The River City News: NEWS ROUND-UP -- TUESDAY EVENING 7 FEB

by Michael Monks 
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COVINGTON CITY COMMISSION MEETING TONIGHT

The agenda is jam-packed, including a million bucks toward the long-dormant Times Star Commons project, $315,000 for new police cruisers, several resignations from city boards, and three very important presentations: Tax amnesty; Church Street's one-way status; & Madison Avenue streetscape plans.

For the complete list of issues being weighed tonight at City Hall, click the link below!

The River City News

JUDGE THROWS OUT KENTUCKY REDISTRICTING PLANS

And the saga continues:

In an 18-page order, Shepherd blocked Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and other state election officials from implementing the new district boundaries set out in House Bill 1. The General Assembly approved HB 1 and Gov. Steve Beshear signed it into law last month. “Until the General Assembly passes redistricting legislation that complies with all applicable constitutional requirements to revise the districts (under state law), the elections for the House and Senate shall be conducted with the legislative district boundaries in effect immediately prior to the enactment of House Bill 1 for both the House of Representatives and the Senate,” Shepherd said in Tuesday’s order.

Herald-Leader/Jack Brammer

House Republicans and supporters of Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein challenged the new districts on several fronts, including that at least one Senate district and one House district were over the thresholds for maximum population.

cn|2/Ryan Alessi
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MEANTIME... THE FILING DEADLINE IS EXTENDED AGAIN FOR LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES:

Judge Shepherd ordered that elections for state Senator and state Representative be conducted according to the legislative boundaries that were in effect immediately prior to the enactment of House Bill 1. Judge Shepherd extended the filing deadline for candidates for state Senator and state Representative until Friday, February 10, 2012, at 4 p.m.

Press Release
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DEMOCRAT ENTERS RACE TO REPRESENT COVINGTON, NKY IN CONGRESS
Finally:

Bill Adkins, a Williamstown lawyer and the Grant County Democratic Party Chairman, filed his candidacy papers Tuesday to run for the Democratic nomination in the open 4th Congressional District. He joins Greg Frank of Corinth in the Democratic primary. But Adkins has been mentioned by Northern Kentucky Democrats in recent weeks as the party’s most likely contender in the fall election. But any Democrat will likely face an uphill battle in a district that already leans Republican and is likely to get more conservative as a result of redistricting.

cn|2
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NKY CHAMBER ASKS FOR ACTION IN ANGEL INVESTOR EFFORTS
From the Chamber:

Thursday, February 9, at 8:00 am HB 113 will be heard in the House Economic Development Committee. HB 113 provides tax credits to Angel investors and is designed to attract investment capital to small and start up companies to spur job creation in the Commonwealth.

WE URGE YOU TO CALL TODAY AT AND LEAVE A MESSAGE THAT YOU SUPPORT HB 113 AND TAX CREDITS FOR ANGEL INVESTORS!

If it's all-CAPS, they mean business.
NKY Chamber via Voter Voice

File photo of angel investors

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COVINGTON'S VIEW OF CINCINNATI SKYLINE WILL GAIN A NEW BUILDING
Dunnhumby is going to build itself a sweet new headquarters and we get to look at it!

DunnhumbyUSA is in the final stages of dealmaking to build 250,000 square feet of offices above a parking and retail structure. Dunnhumby would own its offices. Non-profit developer Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) would own and operate the rest. Construction could begin as early as spring.

A fellow Covingtonian wrote recently on Facebook, "You get the best view of Cincinnati from Covington, but from Cincinnati you get the best view." Love, love, love that.
Cincinnati Enquirer/Lisa Bernard-Kuhn & Laura Baverman
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NEWT GINGRICH CAMPAIGNS IN CINCINNATI
He made a stop at Price Hill Chili but didn't take questions from local media. Can't wait to hear from an angry Ben Swann on FOX 19 in tonight's Reality Check. (Not really.)
700 WLW
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KY LAWMAKERS WANT TOBACCO INCLUDED IN PACIFIC TRADE DEAL

We want all islanders puffing on our products:

Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says including the crop will help Kentucky farmers. “What we have to be able to do with tobacco is the same thing we’re doing with corn and beef cattle and horses in Kentucky,” Comer says. “We have to grow our export market. In order to do that we have to make sure tobacco is treated fairly along with every other crop in the United States in trade agreements.”

