The River City News: NEWS ROUND-UP -- THURSDAY MORNING 16 AUGUST

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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by Michael Monks 

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IRAQIS IN KENTUCKY LINKED TO ATTACK ZONE

An Iraqi refugee living in Kentucky may have supplied materials for roadside bombs used to kill American soldiers in Iraq:

Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 24, is scheduled for trial Aug. 28, but not in connection with the battlefield deaths of six Pennsylvania National Guardsmen seven years ago. Instead, Hammadi and another Iraqi refugee living in Kentucky, 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan, were charged with trying to send weapons and cash back to al-Qaida in Iraq after they came to the U.S. Alwan has pleaded guilty.

Full story: Associated Press
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DON'T MISS WEDNESDAY EVENING'S NEWS!
An awful KY man breaks a kitten's legs with a golf club (but you can help the kitty); A Covington Police Officer wins an "Officer of the Year" honor; Plus, a Covington real estate agent's unique approach to selling homes has him writing songs about the listings and posting them to YouTube.The RC News: Wednesday Evening Round-Up
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QUICKIES
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India contract a big deal but won't save Appalachian coal WFPL
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First seasonal flu cases are found in Kentucky WKYT
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One of Kentucky's top chefs is indicted for drug trafficking Courier-Journal
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Kentucky doctors say pill bill is hurting legitimate patients Bluegrass Politics
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Gov. Beshear pays respects to Chief of Staff Herald-Leader
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A new proposal is on the table to reopen Kentucky Kingdom amusement park Courier-Journal
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Video shows Pulaski County Sheriff's depunty's close call with bear WKYT:
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STRONG GROWTH IN KENTUCKY'S PRODUCE MARKET
A new study from the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture finds strong growth in the Commonwealth's produce sector:

...which are likely to exceed a record-breaking $33 million in 2012.

“In terms of some of the production and marketing activity, produce seemed to take a little bit of a backseat (for awhile), but now it seems to be going through a renaissance,” said Tim Woods, agricultural economics extension professor and the principal investigator on the “2012 Kentucky Produce Planting and Marketing Intensions Grower Survey and Outlook.”

Full story: Kentucky Forward
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THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
There is one:

The size of the creative class is "positively and significantly associated with the total of establishment growth in a region, the number of new opened establishments and the expansion of existing establishments," they find. Furthermore, they write that “regions of all sizes primarily experience growth through the creation of new establishments, and that growth is always, significantly, and positively associated with regional creative employment.”
Second, it finds that certain occupations are more important than others when it comes to entrepreneurship. Two in particular are closely related to entrepreneurship at the regional level — management and arts, design, media and entertainment. Indeed, they find that arts, design, media and entertainment occupations are “pretty consistently and strongly related to regional entrepreneurship levels.” Rather than being a product of economic development, as some contend, the study finds that arts, design, media and entertainment function “can be a driver of creativity and entrepreneurship across a region."

Full story: The Atlantic Cities
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IS YOUR PHONE HELPING GOOGLE MAP TRAFFIC CONDITIONS?
Probably:

This collection and sharing of locational information is the basis behind the traffic-tracking layer on Google Maps. By combining all those devices' location points and detecting the speeds at which they're moving, Google is able to infer how quickly traffic is moving on major streets and highways. Originally launched in 2008, it can be a really useful layer of urban information, representing real-time conditions.

Full story: The Atlantic Cities
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RANKING THE STATES
Kentucky scores some mixed marks on several new national surveys. Take a look at this map:

All of those states highlighted are among the most... "boring" in America. At the link, find surveys that rate Kentucky among the most obese but also among the cheapest places to live. Oh, and look at this one: