10.16.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the reading of the Courier Journal for Thursday,
October sixteenth, twenty twenty five, which is brought to our
Louisville listeners via Louisville Public Media. As a reminder, Radio
I is a reading service intended for people who are
blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
read printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.

(00:22):
We'll start with a five day forecast brought to you
by w h A s to day high seventy two,
nice with plenty of sun, to night, low fifty, partly cloudy.
Friday high seventy five, low fifty eight, sun through high clouds.
Saturday high eighty one, low sixty one, turning cloudy and warm.

(00:49):
Sunday high sixty eight, low forty nine, rain and a
thunder storm. Monday high sixty five, low fifty, mostly sunny.
Tuesday high sixty nine, low fifty one, plenty of sunshine.
The local forecast nice today with plenty of sun, partly

(01:12):
cloudy tonight, sun through high clouds Tomorrow, Saturday turning cloudy
and very warm. Sunday, periods of rain and a thunderstorm
in the morning, cloudy, breezy, and cooler. The Almanac for
Louisville on Tuesday, temperature high seventy seven, low fifty five,

(01:34):
normal high seventy one, normal low fifty one. The record
high was ninety in eighteen ninety nine, the record low
thirty two in nineteen thirty seven. Precipitation Tuesday zero month
to date four point eight eight inches normal months to

(01:56):
day one point seven four inches. Year to date forty
eight point zero two inches normal year to date thirty
eight point eight one inches. The pollen count from allergyas
dot com grass, low weeds, moderate trees not available, and

(02:16):
molds moderate. Air quality was good yesterday and will be
good today. Sun and Moon Thursday sunrise seven fifty three
a m. Sunset seven o four pm, moonrise three oh
one am, moonset four fifty five pm. Friday sunrise seven

(02:41):
fifty four am, sunset seven o two pm, moonrise four
o five am, moonset five nineteen pm. The new moon
will be October twenty first, the first quarter October twenty ninth,
the full November fifth, and the last quarter November twelfth.

(03:04):
Weather history, an early blizzard raged across south Dakota and
southern Minnesota on October sixteenth, eighteen eighty drifts blocked railroads.
The storm also caused boat sinking gales on the Great Lakes. Now,
let's read the headlines from today's front page. First, JCPS

(03:26):
changes funding formula, race will not be used in equity
funding allocations. Next, why buyers might see more leverage in
Louisville's fall housing market. And the final item from today's
front page meals on wheels cuts upset lawmakers, budget shortfall

(03:48):
may greatly affect seniors. Now let's turn to our first
item entitled JCPS changes funding formula race will not be
used in equity funding allocations by Christie Johnson. In response
to pressure from the federal government, Jefferson County Board of
Education members have approved a change to the district's elementary

(04:09):
school equity funding formula, eliminating the use of student race
in the equation. The board approved the change, set to
take effect next year, during a meeting October fourteenth. About
thirty million dollars in equity funds were included in the
current budget that was approved in September. For the past
three years, j CPS elementary schools with higher rates of

(04:32):
students of color were given more equity funds than those
with higher rates of white students, sometimes even when the
student body wasn't considered as needy by j CPS standards.
The practice was discriminatory and quote patently illegal, according to
a letter sent to district leaders by officials in the U.
S Department of Education. By distributing financial resources to schools

(04:56):
based on the race of their students, the district is
engaging in precisely the kind of discrimination that the Civil
Rights Act was enacted to remedy and prevent. The letter continued.
The old formula took into account of school's needs index
based on the percentages of students who come from impoverished households,
who have special education needs, who are learning English, and

(05:19):
who move frequently, situations that are considered barriers to academic
achievement that require more support. Schools needs index scores ranged
from ten point two to fifty five point nine, according
to JCPS data provided through an open records request. The
formula then separately accounted for each school's percentage of non

(05:40):
white students to determine the total allocation amount. For schools
with the Accelerated Improvement classification as well as those in
the Choice Zone, the formula would multiply both the needs
index score and the percentage of non white students by
one thousand, five hundred dollars, and add those figures together
to determine the racial equity funding amount. In all other

(06:04):
elementary schools, the multiplier was one thousand. Race is not
a factor in the formula used to allocate equity funds
to JCPS middle and high schools. More often than not,
elementary schools with lower needs index scores also had lower
rates of students of color, and those with higher scores
served fewer white students, according to a Courier Journal analysis

(06:27):
of JCPS data, For example, the previous formula would have
provided Blue Elementary, with a student body that was eighty
percent white and a needs index of fourteen, the lowest
rate of racial equity funds roughly thirty five thousand dollars
according to twenty twenty three twenty twenty four data. In contrast,

(06:48):
MOP and Elementary, with a student body that was four
percent white and a needs index of fifty five point
six would have received the highest amount of funds, roughly
two hundred thirty thousand dollars. This means that even without
the race multiplier, the neediest schools would have often received
a larger chunk of funding under the former formula, but

(07:10):
there were some outliers. Blue Lick Elementary, for example, had
a high needs index fifty one point one, but a
lower rate of students of color fifty seven percent. Thirty
one elementary schools had lower needs index scores, meaning fewer
needy students but more students of color than Blue Lick,
and received more equity funds than the South End school.

(07:33):
Shacolt Elementary meanwhile, had a needs index of fifty three
point four and about a quarter of its students were white.
Under the old formula, nineteen schools with lower index scores
received more money. Now these schools are set to receive
a larger chunk of money moving forward. All seven board
members voted in favor of changing the formula, which will

(07:55):
only use a school's needs index score to determine its
equity fund allocation. The new formula will still use a
one thousand, five hundred dollars multiplier for accelerated improvement schools
and those in the Choice zone, while all other elementary
schools will have a one thousand dollar multiplier. It is
too early to determine a school's total allocation though an

(08:17):
additional multiplier, which will be the same for all schools,
will be established in January based on funding levels rather
than any kind of student demographic. Our next item for
to Day's front page is entitled why buyers might see
more leverage in Louisville's fall housing market by Matthew Lawiki.

