Tomorrow, Saturday July 23rd, we are having our Treasure Finders Outreach event for District 6. From 10am-2pm at the Old Louisville Information Center (1340 South Fourth St) in Central Park, Councilman James, his staff, and volunteers from the neighborhood will be making calls to tell people about unclaimed property and money waiting for them at the State Treasury. We encourage you stop by and at your convenience to help make a few calls and see if your name is on the list! For more about the program, watch Councilman James’ informative video.
For the last five weeks, young people hired by the SummerWorks2011 program have been putting their energies and talents to use by helping improve hundreds of properties throughout Metro Louisville. The program, made possible through funding by Metro Government, local businesses, and individual donors, has also provided meaningful short-term employment for teens and young adults in a difficult job market. Since the program kicked off on June 14th, SummerWorks crews have mowed and cleaned over 840 properties, many of which are located in District 6. In fact, the program has allowed Metro Government to more than double its usual manpower in targeting vacant lots and properties in disrepair.
“These employees are working under extreme temperatures, but they have done an excellent job in helping our Public Works crews tackle the large number of vacant and abandoned properties in Louisville,” Mayor Fischer said while visiting the workers at one of their sites at 2128 W. Jefferson St
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Councilman James, one of the program’s sponsors in Metro Council, joined Mayor Fischer in meeting with the young workers and congratulating them on their accomplishments. |
Metro Parks Community Centers provide quality programs for our neighborhood seniors, youth and active residents. This year, Metro Parks leaders approached me about providing scholarships to residents of District 6 to supplement the summer youth programs at the California Community Center. I was honored to participate, as I believe the more active our youth are in quality, positive activities, the less they will be interested in causing harm in our neighborhoods. As a thank you for my participation, the kids at California created this collage that is at the community center now and eventually will be hung in my office. A special thanks to leaders of California Community Center: Ron King, William Lyle, Toni Tutt and Lawrence Winburn. Their efforts have made the center a great place in our neighborhood!
Recently, I had the pleasure of touring the 7th Street Community Garden located on the southern tip of District 6 along 7th Street Road. What a wonderful addition to our community! This community garden is the 2nd largest garden in the county, with over 225 plots for individual gardening. I’m working with the leadership of the garden to find a more adequate trailer for the garden along with improving its maintenance and security. Many thanks to Wayne Long, Bill Brooks and Lauren Goldberg (all pictured with me below) for their leadership at the garden. For more information on the garden, please check out their website at: http://ces.ca.uky.edu/Jefferson/horticulture.
Last Friday, July 15th, Mayor Fischer signed an order extending domestic partner benefits to all employees of Metro Government. “It’s just the right thing to do,” stated the Mayor at his morning press conference, as he followed through on this campaign promise and made Louisville the first city in Kentucky to offer inclusive benefits to same-sex couples. Fischer was joined at the signing by long-time supporters of the measure, including Metro Councilpersons Tina Ward-Pugh, Tom Owen, Brent Ackerson, and David James.
“I am proud to have played an instrumental role in this notable achievement and will continue to make sure that employees of Louisville Metro Government are treated fairly and equally, regardless of orientation, race, creed, gender, etc. Louisville is a forward-thinking and innovative city, and it is important that our local government’s policies reflect that,” James said afterwards.
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As almost anyone who walks through the business district in downtown Louisville knows, panhandling has been a worsening problem in recent years. Even though Metro Council passed a law which specifically targeted “aggressive panhandling” in 2007, those who frequent the many restaurants, businesses, and various attractions in the area know that more needs to be done to curb this corrosive behavior.That is exactly why I have partnered with a number of Metro agencies and organizations, including the Louisville Downtown Management District, Metro Police, and the Coalition for the Homeless to provide a create solution that will help make downtown Louisville a more friendly environment.
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This “Positive Change” project has set up twelve metal collection boxes between Main Street and Broadway and Floyd Street to 9th Street to give people the option of reaching out to homeless and at-risk members of the community without rewarding panhandlers. The money collected from these boxes will help fund the programs in Louisville that fight homelessness and its underlying causes. |
So, next time you visit beautiful downtown Louisville, keep an eye out for these blue boxes that say “Positive Change” on them and help us make this effort a success!
Victorian Louisville, Inc. is a non-profit organization in District 6 that is focused on redevelopment abandoned and vacant properties in our neighborhoods and turning them back into contributing assets in our community. Led by Jan Cieremans, Christopher White and Bill Walsh, this group has purchased the “Jimmy Dillon House” at 1392 S. 2nd Street and plans to stabilize, preserve and renovate the property. I’m proud to partner with Jan, Christopher and Bill in this effort and have funded their efforts through a District 6 neighborhood development fund grant. The price to rehabilitate this property is high, so if you have any interest in participating, please contact Jan at 502-415-3270.
The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at1010 Beecher Street from 4pm-9pm on Tuesday, August 2nd. The drive, sponsored by the LMPD's 4th Division, is a great opportunity to give back to the community and help those in need. Click here for more information on the Red Cross and its projects in your area. As you probably know, there was a major water main break on Monday, July 11 along Eastern Parkway near the University of Louisville campus. The Louisville Water Company is estimating that this break affected up to 75,000 people in the area, many of whom are residents of District 6. Although this event created severe problems and inconveniences for many, the timely response and leadership shown on behalf of Metro Government, the Louisville Water Company and residents of the neighborhood, especially, must be commended. Seeing people react to this crisis in such a positive way gave me one more reason to be proud to serve as your Metro Councilman. For more information, read this special message from the Louisville Water Company. I am honored to announce that University of Louisville President James Ramsey has selected me to serve on the Advisory Board to the Fort Knox-University of Louisville Community Partnership, which is scheduled to get underway later this year. This new Community Partnership will provide a means for these two important institutions to work together on issues of shared interest, such as the welfare of soldiers and energy conservation. As a member of the Advisory Board, I will make sure that this project not only benefits Fort Knox and the University, but all of Metro Louisville and the Commonwealth as well. Stay tuned as more details about this exciting partnership emerge and please let me know if you have any thoughts about how to maximize its potential.
Click on the Facebook icon at the bottom of this newsletter to follow Councilman James’ new Facebook page
Visit http://mapit.louisvilleky.gov/ and type in your address to find out when your junk pick-up date is as well as street cleanings and additional information.
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