46 Teams Left

Personally, I don't think they should play high school basketball on Sunday.  But we have four big games today:

First Region Final (at Murray St. U.):

McCracken Co. (26-7) v. Marshall Co. (24-7)

Fifth Region Final (at Green Co.):

Adair Co. (27-7) v. Bethlehem (16-14)

Ninth Region Semi-Finals (at No. Kentucky U.):

Lloyd Memorial (25-8) v. (3) Newport (30-3)

(6) Cov. Catholic (26-5) v. (14) Cooper (23-8)

Oh, Kentucky

This is a simply terrific piece of journalism ...

#NoMoreNoKnocks, now in Lexington, too.

Toward more teachers of color.

"This cemetery has experienced vandalism for years. It's usually teenagers who get intoxicated ... it's a remote area ... We have other remote cemeteries which also get vandalized. There's no indication this was racially motivated."

The gravesite of an Revolutionary War soldier was threatened, but Loyall rallied. (It's not what you think.)

Smart Southgate, etc.?

Trooper Island Kids' Camp goes virtual.

On second thought, the Maysville Mason County Recreation Park pool will open this summer.

“It definitely is not any fun when you gotta be stuck in the house and you’d rather be outside shooting paint at your buddies.”

Gird yourself, warns the Pennyrile District health department director.

Rest in peace, Lisa K. Jones, Grayson County's homegrown library hero.

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

Guns N' Roses is not playing Pikeville.

I wonder how the interactive children's concert with the Lexington Philharmonic went Saturday in Williamsburg.

Madisonville's mayor explained some city-budget choices at a town meeting last week, and Brandon Buchanan with The Messenger has an interesting report: "We can't continue to fund organizations when we can't even find what they have done."

Patrick Sisson in Curbed looks at a Kentucky native's vision for high-tech farming in Morehead: "We’re committed to making eastern Kentucky the agtech capital of America."

Good jobs news from Danville.

The state's highest rents for apartment complexes are found in Newport.

Falmouth's ambulance service is in jeopardy. 

Flat (inflation-adjusted) wages, still, in Kentucky.

Welcome to KSU, and here's a laptop--The Kentucky 100 has the scoop in 100 or fewer words. 

You're running out of time to weigh in on naming the animals at LBL.

Should Kentucky decriminalize possession of marijuana up to 100 grams? Ninety-four of the first 130 voters at a Harrodsburg Herald poll said yes.

Improper drop-offs are becoming a bigger problem for Ashland's non-profit community, reports Carly Carver in The Daily Independent.

Thanks, Feds, for sticking up for a whistle-blowing truck driver in Florence.

British Open Preview: I predict that Jason Dufner will not win his second major since June 2010 when the HP launched.

Oh, Kentucky

A former EKU cheerleader who grew up in Winchester was working at a Las Vegas Hooters, where she met a model. They started dating. Then he got a job as a server at a restaurant featured in a Bravo reality-TV series. Then the guy and the woman from Winchester ended up getting their own Bravo spinoff, and on Saturday they got married at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles. People has exclusive photos and coverage--including details such as that former 'NSYNC performer Lance Bass officiated and that rentals were provided by Bryant's Rent-all of Lexington. "Mr. Vernon Bryant started in the rental business in Lexington, Kentucky in 1953, as a United Rent-All franchise store. His store was located at 531 South Limestone, just opposite the University of Kentucky. This was the first equipment rental store in central Kentucky. The telephone book did not have 'rental' as a heading at the time, so Mr. Bryant was the first business under that heading."

A mechanic decided to shift to law enforcement in 1957. He retired Friday from the Campbell County Sheriff's Office.

Hazard's new police department is an old McDonald's.

The U.S. Postal Service says Louisville's Girard Drive has gone to the dogs, and so they aren't going there for now.

Good jobs news from Wurtland.

World's largest pocketknife, in Radcliff.