(08:38):
After low home inventory in recent years, choice for those
looking to buy a new house is improving. There were
almost thirty five percent more homes for sale on the
market in August than the same month the year before,
according to the most recent monthly data from the Greater
Louisville Association of Realtors. There's more opportunity for buyers to

(08:58):
be able to negotiate and discussed things with the seller
then a couple of years ago, said realtor Will Fisher,
co owner of five O two real Estate and president
of the local realtor association, which represents five thousand, five
hundred members across the thirteen county region. In two thousand
and eight, during the Great Recession, there were about eleven

(09:19):
thousand homes for sale in the Greater Louisville area. Fisher said.
When the market was red hot during the early pandemic
in twenty twenty and into twenty twenty two, inventory fell
below eight hundred. It was a massive swing the other
way to where sellers had a lot of the power
as opposed to in the other market, buyers had a

(09:41):
lot of power, he said. In August of this year,
there were three thousand, six hundred forty nine homes for
sale on the market, up from about two thousand, seven
hundred homes in August twenty twenty four. That inventory rise
took the Louisville area from having just over two months
of supply to about the three months I fig you're

(10:01):
not seen since October twenty eighteen. This metric indicates how
balanced a market is between buyers and sellers, and projects
how long it would take for all homes on the
market to sell. Given the current pace of sales, around
six months supply is considered a balance market in which
buyers and sellers are an equal footing. Louisville's year over

(10:23):
year inventory picture has been improving for twenty four straight
months going back to August twenty twenty three, and while
the area is still below inventory levels of twenty nineteen,
home shoppers are still finding the most choice they've seen
in half a decade. It gives opportunities for individuals coming
up in the fall. Fisher said, you still have a

(10:45):
competitive market. It's not a pure balance yet, but you're
not seeing the I listed a house and received fifty offers,
and you're not having clients that are losing out on
twenty houses because everything is going quickly. Home sales Louisville
rose slightly as interest rates fell this summer, with home
prices rising, improving inventory and affordability relative to other states.

(11:09):
Elizabeth Monarch, principal broker for AXP Realty, said she sees
strength in the Louisville housing market. What is interesting is
in certain areas. I believe that we're experiencing a variety
of different markets, said Monarch, who has sold real estate
in Louisville for twenty four years. Based on her firm's listings,
some areas are still hot, reminiscent of the fast paced

(11:33):
over asking price sales environment of twenty twenty through twenty
twenty one, with factors such as price point and location
desirability playing a big role. Sales and other areas are
more like twenty thirteen, she said, which saw gains in
home values and sales volume, but also buyers who were
still timid coming out of the Great Recession amid a

(11:54):
portability concerns. Home sales were up this summer, helping put
this year on pace to surpass sales volume of twenty
twenty three and twenty twenty four, which were the lowest
sales volume years in the Louisville area in at least
a decade, with about fourteen thousand, three hundred and fourteen thousand,
seven hundred homes sold, respectively. Home sales were up four

(12:18):
point one percent year to day in August twenty twenty
five compared to August twenty twenty four. Homes are sitting
on the market for slightly longer this year over last,
with an average of thirty eight days on market this
August compared to thirty seven days at the same point
last year. Local Realtor Association data shows June and July

(12:39):
each saw a four day increase over the same time
last year. Our realtare dot com analysis of August home
sales found the typical US home took sixty days to
find a buyer. Louisville's thirty nine days placed it in
the top ten for fastest selling metro areas. Obviously, We're
still in the type of market where the quicker you

(13:00):
can sell your home, the more money you're going to get,
she said. The longer it sits, buyers are going to
maybe scratch their head and say, what is it overpriced.
The change of season also brought with it the first
Federal Reserve interest rate cut of twenty twenty five. In September,
the Fed sided slowing job gains and rising inflation and

(13:21):
signal two more cuts could happen this year. Mortgage interest rates,
which are indirectly tied to the Federal Reserve rate, have
been declining since July, with a thirty year fixed rate
mortgage average reaching a low of six point two six
percent in mid September, although not seen since October twenty
twenty four. According to Freddy Mack, while rates are dropping,

(13:45):
rates have not been consistently above six percent since two
thousand and six through two thousand and eight. It remains
to see how buyers and sellers will respond to the
interest rate cut what to expect out of the fall
housing market in Louisville. While the market is changing, giving
increased power to buyers, supply and demand still make for

(14:06):
a seller's market, just one that is not so deeply
tilted in their favor. I encourage buyers right now to
keep an eye on the market and watch it closely.
Because its rates ease and inventory goes up, they might
be able to find better deals than they did earlier
in the summer. Fisher said, Well, there are still multiple

(14:27):
offer situations and people waving contingencies such as appraisals and
home inspections. Such situations have notably declined since the red
hot market of twenty twenty Through twenty twenty one, buyers
are more selective during the home shopping process, aided in
part by having more choice. The house that three years

(14:47):
ago may have flown off the market based on size
and location might have things that the buyer might not
see as desirable as another house, Fisher said, So instead
of just any house going, they might be a lit
little bit more picky on finishes or conditions, or any
other factors that might cause that house to stay on
the market a little bit longer than what it would

(15:08):
have in the past. Buyers, too, are forking over more
of their funds to a higher interest rate than in
recent years, cutting into their spending power. And rising home
prices are also contributing to affordability concerns. The median home
sale price in the Greater Louisville area in August rose
to two hundred and ninety six thousand dollars, up seven

(15:31):
point six percent from August twenty twenty four's meeting of
two hundred seventy five thousand dollars. Year to date, the
median home price is up three point six percent over
last year. Monarch said she seen more homes undergo price
reductions as they sit on the market awaiting a buyer. Still,
home sellers are still fetching most of what they're asking.