WFPL/Kenny Colston
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ARE YOU A FORMER CUSTOMER OF HOLLYWOOD VIDEO OR MOVIE GALLERY?
KY Attorney General Jack Conway wants you not to worry about collection efforts involving old accounts:

Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery were video rental companies operating nationwide, with more than 80 Kentucky stores. The companies filed bankruptcy in 2010, and the court appointed a trustee to oversee the collection of more than three million accounts. That includes the accounts of more than 49,000 Kentuckians allegedly owed for late return fees or product charges.
"This settlement helps protect Kentucky consumers from abusive collection practices and gives them a better opportunity to object to charges that they dispute," General Conway said. "Collection fees or interest should not be added to these accounts by the debt collection companies, and negative credit reports should not be made about the accounts. These protections help ensure that Kentucky consumers are treated fairly."

You still need to pay your bill, but now you have some protection. Read a full explanation at the link.
Press Release
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KY WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BROADBAND USE

...as the Commonwealth seeks to expand access to it:

The Commonwealth Office of Broadband Outreach and Development (OBOD) and the Kentucky Council of Area Development Districts (KCADD) are asking businesses and citizens to participate in a survey that will collect information on broadband use as part of the Broadband KY initiative to help increase internet utilization in the daily lives of Kentuckians.

“Broadband services are critical to the advancement of our state in education, economic development and job creation,” said Lori H. Flanery, secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet. “The Broadband KY initiative is working to help businesses and citizens take full advantage of existing broadband capabilities and identify areas of greatest need for broadband expansion in homes, schools and commerce.”

Press Release
TAKE SURVEY HERE: Broadband Survey
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KY HEALTH & FAMILY SERVICES SECRETARY RESIGNS
An interim replacement has been named while a search for a permanent secretary commences:

Governor Steve Beshear announced today that Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Secretary Janie Miller has resigned her position, effective Feb. 29, to seek other opportunities. Sec. Miller was among Gov. Beshear’s first appointments in his first term and brought a broad wealth of state government and health care program knowledge to this key area of human service programs.
“Janie Miller has done extraordinary work in an especially difficult time. In the depths of an economic recession, more and more Kentuckians turned to CHFS for needed services, and Sec. Miller found ways to meet those needs despite the challenges of a very lean budget,” said Gov. Beshear. “Her efforts to provide health insurance for children, to implement wellness strategies, and move more than half a million Kentuckians to a managed care health system in less than a year were enormous tasks. Her work has paved the way for generations of healthier Kentuckians. I am grateful for her tireless service.”
Current CHFS Deputy Secretary Eric Friedlander will serve as interim Secretary of the Cabinet. He has served in the Cabinet in a variety of roles since 1985. Gov. Beshear is initiating a search for a new Secretary.

Press Release
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MORE HOPE THAT KENTUCKY KINGDOM MAY REOPEN
The folks that operare Holiday World in Indiana are interested:

The company plans to try to secure financing and apply for economic development incentives from the state of Kentucky, the release said. No public money would be requested from the Kentucky General Assembly under Bluegrass Boardwalk’s plan.

Business First

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME AFFECTING BATS IN 3 MORE KY CAVES

Gross:

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed that White Nose Syndrome has infected bats in three caves in Breckenridge County. The infection usually manifests itself in a white fungus growing on bats’ muzzles, and causes strange behavior. Nearly all infected bats die.

Want to see a scary photo? Click the link for the rest of the story. BATS!
WFPL
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STATE HOUSE PANEL APPROVES BILLBOARD PROTECTION BILL
When I think of what needs protection in Kentucky, billboards always make the top ten:

The House Transportation Committee unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would allow billboard owners to cut trees obstructing their roadside signs.

Herald-Leader/John Cheves
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MAN REFLECTS ON CHANGE IN OVER-THE-RHINE OVER LAST 20 YEARS
What a change, indeed:

Returning back to Cincinnati, I got my old job back & each day, I’d pass by one particular abandoned building on Orchard Street. I called the owner, Terrie (for whom I later built St. Theresa’s Textile Trove) & negotiated to buy this fire-gutted shell. I was 25 at the time. In that sweltering August, I single-handedly gutted the place, removing its charred floors, joists and the entire roof structure. In the evening, I’d wash my soot covered body in the claw foot tub of my Broadway Street apartment whose lengthy stairway I’d ascend in the darkness, my hand following the curves of its wooden banister.

Go read the whole thing and check out the photos, too.
Over-The-Rhine Blog
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ANTEBELLUM MANSION ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE IS UNDER CONTRACT
Great news! The beautiful old mansion (currently used as apartments) on Riverside Drive has a pending offer. It has NOT sold, but that is certainly a step in that direction. Over the summer, I co-produced a short video about the home. Check it out: