The 9th District Urban Services District (USD) will have junk collection set-out on a select weekend in June, depending on your address.  You may begin setting out your junk Friday afternoon prior to your junk pick-up week and must have it all out by Monday at 6:00 AM. For most of the USD in District 9, the set out period is this weekend, June 15-17. For your specific junk set-out weekend please visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council-district-9 and scroll to the bottom of the page to “MyLouisville” and enter your address, call the office at 574-1109, or email Kyle Ethridge.  For collection guidelines, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-works/services/junk-and-bulk-trash-disposal. You may now sign up for junk set out reminders by email and text under “MyLouisville”.

Join your neighbors and police officers for coffee and conversation on Friday, June 15 at 6:00 p.m. at Heine Brothers Coffee, 119 Chenoweth Lane. No agenda or speeches, just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns and get to know the officers in your neighborhood. Questions, please contact LMPD at 574-7636.

Help us clean up the Ohio River!

Louisville MSD proudly sponsors Ohio River Sweep with the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), LG&E and Louisville Water. Ohio River Sweep is one of the largest annual environmental cleanups in the United States.

On June 16, at 9:00 a.m. thousands of volunteers will remove tons of trash and debris. This cleanup encompasses the entire length of the river, from its origin in Pittsburgh, PA to its end in Cairo, IL, including nearly 3,000 miles of shoreline and many tributaries.

A MSD employee will coordinate each site, supplying volunteers with gloves, trash bags, and t-shirt. Please plan to attend one of the D9 cleanups.

• Eva Bandman Park, 1701 River Road
• Karen Lynch Park, 1731 Brownsboro Road

To learn more or register, please visit http://www.orsanco.org/river-sweep/.

Kentucky's largest LGBTQ event, the Kentuckiana Pride Festival, is taking place on the Big Four Lawn at Waterfront Park for the first time this summer on June 15-16.

The line-up has performers from a wide range of genres including hip-hop artist Big Freedia, country musician Brandon Stansell and singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt. 

The event, which attracts an estimated 15,000 people, includes food and marketplace vendors, music and other entertainment. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of the festival for $5 per day. Weekend passes can be purchased in advance for $10 online at kypride.com.

Pride Weekend begins with an annual parade, which will step off from the corner of Market and Preston Street in Downtown Louisville at 7 PM on Friday, June 15.  The parade will travel North on Preston/East on River Road and continue to the festival site at the Big Four Lawn. I’ll be walking with a group from Louisville Metro Government.  Join us and celebrate diversity and community in Louisville!  

Our next Community Conversation is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19 at Whitehall House & Gardens, 3110 Lexington Road, beginning at 6:30 pm.  A representative of LMPD will be present to talk about starting a neighborhood watch program on your street and to answer any questions you may have about crime and crime prevention in the area. 

I’ll also be available to talk about any issues you’d like to discuss.  Please mark your calendar and join us – and bring along a friend or neighbor!

Louisville Metro Government is planning a public meeting from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, June 21, at Butchertown Pizza Hall, 1301 Story Avenue, second floor, to share community input and next steps in its effort to relocate the Louisville Metro Police vehicle impound lot.

Located for decades at 1478 Frankfort Ave. in Butchertown, the impound lot is the main temporary storage area for motor vehicles that have been impounded by LMPD and other agencies, and is a longer-term storage area for motor vehicles being held as evidence in a legal proceeding. Although technical capacity is 1,800 vehicles, the lot frequently stores in excess of 2,000 vehicles.

The city announced plans to seek a new location earlier this year, citing space issues, as well as the impound lot’s negative impact on nearby Beargrass Creek and the Beargrass Creek Greenway Trail. The site, a former landfill, is also located in a flood plain and is partially impacted by a high-tension power line crossing it.

Space issues at the site are preventing LMPD from towing abandoned vehicles, negatively impacting residents and businesses across the City.

The city issued a public Request for Information, seeking properties that fit the city’s search criteria for size, location, and other physical and operational requirements. The city received seven responses to that RFI but all appeared to have issues and none completely met the search criteria.

LMPD Lt. Col. Robert Schroeder said the city is continuing to look for a long-term solution, and noted that properties will be evaluated as they become available. In the meantime, the City is planning improvements at the existing site and in its procedures to address the space and environmental concerns at that site.

In an effort to ensure a transparent process, the city is posting online the comments received in the community engagement process, which included tours and three public meetings, and information about the RFI responses. Click here to view the comments.

Louisville is steadily adding to its inventory of bike lanes and other facilities aimed at getting around the city by peddle power. There are also an increased numbers of riders, and more need for those riders to know the rules and tips for moving safely among cars and trucks, pedestrians, and other cyclists. Bike Louisville offers a website with how-to videos on the following bike safety topics and more. 

• Riding safely in town
• Rules of the road
• Lane positioning
• Nighttime riding
• ABC quick check
• Equipment

Click the following to view the videos.

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. 

Plan to attend the annual Crescent Hill 4th of July Festival on Tuesday, July 3 & Wednesday, July 4 at the Peterson-Dumesnil House, 301 S. Peterson Avenue, from 4:00 – 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday and 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Enjoy fireworks on Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. The festival includes juried artist booths, live entertainment, children’s fun zone, food court, cake booth, pet contest and more. Visit the Facebook page for more information: CHCC 4th of July on Facebook

Volunteers are needed for this family-friendly event. To signup, please click here. 

For 169 years, generations of friends and family gather every August at St. Joseph Children’s Home to play games, visit, eat, drink, and help raise funding for St. Joe’s kids and families. This year’s Picnic will be held on Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th. St. Joe’s Picnic for the Kids relies on the generosity of picnic volunteers and sponsors to make this event successful. It is a great opportunity for youth to gain service hours and for families to give back to children in need. Sign up to volunteer today by contacting Billie Healy at billieh@sjkids.org.