(15:53):
They received ninety eight point six percent of their list
price on average, nearly unchanged from August twenty twenty five.
We are just in that type of market where we
don't want to leave money on the table from a
seller standpoint, but yet we don't want to grossly overprice it,
Monarch said. Buyers are not overpaying. Advice for buyers in

(16:15):
the Louisville housing market headed into the last quarter of
the year, Monarch and Fisher advised buyers to get pre
approved by a lender and as always, to understand what
their monthly house payment would be inclusive of the mortgage
as well as property taxes, home insurance and possible age
away fees. Get pre approved. That way they can plan,

(16:38):
Monarch said, they can decide if they want to increase
their sales price or increase their approval amount. You've got
to know your numbers. They've got to look into their
financing and know their exact budget. Have flexible terms. I
think we need to be flexible with the timing and
the terms, especially moving into the fall season with a holiday.

(16:58):
She said. Don't don't assume. Don't assume you're priced out.
Fisher said, know what you can do as far as price,
and be active, pay attention and be ready to jump.
Advice for sellers in the Louisville housing market, as homes
sit on the market for longer and more for sale
signs pop up on lawns across the county, sellers need

(17:20):
to put their best foot forward from the start. Smart pricing.
You want to be strategic with something right out of
the gate, Monarch said. You don't want to leave money
on the table, but you really don't want to overprice
it in today's market first impressions. Previously, sellers weren't having
to be as in tune with making sure that their

(17:41):
home was properly prepared, she said. In this market, we
are encouraging our sellers to make sure everything is exactly
the way it needs to be, pristine, ready to hit
the market in order to get that top dollar. Get
ready to negotiate. Sometimes I think sellers want to go
into this thinking that they have all the leverage, she said,

(18:02):
and I explained to them, you'd better be prepared to negotiate.
And that is just the market that we are back in.
The final item from today's front page is entitled Meals
on Wheels cuts upset lawmakers budget shortfall may greatly affect
seniors by Lucas Albach and Hannapinsky, Organizers who help with

(18:24):
Louisville Senior Nutrition Program, which offers free meals to elderly
residents and need knew a budget shortfall was coming. Programs
like Meals on Wheels have seen an increase in participants
in recent years, and the finish line for additional federal
funding provided amid the COVID nineteen pandemic has been in
sight for a while. Still, officials with a Kentuckiana regional

(18:47):
Planning and Development agency said they've been led to believe
additional funding would come now. After receiving a memo from
a state department last month that said more money would
not be available due to an estimated budget shortfall of
more than three hundred million dollars, organizers are scrambling for answers.

(19:07):
It's just sad that we are in this place where
seniors will be losing services that add positive aspects to
their health, safety, and welfare, Jessica Elkin, kipda's director of
Social Services, told The Courier Journal on October tenth, the
day after a contentious hearing on the topic in Frankfort
led some legislators to call for a special session to

(19:30):
address the issue head on. In Louisville and its surrounding
six counties, just over one thousand, five hundred residents are
served by Meals on Wheels, a program that offers food
home delivered five times a week to seniors who are
generally unable to travel, and the related congregate meal sites,
which provide food to seniors who are able to travel

(19:52):
to a site and pick it up. After a nutrition
risk assessment determined who had the highest need to remain
in the program, almost nine hundred seniors in Jefferson County
were put on a wait list, KIDPA officials said, with
about seventy others from six surrounding counties joining them. Louisville
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced earlier this month the city would

(20:15):
reallocate funds to keep serving those in Jefferson County through
the end of the year, but more work is needed.
Kentucky lawmakers, meanwhile, are concerned with the state of the
program after Department for Aging and Independent Living Commissioner Victoria
Eldridge said during an October ninth interim committee meeting that
the agency can to provide the same level of support

(20:38):
from prior years. The program expanded between twenty nineteen and
twenty twenty five, she said, and the increase in need
for food has outstripped the funding available when the current
budget was put together in the fall of twenty twenty three,
several lawmakers brought up the idea of calling a special session,
including Senator Danny Carroll, a Western Kentucky Republican, who said

(21:01):
he would support a special session if Governor Andy Basher's
administration can't find money in his budget to fully support
the program. He offered to give up his own salary
to help fund it. Others seemed more hesitant to advocate
for a special session. Democratic Representative Lindsay Burke said while
she will stay committed to getting meals for seniors, she

(21:24):
wasn't sure calling a special session is the best use
of funds. In a statement, Republican House Speaker David Osborne
said Basher has both the authority and ample opportunity to
address this issue independently, but seems far more interested in
podcasts and trips abroad. If he isn't willing to do
the work required to resolve it, we stand ready to

(21:46):
do what is necessary to find the money within existing funding,
Osborne added. In an October tenth statement, Bashier's spokesperson, Scottie
Ellis said the governor's office is committed to fighting hunger,
and Governor Bush has directed more dollars toward funding senior
meals than any other administration in the Commonwealth's history. The

(22:07):
administration will continue to look at options to provide further
assistance for senior meals, but as important to recognize every
government program must live within a budget, just as our
families do. At an early September Team Kentucky press briefing,
Basher attributed the more than three hundred million dollar expected
budget shortfall to tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump,

