Oh, Kentucky

Change is everywhere in Kentucky. Our license-plate letters and numbers will no longer be raised.

The new Democratic governor will give Kentucky's first Republican attorney general in 70 years an early start.

The secretary of Kentucky's justice and public safety cabinet--a Democrat appointed four years ago by the outgoing Republican governor--bows out.

On his last day in office, Gov. Bevin opined on good jobs news from Murray: "Over the past four years, we have made historic strides in improving our business climate, and it’s exciting to see those efforts culminate in transformational job-creating projects. We are grateful that TPG chose Kentucky for its new operation and appreciate the opportunities it will provide to our citizens."

As one who knows next to nothing about law, the whole deal where a governor or president on the way out pardons convicted people is one of the more curious aspects of life in the United States.

The state's anticipated $1.1 billion budget shortfall "is a lot bigger than anything that we anticipated," a Republican state representative tells Joe Sonka and Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal. "It's a real train wreck," amplifies a progressive economic-policy group from Berea.

Eleanor Klibanoff of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting: "A KyCIR investigation shows LMPD brings almost every rape case to a prosecutor to decide whether to make an arrest--sometimes before they’ve done much investigating. If prosecutors decline the case, the police clear it 'by exception.' LMPD cleared three times as many 2017 rape cases 'by exception' than they did by arrest."

The Who's planned concert at NKU in April is historic for greater Cincinnati.

Brand new in Manchester: The Clay We Were.

Congratulations, Ms. McGaha, retiring operator of June's Beauty Shop in Jamestown since 19 and 62.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

There's a lot of stuff going on--wars and refugees, churches and cities, the 1970s and Vietnam, the 1980s and Japan, etc.--in this fascinating Georgetown News-Graphic article by Jackie Anders on the sale of the Cardome to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. I had to read it a couple of times to take it all in, and I'm glad I did.

Bath County High has a (beautiful) new fine-arts wing. 

The NWSL is coming to Louisville.

"With forward-thinking public officials and involved volunteer groups, the rebirth of downtown Winchester will continue unabated."

"The report brings up many good questions for Danville and Boyle County. How are we doing on being a rural development hub? Are we setting our community up to succeed long-term in a world where everyone thinks rural communities are dying? How are we doing on improving quality of life, particularly for our most vulnerable populations? Are we resisting changes that could have huge impacts because we are risk-averse? Are we putting too much emphasis on old economic development methods and measuring sticks? How well are we working regionally?"

"Too big of a challenge to focus on our differences."

Free Thanksgiving dinner, in Ashland. (And Whitesburg.) (And Wurtland.)

Free Christmas trees, at LBL.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Brownsville, Greensburg, Guthrie, Mayfield and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond and Trenton, Dec. 6; Barbourville, Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burkesville, Burnside, Elkton, Providence, Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Here's your new (Distinguished Rural) Kentuckian of the Year.

Here's your new Paxton Media Group president and CEO.

No more Saturday Herald-Leaders.

Bad jobs news from Cadiz. Better from Hopkinsville.

"This Is What The Trade War Looks Like In Bourbon Country." Steve Matthews from Bloomberg's Federal Reserve/economy reporter checks in.

Coal no longer qualifies in Henderson's "least-cost portfolio" for energy. Ryan Van Velzer from Louisville's WFPL brings back the story from down river.

"For those of you who have expressed concerns and a genuine curiosity, I would like to unveil the truth as it pertains to me about the Kentucky Fried Sisters (KFS), Capital Pride Kentucky and the queer community as a whole." The founding abbess of the Kentucky Fried Sisters speaks his piece in Frankfort's State Journal.

"A belief in the possible." Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands eyes footprint in Kentucky, reports Nina Shapiro of The Seattle Times from across the country.

"Doctors are under tremendous pressure to prescribe, and patients wear you down." Robert Smith with Kaiser Health News--via Valiant News--goes deep and dark into drugs in and around Clay County.

The Courier-Journal is promoting a 24-page special section planned for its Thanksgiving edition that it indicates will show how the tentacles of a crazy Mexican drug gang have reached throughout the United States and specifically Lexington's famous Calumet Farm.

Martin County's water crisis appears headed to a turning point this week.

Turning to sports, I've been doing a lot of deep thinking about these #ohkys and what I should be doing with them, and I think I need to always include one of these turning-to-sports items. Anyway, here's a link back to GoHeath on No. 2,296, and WKU is 4-0.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29; Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, Monticello and Pineville, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Cadiz, Calvert City, Columbia, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Owingsville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10; Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Bill Straub in the Northern Kentucky Tribune: "Once you work your way through the briars, brambles, and bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go in Kentucky politics, you’ll discover that elections often come down to just two issues – abortion and guns."

So let's imagine you're in western Kentucky from out of state and trying to figure out how where to take the fam to eat tonight to kick off your #freakinweekend in style. Well, here's some (270) foodie 411 for you:

-- Tapas have come to Owensboro.

-- Tacoholics is expanding again in Henderson.

-- Patti's is not quite back yet in Grand Rivers, but they do now have that new grill named after the town's founder.

Loretto is getting sidewalks!

This interactive map, from Frankfort's Kentucky Center for Statistics, looks like so much fun, and I can't wait to find out what it is that it's teaching me.

Oh, Kentucky

You're going to want to check this list before you get your LBL on.

Madisonville's Dr. Festus Claybon Memorial Park is getting a new football field and all-inclusive playground.

Sam Adler Bell delivers in New Internationalist an economical, power-packed 2,300 words on eastern Kentucky and coal's decline.

100 years for Lexington-based A&W, purchased by its franchisees from YUM! Brands in 2011.

Rest in peace, Lt. Brown, Covington firefighter of 25 years who "found little blessings in helping people."

Oh, Kentucky

Henderson reconsiders LGBTQ rights and fairness 20 years later. Chris Kenning with The Courier-Journal visits in advance of Tuesday's vote.

Hiring in Salem (for CNAs for all shifts and with a $1,500 signing bonus), Dixon (for Webster County High archery, cheer, golf and soccer coaches) and throughout the state (for career, elementary, special and technical education, among others).

"A quirky history podcast produced right here in Kentucky," The Past and The Curious, is getting a lot of love.

Thanks, Feds, for not shutting donw Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers in Edmonson, McCreary and Menifee counties.

Happy 50th, Louisville Zoo.

Oh, Kentucky

Update from Madisonville: Ferrell's Snappy Service is on track to be back by Flag Day!

Update from Paducah: SRO at the city commission, and 4-1 in favor of an amended fairness ordinance.

Update from Betsy Layne:

Closing of Boyle County's largest child-care provider has spurred a long, hard look at the problem, its ramifications and possible solutions among community members in and around Danville. Solid meeting coverage from Robin Hart in The-Advocate Messenger.

Thanks, Feds, for the dough to train aviation maintenance technicians at and around EKU.

The first signee to John Prine's Oh Boy Records in 15 years is from Monkey's Eyebrow.

Oh, Kentucky

Will Perkins with the Glasgow Daily Times delivers a lively feature from Farm Safety Day for Metcalfe County Middle School students. It sounds like quite an elaborate event--on the working family farm of a high-school ag teacher, 40 stations focused on different aspects of farm safety and involvement from businesses from as far away as Elizabethtown and Glasgow. "It's just a super, hands-on learning experience," said an advanced-placement biology teacher.

I'll tell you what also sounds great: the Tennessee River-Line trails project!

Mayor updates on Rite Aid renovation; groundbreaking set for new water planthttps://t.co/Oiqx2KT5FU pic.twitter.com/sKLJZO2sOL

— Grayson News-Gazette (@gcnewsgazette) May 10, 2019

Paper recycling? Yes in Covington, no in Lexington.

It's signing day for Madisonville Community College's advanced-manufacturing prospects.

The 2019 Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (ELI) class at Somerset's Center for Rural Development has been named. "ELI provides high school students in Southern and Eastern Kentucky with an in-depth look at what it takes to start their own business venture — from idea development to building a model prototype of their business concept."

Hiring in Harlan.

