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by Michael Monks
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COVINGTON FIRE CHIEF CHUCK NORRIS TO RETIRE AT END OF JULY
The River City News has been informed by multiple sources that Covington Fire Chief Chuck Norris will retire at the end of July, a move that will likely be voted upon at next Tuesday meeting of the City Commission. More details to come.
Norris was named chief on a permanent basis last July.
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TAKE A TOUR OF COVINGTON'S MUTUAL INSURANCE BUILDING
Want a take a look inside one of Covington's most prominent buildings? It's mostly vacant now but the Mutual Building once housed a bank, a Jewelry store, two diners, and of course, the Mutual Insurance Company. What will it house in its next phase of life? Click the link for photos and some historical tidbits.
More photos: Take a Look Inside Covington's Mutual Building
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DON'T MISS TUESDAY EVENING'S NEWS
The City schedules public input sessions to discuss plans for reorganization at City Hall and possible budget cuts; "Lively learning" at Holmes Middle School applauded by state; Governor creates Kentucky's health exchange as part of federal health care reform; Plus, adorable video of the new baby cheetah at the Cincinnati Zoo (why it had to be raised by hand, and not by its mother). Those stories and more at the link!
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PLANNING FOR AN AGING POPULATION IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Northern Kentucky Forum hosts a discussion tonight about the region's readiness to deal with an aging population:
Is our community ready for the Baby Boomers as they leave behind their youth and become senior citizens? The Northern Kentucky Forum will examine that question at our next public dialogue, Planning for an Aging Population, on Wednesday, July 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Edgewood Senior Center, 550 Freedom Park Drive, Edgewood, Ky. The Forum is free and we invite to come and bring a friend, young or old, to join the conversation on the important questions associated with this topic: Is our medical system ready? Our nursing homes? Our public infrastructure? Our support systems? We also invite you take our poll in (take it now, before the event) at www.nkyforum.org. It will just take five minutes or less. Ask your neighbors, family and co-workers to take it as well.|
More details: Click Here
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TRAFFIC ALERT: TAYLOR MILL ROAD
From the City of Taylor Mill:
Please be advised that Old Taylor Mill Road will be closed from Millstream Road to the vicinity of Sandmann Drive to all thru traffic in order to allow for the Taylor Mill Road Reconstruction Project to move forward beginning at 9:30 am on this FRIDAY, JULY 20th. Traffic entering and departing from the Taylor Creek Subdivision will be diverted thru a set of temporary roads that have been constructed with ingress and egress beginning at the intersection of Sandmann Drive and Old Taylor Mill Road. Please be on the look out for changes in traffic patterns that will be noted by a variety of signs posted throughout the community indicating routes of Detour. These closures will be in effective until on or about October 31, 2012. For more information please sign up to receive our electronic newsletter at www.taylormillky.gov or contact the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at 859.341.2700. Thank you.|
KENTUCKY DEBATES TAX OVERHAUL -- AGAIN
The Pew Center paints a pessimistic picture for the Commonwealth as it attempts to reform its tax system:
Most of the focus in Kentucky for the last decade has been on one major problem: The state’s tax revenue hasn’t been keeping up with growth in the economy. Many observers expect the trend to continue in the years ahead, leaving the state with a structural deficit that will make it impossible to afford the services it has offered in the past.
Kentucky’s situation is noteworthy not because it is unusual, but instead because it is typical. Like many states, Kentucky’s tax code is poorly positioned to keep up with today’s economic and demographic trends, such as the shift to more consumer spending on services instead of tangible goods.
Even when lawmakers agree on the basic contours of the problem, they rarely act. Recommendations of tax reform commissions in Vermont and South Carolina leading into the 2011 legislative sessions, for example — much the like the commission in Kentucky — haven't resulted in changes.
In Kentucky and elsewhere, the biggest obstacle is politics. Since 2000, the Kentucky Senate has been controlled by Republicans, while the House of Representatives has been controlled by Democrats. No one has come up with a proposal yet that could win approval in both houses. Finding such a proposal is the most difficult job the new commission faces.Full story: Pew Center
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KY CHAMBER PUSHES FOR "RIGHT TO WORK", EXPANDED GAMBLING
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce released a 36-page "Ready for Jobs" report that takes aim at tax reform and labor unions, urging change in the structure of some business taxes, approving caps on medical malpractice lawsuits, increasing the health care contributions paid by state workers, and approving an anti-union "right to work" law. Also:
The report goes on to say that more widespread employment is the answer.Read this: cn|2/Ryan Alessi
“Along with a paycheck that will increase income and improve living conditions, a good job includes insurance coverage that can improve health. a good job also reduces reliance on state programs such as Medicaid, which is growing almost three times faster than the overall state budget,” it concludes.