(22:30):
as well as cuts to the state income tax approved
by the legislature. Later that month, the Kentucky Lantern reported
the state's Consensus Forecasting Group projected revenue for the current
fiscal year will fall three hundred five million dollars short
of expectations in the budget. The current fiscal year budget
included ten million dollars for Senior Nutrition Program services, along

(22:53):
with additional money from the American Rescue Plan Act federal
legislation that was passed to provide relief amid the cover
nineteen pandemic. Those federal funds are expiring, though, while KIPDA
executive director Jarrett Hailey said the number of seniors served
has risen significantly in the past few years. Currently, he said,

(23:15):
just over one thousand, five hundred people in Louisville and
surrounding counties receive free meals, and about two thirds of
them are in line to be put on a wait
list if the one point seven million dollar program shortfall
to services isn't covered. Estimates of statewide participants in the
program include about eight thousand seniors who take part in

(23:36):
congregate services and just over nine thousand, five hundred who
take part in meals on wheels, with a state wide
shore fall at about nine point five million dollars. Impacts
will vary across the state's fifteen Area Development districts, which
oversee the nutrition programs. In far west Kentucky, Local allt
WPSD reported meals on wheels deliveries will drop from five

(24:00):
days per week to two, and one district in southeastern Kentucky,
Hailey said, is expected to lose services entirely. People in
the Louisville area who want to help are encouraged to
donate to any of the three primary meal providers that
deliver food. Alkin said, Louisville Metro, the Multi Purpose Community

(24:21):
Action Agency, and the Tri County Community Action Partnership. Meals
on Wheels and congregate services are available to individuals age
sixty and older, many of whom are unable to leave
their homes and are isolated for most of the community.
Its important work, Hailey said, for reasons that extend far

(24:42):
beyond the kitchen table. A lot of these home delivered
people are home bound individuals, so a lot of the
only social interaction they have is when they receive these meals.
He said, the social component is very critical to this
program as well. In addition to receiving nutrition, they also
received that social aspect. Now let's turn to the interior

(25:05):
of to day's paper, where our next item is entitled
River Road closes at Zorn Avenue due to project by
Leo Bertucci. River Road at Zorn Avenue is closed through
at least October eighteenth due to the Louisville Water Company's
ongoing residual line project, which is causing detours for drivers
coming off Interstate seventy one and other Northeastern thoroughfares. The

(25:30):
construction work, taking place near the Louisville Historic Water Tower,
is expected to take from five to seven days, according
to Louisville Water's website, meaning the intersection could be closed
until October twenty at the latest. The closure comes amid
extensive work to replace a more than fifty year old
residual pipeline running from the Crescent Hill Water Treatment Plant

(25:52):
to lagoons at the b E Pane Water Treatment Plant
in Prospect with two new twenty four inch pipes. The
pipeline crews are working to replace helps remove ways left
over from the water filtration process at the Cresson Hill plant.
Crews at River Road and Zorn Avenue are working to
connect two different sections of the pipeline project. Louisvill Water

(26:16):
spokesperson Kathleen Spiker said in a statement to the Courier Journal,
Louisville Water recently finished the pipe work along Zorn Avenue
that stretches from River Road and up across Brownsboro Road
to the Cresson Hill Park Tennis courts On Reservoir Avenue.
Spiker said workers are now connecting the pipe running underneath
Zorn Avenue to the newly installed residual lines under River Road.

(26:40):
Construction of the entire project is expected to be done
by summer twenty twenty six. Spiker said, we are taking
advantage of the warmer and drier weather to work quickly
and efficiently and ultimately move even further ahead of schedule
before the season turns colder. She said, Here's what we
know from Louisville Water about the detours available during the

(27:02):
closure period. Eastbound traffic on River Road will detour onto
Zorn Avenue heading south, turning left onto Melwood Avenue. They
will turn left to head north on Mockingbird Valley. Road.
To resume traveling on River Road, they can access local
restaurants and shops including River Road Barbecue, Haymarket, Kingfish, River

(27:24):
House Restaurant and Robar, and American Urns of Louisville. Westbound
traffic on River Road heading toward downtown and Zorn Avenue
will be detoured onto Mockingbird Valley Road and continue onto
Melwood Avenue heading west until they reach Frankfort Avenue. From there,
they will detour onto Frankfort Avenue to resume travel on

(27:45):
River Road. In both directions. Here are the detours for
northbound traffic on Zorn Avenue. Drivers seeking to head westbound
toward downtown will have to turn left onto Melwood Avenue
and continue west to Frankfort Avenue. After turning right onto
Frankfort Avenue, drivers can turn left onto River Road. Drivers

(28:07):
seeking the head eastbound will have to turn right onto
Melwood Avenue, then take a left on the Mockingbird Valley Road.
Drivers can reach River Road by continuing northbound on Mockingbird
Valley Road. After finishing work at River Road and Zorn Avenue,
crews will continue work on the pipeline at River Road
and Juniper Beach Road. In northeast Louisville. Spiker said. Our

(28:32):
next item is entitled heavy rain thunderstorms possible for Louisville
and to be west says by Lillian Mettzmeyer. After several
days of dry weather, Louisville might see thunderstorms and heavy
rain over the weekend. According to the latest forecasts from
the National Weather Service in Louisville, a strong cold front

(28:52):
is expected to move through the region late in the week,
with the potential for storms most likely to impact the
area from the afternoon into the night of October eighteenth,
and w S Louisville meteorologist Evan Webb said it's really
just a matter of how strong the thunderstorms will get.
He said, in addition to possible strong thunderstorms, the Louisville

(29:14):
area might see from one to two inches of rain,
increasing flooding risks for some areas, but current models are
not able to accurately forecast any potential rainfall totals as
of October fourteenth, The timing is tricky at this range,
Web said. Louisville Weather forecast October sixteenth sunny, with the

(29:36):
high near seventy one degrees and east wind around six
months per hour. Night will look mostly clear with the
lower round forty nine degrees. October seventeenth, partly sunny with
a high near seventy five degrees. Night will look partly
cloudy with the low around sixty degrees. October eighteenth, a
forty percent chance of showers in thunderstorms after two p m.

