NEWS ROUND-UP -- WEDNESDAY MORNING 11 APR

by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter 

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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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MIXED INFORMATION EMERGES AFTER FIGHT AT HOLMES LEADS TO ARRESTS

An early report said three students were arrested but by late Tuesday morning Covington Police confirmed that five had been taken to jail following a fight at Holmes High School. Two television stations are now reporting that six more students were cited and released to their parents but Covington Police have not yet confirmed that with The River City News. Read the latest from The River City News and see the list of students arrested at the link below. 

Five Students Arrested at Holmes Following Fight 

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SOME COMMENTS FROM THE ABOVE LINK: 

The Comments Posted From Other People On This Web Page Makes Me Sick ; ! As A Holmes High School Student I Can Honestly Say That Us Student's Do Not Fight Just To Keep Things Interesting ! We Have Alot Of Good Classes & Programs To Interest Us ! & Yes These Boys Fought & I Know Most Of Them Personaly They Are Good Guys Who Have Amazing Personalities & Great Goals In Life & I Can Tell You Now They All Must Of Had A Good Reason To Do What They Did Or They Wouldn't Have Done It ! & It Really Makes Me Mad That You All Are Judging These Boys For Their Actions ! Your Adults Grow Up ! Holmes Is Not A Bad School ! & They Put Us Students In A Lockdown For A Reason ; They Had Us Protected ! & If It Was Bad Enough To Where The School Thought We Were In Risk Of Our Lives Then Of Course Our Parents Would Be Called ; ! We Were In No Danger ! Trust Me I Was At School That Day !

And:

As a senior of holmes I'm glad to call it my school. We have had problems but what schools don't at holmes I've had great memories and are still making them. We are people just like everyone else so why do they always choose holmes to make look negative, it happens everywhere..

And: 

Holmes is not a bad school, it is what the students make of it just as all schools. This could happen anywhere. 

And: 

And yet the administration felt no need to notify parents of the lock down or the potential danger their children faced. At the same time the CIS BOE claims they want parents to be more connected and involved with what goes on.

And:

Holmes High School has barely functioned as a school for a long time. Fights break out in classrooms on a regular basis, too. It's just something the students do to keep things interesting.

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As soon as the police department, the school district, and/or the school board respond to additional requests for comment, an update will be posted here.
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COVINGTON TO STATE CONCERNS WITH NEW BRENT SPENCE BRIDGE PLANS

The City of Covington wants its citizens at City Hall today for a meeting about the Brent Spence Bridge and its potential effect on Covington. Some concerns expressed by city leaders include the possible loss of a 5th Street exit, potentially more limited access to Devou Park, and the possibility of removing Goebel Park's swimming pool. Read about those issues at the link: 

City Expresses Concern With One Brent Spence Bridge Plan 

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THE MEETING IS TONIGHT AT 6:00PM INSIDE COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL

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SEE ALSO: The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has scheduled public meetings for the Brent Spence Bridge project for Tuesday April 24 at Longworth Hall in Cincinnati and Wednesday April 25 at the NKY Convention Center in Covington. Both meetings run from 5:00-8:00PM. 

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MEANWHILE, THERE IS STILL MONEY FOR THE NEW BRIDGE:

The project schedule calls for detailed design to begin in September, but neither Kentucky nor Ohio has enough funds to complete the phase – and it’s unclear whether they’ll get it this year. Ohio needs $52.2 million and Kentucky needs $68 million to complete detailed design of the new bridge and the related overhaul of a 7.8-mile stretch of Interstate 75. 

Cincinnati Enquirer/Amanda Van Benschoten 

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Rep. Geoff Davis tweeted this about the funding: 

If on nothing else, can't the Ky. House and Senate agree to devote $24 mil of FEDERAL money to the Brent Spence Bridge? 

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BUT BRENT SPENCE/I-75 CHANGES MAY BE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR AND COULD HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON COVINGTON:

Randy Gearding, owner of Riverfront Pizza and Sports Bar on W. 3rd Street, Covington, is concerned proposals for a new Brent Spence Bridge will alter access to 5th street and negatively impact his business.
(snip)
“A lot of the concerns of Covington have been taken into account,” Policinski said. “Now we just have to figure out how we get the ball advanced the last five yards so we all score a touchdown.” 

Cincinnati Enquirer/Amanda Van Benschoten 
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MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDERING, DISMEMBERING GIRLFRIEND
The man who stabbed and suffocated his girlfriend to death before dismembering her body and dropping parts of it in South Covington, pleaded guilty by reason of insanity in Champaign County, Ohio:

Champaign County Common Pleas Court Judge Roger Wilson ordered the evaluations and said a hearing would be scheduled once results were received. Ellis declined to comment on his client’s defense until then.
Police believe (Matt) Puccio called four friends after he killed Sacco to help cut off her limbs and dispose of them in northern Kentucky before going to stay with a friend in Hamilton.
The four others involved in the case also entered not guilty pleas. 

