Our city has invested much in bringing Google
Fiber from Silicon Valley to the Ohio Valley. We are excited to begin seeing
the return on that investment for our citizens."
- Metro Council President David Yates
Read the full Courier Journal Article here: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2017/04/26/google-fiber-confirms-wire-louisville/100888548/
 The New Dixie Highway
Project team is developing final designs and plans that will include important
details about the locations of medians, the design and locations of new bus
stops and stations, and what plantings and sidewalk improvements will be found along
the corridor.
The name and design of the new Bus Rapid Transit is also expected to be
announced soon.
“This is the largest transportation infrastructure investment in Louisville
since the Ohio River Bridges Project,” said John Callihan, director of
transportation for Louisville Metro. “But it still involves making prudent
choices about what improvements should be made and where they will have the
biggest impact. We have appreciated the input from everyone who lives and works
along the Dixie Highway/18th Street Corridor and we are looking
forward to presenting these details in the coming weeks.”
Look for details later this spring!
 Update as of 4/28/17
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has alerted our office that they expect construction to resume once again along Dixie Highway in the next few weeks. Some drainage work is expected to be completed prior to resuming paving of the road.
Lane closures and delays possible between the Hardin/Jefferson
County line and Flowervale Lane (mile markers 0 to 7) due to roadway
resurfacing. Lane closures are possible weeknights from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. the
following morning.
For additional
information, you can visit the KYTC District 5 website at http://transportation.ky.gov/district-5/
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 Join
us for the Mayor's Derby Brunch on the River at Riverside, The Farnsley-Moremen
Landing on Sunday, May 1st!
Mayor
Fischer is once again the host,which serves as a fundraiser for Riverside, The
Farnsley-Moremen Landing's cultural and educational mission of preserving one
of the greatest pieces of Southwest Louisville's history.
WHEN:
Sunday, May 1st
11:00a.m. - 1p.m.
WHERE:
RIverside, The Farnsley-Moremen Landing,
7410 Moorman Road
For
more information on purchasing tickets to the event. Visit www.riverside-landing.org or call
Riverside at 502-935-6809.
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.
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 Develop Louisville staff has been engaging with the public
on an update to the Comprehensive Plan. Some methods of engagement have
included work groups, an Advisory Committee, outreach to local municipalities
with zoning authority and appearing before various bodies and organizations
including the Metro Council.
In the coming weeks, we will be holding six open house
forums to provide the public will an opportunity to view and to comment on the
work done so far.
The dates, times and locations for the forums are:
- Monday, May 22: Main Library (301 York St) at 4 pm
- Wednesday, May 24: Southwest Library (9725 Dixie Hwy) at
6 pm
- Tuesday, May 30: Bowman Field (2815 Taylorsville Rd) at 6
pm
- Saturday, June 3: The Table (1800 Portland Ave) at 9 am
- Monday, June 5: Fern Creek High School (9115 Fern Creek
Rd) at 6 pm
- Tuesday, June 6: The Jeffersonian (former Jeffersontown
Community Center) (10617 Taylorsville Rd)
at 6 pm
The forums will allow for additional input on the work
completed to date (draft goals and objectives) and will help us develop
policies. These meetings will be open house style with a short
introductory presentation. At these forums, we are especially interested in
engaging with citizens who have not yet participated in the Comprehensive Plan
update process. These forums will look similar to the Vision Louisville
forums that occurred a few years ago.
For more information on the Comprehensive Plan see: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design/comprehensive-plan
 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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 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.
Dr. Kristina Zierold, an associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, is conducting a research study funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) entitled "Coal ash exposure and neurobehavioral performance and symptoms in children aged 6-14 years old."
This study is very important for Louisville community members because coal ash storage sites (landfills and ponds) and releases from the power plant stacks are concerns in neighborhoods surrounding LG&E’s Cane Run and Mill Creek Power Plants. Since 2012, Dr. Zierold has been working with the community to study coal ash and health, and many people have complained about coal ash exposure and the possible effects on the health of their children and families.
We are recruiting over 300 children in Louisville for this study. Learn more details on the study webpage here.
Who can participate? People who have a child 6-14 years old and live in the following zip codes: 40109, 40118, 40177, 40211, 40214, 40215, 40216, 40258, 40272
What will you be asked to do?
- Allow small air pollution sampling equipment in your home
- Allow your child to take a series of computer tests
- Collect your child’s fingernail and toenail clippings
- Fill out questionnaires
- We come to your home, no trips to UofL needed
For participating, you will receive a $100 Visa gift card and yourchild will receive a $25 Visa gift card.
We are recruiting over 300 children in Louisville for this study. Learn more details on the study webpage here.
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 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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 What is Nar-anon? Nar-anon is a program that is for people who love someone with an addiction. If you spend your time trying to fix, manage, and control an addict and your results are sleepless nights, this program is for you! Nar-anon is for people affected by someone else's addiction! This is a place that you will see that you are not alone and that others understand what your life is like.
NAR-ANON, HOPE FOR FAMILIES
WHEN: Mondays at 8:00 pm
WHERE: MOSAIC UMC, 8008 St. Andrews Church Road, 40258
For more information, please contact Ed Small at 502.494.5030 or visit the Nar-Anon website.
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 Section
172 of the Kentucky Constitution requires the PVA to assess all property at
100% Fair Cash Value, as of the assessment date January 1st, unless
specifically exempted. Fair Cash Value, or fair market value, is defined as the
price a property would bring on the open market at a fair and voluntary sale
between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither party under duress,
given a reasonable amount of time on the market. The PVA does not set market
value. Our task is to analyze the market and insure that assessments of unsold
properties follow the market determined by buyers and sellers. In other words,
we are charged to assess all comparable properties to those that were sold in
the past 18 months.
The very first question you should ask is: would I sell my house
for what it’s assessed at? If your answer is NO because I think it’s worth
more, then you probably won’t want to go through the appeals processes. On the
other hand, if you think your property would not command that price, you
probably would want to contest the assessed value. Usually, homes that were
sold have been updated with all the latest amenities whereas yours might not
have been updated in years. The PVA is not allowed to go into your home so,
consequently, we do not know what’s inside but we still have to assess it
according to ones that have been sold. The only way you can get relief is to,
first of all, conference with the PVA. You can start the conferencing process
from your own home computer by going to the PVA website and clicking the
On-Line Conferencing process, filling out the conferencing form and uploading
your substantiating evidence. Sending us the substantiating is paramount to a
successful conference. Photographs of the interior showing the interior
condition, or a full blown appraisal by an independent appraiser, or comparable
valid sales are all acceptable evidence.
Once on our website, perform a property search of your property,
you can then access nearby sales by clicking on the Neighborhood Sales Search.
The Neighborhood Sales Search button is located below the picture of your
property.
Upload your evidence into the conferencing form or send it to our
office in hard documentation. Please make sure to include your conference
confirmation number on any documents you send by mail. Please put your email
address.
Anyone with a handicap or disability qualifies for a telephone
conference. Please contact 502-574-6224 for more information on how to
conference by telephone.
Again this year, the PVA has extended the Conferencing time by 10
days until 4:00 PM on May 15th, 2017 and have staff at 3 library locations on
Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM to assist you.
Jeffersontown – 10635 Watterson
Trail, 502-267-5713
Okolona - 7709 Preston Highway,
502-964-3515
Southwest Regional Library - 9725
Dixie Highway, 502-933-0029
Should you have questions,
please call the PVA office at: 502-574-6224.
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 Derby season is officially here! If you are on the
hunt for last minute Kentucky Oaks or Derby tickets, beware that scammers are
trying to fool you into purchasing fake tickets.
BBB offers the following tips:
Check out the business. If you are purchasing from a company, take a
look at their Business Review at bbb.org
to read customer reviews or their complaint history. Also check to see if they
are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers at natb.org.
Consider the source. Are you purchasing from a ticket broker (a
legitimate and accredited reseller) or a ticket scalper (an unregulated and
unlicensed ticket seller)? If you are purchasing from an auction site, check to
see if the site offers any guarantees. Remember, you can get a great deal on
Craigslist, but sales are not guaranteed.
Payment methods. Use a credit card whenever possible. Many credit cards
offer buyer protection and allow you the opportunity to dispute a charge. If
you are asked to wire money straight to the seller or pay by gift cards or
prepaid debit cards, stay away.
If you believe you have purchased a counterfeit ticket, report it to the
National Association of Ticket Brokers hotline at 630-510-4594.
For more consumer tips, visit bbb.org
or call 1-800-388-2222.
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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!
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