(30:00):
The day will be mostly sunny with a high near
seventy eight degrees. At night, the area may see a
chance of showers and thunder storms before eight p M.
Then showers likely and possibly a thunder storm between eight
p m and two a m. Then showers likely after
two a m. Mostly claudy with a low around fifty
six degrees. Chance of precipitation is seventy percent. October nineteenth,

(30:25):
a forty percent chance for showers. The day will look
mostly sunny with a high near sixty seven degrees. At night,
there will be a twenty percent chance of showers. Skies
will be mostly clear with a low round forty five degrees.
Now it is time to read the obituaries. We read
only the name, age, and location. If you would like

(30:46):
further information on any of the obituaries, please call us
during the week days at eight, five, nine, four two
two six, three nine zero, and we will be glad
to read the entire obituary for you. I will repeat
that number at the end of the listings. Travis Leo.
Carter thirty seven of Louisville. John Thomas Catlett ninety five

(31:09):
of Louisville. Doctor George A. Ox the fourth, seventy six
of Louisville. Michael Preston McDaniel seventy nine of Louisville, Manfred
Gordon Reed Senior eighty nine of Louisville. Paul Schumann seventy
nine of Kentucky. If you would like further information about

(31:32):
any of the listings today, call us on weekdays at
eight five nine four two two six three nine zero,
and we will be glad to read the entire item
to you. Our next item is from the Metro page
and is entitled plan may grow Park Ranger Program. Louisville
Metro Council's proposal would give access to training and grants,

(31:54):
update hiring options by Killiam Barlair. Louisville Metro Council is
weighing a proposal aimed at boosting recruitment for the city's
Park Range of program. Though the program, which falls under
the Department of Parks and Recreation already has full law
enforcement authority. A proposed ordinance would reclassify it to unlock

(32:15):
access to state administered training and grants that are currently
out of reach, according to Council records. Officials say the
current designation limits hiring options, especially for candidates with expired certifications,
and restricts funding opportunities. The current limitations we face are
holding us back. They make it harder to recruit, weaken

(32:38):
our ability to maintain training requirements, and create financial inefficiencies,
particularly in part time roles that are ideal for retired
law enforcement professionals. Michelle King, Executive director of Louisal Parks
and Recreation, said in a statement, Gaining access to these
vital state resources and training opportunities will allow us to

(32:59):
build the strength of our existing program and insure its
continued growth in a sustainable, forward thinking way. The proposal
will go before the Council for a potential vote at
its October sixteenth meeting. Here's what to know in advance
why officials want changes to Louisville's park Ranger program. Launched
by Mayor Craig Greenberg in October twenty twenty four, the

(33:23):
park Ranger program was created via executive order with a
special police designation. While the designation requires officers to obtain
Kentucky Peace Officer Professional Standards or POPS certification and grant's
full law enforcement authority, it prevents access to state training equipment, grants,
and professional development courses. Parks and Recreation officials said in

(33:46):
a statement the ordinance would reclassify the park Ranger program
in a manner that is standard for local law enforcement
agencies around the commonwealth and remove those barriers. If passed,
the agency would remain under the purview of Parks and
Recreation and continue enforcing local and state laws in parks

(34:06):
and community centers. Rangers could also assist other law enforcement
agencies when needed, and while the park Ranger Program would
formerly become the Louisville Parks Police, Parks and Recreation plans
to continue referring to the staff as rangers, with branding
on vehicles and uniforms going unchanged. Department spokesperson Kitty Cook

(34:27):
said in an email why Louisville started the park Ranger program.
The idea for a park ranger program was sparked by
a twenty twenty three report from the nonprofit Parks Alliance
of Louisville that named a lack of park security and
concerns about personal safety as the top two reasons Louisville
residents are deterred from using public parks and recreational facilities.

(34:50):
In response to the report, Louisville officials applied to the
Bloomberg Harvard Cross Boundary Collaboration Program in twenty twenty three,
and the city was one of across the globe selected.
Greenberg's administration used the program to focus on improving the
city's park safety through agency partnerships. Metro Council went on

(35:11):
to allocate three hundred thousand dollars for the Park Ranger
program in both twenty twenty four and twenty twenty five.
In May, Greenberg appointed James Brown, a former Oldham County
Sheriff's Office captain, as Chief park Ranger. Greenberg has said
the Park Ranger program is a major step forward for
park safety. We are doing everything we can to increase

(35:33):
park safety. That's part of why we've created the Park
Ranger program, he said at a September thirty news conference.
Brooke Pardue, president and CEO of the Park's Alliance of Louisville,
said While the Park Ranger program will help insure issues
like theft and vandalism are looked into, creating a safer
environment won't be achieved through policing. Alan She pointed to

(35:57):
Louisville's number ninety six ranking in the Trust for Public
Lands Annual Park System Report and call for improvements like
better lighting and expanded programming. We're never going to be
able to police ourselves out of issues, Party said. This
is a very important tool, but from the perspective of
the Parks Alliance, we have lots and lots of other

(36:18):
things that we need to be focused on when it
comes to our public parks. At the September thirty news conference,
Greenberg mentioned additional cameras, increase police patrols at certain parks,
and the installation of free public Wi Fi at parks.
When describing other actions the city has taken related to
park safety, community members weigh in on park Ranger program.