And the report says “quality education is the key to a good job and a stronger future for individual Kentuckians and the state as a whole.”
The “Ready for Jobs?” report notes that K-12 education funding has increased 33 percent over the last 14 years and public colleges and universities have increased by 6.7 percent — far less than the rate of increase of the state’s general fund overall (nearly 50 percent) and the corrections department (65.5 percent), Medicaid he alth coverage for the poor and disabled (123 percent) and public employee health insurance (202 percent).
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KENTUCKY PRIVATE SECTOR WORKING GROUP: GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS
From a news release:
Embracing the "Getting Business Back in Business" concept, Kentucky's Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) concluded a two-day workshop recently held in Somerset, July 9-10.
Led by Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM), the meeting drew dozens of representatives from private sector organizations and associations from across the state and local communities. The meeting was held at The Center for Rural Development and Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Preparedness -Technology, Analysis and Coordination Center (P-TAC). The discussion at the meeting centered on mutual aid, resource management, recovery, emerging technologies and the concept of the Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (VBEOC). (VBEOC is a virtual system concept integrating the private sector into response efforts during an emergency.)
KYEM Director John Heltzel told the workshop attendees, "Government recognizes the crucial role the private sector plays in emergency response and recovery. Kentucky Emergency Management continues to build from lessons learned from past disasters, and shared exercises, and have utilized our private sector partners many times, as recent as the March 2, tornado outbreak."
He concluded by saying, "Having you as partners with the State is invaluable, having the PSWG sitting in the Commonwealth Emergency Operations Center during a disaster makes for a much faster and better coordinated effort!"
Kentucky's PSWG has been recognized as a model project and has been invited to present at a variety of conferences across the country to include; the National Emergency Management Association National Conference in Austin, TX where the model was identified as a national best-practice, National BEOC Conference in Bentonville, AK, Kentucky Hospital Association Leadership Meeting, Kentucky Association of Energy Coops Meeting, Southern Agriculture and Animal Disaster Response Alliance Conference in Atlanta, GA, National Private Sector Summit in Daytona, FL, and FEMA's Region 4 Strategic National Stockpile Summit.
Mike Dossett, KYEM Private Sector Program Coordinator, said, "In order to strengthen disaster and emergency response and recovery capabilities, KYEM highly encourages all communities to engage and embrace their private sector partners. It is a proven fact when a disaster occurs, the sooner the private sector is up and operating the sooner a community returns to normal. Thus our motto: 'Getting Business Back in Business!' "|
QUICKIES
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Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire stirs sobering memories for comic Cincinnati Enquirer
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Churchill Downs applies for Nevada poker license Herald-Leader
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KY environmentalists' report targets power plants Herald-Leader
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Popular Democrat and former state auditor Crit Luallen says she will not challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014 WFPL
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National pundits Bill Kristol and Paul Begala talk Presidential politics at Kentucky Chamber event WFPL
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TLC orders Pete Rose reality series Cincinnati Enquirer
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HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY TO BARD'S BURGERS
The popular Latonia burger joint turns four years old and starting today, they've added deep fried pickles and Oreo milkshakes to its already decadent and guilt-ridden menu which also features this behemoth:
Find Bard's Burgers at 3620 Decoursey Avenue in Latonia.
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MORE PARENTS OPTING TO HAVE THEIR KIDS "SCHOOL-HOMED"
LOL:
According to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education, an increasing number of American parents are choosing to have their children raised at school rather than at home.
Deputy Education Secretary Anthony W. Miller said that many parents who school-home find U.S. households to be frightening, overwhelming environments for their children, and feel that they are just not conducive to producing well-rounded members of society.
Thousands of mothers and fathers polled in the study also believe that those running American homes cannot be trusted to keep their kids safe.
"Every year more parents are finding that their homes are not equipped to instill the right values in their children," Miller said. "When it comes to important life skills such as proper nutrition, safe sex, and even basic socialization, a growing number of mothers and fathers think it's better to rely on educators to guide and nurture their kids."Have a laugh and read the rest: The Onion
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