NEWS ROUND-UP -- FRIDAY LUNCH

by Michael Monks 

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KY HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT: SMOKING STATUS PROTECTED, BUT NOT GAYS?

The Kentucky Human Rights Commission released its annual report today (Disclaimer: I am an City Commission-appointed member of the Covington Human Rights Commission with a term that expires in January)but the most interesting piece of information by my estimation is that smoking status is listed under "protected classes" but sexual orientation is not. Is that why so many of my gay friends smoke? Anyway:

This year the commission filed 333 discrimination complaints for people alleging they were victims of discrimination in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This number is just up from 329 complaints in 2010 and 322 in 2009. The 2011 number reflects an improvement in the number of complaints filed compared to 423 complaints in 2007 and 421 complaints in 2008. (The years of 2007 and 2008 marked the highest number of discrimination complaints in the commission’s 51 year history.)(snip)Just as in every year since the Kentucky Civil Rights Act was passed in 1966, the highest number of discrimination complaints in 2011 were based on the protected class of race. Discrimination was most often alleged in the area of employment.The commission closed 422 complaints during the 2011 reporting period. Three-hundred-thirty-seven of these did not reveal during investigation sufficient evidence to prove discrimination. Twenty-five complaints resulted in conciliation agreements (similar to settlements). Complainants received various sums of money from respondents as part of their agreements.

KY Human Rights Commission via Lane Report
Read full report by clicking here (PDF) 
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COVINGTON POLICE APPLAUD PASSAGE OF DAYTIME CURFEW ORDINANCE
From the department's Facebook page: "We are extremely supportive of this ordinance. It will go into effect in about 2 weeks and will give us another tool in curbing daytime delinquency committed by truant juveniles."
Read about the curfew here: Covington Approves Daytime Curfew for Minors
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HOW LEXINGTON MIRRORS COVINGTON RIGHT NOW
Two stories out of Lexington today match similar developments in Covington: Firefighters blasting brownouts and the study of a possible Business Improvement District.
Firefighters Propose Signs For Brownouts
Check out what the LexFD Union Local 526 tweeted:

Full video report at WKYT

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Covington Firefighters Made Similar Statement

When Pumper One was "browned-out" in September, the truck was tagged with a hand-written sign:

"Out of service due to brownout"

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Business Improvement District (BID) Considered in Lexington

Just like the one proposed in Covington:

"A management district would function like a mall association where, if you have a business in a mall, part of your rent goes into a pool that provides joint services that benefit everyone," said Renee Jackson, president of the DLC, a membership organization with downtown property owners, business owners and residents."We hear time and again that downtown needs marketing. These funds could go into a marketing campaign, but also for many other projects to boost the vitality of downtown," Jackson said. "Marketing is a top priority, but not the only one."The DLC proposes an assessment of 10 cents per $100 of property valuation for property inside the boundaries of the proposed district.

This will be a development worth watching in our town and theirs.
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FIREFIGHTERS REMOVE CHRISTMAS TREE FROM CITY HALL IN LEX

Maybe it's their revenge for the brownouts? Or:

The Lexington fire department advised city officials Thursday that the tree constitutes a fire hazard and violates a state regulation prohibiting live or natural trees in places of public assembly.
Battalion Chief Marshall Griggs said his department received a complaint about the tree, insisting that removing it has nothing to do with firefighters' recent disagreements with Mayor Jim Gray over health insurance.

The Covington Fire Department union Local 38 and City Hall have certainly had some clashes, even ending up in court, but Lexington is a absolute battlefield.
Herald-Leader
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MORE EMBARRASSMENT FROM KENTUCKY'S ELECTED LEADERS IN DC
Here's what Rand Paul is excited about today, via his Twitter feed:

A Georgia business owner has a new company policy. He's not hiring until #POTUS is gone. http://bit.ly/w1m1go #WeThePeople #ky #tcot

That's right. Excited that a business refuses to hire until the President is no longer the President. It'll be tough for that business to wait until 2017...

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IS MITCH MCCONNELL AGAINST... VOTING?

Not exactly, but he calls the American popular vote, "dangerous". Seriously.

Rather than embracing the NPV as a way to solidify the Constitution’s guarantee of “one man, one vote,” McConnell lambasted the plan, calling it a “genuine threat to our country.” Though McConnell admitted that the notion of a popular presidential vote where the candidate who receives the most votes wins is “appealing,” he called the idea “absurd and dangerous.”

