NEWS ROUND-UP -- MONDAY EVENING 20 AUGUST dest

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

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FIRE ISSUES CLOSE ANOTHER COVINGTON PARK

Just months after fire partially destroyed and closed the playground at Sixth District School, another Covington park has been removed. Father Henry Hanses Park in Lewisburg is no more. "The playground was removed to address the neighborhood's concerns regarding the safety and condition of Father Hanses Park," said Natalie Garnder, Covington's director of parks and recreation. "There have been a few fires started on the play equipment over the years and we removed the damaged play equipment and are currently searching for a more fire-resistant alternative."

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The park was named for a long-time pastor at nearby Saint John Catholic Church. 

To see what the park looked like, click here.

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ENERGY EFFICIENT DEVICES SAVE COVINGTON MORE THAN $500,000

City Commissioner Sherry Carran shared this news via Facebook:

Last Thursday I was part of a panel discussion on 'Financing Facility Improvements through Energy Savings' held at the Governor's Local Issues Conference in Louisville. I was asked to attend by Department of Local Governments to represent an elected official's perspective. Besides Covington's Engineering Department making significant improvements to our lighting, and heating & cooling equipment by switching to energy efficient devices, I emphasized the financial savings were double what was expected. From Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2011 Covington saved almost $530,000. Those savings are significant and appreciated, especially when it is getting harder and harder to balance budgets.

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KENTON CO ADDED TO FEDERAL DISASTER AREA LIST 
Kenton is now among the 116 of Kentucky's 120 counties declared a disaster area due to a drought. Governor Steve Beshear said he heard from The United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Monday. “We are pleased that Sec. Vilsack has issued this disaster designation for the benefit of additional farm families in Kentucky. While some areas have seen rain in recent weeks, it did not arrive in time to mitigate agricultural losses in these counties,” said Gov. Beshear in a news release. “The widespread impact this drought has had on the Commonwealth can be seen in that 97 percent of the state is covered by a disaster designation. I appreciate Sec. Vilsack’s continued support of our farm families.” Only Bell, Harlan, Lee, and Perry Counties in eastern Kentucky are not currently listed among those severely affected by drought.
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WHAT DOES MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE LOOK LIKE?
It looks a lot like this morning's news, which you don't want to miss! A City Commissioner follows through on promise of contest to award $2,000 to anyone with ideas to save the city money; Arts District failure in Covington explained to Louisville paper; Plus, why KY will continue to officially thank "Almighty God" for its security. Those stories and tons more -- at the link.
The RC News: Monday Morning Round-Up 
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QUICKIES
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Gov. Beshear says hybrid pension system could possibly work for Kentucky WFPL 
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Kentucky Republicans land prime speaking gigs at national convention WFPL 
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FOX News host Mike Huckabee will be in Kentucky to campaign for GOP statehouse candidates cn|2 
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Singer John Legend will be in Over-the-Rhine Thursday to campaign for President Obama Cincinnati Enquirer 
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Sen. Rand Paul & KY Agriculture Commissioner James Comer to discuss industrial hemp WFPL 
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Kentucky joins interstate water pollution trading program WFPL 
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Bank of Kentucky ups dividend 14% Business Courier 
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GET READY MAINSTRASSE -- HERE COMES POPEYE'S!
Covington's urban design review board Monday afternoon approved plans for a Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen to open at Fifth and Main Streets where a Skyline Chili most recently failed. 3 Panther, LLC will invest $400,000 in the property transforming the structure into a typical Popeye's design and may also do some work on the parking lot. Owner Jim Moehring, of Ludlow, also owns five other Popeye's locations in Greater Cincinnati and the Holy Grail Tavern & Grill which has two Cincinnati locations, one at the Banks and the original in Corryville. 

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Though multiple other fast food outlets have failed at the Fifth & Main locations, Moehring believes Popeye's can succeed, telling The River City News that while the limited parking lot may be a challenge his dedication to customer service should lead to a winning formula. Moehring, a Ludlow resident, said he looked at the location for two years before finally jumping on the opportunity. 

What the Popeye's will look like

The building will be repainted a mustard yellow with dark red trip and mocha brown on the lower wainscoting. The awnings will be removed while a parapet and balcony will be added. Decorative shutters in a closed fashion will be added as well. Moehring is unsure what he will do with the sign that sits directly at the Fifth & Main corner, but said that he is not a fan of it.

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Bishop's Mansion/Walgreen's issue returns to UDRB next month

The controversial plans to tear down what has been called the Bishop's Mansion across from the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and replace it with a Walgreen's returns to the urban design review board next month. One sticking point that remains is the plan to place a drive-thru route on the Madison Avenue side instead of the Martin Luther King Boulevard side.

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PARTY SOURCE TO APPEAL GROCERY LIQUOR SALES RULING

The Party Source in Bellevue is not happy that grocery stores in Kentucky will soon be allowed to sell liquor:

Ken Handmaker, who represents The Party Source of Bellevue, declined to offer any grounds for the appeal until U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II issues his final order, which is expected Tuesday. In a conference Monday with attorneys in the case, Heyburn said he’ll enter his final order Tuesday, but hold off enforcement for 15 days. That would give the state or Party Source time to file a motion to keep his ruling on hold even longer until the appeal is decided.

Full story: Courier-Journal/Gregory Hall 
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COVINGTON QUICKIES
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Take an amazing 360 tour inside the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Click Here 
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Family Friendly Cincinnati visits Amerasia Family Friendly 
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Little Caesar's is now open on Madison Ave in Covington Cincinnati Enquirer 

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Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Lucy the dog, has a new website 

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MUST BE A GREAT DAY TO WASH HIGH RISE WINDOWS IN COVINGTON

Winders was gittin' a good scrubbin' in Downtown Covington Monday, at the Ascent and at RiverCenter. Take a look:

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

CRACKS EMERGE IN UNIFIED COMMISSION DURING SPECIAL MEETING

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

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Round two of the public meetings at City Hall to discuss its reorganization plan as recommended by Cincinnati-based consulting firm Management Partners was mostly like the first one that focused on the police and fire departments. This one, with an emphasis on code enforcement, housing, and community development, started with a presentation by the firm's Wayne Chapman who recapped some of its recommendations followed by many comments from the public, mainly in support of strengthening code enforcement, not outsourcing it as recommended. 

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But then the City Commissioners weighed in. "A huge number of people are afraid of retaliation and that's why they are not here," said Commissioner Sherry Carran, triggering gasps and outbursts from the packed Commission Chambers. "That's not easy to say but what my personal experience has been." Carran noted that she and her husband have made substantial investments in their Botany Hills neighborhood having torn down eleven troubled properties. "Outside of where we're investing not much is happening (in terms of blight in the neighborhood)." Much of Carran's ire was focused at developer Wes Bitlinger whose had a colorful exchange online with Commissioner Steve Frank who posted photos of several of Bitlinger's properties online.
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Commissioner Shawn Masters was not happy with Carran's remarks. "I want to say I am sorry to the employees who were questioned for retaliation. That pisses me off," Masters said. "I think we have some of the finest staff." He accused the City Manager and others of already having their minds made up about what to do with code enforcement. When the code enforcement director was told to cut $500,000 from his department's budget, "That by God tells you something."

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The tense turn the meeting took contrasted greatly with most meetings since Mayor Chuck Scheper was appointed to take over for Denny Bowman who resigned last September. A common refrain at commission meetings and other civic engagements is that this city commission is unified, often voting unanimously on most of the pressing issues facing Covington. That changed during Thursday night's special meeting.
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"For five years I have lived next to some of the biggest hell holes around and guess who owns them? The City of Covington!" Masters, who lives in Covington's Westside, spoke passionately for several minutes about the blighted properties and other issues. "Until we take care of our problem, how can we hold others accountable?"

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"I am offended that a city commissioner would say that our own employees would retaliate," Masters continued. "There has been a lack of communication and respect between certain people on this dais and code enforcement." The two-term, commissioner who is not seeking reelection, said that union employees were brought to the table to discuss changes in their departments but that that has not been the case for code enforcement. "If we do away with code enforcement this will be a death blow to this city."
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Masters moved on from code enforcement but was not finished with his remarks, many of which were met with applause. "While I was on vacation there were across the board raises given to every single non-union employee. Raises of $80,000 to $100,000 (total) backdated to last January." The heated words were followed with a warning. "I'm going to be letting people know exactly what is going on."
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City Manager Larry Klein explained the raises, saying these employees had gone without pay increases for three and a half years and that the 1.5% increase for one year may not even be repeated next year. "(These employees') health care plan saved the City money for a long period of time," Klein said, adding that the employees do not get overtime and are not even paid extra for their work at commission meetings. 

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"Show me someone who requested a raise," Masters barked.
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"One employee in public improvements came up a couple weeks ago and thanked me for their seventeen cents-a-week raise," Carran answered.

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Masters shot back arguing, "We can't give a merit raise because the City Manager hasn't given any evaluations yet!"

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Between the arguing on the dais and the unsolicited outbursts from the audience the room was at a tipping point of becoming out of control. Mayor Chuck Scheper began to wind the meeting with a calm conclusion. "Everyone in this room cares about this city," the mayor said. "I wish we could have a resolution soon. This is a terrible situation for folks in this world of not knowing what's going to happen."

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Asked after the meeting to elaborate on her position that code enforcement employees could potentially retaliate against those who spoke against them, Carran said she has heard of more code citations being written against targeted residents and on other occasions code enforcement breaches confidentially by revealing the sources of code complaints to the people who are cited. Former president of the Covington Neighborhood Collaborative, Terry Simpson, backed up Carran saying that he personally had been revealed as the source of a code enforcement complaint on one of his neighbors.  

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NOTE: More on the substance of the meeting will be detailed in a separate article.

PHOTOS & VIDEOS: DAY ONE AT OLD TIMERS IN COVINGTON'S EASTSIDE

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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The twenty-sixth annual Old Timers picnic kicked off in Covington's Eastside neighborhood Friday evening with a proclamation presented by Mayor Chuck Scheper and a performance by The Kingsmen. Check out the photos and videos below:

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More photos below, just click the link!

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NEWS ROUND-UP -- SATURDAY 7 JULY

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

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POLICE RETIREMENTS TOP COVINGTON COMMISSION AGENDA

Two Covington Police officers will have their requests for retirement accepted at Tuesday night's Covington City Commission meeting. Captain Dennis Sparks is set to leave the department August 1 while Officer Dennis Wesseler's retirement officially took place July 1. Other items of note on the agenda for Tuesday night:

• The City is to renew its contract with Dr. Paul Spellman for services for the Covington Fire Department
• For consideration, the approval of a "state bid" proposal from Ohio Caterpillar for the purchase of a new 299D XHP skid steer loader in the amount of $74,645 (50% payable from Devou Park Trust Fund, 19.3% payable from Drees allocation for equipment, 9.3% payable from Devou Trust tree removal allotment, and 21,4% from City capital improvement funds

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New piece of equipment will look similar to this

• Consideration for approval of $85,500 for new Panasonic toughbook computers, payable from asset forfeiture fund
• Promotions for several employees in the police and fire departments
• A presentation on the Latonia Banner

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CDBG FUNDS "GOOD NEWS FOR COVINGTON" SAYS COMMISSIONER CARRAN

City Commissioner Sherry Carran posted this message to Facebook via the Kentucky League of Cities:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5972) last Friday. The House considered several amendments to the THUD Appropriations bill that would have cut important funding for communities.One of the most important programs for cities is funded through this legislation. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides federal funding for various community, housing and economic development projects in cities of all sizes. The House-passed measure includes $3.34 billion for CDBG, which is higher than the $3.1 billion approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and more than the $2.9 billion proposed by President Obama.Prior to final passage, the House voted on four amendments that would have significantly cut CDBG or Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding, including one amendment that would have eliminated CDBG entirely. All of the amendments were defeated with strong bipartisan votes. Fortunately, not a single Kentucky representative voted to eliminate the CDBG program.

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DUKE ENERGY TO FIGHT SURCHARGE TO FUND CONSOLIDATED DISPATCH
Another kink is thrown into the planning on how to fund Kenton County's consolidated 911 emergency dispatch center once the City of Covington's center goes away in the fall. Via WCPO:

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MEANWHILE... DUKE'S NEW CEO SERVES FOR 24 HOURS, LEAVES JOB, AND WALKS AWAY WITH $44 MILLION:

Hours after Bill Johnson became CEO of Duke Energy, its board sought his resignation—which it received at 12:01am the day after he took the job. Such a quick change is practically unknown in US history, theWall Street Journal notes—and nearly as shocking is the $44.4 million Johnson's set to walk away with. The energy firm announced Johnson's selection as CEO a year and a half ago; he had held the same position at Progress Energy, which merged with Duke at that time. Now, however, former Duke CEO Jim Rogers will take the job.

Nice work if you can get it.

Full story: Newser

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HAVE "PET" PROJECTS TAKEN FUNDING FROM NEW BRENT SPENCE BRIDGE?

Some federal funding is being criticized in that it could have been better served going toward the Brent Spence Bridge project:

A white squirrel sanctuary in Kenton, Tenn., received a combined $269,000 in 1999 and 2002 in federal transportation enhancement grants to build trails and foot bridges. Kenton is known for its population of rare albino squirrels. Kenton Mayor Virginia Davidson said she doesn’t appreciate (Sen. Rand) Paul or other politicians picking on her town’s squirrel sanctuary. “I wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher,” Davidson said. Davidson said her town received the grant in a time when the country’s economy thrived. Other cities received similar grants, she said, including a town nearby that received aid for its “World’s Largest Tea Pot Collection.” “I don’t think at this time it is right to bring up something like that from so many years ago,” Davidson said. “I know it was 12 years ago, and the economy was so much better. They’re not giving money for things like that now.” 

Hear from a Covington resident and a Covington business owner in the full story at the link.

Cincinnati Enquirer/Scott Wartman

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COVINGTON TEEN'S SUICIDE INSPIRES STUDENT TO FIGHT BULLYING

Last October, 13-year old Woodland Middle School student Sam Denham took his own life after suffering at the hands of bullies. Now, Sam's best friend has become an anti-bullying advocate and recently won an award for her efforts:

“I am very honored to have received the award,” (Zoe Chin) said. “It means a lot to me. I would like to do whatever I can to help stop this major issue. I think it’s important for kids to stand up for one another and speak out. Kids do what they do to each other because they know they can get away with it. Us kids need to be good examples for each other. Being a bystander without saying anything can be just as bad as being the bully.” According to the Lexington Fairness website, lexfair.org, the Political Leadership award is “reserved for those among us who do the most to ensure that the LGBT community is afforded equal protection under the law – not special rights, just human rights. Whether it is protecting domestic partnership benefits at our local universities, championing anti-bullying initiatives or standing up against legislation designed specifically to divide, this award will honor the person who works the hardest just to make things fair.” 

Read the full story at the link.

Cincinnati Enquirer/Amy Scalf (via NKY Youth Foundation)

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CONVICTED: WEEKLY MUGSHOT ROUND-UP FROM KENTON COUNTY

Who's going to prison, who got probation, and who's still on the loose? Your weekly mugshot round up from Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders is at the link!

