Councilwoman Sexton Smith was honored as one of the 2018  Women of Distinction at the Center for  Women and Families 31st annual Celebration of Service and Survival.

Since 1988, this celebration has honored more than 100 Women of Distinction as a way of supporting the center's mission to provide survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault opportunities to transform their lives, and as a result, the lives of their families and communities.  

The Center for Women and Families offers inclusive, multicultural services free of charge 24 hours a day, 365 days a year throughout seven Kentucky Counties and two Indiana counties.  Their integrated programs address domestic violence, sexual violence and economic hardship through emergency services, legal and medical advocacy, counseling, economic empowerment and housing assistance, and prevention education.

The Metro Council’s Community Affairs and Housing Committee hosted the first in a series of meetings to update Louisville’s progress in dealing with vacant and abandoned property in Metro Louisville at the Shawnee Golf Course Clubhouse, 460 Northwestern Parkway.
“This year the committee will invite the community to come out and ask questions on the various programs recently announced last fall by the mayor,” says Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, who chairs the committee.        Neighbors came and meet with staff from Metro Louisville’s Vacant and Public Property Administration. The office has recently implemented new programs designed to help with the purchase of abandoned property along with helping improve the appearance of vacant buildings in neighborhoods with problems properties. 
“Last year, the Metro Council approved funding for a clearboarding program. We have also increased the funding to demolish unsightly buildings on neighborhood streets,” says Shanklin. “Metro Government working through the Landbank has intensified efforts to help anyone purchase property. This meeting is an opportunity to be updated on where we are and how the community can get involved.”
 Councilwoman Shanklin says this series of meetings will offer the community a chance to learn more about what’s going on and will be held in multiple locations in the coming months.

For the 4th year, Broadway World and its Regional Editor, Arts-Louisville.com, hosted an awards ceremony honoring excellence in local theater, the 2018 Arts-Louisville/Broadway World Theatre Awards. The Theatre Educator’s Award was awarded to Charlie Sexton, who has been the Artistic Director of Commonwealth Theatre Center for many years.

Also honored were Barbara Cullen and Jon Huffman, Artistic Directors of Vault 1031.

The Brown Theatre was packed on Sunday afternoon for the Kentucky Opera's final performance of the season.

Ian Derrer, Director of Kentucky Opera, along with long time supporter, Barbara Sandford. Jacob Heustis painting can be seen in the background.

Austin Clark, co-founder of Bourbon Baroque enjoyed Kentucky Opera's production of the Barber of Seville by Rossini.

Caitlin Lally and Faith Yascone visit with Councilwoman Sexton Smith to explore exciting ways to work with the amazing students at Western Middle School for the Arts.

The 12th annual Community Dialogue for African-American Veterans hosted by Congressman John Yarmuth was held  Tuesday at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage. 

Congressman Yarmuth and Attorney General Andy Beshear both addressed the crowd, giving updates on state and federal issues.

Thank you for your service, we are eternally grateful.

Councilwoman Sexton Smith is participating in the discounted recycle cart program with Solid Waste. District 4 residents benefit! The 95-gallon and 65-gallon recycling carts are available for District 4 residents for only $25 -- this is a 50% discount off the cost. To order your recycle cart call Solid Waste Management (SWMS) at 574-3571 or download the form here:
 https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/public_works/pdf_files/3-8-17_garbageandrecyclingcart_recyclingbin_95-65.pdf  

Then mail in the completed form and $25 to SWMS at: 

Louisville Metro Solid Waste Management

Attn: Collection Division

600 Meriwether Avenue

Louisville, KY 40217-1146

Theresa Reno-Weber will be the featured speaker for the next Daughter's of Greatness event at the Muhammad Ali Center on February 23, 2018 at 8:30am.The “Daughters of Greatness” breakfast series features prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice. The stories and reflections they share are motivational to some people, transformative to others, and inspirational to all. The Ali Center periodically invites these local and international icons to share their stories with the Louisville community. The Daughters of Greatness series provides a place for dialogue and discussion on current issues of justice, community engagement, and social movements within the Louisville area and beyond.

Kentucky Kingdom & Hurricane Bay Now Hiring for the 2018 Season

Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay are hiring for the upcoming park season. There are 1,400 positions in several departments, including rides, food service, retail, public safety, and guest services. Kentucky Kingdom lifeguards must be at least 16 years-old and ride operators must be at least 18. There are a limited number of positions open for applicants who are 15. For further information or applications click here.