"That's OK if you don’t believe in it, but it’s all about everybody being treated fairly." Shamarria Morrison has an interesting feature on Paducah's "safe spaces" for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or sexual-identity-questioning people.

Christmas parades: Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Hopkinsville, Dec. 6, and Henderson and Scottsville, Dec. 7.

Oh, Kentucky

The Kentucky Department of Health says more than 60 county health departments are in jeopardy of closing within the next two years. Clark County's is one of them, and Whitney Liggett with The Winchester Sun has a very thorough report on how local officials are adapting to the crisis.

Facilities in Elsmere, Louisville, Owensboro, Paducah and Paintsville show up on a federal list of 400 problem nursing homes.

Here's the updated list of Need Line needed items in Murray, per the Murray Ledger & Times: mustard, potatoes, tea bags, bread, saltine crackers, pancake mix, pancake syrup, catsup, onions, Kool Aid, buns, peanut butter, pickle relish, pork and beans, sugar, Jiffy Mix, eggs, margarine, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, ground beef, hot dogs, chicken, toilet paper, dish liquid, laundry detergent, soap, plastic storage bags (1- and 2-gallon sizes), hotel or travel-size shampoo, lotions, soap and large brown bags.

Kentucky for sale:

Good jobs news from (Dave Cowens Drive in) Newport, (and between) New Haven and New Hope.

The guys opening the Alley on Main restaurant hope to capture some of Paintsville's history, and, with good Kentucky names like Estep and Pelphrey, that seems like a fitting plan.

A new Master of Science in Global Business with Blockchain Technology will be available this summer from the University of Cumberlands--and nowhere else in the state.

Rest in peace, "King" Kelly Coleman, "truly the greatest basketball player Kentucky has ever had." Great tribute from Josh Moore in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Oh, Kentucky

Fifty years and 12 stories of affordable housing for 55-year-old-and-older residents of Newport.

After 54 years of hellos at Harlan County schools, it's so long to Billie Gray.

The 32nd Charles Logsdon Historic Downtown Walking Tour commences Thursday in Etown.

Starting on digital literacy early, in Louisville.

Martin County is getting together Saturday to clean up and celebrate.

"Of course, lots of cities have amphitheaters, but not every town with a population of about 3,500 builds a venue that holds 5,000." Deborah Kohl Kremer has a nice feature in Kentucky Monthly on plucky Beaver Dam and its amphitheater.

Turning to sports, disc-golf season is underway in Lawrenceburg; Summit's Armco Park Iron Ore Hiking Trail, which "includes part of the brick road from the original Route 60 that went from Ashland to Lexington" (!), opened Saturday, but--too bad, so sad--you missed canoeing or kayaking the Woodbury-to-Aberdeen Green River Ramble.

Also, Danville's Advocate-Messenger lost its sports editor of three years to the Norton Center for the Arts, and the new person is an eager University of Louisville Cardinal alum who lives in Bullitt County and has been working on an assembly line.

Rest in peace, Rev. Dr. Hobgood, a Transylvania and College of the Bible product, former pastor of several Kentucky congregations and 2003-05 general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) "whose leadership in a transitional time called us to faithfulness in our witness as a pro-reconciling anti-racist Church."

Oh, Kentucky

(Super) Wikipedia: "As a child, he played baseball games with tree limbs as bats and with baseballs made out of string and the material of old shoes ..."

Per the Jordan Harris with the Pegasus Institute think tank, there are lots more jobs than job seekers in northern Kentucky and around Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville and Owensboro--but not so in eastern or western Kentucky.

“It’s really pretty simple, if you’re seriously seeking employment, this job fair is for you. There are so many job openings available these days that it’s almost inexcusable to not be employed if you’re seriously seeking employment.”

Newport Independent Schools students who want something more are being provided an online option.

Thanks, Feds, for the $38M to help fix drinking-water infrastructure around the state.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gish, a Niagara-born engineer responsible for so much good safe and sanitary water service in and around Henderson County. Just a fantastic tribute by Chuck Stinnett (another Henderson legend) in the (indispensable) Gleaner.

Oh, Kentucky

Where have all the barn owls gone? Long time passing.

Cat parades: Franklin (Favorite), May 23.

Ebb tide at Newport on the Levee, but, perhaps, flow is afoot.

Kentucky for sale:

Turning to sports, the prospect of Chad Johnson's appearance actually bothers me more than that of Michael Vick's. Also, the Kentucky Derby horse race is reportedly scheduled to take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Oh, Kentucky

Thomas Barr in The Pioneer Press delivers the down low on Hillview's thinking and plans on holidays and city-meeting scheduling.

Newport Wash & Tan will only wash (and not tan) in the old Bob Evans, Fort Thomas Matters reports.

Per Etown's News Enterprise, Louisville's Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen chain is extending south.

Hiring at Murray State.

Fran Tarkenton is coming (virtually) to Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and maybe I'll ask him if he's getting excited about the HP's planned coverage of NFL73!

Oh, Kentucky

Ringing in the new, for the first time in London.

Happy last year, says the governor.

Hiring in Madisonville.

List price for a Latonia golf course and club built in 1927 is just short of $4 million, reports Covington's River City News.

Newport's Mitchell's Fish Market is no more, reports WLWT from across the river.

A tense Paintsville Tourism Commission meeting ends with a long executive session and layoff of the manager of Staffordsville's Mountain HomePlace. Aaron K. Nelson delivers strong play-by-play in The Paintsville Herald.

Julianna Leach looks back in The Morehead News of a local father-son framing business's eight-year rise. "Great things came come from Morehead."

A Hopkinsville native who contributed to Lexington's rise says Somerset is "primed and ready to be a major tourist destination," and maybe 39 signs of that optimism just fell out of the sky and into his yard. Here's the neat, twisty/turny feature from Christopher Harris in the Commonwealth Journal.

How to start a business, at Murray State in Paducah.

Oh, Kentucky

First day of school at Oakview Elementary in Ashland pic.twitter.com/Wx2UydtYSc

— The Daily Independent (@ashlandkydaily) August 15, 2018

 

Stay tuned for more back-to-school pictures in Central City's Times-Argus.

There's a bus-driver shortage in Hardin County, too.

Clarkson is adding a third full-time police officer (and planning to rehab its 30-year-old sewer system and readying for Honeyfest).

Matt Bevin, prospective vice-presidential nominee from New Hampshire, is again taking shots at Kentucky's public employees.

Louisville has a last-second mayoral candidate "known as a political bomb thrower," per Phillip M. Bailey in The Courier-Journal.

Newport Shopping Center and Plaza is getting more populated.

"Veterans as Entrepreneurs/ Veterans to Enhance Workforce," "Importance of Relationship Between Economic Development & Community College" and "Coworking Spaces & Makerspaces" are among the topics scheduled to be covered at the Oct. 18 Madisonville-Hopkins County Rural Development Conference.

"It's come one, come all," for fourth- through eighth-graders wanting to sing in the Harlan County Children's Choir.

Rest in peace, Mr. Isham, Somerset Community College psychology professor, Stoner Little Theatre regular, former Pulaski County Library board member, audio-book narrator and possessor of "a tremendous voice that any broadcaster would envy," according to Christopher Harris's fine story in Corbin's Times-Tribune.

Oh, Kentucky

It's news that "Kentucky's two U.S. Senators speak out against separating immigrant children from parents."

"11 states are pulling National Guard troops from the US-Mexico border in a growing protest over Trump's family-separation policy." Kentucky is not one of them.

"Yes, the optics are bad that we're standing there like the black-booted thugs. But we're not. We're just trying to enforce the rules at the Capitol."

"We don't necessarily believe in a heavy hand in trying to reduce crime. That's not how this department works."

"Records, research and interviews with stakeholders in the juvenile justice system show that racial disparity occurs at nearly every decision point in Kentucky’s juvenile justice system. As juvenile detention center populations dwindle and fewer minor offenders are locked up, whites feel the benefit most. Youth lockups are becoming more black and brown." The (indispensable) Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting rolls out its newest series.