Think Progress 
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KY ATTORNEY GENERAL URGES MCCONNELL, PAUL TO APPROVE CORDRAY
Jack Conway, who lost his bid to represent Kentucky in the US Senate last year to Rand Paul, urges Paul and McConnell to approve President Obama's choice to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Conway tweeted:

Sens McConnell & Paul - stop the political games. Confirm my friend, former OH AG Richard Cordray, as CSFB director. #ConfirmCordray #CFPB

Neither listened. Though a majority of US Senators approved of the appointment by a margin of 53 - 45, because this is American and nothing makes sense, the motion failed:

Plain and simple -- just like we experienced a few months earlier with Elizabeth Warren (whose potential nomination was derailed by the same band of robber barons) -- Mr. Cordray is the newest roadkill on the conservative superhighway, and the American people have been hosed yet again. Now, you might not realize this, because you're about to witness a cable news cycle full of Republican senators prattling on as to why their vote was really about accountability and good government.Don't buy it, my friends.Thursday's vote was a simple win for greed and gridlock. Republicans didn't need to win (actually they lost, 45 to 53). To secure their next round of campaign contributions from their financial patrons, all they needed to do was stall. And in that respect, they hit the ball out of the park. Thursday's vote assures that a whole host of banks and other non-banking financial services companies won't have a real cop on the beat until at least November 2012, when the next presidential election is decided. Furthermore, the GOP is counting on the fact that when the smoke clears in January 2013, they will be running the show so that they can stamp out all of this consumer protection rubbish once and for all.

Huffington Post 
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NKU PRESIDENT DR. VOTRUBA DEFENDS COST OF MOVE DIVISION I
Says the good Doctor:

NKU President James Votruba said $1.5 million to $1.8 million will be shifted within the university to cover the costs. But he said he and the board of trustees evaluated whether the cost to jump to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference would jeopardize other university programs and functions. They determined it wouldn’t, Votruba said.

Two videos of Votruba's comments at the link: cn|2

SEE ALSO: The athletic director at new NKU conference foe Florida Gulf Coast says NKU will be a division-one powerhouse:

“They’re a sleeping giant,” McAloose said of NKU. “I think they’re going to be a powerhouse in Division I, to be honest with you. They’re in a great area, their facilities are remarkable. The administration is outstanding and they’re really established at the top of Division II right now. It’s not that big a jump, to be honest with you. You can see that from FGCU’s success. Very similar programs, the difference being (NKU) is established where FGCU was not.

This is a good article from a Florida paper, other than the quick moment where they refer to NKU as UNK.
Naples News 
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NORTHERN KENTUCKY GETS TWO SHOUT-OUTS IN ONE WEEK AT ESPN
Well... sort of...
First, and obviously, the big news of NKU moving to the highest level of NCAA competitiveness merited its own column:
Getting to Know Northern Kentucky/ESPN
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Also, a popular columnist at ESPN.com earlier this week gave a shout-out to Lexington's Goodfellas Pizzeria which will open its third location (and first outside of Lex) in Covington's Mainstrasse Village:

Goodfellas Pizzeria, Lexington, Ky.: If you're ever taking a leisurely stroll through downtown Lexington and want to engage in a little binge eating at, say, 2:30 a.m., make sure to stop in Goodfellas. Standing in a crowded entryway -- which I'm guessing is about the size of a Texas Tech "storage closet" -- amid french-kissing couples and inebriated college kids is worth it when you bite into your crispy slice of pizza, fresh out of the oven. My fellow scribes and I were so smitten with its goodness that we got back in line and ordered a second slice. The Goodfellas employee behind the counter laughed and told me I was funny. "What do you mean, I'm funny?" I said. "Funny how? Funny like a clown? Do I amuse you? Do I make you laugh? What do you mean, I'm funny?" OK, that part didn't really happen. But it would've been cool if it had.

Can't wait for these guys to open!

ESPN

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HOLIDAYS IN COVINGTON -- FUN EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

Check these out:

Nativity Pop Opera at The Carnegie

For 8 performances starting tonight.

Click Here

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Mainstrasse Candy Cane Hunt

Saturday, December 10th, 2:00 p.m. at Goebel Park.
Mainstrasse Village Association
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DON'T MISS THIS MORNING'S NEWS!
A Covington man is arrested on child pornography charges; The suspected robber of a Gateway College bookstore is 68-year old student, busted at casino; NKU vs Ohio State could happen next season; Is the NKY extreme right wing turning on Rep. Geoff Davis?; And Covington & NKY tattoo artists speak out on new regulation of their business. Those stories and more at the link!
News Round-Up -- Friday Morning
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TIME LAPSE VIDEO OF CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE
Very cool:

Merry Christmas!