Convicted: Mugshot Round-Up 

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DON'T MISS FRIDAY'S NEWS

Covington City Commissioner to firefighters union: "I'd advise you not to provoke us"; A new brochure promotes Downtown Covington; Podcast covers the history of the Roebling Suspension Bridge; Plus, the Emergency Shelter graduates eleven men from homelessness to housing. Those stories and more -- at the link!

The RC News: Friday Round-Up 

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QUICKIES

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NKY manufacturers struggle to fill jobs Cincinnati Enquirer 

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Kentucky legislator wants tougher DUI law WFPL 

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Conservative KY think-tank starts a PAC WFPL 

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Cincinnati Reds player's dog missing after fireworks WKRC 

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Former Kentucky basketball star, Agriculture Commissioner, and candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Richie Farmer's divorce is final Courier-Journal 

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Sen. Rand Paul wants to save the internet -- conservative style Mashable 

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Track Jack! Attorney General Jack Conway's blog Jack Conway 

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Black-owned businesses in Cincinnati among nation's largest Business Courier 

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Base jumper leaps from Carew Tower Cincinnati Enquirer 

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TROUBLE FOR A COUPLE KENTUCKY MAYORS...

Corydon seeks to oust its mayor over expense Herald-Leader 

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Paintsville mayor owes thousands for utilities WKYT 

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ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING DAY OF HEAT EXPECTED SATURDAY

But on the upside... this is supposed to be the last in a string of depressingly scorching days...

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8 WORST THINGS ABOUT SUMMER IN AMERICAN CITIES...

Concrete, trash, bugs, humidity...and more. The Atlantic Cities breaks down which cities have it worst in various summer categories. Click Here 

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MEANWHILE, IT'S BEEN A DEVASTATING YEAR FOR KENTUCKY FARMERS

From 84 WHAS:

(Agriculture Commissioner James) Comer says many farmers planted their largest corn crop in years and some won't see any corn at all. Comer says some corn stalks are 6 feet tall, with not an ear of corn on them. Consumers will be paying the price at the grocery store. Comer says there will be a huge corn shortage and prices will climb. He says many items have corn byproducts in them, from soda to cereal to baking supplies.

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PHOTOS: Kentucky's drought as seen from the air Herald-Leader 

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WATER SHORTAGE WARNING: 27 Kentucky counties are on alert for the possibility of not having enough water press release 

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KROGER DIMS ITS LIGHTS DURING HEAT EMERGENCY

The grocery chain will dim the lights in its stores by 1/3 to conserve energy. WKRC 

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    DESPITE THE HEAT, THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Cincinnati is The City That Sings even when it's too hot to do anything at all and today, the World Choir Games come to Covington for two friendship concerts at Devou Park. The first is at 4:00PM at the Children's Home of Northern Kentucky and the second is at 7:30PM at the ampitheater/bandshell. It's going to be hot... very hot. Be prepared.

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Headed to Devou Park for the two World Choir Games friendship concerts today? It's going to be a hot one -- and parking nearby the concerts is limited. Tip: Use the shuttle that leaves Covington Catholic High School and that drops you off right at the venue. It's a buck each way. (Thanks to Devou Park Ranger Larry Ballinger for the tip.)

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Cincinnati heat can't keep a good choir down WXIX 

PHOTOS: PEASELBURG PARADE

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

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The annual Independence Day Parade in Covington's Peaselburg neighborhood was a well-attended blast, even though the sun was working overtime to heat up the place. Check out photos from the event: 

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Lots more photos below, just click the link!

NEWS ROUND-UP -- MONDAY AFTERNOON 2 JULY

THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

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FACEBOOK: The River City News

@theRCnews on Twitter  

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by Michael Monks 

Email Michael

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THIS ROOF NEEDS UP TO $110,000 IN REPAIRS

The Covington City Commission unanimously approved Thursday night the allocation of up to $109,956 to construct a new roof for this property at 118-120 East Fifteenth Street. The bid was awarded to Woeste Builders with the funds coming from Covington's share of the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a 2008 endeavor to buy and rehab vacant or foreclosed homes which expires at the end of this year. The price tag attached to the roof's construction raised some eyebrows after The River City News reported on it, but the situation was described as complicated at City Hall.
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On June 12, the City Commission voted to rescind the original contract awarded to Heitzman Construction after that company was unable to secure the necessary insurance and expressed uncertainty at whether they would be able to complete the job. "The roof is complicated," said City Commissioner Sherry Carran. "It's on an historic building and a lot of people probably didn't want to bid on it. If you could see it, you would understand why it's so high."
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MORE PHOTOS: 

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BURNED PORTION OF SIXTH DISTRICT PLAYGROUND TORN DOWN

The scorched remains of the playground at Sixth District School, which burned a week and a half ago, have been removed: 

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Before: 

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After:

For more photos from the aftermath of the fire, click the link below.

Fire Destroys Playground at Covington School

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BABYSITTER NOW FACES MURDER CHARGE

The woman who triggered a massive search in City Heights and a panic across Covington now faces a murder charge in the death of the 1-year old boy left in her care:

Marquita Burch, 26, was indicted on charges of endangering children, murder, involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. She was previously charged with tampering and abuse. Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a news release that Burch was friends with William Cunningham's mother and had been babysitting for him for several weeks in her home.

Full story: WLWT
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The murder indictment follows an effort in Kenton County to collect restitution for the cost of the search, an estimated $10,000. Read about that with comments from Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders in The River City News report linked below.
Babysitter Faces More Charges in Kenton County
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DON'T MISS THIS MORNING'S NEWS
Can empty Downtown buildings help save a City from bankruptcy?; A Covington-based fireworks dealer's federal case has cost the government more than $8 million; Plus, photos from Covington's gay pride celebration. Those stories and more at the link!

The RC News: Monday Morning Round-Up 

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QUICKIES

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With Olympics around the corner, WLWT has not reached a new agreement with Time Warner/Insight Cincinnati Enquirer 

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Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky create two more home ownership opportunities in Ludlow Building Cincinnati 

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HomeFest returns to Northern Kentucky Business Courier 

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Gov. Beshear touts traffic control at Kentucky Speedway Bluegrass Politics 

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Beshear signs bill encouraging investment in auto industry press release 

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Kentucky's state property tax will remain the same Bluegrass Politics 

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Check out this photo of Friday's storm as it rolled across CVG Airport Facebook 

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Former state tourism commissioner is guilty of ethics violation Herald-Leader
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Kentucky Military History Museum to close until March for renovations press release 

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Guys & Dolls in Cold Spring closes Cincinnati Enquirer 

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River Downs applies for permission to have slot machines Cincinnati Enquirer 

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Panera Bread to open in Downtown Cincinnati Business Courier 
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Grater's Ice Cream to be featured on The View Tuesday Cincinnati Enquirer 
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    AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DEBATE RAGES ON

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Governor Beshear moves forward on health care exhange

Via cn|2:

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Meanwhile, NKY's Republican Congressman blasts the ruling Geoff Davis 

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Louisville's Democratic Congressman went into the lion's den to defend the Affordable Care Act on Fox & Friends:

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CBS News reports that Chief Justice John Roberts initially sided with the Court's conservative justices, but changed his mind to uphold the law CBS News 

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Top 5 lies about Obamacare Politifact 

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Obamacare is the largest tax increase in history (if you ignore history) The Incidental Economist 

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SHIRTLESS MAN THREATENS TO "TEAR UP NEWPORT"

Via Crimestoppers:

Newport Detectives are attempting to identify this shirtless white male who is shown here in surveillance pictures from May 29th in the Bellevue McDonald’s. Detectives say that he reportedly made comments in the McDonald’s about “tearing up Newport”. On the same date, from Monmouth St in Newport to the city of Bellevue, multiple potted stone urns containing flowers were knocked over and damaged on every street corner. Each pot costs approximately $600 each. Detectives would like to speak to this unidentified white male regarding the incident.

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GOVERNOR ORDERS ASSISTANCE TO COUNTIES AFFECTED BY POWER OUTAGES
From a press release: 

Governor Steve Beshear directed the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to issue a state of emergency and suspend registration requirements for out-of-state utility vehicles traveling through or arriving in Kentucky to restore power in areas affected by widespread outages over the weekend.
A series of storms since Friday knocked out electricity for more than 60,000 homes and businesses in Kentucky. Since last night’s round of thunderstorms, more than 43,000 Kentucky households remain without power. Outages have also disrupted water services in some areas, leaving some citizens with no water at all or boil water advisories.
“With this week’s soaring temperatures, this is a terrible time for anyone to be without electricity. That’s why we are acting quickly to provide any relief we can so supplies and services may be delivered to these areas without delay,” said Gov. Beshear. “I have also directed Kentucky Emergency Management and the Department of Local Government to work closely with local officials to assist with any needs we can.”
Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock issued the emergency declaration today, which allows utility repair vehicles traveling from other states to bypass weigh stations and exempts them from standard hours of service restrictions. These emergency steps will allow utility vehicles traveling from surrounding states to restore power more quickly. The declaration also assists utility vehicles traveling through Kentucky en route to nearby states that also need power restoration.
The largest outages are in eastern Kentucky, primarily with Kentucky Power. That company reports about 41,000 customers remain without power as of 2 p.m. Monday, and power may not be restored to all customers until late this week.

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FIREWORKS, CIGARETTES POSE DANGER IN DRY WEATHER
So don't smoke and light fireworks this week! Cincinnati Enquirer 
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THE ONLY FORECAST YOU WILL EVER REALLY NEED
How hot is it? So hot that Godzilla is in the forecast.

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ROAD CHANGE COMING TO DEVOU PARK

From the City of Covington:

The City of Covington, with support from the Devou Properties, Inc. Board and Devou Park Advisory Committee, is proud to implement another recommendation of the Devou Park Master Plan with changes to Rotary Lane.

The Master Plan recommended the majority of Rotary Lane be transformed into a hiking and biking trail, while offering additional parking opportunities as part of an overall Concert Bowl and Rotary Grove Improvements. Phased efforts are going toward implementing the plans. To date, we have made repairs and improvements to the Bandshell and constructed the new restroom/concessions facility.

Next efforts will be to convert Rotary Lane into a cul-de-sac. Doing so will increase parking opportunities and allow safe passage for hikers and bikers linking to the Lewisburg Connector Trail. Implementation for these changes is planned for the end of July, as the paving schedule will allow.

Therefore, after changes are in place, there will be no through access from Rotary Lane to Montague, Haven-Gillespie or Devou Drive. We hope these changes will allow opportunities for safer pedestrian traffic through the park.

The City of Covington is very proud of the improvements happening in Devou Park and we hope you continue your patronage.

Construction of the new restroom/concessions facility
in Devou Park in early June

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NEW SANDWICH SHOP CLOSE TO OPENING IN MAINSTRASSE VILLAGE

DJ's Sandwich Shop, on Main Street, will open on July 10:

 It’s done. We had our final two inspection completed today. And we PASSED both of them!!!!! So officially we could be open today. But the Date is still July 10, 2012. I want to thank everyone who help me get this done so expeditiously. Thank you and see you soon…

Mainstrasse Village Association added:

Mark your calendar - DJ's Sandwich Shop opens in MainStrasse Village on July 10th at 627 Main Street. In addition to sandwiches (and gourmet hot dogs), they will carry 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream! Help us welcome them to the Village by "liking" their Facebook page.

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SHILITO'S ELVES MAY BE DISPLAYED AT THE LEVEE THIS YEAR
Via WKRC:

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But will they be able to top the ambitious display at Covington's Sims Furniture?

See more photos from Sims Furniture's impressive display last Christmas by clicking here.