 Louisville Resilience Survey

Louisville is committed to becoming more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.  How do we become more resilient?

We must make certain that our neighborhoods, institutions, businesses, systems and each individual has the capacity to survive, adapt, grow, and thrive no matter what kind of challenges are experienced now and in the future. To ensure we achieve this, we must first understand how our community is performing now and what issues matter most to Louisvillians. Please complete the survey below to help guide Louisville toward better resilience! http://surveys.iqsresearch.com/s3/Resilience-2017

Make your voice heard as Russell transforms, and be entered into a drawing for one of 75, $100 prizes!

Be on the lookout for a survey that is being mailed to property owners and individuals/businesses that own/operate businesses within the Russell neighborhood. The survey is designed to gather feedback and help prioritize the work of the Vision Russell team.

 
The Vision Russell team will use the results to focus their transformation efforts, working to make the neighborhood more attractive for existing investors and more enticing to future investors.  

 For more information about the survey please visit www.visionrussell.org

Freedom Quilt Community Project

Mondays in February, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Western Library, 604 S. 10th Street

Come join Western Library every Monday during Black History Month to add a piece of your creativity into their freedom quilt. For more information, please call (502) 574-1779.

Western Library’s African-American Archives Tour

Monday, February 26th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Western Library, 604 S. 10th Street

Founded in 1905, Western Library is the first library in the United States to serve and be fully operated by African Americans. Join Western Library for a tour and experience the African-American Archives, browse through some history and watch the specially produced documentary, A Separate Flame. For more information, please contact Natalie.Woods@LFPL.org.

Russell Neighborhood Springfest

Saturday, March 24th, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Joshua Tabernacle Church, 426 S. 15th Street

Join the Russell Neighborhood Association for the first annual Russell Neighborhood Springfest! There will be fun activities for people of all ages, including live entertainment, kids activities, great food, community art and much more! To sponsor or volunteer for this event, please contact Amy Luckett at amyl@ndhc.org.

Call for Art Entries

1619 Flux: Art + Activism is looking for submissions from local artists to display in their new exhibition, It’s Your World: Art About The Future of Community. Louisville artists of all levels are invited to submit up to three pieces of original art in any media reflecting the theme of “the future of community”. For more information, including dates and guidelines, or to submit your work, click here and fill out the entry form. All entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Sunday, February 25th.

I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace Now Exhibition

Exhibition closes Friday, March 16th

Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, 1701 W. Muhammad Ali Boulevard

The Innovative Merger of Arts & Guns to Inspire New Expression (I.M.A.G.I.N.E.) Peace Now exhibition features decommissioned guns transformed into art objects by artists. The exhibition displays a powerful statement about gun violence in America and artistic expressions of peace. Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (502) 583-4100 or visit kcaah.org.

I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace Now Exhibition

Exhibition closes Friday, March 16th

Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, 1701 W. Muhammad Ali Boulevard

The Innovative Merger of Arts & Guns to Inspire New Expression (I.M.A.G.I.N.E.) Peace Now exhibition features decommissioned guns transformed into art objects by artists. The exhibition displays a powerful statement about gun violence in America and artistic expressions of peace. Free and open to the public. For more information, please call (502) 583-4100 or visit kcaah.org.

Because there is growing evidence that medical cannabis can help people suffering from chronic pain, post-tramatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions, I am sponsoring a resolution urging the Kentucky General Assembly to join 29 states and the District of Columbia to allow its use on recommendation of a medical practitioner. Nine other Councilmembers have joined me.

The community is invited to attend one of three town hall meetings on the topic of legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Each town hall meeting will be held in a different part of the community, with the first town hall starting Monday, February 19 at 6:00pm. Each town hall will start with presentations by panelists both in support and opposition to the resolution.

Persons attending the town hall meeting will have the opportunity to ask questions of panelists following opening remarks. Each town hall is expected to last 60-90 minutes and comments received during each event will be given to all members of the Louisville Metro Council.

Town Hall Meeting Dates: 
Monday, February 26, 6:00PM – Louisville Fire Fighters Hall (400 Bakers Lane)
Tuesday, February 27, 6:00PM – Southwick Community Center (3621 Southern Avenue)  

A copy of the proposed resolution is available by clicking HERE. 

The Russell Homeownership Incentive  Program is an excellent way to move into a neighborhood rich with history and a wonderful housing stock. Louisville Metro Government (LMG) is placing a priority on  incentivizing homeownership in an effort to further  stabilize the Russell neighborhood. 

 Criteria: 

• Committed to keeping the home as your primary residence for five years. 
• Excited about making up to $24,999 in qualified improvements to your home. 
• Willing to complete homeownership counseling, if a first-time homebuyer.  
• Willing to conduct a lead inspection on the property if it was built prior to 1978.  

For more information, please contact Donnie Adkins at (502) 574-8020.

Upcoming Parks and Recreation Volunteer Opportunities 

Louisville Parks and Recreation has some upcoming volunteer opportunities for you! We need help planting trees in our city. If you are interested in giving service, here are the dates, locations, and links to sign up:

  February 23rd – Hays Kennedy Park – 8:30am-12:30pm

                http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4FACAE2EA4FE3-tyler

 March 2nd – Story Avenue Park – 8:30am-12:30pm

                http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4FACAE2EA4FE3-story

Thanks to several recent grants, Louisville is one step closer to ending homelessness among young adults in our community. The Coalition for the Homeless has received funding in the amount of $20,000 from [give] 502 (a component fund of the Community Foundation of Louisville), $13,500 from the Gheens Foundation (part of an overall $30,000 grant), and $20,000 from the Community Foundation of Louisville to launch a Host Homes Pilot Project, which invites local families to open their homes to provide safe, temporary housing for young adults ages 18-24 years old as an alternative to living on the streets or in emergency shelter. The program, which will be carried out by Home of the Innocents, will provide homeless young adults with a stable home environment and support services while they navigate the process of finding and securing their own permanent housing or reuniting with family.
Caring, local families are now being recruited to participate in the pilot program. After an extensive screening and training process, families will serve as hosts for up to three months while the young people work with a case manager on a permanent housing solution. Homeless young adults will choose which family they would like to stay with, and the program coordinator will help facilitate a successful match. If the pilot project is successful, the program will be expanded and opened to more families in 2019.
The launch of the Host Homes Pilot Project is building on the success of the Coalition for the Homeless' participation in the 100-Day Challenge, in which city leaders and two dozen community partners committed to think outside the box, eliminate service barriers, bring all partners to the table, and rally the community to house 100 youth or more within 100 days. The effort launched August 1, 2017 and was successful in housing 115 youth by November 9th.
For more information about the Host Homes Pilot Project or how to become a Host Home family, please call Melissa Kratzer at (502) 636-9550 ext. 213, email at mkratzer@louhomeless.org, or visit www.louhomeless.org.

Public Health and Wellness Offering Free Class Series to Prevent Diabetes

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness will sponsor a free 16-week class series, PreventT2, to help people prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

 Classes begin on Friday, January 19 at 11:30 a.m. and will be held for one hour each Friday at the South Louisville Community Center at 2911 Taylor Boulevard from January 19 until May 4. For more information or to enroll, call (502) 574-6663 or email andrea.doughty@louisvilleky.gov.

 PreventT2 is designed to help people with prediabetes make relatively small lifestyle changes that can prevent or delay the onset of full-blown Type 2 diabetes and its devastating health consequences such as heart disease, kidney failure, stroke and blindness. It is estimated that one out three people in the United States has prediabetes and ninety percent of them don’t know they have it.

Those most at risk for prediabetes include those who:

• are age 45 or older
• are overweight
• have a family history of Type 2 diabetes
• get little physical activity
• have had gestational diabetes
• have given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds.

If you fall into even one of these categories, you should seriously consider taking this course.

 PreventT2 participants will work with trained lifestyle coaches on activities proven to help lose weight, eat more nutritiously and become more physically active. PreventT2 groups meet for a year, weekly for the first 6 months and then once or twice a month for the next six months to maintain healthy lifestyle changes.

PreventT2 is part of the CDC’s (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) National Diabetes Prevention Program. Public Health and Wellness has partnered with the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency (KIPDA) to offer the course in Louisville.

Louisville Metro Job Opportunities

Application Programmer Analyst I
Performs design, coding, testing, implementation, maintenance, support and training of client/server/GUI and web-based applications.  Troubleshoots issues.  Performs root cause analysis to identify defects in applications and interfaces.  Participates in requirement gathering sessions with business and technical groups.  Researches and proposes solutions for defects and approved enhancements.  Updates required functional and technical documentation.  Develops application and interface solutions in accordance with departmental coding standards.  Conducts unit and integration testing for all developed/modified interfaces and applications.  Performs and participates in design and code reviews.  Provides ongoing maintenance support for integrated third-party applications and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.  

Application Programmer Analyst II
Performs design, coding, testing, implementation, maintenance, support and training of client/server/GUI and web-based applications.  Applies expertise in programming procedures to complex programs.  Recommends the redesign of programs.  Troubleshoots and performs root cause analysis of identified systems' defects.  Participates in and/or leads requirement gathering sessions with business and technical groups.  Researches and proposes solutions for defects, enhancements, and new mid-sized products.  Creates/updates required functional and technical documentation.  Develops application and interface solutions in accordance with departmental coding standards.  Conducts unit and integration testing for all developed/modified interfaces and applications.  Generates technical designs according to documented business needs.  Performs and participates in design and code reviews.  Provides ongoing maintenance support for integrated third-party applications and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.  Develops and alters database table designs following proper normalization and referential integrity.  Serves as Subject Matter Expert in two or more business domains.  Performs the role of Project Manager for small to mid-size projects.  Coordinates and/or communicates with other organizations for joint efforts.  Mentors junior team members and develops, teaches and helps enforce proper coding standards and methodologies.  Prepares and delivers application presentations to management and end-users.   

Application Programmer Analyst III
Performs design, coding, testing, implementation, maintenance, support and training of client/server/GUI and web-based applications.  Applies expertise in programming procedures to complex programs.  Recommends the redesign of programs.  Troubleshoots and performs root cause analysis of identified systems' defects.  Leads requirement gathering sessions with business and technical groups.  Researches and proposes solutions for defects, enhancements, and new products.  Creates/updates required functional and technical documentation.  Develops application and interface solutions in accordance with departmental coding standards.  Conducts unit and integration testing for all developed/modified interfaces and applications.  Generates technical designs according to documented business needs and participates in design reviews.  Performs and participates in design and code reviews.  Provides ongoing maintenance support for integrated third-party applications and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.  Designs and implements database schemas following proper normalization and referential integrity.  Serves as Subject Matter Expert in two or more business domains.  Performs the role of Project Manager or serves as IT representative on company and intra-organizational projects.  Coordinates and/or communicates with other organizations for joint efforts.  Provides system architecture guidance and team mentorship.  Develops, teaches and helps enforce proper coding standards and methodologies.  Plans, schedules and directs in-house developed and/or 3rd party system implementations.  Prepares and delivers application presentations to management and end-users.    

FLOODWALL MAINTENANCE MECHANIC I
Job Summary: Under supervision, inspects and troubleshoots mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, components and equipment.  Maintains, lubricates, operates and repairs mechanical equipment associated with Wastewater Treatment, Collections and Storm/Flood facilities (e.g. plumbing, heating and ventilation and combustion fired engines).  

 
For a more detailed position description, pay information, and to apply please visit our website:  http://www.louisvillemsd.org/Careers 

 The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District (District) proposes to revise a construction permit for Zeon Chemicals L.P. (synthetic rubber manufacturing plant), 4100 Bells Lane, in accordance with Regulation 2.03. The construction project is to add an alternative operating scenario that allows the source to bypass the control device while spray-drying nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) on the No. 2 spray dryer. The 30-day public comment period starts February 08, 2018, and ends on March 12, 2018. A public hearing may be scheduled if the District determines that there are germane, unresolved issues or substantial public interest, in accordance with Regulation 2.07.

            Drafts of the permit and summary are available at the District office, 701 W. Ormsby Avenue, Suite 303, Louisville, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, by calling Paul Aud at (502) 574-6000, emailing airpermits@louisvilleky.gov, or at the following website: http://www.louisvilleky.gov/APCD/docket. Copies of the application are available upon request. Written comments will be accepted at airpermits@louisvilleky.gov until midnight or at the District office until 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 2018.