Hamilton Journal-News
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SEE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MATT PUCCIO AT THE LINK AS HE CONFESSES TO THE MURDER WHIO 
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CITY COMMISSIONER STEVE FRANK'S EXCHANGE WITH ERLANGER MAYOR
Erlanger Mayor Matt Rouse caught the ire of Covington City Commissioner Steve Frank who posted this to Facebook Tuesday night: 

 Guess what, Mayor Rouse of Erlanger has made an impassioned plea for all the other cities of Kenton County-Kentucky to not join the combined dispatch services with Kenton County because Covington has agreed to let the County run our dispatch. I can understand Mayor Rouse wanting to hold on to Erlanger's system even though I find his reasons venal and insulting and a risk to the public's safety. What I find unfathomable was his calling the meeting without informing either the County or Covington that there was such a meeting and calling it in such a way that the individual cities who came thought they were meeting one on one with Erlanger to talk about their relationship with Erlanger Dispatch and not in a general session. Cat's out of the bag bit@h. 

Mayor Rouse responded: 

What? Check your sources. 

Frank: 

Regionalism is the best answer for everyone concerned with safety. I won't mince words or back down. Farnkly I was getting texts from your meeting and many in your own audience was put off and shocked by what you had to say. ... Let's just say Mayor Rouse is about be feel very isolated come morning.

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MALLORY ENVISIONS 5 STREETCAR PHASES, ENTERING INTO NKY
During Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory's state of the city speech last night, Enquirer reporter Jane Prendergast tweeted:  

@mayormallory envisions 5 streetcar phases including to NKy, light rail along interstates

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From Prendergast's article: 

Mallory highlighted: the restaurant and bar options now open at The Banks; his financial literacy program that steers people toward banks rather than check-cashing places; and the streetcar, which he hopes will stretch into neighborhoods and eventually connect to a light rail system. He did mention the loss of 270 Chiquita jobs, but said Nielsen's overcoming that by bringing in 600.
"And you all know," he said, "that I could not let you get out of here tonight without talking about the streetcar."

Nielsen. Thanks for opening up old wounds, Mayor.
Cincinnati Enquirer/Jane Prendergast
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TEEN GIRL STILL MISSING FROM KENTON COUNTY
Click image to enlarge:

Call Kenton County Police Dispatch at 859.356.3191.

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FRANKFORT QUICKIES

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Lawmakers still without an agreement on important roads plan Cincinnati Enquirer 

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Governor Beshear hopes to avoid a special legislative session and urges the passage of the roads bill: 

More than any other time in our state’s history, our state’s economic lifeblood depends on a safe and reliable road system, and jeopardizing the passage of the road plan would threaten both the safety of our roads and the ability of our businesses to function efficiently.
The last thing the citizens of Kentucky need is another special session for the legislature to approve regular pieces of business like the Transportation budget and six-year road plan. The House has done its work. It’s now time that the Senate do the same. 

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House Speaker Stumbo urges lawmakers to get behind prescription drug abuse bill Herald-Leader 
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Beshear calls for cooperation at drug summit press release 
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Business leaders support the "pill mill bill" Courier-Journal 
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State tax reform commission gets history lesson from the graveyard of studies past cn|2 
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Read highlights from the tax commission's meeting here

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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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A RARE LOOK INSIDE THE CARROLL CHIMES BELL TOWER

The River City News got to go inside the tower during a Friends of Covington event Tuesday in Goebel Park. 

See a lot more photos and learn how the tower came to be built at the link. 

PHOTOS: Inside the Carroll Chimes Bell Tower 

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SEE ALSO: Incidentally, the company that built and maintains the Carroll Chimes Bell Tower was in the news for another reason Tuesday. The company will be casting a bell for the Marine Corps:

Rasgorshek, who recently returned from active duty in Afghanistan, will come to Cincinnati to participate in an April 26 bell-casting ceremony celebrating 100 years of Marine aviation.
Cincinnati’s Verdin Co., known for its creation and restoration of bells and clocks, will cast a 250-pound bell in its mobile bell foundry at Verdin’s Bell Event Centre in Over-the-Rhine. The bell will be placed in a 30-foot-high memorial tower the company will build at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. 

Cincinnati Enquirer/Steve Kemme 
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NKY CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMES TO COVINGTON TONIGHT
Democratic Williamstown attorney Bill Adkins brings his "True Blue" campaign to the Pike Street Lounge tonight: 

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MEANWHILE... ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE...

Alecia Webb-Edgington is now being targeted by a Cincinnati-based anti-tax organization:

In an email blast, it criticized Webb-Edgington for missing 58 votes in the state House between March 28 and March 30, including final approval of the $19 billion state budget.
“This is unacceptable and on behalf of the Kentucky taxpayer, we would like to provide Rep. Webb-Edgingtonan opportunity to return her salary valued at these three days missed to the Kentucky taxpayer and hold herself to the same standard she calls for from Washington,” the COAST email said.
Webb-Edgington missed the votes to attend campaign-related meetings in Washington, D.C. and a fundraiser in Shelbyville. But she has campaigned on a platform that includes urging members of Congress to pass a budget or forego their pay. 

cn|2 
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POLITICS QUICKIES
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Rep. Yarmuth accuses Sen. McConnell of misleading the public on health care reform WFPL 
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President Clinton to speak in Lexington April 23 cn|2 
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NJ Gov. Chris Christie headlines Kentucky Republican dinner Bluegrass Politics 
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PHOTOS: President Obama's Kentucky campaign headquarters Facebook 
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LETTER: HISTORIC PRESERVATION IS NOT ANTI-BUSINESS
The Louisville Courier-Journal publishes a letter that should resonate in Covington as well: 

Without a doubt, there have been times in my career that I have been frustrated by certain requirements I have faced in historic renovation projects, but that does not mean we should gut the process which has paid dividends in our community for decades.
The preservation of historic buildings presents unique challenges and obligations. There are, however, many benefits that flow from our protection and reuse of these community assets. 

Read it all at the link. 
Courier-Journal 
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QUICKIES
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Glenn O. Swing students love their pets Cincinnati Enquirer 
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CVG will get a low cost airline "soon" Business Courier 
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Kentucky's job gains among nation's best Business First 
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Cincinnati in the midst of a contemporary golden age? Urban Cincy 
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NKCAC PINWHEELS SIGNIFY NUMBER OF ABUSED CHILDREN
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the NKY Community Action Commission wants you to remember: 

See more photos here. 

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HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES OF NKY CONTINUES WORK IN COVINGTON, LUDLOW

From HONK: 

St. Tim's, one our faithful volunteer groups, is hard at work in Covington and Ludlow today.

More photos here.

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NKU STUDENTS SET WORLD TEETER TOTTER RECORD

Go Norse!

Photo: NKY Spot, shared with permission

See more photos from the event at NKY Spot 

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ATTY GEN CONWAY WARNS ABOUT FACEBOOK POSTINGS DURING SPRING BREAK

From Jack Conway's office: 

"Remember to 'think before you post,' said General Conway. "When you post vacation plans or upload pictures while on vacation, you are letting the world, and a potential home intruder, know that your home is vacant."
General Conway also reminds teens that what they post online can jeopardize both their safety and their future.
"The words and images that you post on the Internet can affect admission to a college, future employment or even personal relationships with friends and family," said General Conway. "Before you post, ask yourself 'would I want my parents, principal, employer or a predator to see this?'" 

press release 
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  WHO'S COMING TO PLAY FOR THE WILDCATS NOW?

The two highest profile recruits in America will make their college decision known tonight on ESPN and Kentucky is in the running to land both. 

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Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad to announce plans tonight Herald-Leader 

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UK has shot at 1-2 recruiting punch Courier-Journal

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UK's 2012-13 recruiting targets Herald-Leader 

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All's quiet for UK on NCAA's draft deadline day Herald-Leader 

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Bob Huggins is happy to see John Calipari win the title The DA Online 

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Dear Coach Cal,

I appreciate your statewide trophy tour giving fans across the Commonwealth a chance to take a picture with the NCAA championship trophy. However, it is not really a statewide tour if you skip Northern Kentucky where you have plenty of rabid fans, also. Please consider adding an NKY date if possible.

Sincerely,

Michael Monks

Publisher, The River City News

SEE TOUR DATES: Coach Cal  

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MORE SPORTS

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Lawsuit over Derby tickets reinstated by Appeals Court Courier-Journal 

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Bluegrass Stakes gaining prestige and praise Kansas City Star 

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REVEALED: THE SIMPSONS LIVE IN SPRINGFIELD, OREGON!

The internet went crazy Tuesday night when Simpsons creator Matt Groening said that the Springfield in his aging animated series was based on Springfield, Oregon. Though, once one reads the article the "revelation" is less than clear: 

OK, why do the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield? Isn’t that a little generic?
Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do.
You’ve never said it was named after Springfield, Oregon, before, have you?I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, “Yup, that’s right.” 

The Smithsonian Magazine 
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REMEMBER IN 2000 WHEN THE SIMPSONS WERE REFERRED TO AS A "NORTHERN KENTUCKY FAMILY"?
It happened in a classic episode titled Behind the Laughter:

In the first airing of this episode, the narrator gives Springfield's location as northern Kentucky. For the second and some later airings, this changed to Southern Missouri.
However, this episode is not canon. It portrays the show not as a cartoon created by Matt Groening, but as a live-action sitcom originally written by Homer and starring his own family. None of what happens is part of the main Simpsons continuity... exactly like any Halloween Special. 

The Simpsons Archive