That bank robbery in Lewisport is no joking matter ... well, it shouldn't be, anyway.

Newport's "whiskey campus" is coming along, despite Mexican and EU tariffs on bourbon.

They opened a support center for veterans in Glasgow Tuesday, and Melinda J. Overstreet reports in the  Daily Times that nine sought help the very first morning.

Democrats are no longer a majority of Kentucky's registered voters.

I stand with Stansdawg.

EKU is apparently going to still have a marching band, after all.

Rest in peace, Georgetta Earlena Harris-Holloway, Ohio-born First Lady of Second Baptist Church in Fairfield. "She loved the Buckeyes, but she loved Jesus more."

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Hazard.

Newport is getting a "SkyWheel."

Mitch Barnhart, coaches Calipari and Stoops and the rest of the "Big Blue Caravan" head to western Kentucky.

Oh, Kentucky

KSP blocked the protesters from entering together and said two people at a time could enter the building.https://t.co/tWA1Hj7l24

— The State Journal (@statejournal) June 5, 2018

Five Kentucky National Guard troops are headed to New Mexico to join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security border patrol.

The bedbug problem at Louisville's Dosker Manor public-housing complex sounds awful (per this terrific report by Jacob Ryan for the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting).

Newport High School has a new football coach, but it's not a happy story--by Matthew Monks in The River City News.  

Chris Harris in the Commonwealth Journal: "So as of yet, the mystery of Somerset’s smelly Saturday night remains unsolved."


The IGAs in Calhoun and Livermore--the only two full-size groceries in McLean County--are closing.

A passing of the mom-and-pop-hardware torch is afoot in Lexington.

The Leitchfield city council has voted to compensate the local tourism commissioners.

Good jobs news from Bowling Green.


Rest in peace, Charles Martin "C.M." Newton, a native of Rockwood, Tennessee, who came north to come off the bench for the University of Kentucky's 1951 national-championship basketball team; who pitched in the New York Yankees minor-league system; who coached the Transylvania Pioneers to the 1963 NAIA basketball tournament; who moved on to the University of Alabama on the recommendation of Adolph Rupp to Bear Bryant; who coached Vanderbilt to the 1988 and '89 NCAA men's basketball tournaments; who chaired the NCAA rules committee when the shot clock, three-point line and coach's box were implemented; who, as the school's athletics director, brought national-champion coaches Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith to UK; who presided over USA Basketball when the "Dream Team" was formed and won Olympic gold, and who brought the first African-American basketball players to Transylvania and Alabama and the first African-American basketball coaches to UK, among other accomplishments.

Oh, Kentucky

I don't believe I knew that Exile is from Kentucky! Thank you for the knowledge, Angela Turner of Corbin's Times-Tribune.

The Imagination Movers show might be worth the drive out to Prestonsburg.

The USS Nightmare is hiring in Newport ("for the creepiest, most intense, and scariest monsters in the tri-state").

Paducah Bank is shutting down for a couple of hours for the eclipse but serving Moon Pies the rest of the day.

"Overbooking" ... #smh.

Meanwhile, in Madisonville, ...

No homework and no spelling tests at Lewisburg Elementary this year.

An online auction for Marion's old Shopko property attracted 36 bids and a final price of $301,400, reports The Crittenden Press.

Unity in Frankfort.

No rest for the road-weary at Rowan County, indefinitely. 

Oh, Kentucky

The history of @moreheadstate, from 1887 to present day, at 9/8 pm on KET. pic.twitter.com/sMD2sb6eYU

— KET (@KET) June 19, 2017

OK, I totally didn't even know there was such a thing as the "Pride In The Counties" Area at the state fair, and, if I was an Edmonson Contain, I'd totally want to do this.

You can't go to an aquarium in Morgantown, so the Newport Aquarium went there.