(36:41):
Councilman Dan Seung Junior, the Republican chair of the Public
Safety Committee and a sponsor of the ordinance, and Councilman
Khalil Batshan, the Republican chair of the Parks and Sustainability Committee,
so they support the park ranger program in large part
because of staffing shortages at the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The changes to the park ranger program, Sium said, will

(37:04):
help it retain and obtain quality employees to handle park
specific issues so l MPD can focus on issues like
violent crime. We've got to be able to help our
police officers be freed up, Sium said. Currently just one
ranger oversees the city's one hundred twenty parks. Parks in
Recreation is budgeted to hire two part time or one

(37:27):
full time ranger, but those worlds remain vacant months in
a Chief Brown's tenure, something officials hope that proposed ordinance
will help address. Batchan said he envisions a future where
each ranger is assigned a small group of parks to
patrol and respond to park visitors. Interviewed by The Courier
Journal express support for rangers who can address park specific issues.

(37:50):
Alberto Feliciano, a regular at Shelby Park, said he generally
feels safe at the park, but sometimes sees open air
drug use and people sleeping in the restrooms. He believes
rangers could make the park more welcoming for families. The
only thing that's bad is people doing drugs. He said,
Get a lot of little kids over here. Marie Welch,

(38:11):
a member of Friends of Iroquois Park, also backs the program.
After his appointment, Brown joined the group for a walk
through the South End park to hear their concerns. Welch
said she was happy to learn Brown leads with what
she called an education first philosophy. People need to know
what park rules are. Welch said, it's conversation first with people.

(38:34):
Eventually you can get to the point where you're sighted,
but it's very much leading with compassion and trying to
get individuals connected with one knowledge and then two proper resources.
Our next item, still from the Metro page, is entitled
South Louisville Works Retract Restaurants City program provides funds to

(38:54):
get them there, help keep them there by Kili Dall.
A new grand program is hoping to drive economic growth
in Louisville's South End by supporting new and existing businesses.
In September, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced a two million dollar
fund through the Louisville Economic Development Alliance's METCO loan program.
The program is twofold, with one million dollars going to

(39:17):
loans and grants for existing businesses within the South End.
The second part of the fund aims to attract both
local and national restaurants to the Dixie Highway Corridor, offering
up to thirty dollars per square foot for new tenants
in a five thousand square foot or larger space. New
restaurants can use the money for eighty A improvements, build

(39:38):
out costs, and upgrades. They must also sign a five
year lease agreement to be eligible for the program. Metro
Councilman Khalil Batchan, who represents part of South Louisville, said
Metro Council members including Crystal bast Dan Sium, and Jonathan
Joseph worked closely with the Mayor's office to attract greater
development within the South End. Bachan said, for a long time,

(40:02):
constituents have felt the South End was left out of
the loop and the last to get the opportunity. We
felt that this was a great way to incentivize not
only helping small businesses grow and expand into the community,
but also incentivize and expand on more anchor tenants. Bachan said,
our constituents deserve some of the same amenities as other

(40:24):
parts of our communities. Vince Jarbo, president of the Southwest
Dream Team, a community led group that aims to drive
economic development within the South End, said the twofold program
will support existing businesses and help attract something the area
has been missing, locally owned restaurants. It's pretty easy for corporate,

(40:45):
fast casual businesses to come in, you know, Panera and
Chick fil At, Jarbo said, I'm not discounting that. I'm
glad that they're there, but trying to get more of
a local, chef owned restaurant to come out there has
been tough. Nick Jewell is one business owner who's already
applied for the incentive program, hoping to open a Crumble

(41:06):
location in the South End in twenty twenty six. Jewel
said he hopes the loan program will help him open
on a much faster timeline, allowing him to renovate the signage, storeroom,
and front area to be in line with the cookie
franchise's standards. With the fund, this allows us to create
even more jobs for our contractors that are building the

(41:26):
space out, getting it open even sooner to the public
instead of having weight through a long, arduous process and
more investment dollars Jewel said. Jarbo said he believes business
costs like rent and the increasing price of goods and
materials can be daunting, and both funding programs can help
businesses get their feet underneath them. Sometimes, I think that

(41:49):
the amount of money that people want for the property,
whether they're selling or leasing it, is pretty high, Jarbo said,
So I think that this is a good incentive for
some because some of the core underwritten by the city,
Javo said. Residents of the South End are excited to
promote and support businesses that move into the area, and
programs like this keep the economic momentum growing. When some

(42:13):
of these places come into the Dixie Corridor, people immediately
start going there because they're trying to tell the owners
that we're glad you're here, thanks for coming out here.
Javo said, I think that it helps with the momentum
of what we're trying to accomplish, and I think people
take pride in it. Applications can be submitted at leda's

(42:34):
website Louisville Alliance dot org slash southend our. Next item,
still from the metro page is entitled Mead County Data
Center Unwelcome. Fiscal Court votes down rezoning after testimony by
Connor Griffin. After hours of testimony, the Mead County Fiscal

(42:55):
Court voted down a proposal to rezone more than one
hundred and thirty five acres of farm land which appeared
to be slated for a new data center project. The
court voted on a first reading to accept the recommendations
of the Planning and Zoning Commission to deny the rezoning.
In a tenth October fourteenth meeting earlier in the day,
the Commission unanimously recommended denying a proposal to rezone the

(43:18):
property to light. Industrial. Plans for the site described an
IT infrastructure facility to support technology related operations and infrastructure services.
The facility would operate on a twenty four hour schedule,
according to the filing, and involve staffing of up to
one hundred employees across shifts. Tommy Hobbs currently owns and

(43:41):
farms of property and previously told The Courier Journal he's
in the process of selling the land. He said the
prospective buyer's plans involve artificial intelligence, but he did not
share for the details. The day's hearings were the Ladies
example of the staunch opposition that data centers have faced
in parts of Kentucky. Attendees of both meetings heard roughly

(44:02):
four point five hours of public comment across the day.
The comments overwhelmingly against the rezoning. Residents raised concerns about
electricity and water usage, rising utility rates, infrastructure, and the
rural character of the community. The proposed side is surrounded
by farmland and residential areas. Danny Redman criticized state lawmakers

(44:26):
for approving expanded tax breaks for data centers, which do
not contain requirements for job creation or wages. The Courier
Journal previously reported. I'm not against jobs, I'm against bad jobs,
he told the court. As these bigger companies come along
wanting to invest in our area, I hope that we
can negotiate better terms with them. That way, the citizens

(44:49):
aren't getting shafted, said Joseph Pike. He told the court
he's a very capitalist, free market kind of guy, but
that a data center would not fit the proposed location.
Local planning agencies across the state are wrestling with how
to zone data center projects under existing codes, and utilities
are rushing to meet expected demand. LG and E and KU,

(45:13):
together forming the state's largest utility proposed to build new
gas fire generating units at a cost of three billion
dollars and extend the use of a Jefferson County coal
fired unit to accommodate data center demand. The multi billion
dollar data center project fell through in Oldham County this
summer as a county enacted a moratorium on such projects.

(45:36):
Louisville is considering the moratorium of its own as a
large scale data center project moves forward in southwest Jefferson County.
Next is the final item from today's mentro page, entitled
new Robertson County Sheriff, named after Gray's third DUI arrest
by Josh Wood. Robertson County Judge Executive Valerie Grigson Miley

(45:59):
has picked a new share for Kentucky's least populous county
following the resignation of Terry Gray, who recently resigned after
being arrested October seventh for his third d u I
in less than two years. According to a post she
made on Facebook on the morning of October thirteenth, Griggs
and Miley is tapping Randy Inscowe, who previously served as

(46:19):
the county chare for twenty one years, to replace Gray.
He has graciously agreed to step out of his retirement
and complete the remaining year of Gray's term. Griggson Miley
wrote on Facebook, both he and his wife, Patty have
assured me his absolutely no plans to run for sheriff
for the next election. Gray stepped down while in jail

(46:40):
on October ninth, one day after Kentucky Governor Andy Bashier
demanded he submitted his resignation or face removal proceedings for
neglect of duty. Gray, who was featured in a recent
Courier Journal investigation looking at sheriffs who remained in office
despite criminal charges or convictions, was arrested by a newsabouring
County's sheriff's office on October seventh with a blood alcohol

(47:04):
content nearly three times the legal limit. At the time
of his arrest, Gray was in uniform, armed, and operating
a departmental vehicle at high speeds, according to the Mason
County Sheriff's Office. On October tenth, a Mason County grand
jury indicted Gray on third offense duy, reckless driving, first

(47:24):
degree wanton endangerment, and first degree officialness conduct. According to
the charges in the grand jury's true bill, Gray was
driving over one hundred miles per hour on October seventh,
and created a substantial danger of death or serious physical
injury to Mason County Sheriff Ryan Swalsky, who was nearly
struck with Gray's cruiser, which was operating with lights and

(47:47):
sirens on while Gray was inebriated. Both Mason County and
Gray's Robertson County are in rural north central Kentucky. Robertson
County has a population of about two thousand, two hundred people.
In her post, Griggs and Miley said, since Gray was
arrested last week, she had received more than thirty inquiries
from people expressing their desire to finish Gray's term and

(48:10):
also run for sheriff in next year's election. However, she added,
an appointment now would give any candidate for sheriff a
distinct advantage in next year's election. Currently, our county is
experiencing what I can only describe as trauma, and I
believe that next year's elected shaff should be chosen wholly
by the citizens of Robertson County and as a result

(48:33):
of an even playing field. Griggs and Miley said the
decision to pick Enscowe was backed by the county's five magistrates.
Inskow stepped down as Robinson County sheriff in twenty thirteen,
after serving in his position for more than two decades,
according to a Ledger Independent story about his retirement. According
to that paper, Inscowe retired before his term expired. An

(48:56):
attempt to reach Enscowe for comment on October thirteenth was
not immediate returned. According to a nineteen ninety three Lexington
Herald Leeder column, Inskow graduated from high school in nineteen
sixty seven, which means he is likely in his seventies today.
It is unclear when he will take office next As
anom entitled students cited during suspended group's protests on U

(49:20):
of L campus by Leo Bertucci, a University of Louisville
student participating in a pro Palestinian protest led by a
recently suspended student group received a citation for disorderly conduct
October thirteenth, A university spokesperson confirmed to The Courier Journal
the University of Louisville police department interrupted a protest organized

(49:42):
by Louisville Students for Justice in Palestine, a student group
currently under an interim suspension after members were seen disrupting
President Jerry Bradley's inauguration ceremony October tenth. In response to
the suspension, LSJP leaders announced on social media the morning
of October thirteenth they would stage a protest on campus,

(50:03):
including in an encampment area on the Humanities Quad Zone
known as the Mariam Abdu Daka Liberation Zone. LSJP leaders
claimed on social media students in the encampment were threatened
with a suite from police officers, which cause them to
disperse some time in the morning, but a video posted
to lsjp's Instagram account shows group members return to the

(50:26):
area hours later and a protester is seen being handcuffed
as officers take down the encampment. The student who is
cited has not been identified by university officials. In a statement,
Bradley said LSJP members were warned multiple times about conduct
on campus prior to the October thirteenth encounter. The student

(50:47):
organization was advised and must follow the university Use of
Grounds policy and all other campus rules and directives, just
as all other student groups are required to do, he said.
As JPD WASPSIF typically told that it could not use
amplified sound, that would interrupt other campus activities, including classes,
set up encampments on u of L property, or disrupt

