Please plan to join your neighbors and neighborhood/business associations (Frankfort Avenue Business Association, Crescent Hill Community Council, Clifton Community Council and Butchertown Neighborhood Association) this Saturday, October 20, for the D9 Fall Community Cleanup. We really need your help to make a difference in our neighborhood!

In partnership with Brightside, volunteers will be cleaning up the Frankfort Avenue corridor, specifically working on trimming trees, cleaning tree wells and spreading mulch. Volunteers should plan to meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Keats and Frankfort Avenue public parking lot for breakfast sandwiches, provided by the Clifton McDonald’s, and hot coffee, provided by Heine Brothers’ Coffee. The cleanup will officially begin at 9:00 a.m. The District 9 office will provide bags, gloves, tools and t-shirts on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to register your own neighborhood team through Brightside, please click here.

The Urban Bourbon Half Marathon is on Saturday, October 20, beginning at 8:00 a.m. For more information and the course map, please visit urbanbourbonhalf.com.

Road Closures*:

• Jefferson Street (7th Street to 5th Street) 5:00 - 9:00 am
• Jefferson Street (5th Street to 2nd Street) 7:30 - 8:30 am
• 2nd Street (Jefferson Street to Main Street) 7:00 - 8:30 am
• Main Street (2nd Street to Brook Street) 7:00 - 8:30 am
• Brook Street (Main Street to Witherspoon) 7:30 - 8:30 am
• Witherspoon (1st Street to River Rd) 7:30 - 8:30 am
• River Road (Preston to Witherspoon) 7:30 - 8:30 am
• Preston (Witherspoon to Muhammad Ali 7:30 - 8:45 am
• Muhammad Ali (3rd Street to E Chestnut Street) 7:30 - 11:30 am
• Campbell Street (Muhammad Ali to E Chestnut Street) 7:30 - 11:30 am
• East Chestnut Street (Campbell St Street to Baxter Avenue) 7:30 - 11:50 am
• Lexington Road (downtown to Cherokee Park Scenic Loop) 7:30 - 10:00 am
• Cherokee Park Scenic Loop 7:30 - 10:30 am
• Cherokee Parkway (Willow Avenue to Grinstead Drive) 7:30 - 11:00 am
• Grinstead Drive (Lexington Road to Baxter Avenue) 7:30 - 11:00 am
• Baxter Avenue (Cherokee Road and Broadway to Liberty Street) 7:30 - 11:20 am
• 8th Street (W Liberty St to W Muhammad Ali) 7:30 am - 12:00 pm
• Muhammad Ali (3rd Street to 8th Street) 7:30 am - 12:00 pm           
• W Liberty Street (9th Street to 6th Street) 7:30 am - 12:00 pm
• W Liberty Street (3rd Street to 6th Street) 5:00 am - 1:00 pm

*These times are estimates. Streets could re-open earlier.

It’s time to clean house and get ready for another junk collection if you live in the 9^th District Urban Services District (USD). You may begin setting out your junk Friday, October 19 in the afternoon. All junk must be set out by Monday, October 22 at 6:00 a.m. Some items (hazardous materials, construction debris, etc.) are not collected. For collection guidelines, please visit http://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-works/services/junk-and-bulk-trash-disposal. Sign up for junk set out reminders by email and text, click here! To see if you are in the collection area, go to http://mapit.louisvilleky.gov/, enter your address and check under “sanitation services.”

Our next Community Conversation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 23 at Louisville Water Tower Park, 3005 River Road, beginning at 6:30 pm. 

We’ll be discussing short-term rentals, which are available through Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and similar companies, including the current ordinances and proposed changes. A representative from Planning & Design will be present to answer questions. We also want to hear your comments and concerns.

As always, I will 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!

The Louisville Sustainability Council is hosting the Annual Sustainability Summit on Friday, October 19, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the University of Louisville, Student Activities Center Ballroom. This year’s Summit theme is Learning Together: Fostering a Culture of Sustainability. The keynote address is The (Missing) Politics in Environmental and Sustainability Education by Dr. David Orr of Oberlin College. For more information and to register, please visit www.louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org.

Volunteers are still needed for the event. If you are interested, please email info@louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org.

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. 

• Now – November 4: Louisville Jack O ’Lantern Spectacular – Iroquois Park, tickets range from $10-$17. For more information call 368-5865 or visit www.jackolanternlouisville.com.
• Wednesday, October 24: Trick or Treatment at the Crescent Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. This is a free event open to the public. For more information, please visit http://louisvillewater.com/newsroom/join-us-trick-or-treatment-october-24.
• Friday, October 26: Free Dive-in movie at 7:00 p.m. at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Avenue. Movie is Ghostbusters Answer the Call.
• Friday, October 26: Northeast Christian Church/Clifton Campus is hosting a party for the whole family! Join them for Kidabalou from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. at Breslin Park, 1388 Lexington Road. There will be music, candy, food, inflatable jumpies and trunk-or-treating.
• Saturday, October 27: Halloween in Brown Park from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. For more information visit http://www.stmatthewschamber.com/1004-2/.
• Sunday, October 28: LMPD 1^st Division Family Fright Night from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at 416 N. 29^th Street. Enjoy trick-or-treating, a haunted house, characters and other fun surprises. Event is for children 13 and younger. This event is free and open to the public.

Most of us in Kentucky can only vote on Election Day, November 6, from 6 am - 6 pm at the precinct where we are registered. To help make a plan to vote, you can find your polling location at https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/vic/. 

Voters who will be outside Jefferson County on Election Day are among those who can vote absentee.  More information about voting absentee, both by mail and in-house, can be found here: http://elections.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/absentee-voting/

If you qualify to vote by absentee ballot, you can do that now by requesting a mail-in ballot (deadline October 30), or by voting in-house at the Jefferson County Clerk’s Election Center, which has moved to 701 West Ormsby Avenue, Suite 301.

In-house Voting Dates:

Monday – Friday       

• Now through November 5, 2018     8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Saturdays

• October 20, 2018               9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• October 27, 2018               9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• November 3, 2018              9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Exercise your right to register and vote this fall! 

The League of Women Voters of Louisville is hosting a series of Candidate Forums to give voters the opportunity to hear the positions of candidates running for office in the November elections. The public is encouraged to attend to gain information to help them decide who could best represent their interests.

Each candidate will begin with an opening statement and then will respond to questions asked by a moderator from the League of Women Voters of Louisville. Each candidate will also make a closing statement. The questions were developed by the League with input from residents throughout the county.

These Forums, listed below, offer a unique opportunity to hear candidates’ ideas and positions.

SCHOOL BOARD RACE

• School Board District 3: Jenny Benner, James Craig, Derek Guy. Tuesday, October 23, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Ballard High School, 6000 Old Brownsboro Road

NEIGHBORHOOD FORUMS: Metro Council, Kentucky House of Representatives, and Kentucky Senate Races

• OCTOBER 18, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. KY House 35: Lisa Willner & Donna Lawlor. KY House 38: McKenzie Cantrell & Karl Licht. KY House 40: Nima Kulkarni & Joshua Neubert. Iroquois Library, 601 W. Woodlawn
• OCTOBER 22, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Metro Council 13: Jennifer Alexander & Mark Fox. KY House 37: Jeff Donohue & Katherine Sweeton-Windsor. KY Senate 38: Dan Seum, Brenda Board, Andrew Bailey. Fairdale Library, 10620 W. Manslick Rd.
• OCTOBER 23, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Metro Council 11: Kevin J. Kramer & Derek Trent Ashcraft. KY House 31: Josie Raymond & Leigh Anne Boland Jones. KY Senate 14: Stephanie Compton & Jimmy Higdon. The Jeffersonian, 10617 Taylorsville Road.
• OCTOBER 24, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Metro Council 25: Harold Temoth Henley, Jr. & David Yates. KY House 44: Joni Jenkins & Margaret Adkins. Southwest Library, 9725 Dixie Hwy.
• OCTOBER 29, 6:30- 8:30 p.m. KY House 48: Ken Fleming & Maria Solis. KY Senate 26: Ernie Harris & Karen Berg. Westport Road Baptist Church, 9705 Westport Road.
• OCTOBER 29, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Metro Council 19: Anthony B. Piagentini & William R. Ackerman III. KY House 36: Maurice Sweeney & Jerry Miller. KY Senate 20: Dave Suetholz & Paul Hornback. Middletown Library, 200 N. Juneau Dr.
• OCTOBER 30, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. KY House 29: Ronel Brown & Kevin Bratcher. KY House 46: Alan Gentry & James Stansbury. South Central Library, 7300 Jefferson Blvd.

For further information contact the League at 502-895-5218 or email: lwvlouisville@gmail.com.

Louisville residents are invited to bring unneeded documents to be shredded and disposed of at a free event on Saturday, November 3, from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Citizens can protect themselves from identify theft by bringing items to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, 1030 Phillips Lane.

Businesses may not participate in this event. All paper materials will be shredded onsite and recycled. The shredding services are donated by Shred-It.

The age of dockless vehicles-bicycles and power assisted scooters that can be checked out from a fleet without human assistance or going to a docking station--has arrived in Louisville. These find-and-ride vehicles offer an option for getting around the city. Read below for a set of common sense rules and recommendations for both riders and fleet operators. Here are some highlights:

Rider rules and recommendations

• Must ride in roadways, and in bike lanes or bike paths where available
• Must not ride on sidewalks except when leaving or accessing a parking location
• Keep to the right of the rightmost lane, except when making left turns
• Yield to pedestrians
• Offer the right of way to bicycles in bike lanes
• Obey all traffic laws
• When parking, do not obstruct walking area of sidewalk or block building entrances
• Wear a helmet

Fleet rules and recommendations

• Operation is restricted to the area within Interstate 264 except for a southern extension to Palatka Road including Iroquois Park and a western extension to Shawnee Park
• Up to four operators will be permitted
• Initial fleet restricted to 150 vehicles per operator with gradual increases to 1,050 as required conditions are met.
• Must maintain a 24-hour customer service phone number which shall be posted on each vehicle and within the method used for checking out vehicles
• Power assisted speed of vehicles must not exceed 15 miles per hour
• All vehicles must have always-on front and rear lights visible from at least 300 feet away
• Must have ability to lock individual vehicles deemed or reported as unsafe

See the full Dockless Vehicle Policy 

On Friday, December 7, from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm, the 9th District office, in partnership with U of L Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, will offer FREE mammograms at United Crescent Hill Ministries (UCHM), 150 S. State Street.  To make an appointment, please contact my office at 574-3908.  Mammograms are for women age 40 and over. There is no cost to eligible women without insurance.  Women with insurance will need to bring their card so a claim may be filed.