Knoth's of Grand Rivers: no beans, no potato salad, no more after Saturday.

WHOP reports that the (Frisch's) big (Boy) bucks of Cincinnati have cost the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library its director.

The City of Paducah is hiring.

Calvert City continues takeover of the Kentucky Dam State Park Airport.

Todd County's multi-pronged eclipse strategy is outlined.

It appears as though a new Christmas parade might be in the cards for Beaver Dam!

Transitional centers for homeless youth are opening in Breathitt, Floyd, Knott and Pike counties.

Oh, Kentucky

Live in the @WFPLNews newsroom: Comey and kittens. pic.twitter.com/3qywIjkQuL

— Erica Peterson (@ericampeterson) June 8, 2017

Here are the proper nouns in Sen. McConnell's love letter to his state on its 225th birthday: Commonwealth of Kentucky, Union, Virginia, Kentucky County, Native American Wyandot, Kentuckian, Daniel Boone, Cumberland Gap, Ephraim McDowell, Tori Murden McClure, Atlantic Ocean, American, Colonel Harland Sanders, Diane Sawyer, Glasgow, Louisville, Muhammad Ali, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Alben Barkley, Georgia Powers, African American, Kentucky Senate, Jesse Stuart, Pulitzer Prize, Robert Penn Warren, National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Grammy Award, Loretta Lynn, Chris Stapleton, Jennifer Lawrence, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, United States Senate and Bluegrass State. It would be fascinating to see to see the Microsoft Word document with tracked changes turned on.

5 Stars, Highly Recommended ...

NKU ranks No. 31 for LGBTQ inclusion.

Nice feature by Don Sergeant in the Glasgow Daily Times on an 89-year-old instructor in the free golf-instruction program for kids at the local country club. And his picture of the guy is great, too!

Good jobs news in Madisonville.

Oh, Kentucky

Who's the fifth face on the Webster County courthouse?

Bad jobs news from Pineville. Good at Kroger.

Belfry High and other southeastern-Kentucky schools eye the potential of drone development and training.

Morganfield has fired another police chief.

Fort Campbell is opening a new United Service Organization Center.

Former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has died at 77. In 1984, working for Mitch McConnell, he created now-famous ad. https://t.co/HVGhOh7Mlf ^JC

— Bluegrass Politics (@BGPolitics) May 18, 2017

Kentucky Rep. James Comer (R-Tompkinsville) is getting a lot of time on the radio these days. NPR visited with him today. Meanwhile, the congressman recently hung out with Mayfield's WYMC.

Rest in peace, Mrs. Lewis, Cave-In-Rock Ferry co-operator for more than 20 years. (And please plan your Saturday accordingly, Crittenden County.)

Oh, Kentucky

Thanks to @SenateMajLdr, Neil Gorsuch is on the Supreme Court & Scalia's legacy is preserved. Thank him here: https://t.co/OiNNrI5RXT pic.twitter.com/ra42ElQVgK

— Judicial Network (@judicialnetwork) April 12, 2017

A Henderson man who started using meth as a teen-ager has opened a facility offering medication-assisted treatment, and he is passionate about undercutting the stigma associated with this category of treatment options. "They're not stealing. They're not lying. They're keeping a good job. They have their kids. They feel normal. They're just taking a medication that keeps them from going through withdrawals. Why are they not clean?" 

In London: Can You Escape?

Per the River City News, the KKK has stepped up marketing efforts in Covington and Newport.

Eclipse talk: Madisonville Community College, April 27.

Schmidt Farms on Old Cairo Road in Paducah is readying for its next act, starting this fall.

Crestwood's Veterans Memorial Park has opened but is just getting started on its long-term vision.

Brownsville police are getting new cruisers.

West Louisville appears to be getting a YMCA.

Bardstown's getting a new mayor.

Ludlow's apparently getting something big.

You might remember Makayla Epps ... well, she was drafted by the WNBA's Chicago Sky on Thursday, and Saturday is Makayla Epps Day in Marion County!