A residential treatment center for drug-addicted women and their children is planned for Clay County.

The Russell County Detention Center is moving to a higher-tech approach to identifying and tracking inmates, and the jailer interviewed on WJRS of Russell Springs--FM 104.9, "Lake Cumberland's Best Country"--sounds realistic but generally optimistic.

Three Murray State students shared their findings on "trauma journalism" with The Paducah Sun.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Campbellsville, Hebron, Independence, Lebanon, Lexington and Louisville.

The proposed aluminum mill for South Shore ... still not yet.

Kentucky has a new poet laureate, and he's "very eager to spread the gospel of poetry around the state."

New roofs are in the mix for Greenbo Lake, Jenny Wiley, Lake Barkley and several other state resort parks.

Guns, guns, guns: Manchester edition.

Turns out Kentucky is having a hay shortage.

Turning to sports, it appears as though you can still get tickets for tomorrow night's South Regional championship in Louisville for from $200.03 to $4,602 apiece.

Oh, Kentucky

Welcome to Greenville (coming soon).

Hiring in Princeton (for jobs there and in Eddyville, Grand Rivers, Marion, etc.)

If you're planning to get your Chik-fil-A on in Ashland, you better get it going. But chill: "It is temporarily a bad thing but it is long term a good thing."

Some in Louisville City FC Nation are not about to chill.

Wonderful Nita Johnson feature in London's Sentinel Echo on Laurel County's new teacher of the year: "I always tell them, Te Amo Mucho - I love you a lot," she said. "I always want that to be the last words they hear."


The equivalent of about half of Kentucky's old tires reportedly are being converted into energy at East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s Spurlock Station in Maysville.

Why are people getting sick in the mail room of the federal prison in Manchester?

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Louisville.

Statistically Kentucky's lowest rate of unemployment? Woodford. Highest? Magoffin.

Reportedly Kentucky's healthiest county? Oldham. Least-healthy? Owsley.

The publisher of Shepherdsville's Pioneer News takes in the State of Bullitt County.

For the record, in Barren County, it's still the Glasgow Daily Times.

From the opinion page of Bardstown's Kentucky Standard:

-- "But like I said, Trump and company don’t have a monopoly on hate and violence. Islamist extremists, modern-day Khajarites, have been swimming in hate-based violence for the better part of four decades."

-- "I’m grateful that the Democratic Party elected people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. They will be the “gift that keeps on giving” for the Republicans in 2020."

Meanwhile, a local salon joins its industry's "Green Circle."

Laundry Love, in Murray.

Literacy Celebration, across Hopkins County.

Thank you, Lord, that it wasn't any worse than it was in West Paducah last week.

Via a University of Cumberlands service project, free tutoring is available to students of any age and in any subject Mondays and Wednesdays at the Whitley County Public Library.

LaRue County middle- and high-school students come back from KUNA with plenty to tell Ron Benningfield for a detailed report in Hodgenville's Herald News.

10 years and counting of independent pro wrestling in Muhlenberg County.

Lexington's "Thriller" parade may be done.

Oh, Kentucky

Man, oh, man ... everything's complicated (Walton edition).

25. Floyd
23. Jackson
20. Martin
16. Knox
10. Harlan
9. Bell
8. Leslie
7. Breathitt
6. Clay
5. McCreary

Thursday morning at Paducah's Kentucky Career Center: "Come join us and bring a friend! We are working on improving reentry into our community and improving public safety. If you cannot attend, see if someone you know or work with can come in your place."

Tomorrow morning at Lexington's UK Gatton Student Center: "The event is free and open to the public, though reservations are requested, as space is limited. Participation is highly recommended for elected officials, community and economic development leaders, existing businesses within Opportunity Zones and those looking to develop projects in Opportunity Zones."

Cincinnati's Buffalo Wings & Rings eyes rollout of 25 Kentucky stores in the next five years, and you could be their person in Winchester.

Speaking of (No. 25) Floyd County, bravo to Prestonsburg's Girl Scouts Troop 5185 and everyone else who spent their Saturday mornings cleaning up around Jenny Wiley State Resort Park--which, by the way, is awesome:

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Owensboro, Nov. 17; Ashland, Nov. 20; Brownsville, Nov. 24; Cumberland and Fredonia, Nov. 30; Arlington, Barbourville (thank you, Mountain Advocate, for the video above), Berea, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle (thank you, Carlisle Mercury, for the video above), Clinton, Columbia, Hawesville, Jenkins, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lewisport, Madisonville, Marion (thank you, Crittenden Press, for the video above), Murray, Paducah, Somerset and Whitley City, Dec. 1; Bowling Green, Dawson Springs, Glasgow and Salyersville, Dec. 2; Lexington, Dec. 4; Greenup, Dec. 6; Frankfort, Monticello and Richmond, Dec. 7; Benton, Elkton, Eubank, Harlan, Hopkinsville, Horse Cave, Louisa, Munfordville and Stamping Ground, Dec. 8; Whitesburg, Dec. 14; Burnside, La Center, Manchester (thank you, Manchester Enterprise, for the news) and Neon, Dec. 15.

The disappearance in Paducah of a legendary San Francisco radio host has been solved, sadly, but the case appears to be not at all closed.

The expansion of the Paxton Media Group engulfs another half-dozen papers in western Kentucky.

The Bellevue-Dayton Fire Department is getting serious about the help it needs. So's Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Franklin, Hebron and Winchester.

Effective words and picture from Glenn Puit and Tim Preston in the Grayson Journal-Enquirer: "Cashiers on duty at Grayson's K-Mart Big K Monday afternoon said they have been informed of plans to close the store, although they have not been given a closing date. The cashiers said the store employs about 50 workers. It is a retail mainstay in the small community."

Etown loses its tourism chief to BG.

A former Paducah tourism director has taken it upon herself to commence the long process of restoring McCracken County's 83 historical markers, and Leah Shields of WPSD tells how you can help.

A Bardstown antiques collector is offering his Civil War artifacts to a Bardstown museum for half-a-million off. Interesting report by Randy Patrick in The Kentucky Standard.

Manchester now has its own oncology clinic, but Clay County is short on deputy sheriffs.

A downtown block of Henderson is bouncing back to life.

Louisville is losing out on millennials.

Rest in peace, Lebanon's "Dr. Salem," son of immigrant parents, proud St. Augustine School alum, deliverer of more than 6,000 babies and founder of several nursing and other medical facilities in and around Marion County.

Oh, Kentucky

An early-morning fire today has staggered Ferrell's, which arrived in Madisonville when my dad was 4, remained his standard for hamburgers the rest of his life and became mine once my wife and I moved to town in 2008.

On the better-news-from-here front, Madisonville Community College has graduated its first class of utility lineman, and more than half are reported to be already employed.

Aluminum to the rescue, in coal country, per Forbes.

Hiring (at a coal mine) in Hazard.

The University of the Cumberlands is cutting tuition for undergraduate students by 57 percent.

A new clinic "to extend the healing ministry of Christ to everyone" in Manchester.

Kentucky considers boosting its animal-cruelty penalties, and The Horse takes hopeful note.

USA Today reports on a nationwide effort is underway to save 458 pigs rescued from a Falmouth farm.

The state has a new Boxing and Wrestling Commission chair, and he's a former Somerset High Briar Jumpers football star with a "mind for money" and solid résumé of excelling on state boards, reports Christopher Harris in the Commonwealth Journal.

Joe Asher in the Harlan Daily Enterprise delivers a comprehensive report on the fiscal court's tourism priorities and efforts to refresh the county's parks.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Bowling Green, Erlanger and Lexington.

"If part of your community is doing well and the other part not doing so good then the community can only fail. But if both sides of the community flourish, then the community will rise together and we all win because the sky is the limit."

"Their new group, Co-Heirs with Christ Missions, is different from some churches they attended in Africa. Too often, Frimpong remembered, leaders preached that joining the church would change their lives immediately – that their belief would guarantee prosperity. This tactic brought people to churches, but it only exacerbated the poverty rate, as people started to believe that they didn’t need to look for work."

UK's Kentucky Kernel has a new advisor (second consecutive one from WKU), and the Todd County Standard is on the market.

Sweet Paducah Sun story about a South Carolina man returning to where he and his late wife married in 1955--with helpful bonus material on the history of PJC/PCC/WKTC/WKCTC.

Terrific Bill Estep report in the Lexington Herald-Leader on the impact of drugs on the labor market in eastern Kentucky.

A Hardinsburg barber stars in an Amazon movie that came out yesterday, and it sounds hair-raising!

With the U.S. Senior Open rolling, the USGA took a road trip to Franklin to visit with the defending champ.

Corbin's getting a mural, on Roy Kidd Avenue.

Oh, Kentucky

pic.twitter.com/oIAj5o2UTQ

— ACS Sports (@acs_sports) January 6, 2018

“Produce Best Practices Training,” “Eastern Kentucky Beekeeping School,” “Women & Your Finances,” “Marketing Locally Grown Meat Workshop,” “Becoming Body Aware,” “Plate It Up,” “Beef Quality and Care Assurance Training” are among the Kentucky Cooperative Extension this month in eastern Kentucky.

Per Brittany Fuller's story in The Jessamine Journal, nine chimpanzees and 38 different breeds of monkeys live at Nicholasville’s 30-year-old Primate Rescue Center.

Kentucky Lottery sales were highest last year in Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, Hardin and Christian counties, but, of course, we need these numbers to be converted relative to population. It should be noted, for example, that Christian County is only the 11th-largest Kentucky county.

Henderson's Kmart also is closing.

Oh, Kentucky

Happy 29th tomorrow, Kevin Olusola, Owensboro-born "celloboxing" pioneer:

It's ham season in Trigg County.

Sue Grafton's Y Is For Yesterday and other new titles at the Nelson County Public Library.

Elkton is seeking a curbside leaf collector; the Daniel Boone Community Action Agency in Manchester, a transit driver.

Good jobs news from Barren County.

A lot of reasons! Love of history, love of Kentucky, love of records. #TheAnswerIsLove #AskAnArchivist https://t.co/4RnYlfERZg

— KY State Archives (@KYStateArchives) October 4, 2017

Gov. Bevin told WKYX that he thinks NCAA student-athletes should be paid.

"When we eat a meal together, good things happen in your family and those around you."

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Owensboro, Nov. 18; Barbourville, Fordsville, Georgetown, Madisonville, Murray and Winchester, Dec. 2; Lexington, Dec. 6, and Hopkinsville, Dec. 9.

Except for an uptick in 2006, donations to Paducah's Telethon of Stars have been on the slide since their peak in 1997, per a Channel 6 graph. Last year's total of $228,410 in gifts appears to be about on par with 1971 giving.

Continuing a fantastic but chilling series, Elizabeth Klibanoff with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting surveys Kentucky's hate-group landscape.

"Hero."

Rest in peace, Mr. Atwell, "Caverna's most successful man."

Oh, Kentucky

A naked man in his 60s riding a moped.
A topless woman in her 40s shooting a Super Soaker.
The usual https://t.co/DKUaCzIAGU — @ALTONPHOTO

— Nate Chute (@nchute) July 30, 2017

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are appealing to march with their favorite flag in Paducah's (U.S.) Veterans Day Parade.

What's HUD doing for Kentucky? Working to improve access to affordable, quality and fair housing, extend broadband connectivity to low-income Americans, etc., says the field-office director in a road show.

If you missed the free black-lung screenings at the Sleep Inn in Middlesboro yesterday, NIOSH will be at the Harlan Walmart and Evarts later this week.

Hoptown elegy.

"There's so much more inside people like him than they ever gave him credit for."

Jail gardens like this one at the Clay County Detention Center seem to be all over the place now.

It really is great that there's a reporter at the Cynthiana Democrat who brings in breakfast for everyone in the place once a week.

The Hart County News-Herald also is hiring.

Elliott Pratt of The Bowling Green Daily News delivers an enjoyable update on doings with Kenny Perry.

Not endless ... but one more week in Louisville.