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Friday, July 13, 2012

NEWS ROUND-UP -- FRIDAY MORNING 13 JULY

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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by Michael Monks 
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NO SUCH THING AS FREE PARKING IN AN URBAN DOWNTOWN
From a piece titled Why an urban Downtown and lots of free parking spots are mutually exclusive published in Las Vegas Weekly:
Donald Shoup, UCLA economist and genius of all things parking, notes that there’s no such thing as “free parking.” Parking takes up valuable real estate, and mandating parking increases the cost of development, just as mandating a hot tub in every condo would push up the cost of housing. The city sharply curtailed with parking requirements for new buildings Downtown. Let’s keep it that way.
City parking meters are not priced according to any rational scheme. In a free market, price is the interplay of supply and demand. The price of the parking meters, by contrast, is arbitrary, like the price of bread in the old Soviet Union. Ideally, higher demand spots would fetch higher prices, and vice versa, and with rational pricing all the spots on a block would be taken except for one or at most two, which allows for the circulation that business owners desire.
Because the meters aren’t rationally priced, people cruise around looking for underpriced meter spots, which creates traffic.
Full story: Las Vegas Weekly
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RISING COST OF HEALTH CARE, PENSIONS CONTINUE TO HIT CITIES
Covington has been dealing with this issue and three California cities have gone bankrupt over it (and other issues)in the past two weeks, but larger cities like Philadelphia are struggling, too:
For the $3.589 billion budget for the 2013 fiscal year, employee benefits have jumped to $1.116 billion – $629 million for pensions and $487 million for other benefits.
While the city budget grew by only 16.15 percent over the last decade, employee benefits obligations grew by more than 111 percent. This trend is likely to continue.
Full story: The Atlantic Cities
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DON'T MISS THURSDAY'S NEWS
Guilty plea in case that involved dismembered legs found on Hands Pike; Killer fakes his death in KY only to show up on his own YouTube channel; Plans are announced to rebuild playground destroyed by fire; Plus, why we're not supposed to call Cincinnati "The Queen City" anymore. Click it.
The RC News: Thursday Evening Round-Up |
QUICKIES
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Pregnant woman, unborn child die after crash on I-471 Cincinnati Enquirer 
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Fatal crash on I-75 Thursday also, this time near Walton Cincinnati Enquirer 
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Governor Beshear tells federal government that he is creating the health care exchange WBKO 
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Beshear uses Governor's Mansion to raise funds for daughter-in-law's horse competition Herald-Leader 
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MORE SUCCESS NOTED AT COVINGTON SHELTER (AND A REQUEST)
From the Emergency Shelter of NKY:

We have a guest who has secured an apartment in Covington and will move in the 3rd of the month. He is in need of these basic items: twin or double bed, chest of drawers, table/chairs, end tables and a sitting chair. If you have these items to donate, please email me at emergencyshelter@yahoo.com I am able to pick up after August 3rd if items are not too large. 
Our guest, Ed that needed the bike for work hopped on the bus early this morning with his bike in tow for his orientation day at his new job. Thanks for all of you who responded and a big thank you to the Powers family who donated a bike and lock to Ed.
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"HUGE NEWS" FOR DEVOU PARK FROM THE GUYS ON THE TRAILS
From the Devou Park Trails:
Rotary Grove Lane has been closed off to motorized use. This is huge for Devou. It gives yet another passage way for self propelled activities. The asphalt still remains, yet the cars are gone. Rotary grove lane dissects the Lewisburg Trail. First road crossing coming down. Rotary lane can now act as another motor-less way to access the top of the park. We are fired up!!
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DANIEL BOONE'S DESCENDANTS HELP PROMOTE BOONE'S TRAIL IN KY
From the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
Agencies of Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet are applauding an effort by the national Boone Society to develop and promote the historic Boone Trace through eastern Kentucky. This famous road, which followed trails used by Native Americans and buffaloes, was used by thousands of settlers traveling to Kentucky and beyond, launching the westward movement.
Properly developed, marked and promoted, the trace could become an economic engine stimulating tourism in the region, proponents say.
The Boone Society, a national organization of Boone family descendants, interested genealogists and historians, is working to identify, restore and preserve the trail blazed in 1775 by Daniel Boone, who was then an agent of the Transylvania Company. Known as the Boone Trace, the 117 mile trail entered Kentucky at Cumberland Gap near Middlesboro, crossed the Cumberland River at Pineville, ran northwest past London, and ended at Fort Boonesborough near Richmond.

Upon further progress in the Boone Society’s development efforts, the Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism and the Kentucky Department of Parks will assist the Boone Society with promotion of the Boone Trace and its historical significance.
There are four state parks and one national park within the Boone Trace corridor: the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site, Levi Jackson State Park, and Fort Boonesborough State Park. 
In 1915, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) placed 12 stone markers along the trail to highlight its historical significance. These and other historical markers placed along the route since that time will be the focus of an effort by the Boone Society to list the Boone Trace on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more info, click here.
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COVINGTON PARTNERS GOF OUTING SET FOR MONDAY
The Covington Partners 3rd Annual Golf Outing at Traditions Golf Club is Monday, July 16. There is still time to register your foursome for a fun filled day of great golf at a world class course. Contact Margo Willman at (859) 392-3172 or margo.willman@covington.kyschools.us to reserve your space today!


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HOW THE FUTURE WAS VIEWED ALL THE WAY BACK IN... 1979
Some of the predictions are pretty spot-on:

  • Flat screen TV. No longer a bulky box, TV screens have shrunk to a thickness of less than five centimeters.  
  • Mail slot. By 1990, most mail will be sent in electronic form. (The year was a little off, but still...)
  • Domestic robot rolls in with drinks. (OK, so we're all still waiting on that one...)
Check out the predictions with a terrific cartoon at the link.
BoingBoing 

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