(51:10):
university business or activities such as Friday's inauguration ceremony. The
university may also take further action towards LSJP beyond the
interim suspension, Bradley said, but details were not made available.
LSJP leaders released his statements, saying they had made multiple
attempts to contact Bradley to discuss, among other things, removing

(51:31):
endowment investments and contracts with consortium partners that have financial
ties to Israel and or weapons manufacturers. We have continued
to escalate through community events, educationals, and on campus disruptions,
the statement read. In his statement, Bradley said U of
L welcomes and encourages diverse opinions in viewpoints, but all students, faculty,

(51:54):
and staff are required to adhere to the university's rules
and regulations. The safety and sect security of the entire
campus community remain our priority. He said. Our next item
is entitled people in the news. Alec Stephen Baldwin crushed
car into tree confirm they're fine. Alec Baldwin and Stephen

(52:14):
Baldwin are marking themselves as safe after they were involved
in a car accident that smashed up Hilaria Baldwin's range Rover.
Within hours of TMZ reporting that the Baldwin's car smashed
into a tree in East Hampton, New York, on October thirteenth,
Alec Baldwin took to Instagram to describe the incident in detail.
This morning, I was in a car accident. A guy

(52:36):
coming off in a truck, A big carbage truck, the
size of a whale, the sixty seven year old actor
said in a video. To avoid hitting him, I hit
a tree. I hit a big, fat tree. It crushed
my wife's car. I crushed my wife's car. I feel
bad about that, he continued, It's all fine. I'm fine,
my brother's fine. The East Hampton Town Police Department confirmed

(52:57):
the USA Today that officers respond to the accident on
October thirteenth, finding Alec Baldwin had struck a tree on
the shoulder of the road while trying to avoid a
mac commercial truck registered to a New York based garbage
collection company. Author Atward decries Powagrab of banning books. The
Handmaid Tales author Margaret Atwood has compared the practice of

(53:20):
banning books to a paragrab in Poughkeepsie, New York. On
October eleventh, Atwood received the Eleanor Roosevelt Center's Lifetime Achievement
Award for Bravery and Literature during the Eleanor Roosevelt Centre's
Banned Book Awards in partnership with penn America. The annual
award ceremony was a culmination of Banned Books Week twenty

(53:40):
twenty five, from October fifth through eleventh. Atwood's Handmaid's Tale,
according to pen America, was banned in fifty or more
school districts during the twenty twenty three twenty four school year.
Banning books, Atwood said, is an attempt by certain groups
of people to demonstrate their dominance, squashing others and their work. Next,

(54:03):
an item entitled man charged in connection to August homicide
is indicted in two new cases by Caroline Neil. A
man charge in connection with an August homicide in Saint
Matthew's was indicted October thirteenth in connection to two other
Jefferson County shooting deaths. According to a news release from
Louisville Metro Police. Dana's Lee Junior, twenty two, was charged

(54:27):
with murder from August thirteenth homicide near the Chickasaw and
Shawnee Neighborhoods. Spokesperson John Bradley said he is currently being
held at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections with a
cash bond of one million dollars. According to court records.
Anna b D responded to a report of a shooting
around nine p m. In the forty one hundred block

(54:47):
of West Broadway. When officers arrived, they found a woman
later identified as Jeremia Offha twenty eight, who had been shot.
Atha was taken to U of L Hospital, where she
died from her injuries. Lee is also facing charges in
connection to a July ninth, twenty twenty three homicide in
the park Hill neighborhood. NMPD responded to a report of

(55:10):
a shooting around nine twenty a m. Near the two
thousand block of Wilson Avenue. Officers found Moses Isaac Johnson
Junior with a gunshot wound, and he was later pronounced dead.
Court records are not yet available for the two new cases.
Our next item is entitled high turnout predicted at October
eighteenth rallies no Kings organizers planned seven hundred more locations

(55:34):
after success in June. By Sarah D Weyer of USA Today.
While October eighteenth, no King's protests share a name with
their June predecessors, organizers are expecting an unmatched flood of
people for what they believe will be the largest single
day of protest in modern American history. Altogether, two thousand,

(55:56):
five hundred events are scheduled in big city's suburb and
twy towns across the nation, dwarfing the one thousand, eight
hundred that were scheduled for June fourteenth. Anchor events are
planned outside the Capitol in Washington, d c. And in Boston,
New York, Atlanta, Kansas City, Kansas, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans,

(56:18):
and Bozmond, Montana. In Kentucky, events are planned in Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro,
and Bowling Green, among other cities. The angered level is
way higher than it was in June for the last
protests of the same name, said Public Citizen co President
Lisa Gilbert, one of the organizers. Thangs have changed, organizers

(56:40):
and activists told USA Today the Trump administration has ramped
up immigration enforcement, sent troops into several cities, made massive
changes to American health care and cracked down on the
First Amendment. There has been actual chipping away at democracy,
at foundational rights and prerogatives. Gilbert It said. People are saying,

(57:02):
I've never been moved to action before, but now I
feel like I have to. If you're not scared, you're
not paying attention. These folks are serious. They are actively
trying to take away your constitutional right to peaceful protest,
and that is how authoritarian regimes work, said Indivisible co
founder Ezra Levin, another of the organizers. They fear more

(57:25):
than anything one thing, which is the mass, peaceful, organized
population pushing back against their unpopular designs. Due to the
constraints of time, we will be unable to complete this item.
This concludes readings of The Courier Journal for Thursday, October sixteenth,
twenty twenty five. Stay tuned for more news to follow immediately.

(57:48):
Your reader has been Cindy Fraser