Fletcher Beats Northup and will Meet Beshear in General Election
Governor Fletcher was able to dodge a bullet yesterday and nudged past Anne Northup in the Republican primary. He enjoyed broad support in nearly every county of the state, except Jefferson, the home of Northup. Northup, who ran a campaign extolling her ability as the only Republican to be able to beat the Democrats this year, conceded early last night and lauded the governor in his victory. It is unknown how active she will be in the Republican campaign to keep the governor’s mansion in Frankfort.
Museum Plaza expects OK from Downtown Overlay Board
Tonight the developers of Museum Plaza will face the first of several government agencies which must give their blessings before the building can begin construction on September 27. The Downtown Development Review Overlay Board is expected to give the building their positive recommendations, but would like the developers to provide a few more details on several points, such as signage, more explanation of their landscaping and public art, and attempts to better connect the structure to the riverfront. Despite these questions, the building already conforms to nearly all standards for new development, and it is expected to pass all hurdles without issue.
Changes Along Bardstown Road
Louisville’s belovedly eclectic Bardstown Road is getting a small facelift. Phase 2 of a project that started last year will repave broken sidewalks and curbs, add new landscaping and decorative pavers, replace several bus stops, and add more trash receptacles. The project is being funded out of Councilman Tom Owen’s neighborhood development fund. In other local happening, the long abandoned Dillard’s at Bashford Manor may finally be razed and replaced by a small retail development to compliment the new big box stores that had replaced the majority of the old mall.
Henry Clay Finishes Up
Bill Weyland is putting in the final details of his 20 million dollar redo of the old YWCA. The building, which contains a mix of rentals and condos, is almost completely occupied – only 1 condo is left to be sold. First floor retail space is completely leased, and a new theatre is being installed for a local acting troupe. As a companion project, Weyland is renovating an adjacent building on Fourth Street into a Japanese restaurant, and rumors persist of a mid-rise hotel on the lot he owns directly behind the YWCA.
Mayor in Vegas Bringing Home New Retailers
Mayor Abramson took a trip out to Las Vegas this week to convince national retailers that Louisville is a place they want to be. Abramson had several meetings lined up while there with McCormick & Schmick’s, Nordstrom, Trader Joe’s, Crate & Barrel, and several others. The mayor as joined by numerous Louisville businessmen, including Todd Blue who is trying to line up tenants for his planned upscale Iron Quarter development in downtown. Trader Joe’s has already expressed a desire for 3 Louisville locations, and McCormick and Schmick’s has displayed interest in the new Louisville arena.
Todd Blue's Sales Pitch for the Iron Quarter
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Kentucky has a surplus?
It was recently reported that the state government in Frankfort has a 270 million dollar surplus this fiscal season. And having an extra 270 million dollars lying (or is it laying? O, the grammar!) around the capitol building ain't half bad. The trouble is, when your coffers are suddenly full of extra cash, state legislators have a hard time not immediately spending the dough (Often times on pet projects and waste).
Rewind to April 2006 when Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects from the Kentucky budget so that he could save the states precarious bond rating. In cutting these projects the governor wanted to show the people who control the money in New York that Kentucky could get serious about cutting out the BS. And to be honest, he cut mostly uesless projects - Dorm renovations at the University of Louisville, a new indoor practice facility for Coach Petino (Can they not just use their soon to be built 450 million dollar downtown facilty?), extra cash for the Louisville Zoo's new Glacier Run project, delayed money for a new dental research building in downtown Louisville, plus other generally pointless projects in other regions of Kentucky.
We now find ourselves in January 2007 and all of these projects are about to be refunded in this legislative session. Does Kentucky have any sense of what is important and what isn't? The Louisville Zoo already stated that even without the extra 6 million from the state their project would go forward, the University of Louisville bonded for themselves the money for several of their vetoed projects, and the University of Kentucky in Lexington also is moving ahead with their few projects that the state vetoed in April.
Kentucky is currently sitting on several huge time bombs. One of which is the Louisville infrastructure needs of Spagetti Junction and the bridges; Northern Kentucky is also in dire need of new span to Cincinnati. Besides even those huge liabilities, the state has an underfunded public pension system, underfunded education, and underfunded healthcare systems. We're talking BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars! Instead we've got places like Campellsville that is crying out for a new golf course and lodge at Green River Lake, or western Kentucky wanting yet another highway to nowhere.
This 270 million dollars is already gone, being used to refund all the pet projects from the last legislative cycle. But when will Kentucky wake up and see that we are wasting our money year after year and never getting a return on our investments?
Rewind to April 2006 when Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects from the Kentucky budget so that he could save the states precarious bond rating. In cutting these projects the governor wanted to show the people who control the money in New York that Kentucky could get serious about cutting out the BS. And to be honest, he cut mostly uesless projects - Dorm renovations at the University of Louisville, a new indoor practice facility for Coach Petino (Can they not just use their soon to be built 450 million dollar downtown facilty?), extra cash for the Louisville Zoo's new Glacier Run project, delayed money for a new dental research building in downtown Louisville, plus other generally pointless projects in other regions of Kentucky.
We now find ourselves in January 2007 and all of these projects are about to be refunded in this legislative session. Does Kentucky have any sense of what is important and what isn't? The Louisville Zoo already stated that even without the extra 6 million from the state their project would go forward, the University of Louisville bonded for themselves the money for several of their vetoed projects, and the University of Kentucky in Lexington also is moving ahead with their few projects that the state vetoed in April.
Kentucky is currently sitting on several huge time bombs. One of which is the Louisville infrastructure needs of Spagetti Junction and the bridges; Northern Kentucky is also in dire need of new span to Cincinnati. Besides even those huge liabilities, the state has an underfunded public pension system, underfunded education, and underfunded healthcare systems. We're talking BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars! Instead we've got places like Campellsville that is crying out for a new golf course and lodge at Green River Lake, or western Kentucky wanting yet another highway to nowhere.
This 270 million dollars is already gone, being used to refund all the pet projects from the last legislative cycle. But when will Kentucky wake up and see that we are wasting our money year after year and never getting a return on our investments?
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Northup for Governor?
Anne Northup is reportedly mulling over a bid to unseat Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher in the next gubernatorial election. Northup, a Louisville republican, was recently unseated as the representative of the Democratic leaning 3rd district of Kentucky in the US House of Representatives. Northup had occupied the seat for a decade, first winning election in November 1996. However, her political career has spanned 3 separate decades, as she started her political involvement in 1980 as a volunteer for Ronald Reagan's campaign and was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1987 to 1997.
Before Anne can even be put on the general ballot come November, she must outmaneuver the politically vulnerable Ernie Fletcher (and others) in the Republican primary. Fletcher has been at the center of several scandals since taking the oath of office. Fletcher made a promise to clean up Frankfort after the disastrous tenure of Democratic governor Paul Patton, however, Frankfort seems as dirty as ever. Fletcher is accused of undermining the merit job system in which state jobs are awarded based on "merit" not political affiliation.
It is my personal opinion that Ernie Fletcher is not a bad man or even a stupid man; he simply surrounded himself with bad people. Many of the allegations around Governor Fletcher include several of his "right hand men" and much of their unbecoming behavior. Fletcher, however, magnified the scrutiny of his office when he gave a blanket pardon of all offenders in his administration. Currently, the head of Kentucky Republican politics, Mitch McConnell, won't even endorse the governor for a second term; things are that bad for Ernie.
In swoops Anne Northup, fresh off a major defeat, but as strong willed as ever. This is a woman who is tough as nails, but also a very classy individual. Anne had a tough 2006, to say the very least, as she lost a son in the summer to a heart defect and lost an election in November. I would have thought she would have gone into private life, if even only for a short while, to reflect on the year that was 2006. I was however surprised to see her face plastered across national television debate programs this week and now she is considering the governorship: I say do it. I didn't vote in Kentucky's 3rd District in November, (I was registered in Indiana's 9th, go Baron Hill!) however if I had been there, I would have pulled the lever for Democrat John Yamuth. Even with that disclosure, I had respect for Anne Northup and her many contributions to Louisville. She is bright, hard nosed, and hard hitting for Louisville. But in this election, things were really stacked against her, especially since she had too strongly allied herself with neoconservative national politics.
I have to say I am biased toward Anne Northup becoming governor because what she could do for Louisville, but also because I feel she is woman who could possibly give Frankfort an atmosphere of respect and accountability. Scandal after scandal have fallen on the laps of the people of Kentucky, and it really is time for the people to get someone who will uphold the basic ideals of the Commonwealth.
The Democratic party in Kentucky is in shambles. The only two viable options are Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, and Lexington's US Representative, Ben Chandler. Both men have made it known they will not be seeking the governorship. Dan Mongiardo , the Democratic doctor from Eastern Kentucky who was narrowly defeated for US Senate in 2004, has thrown his hat in the gubernatioral ring. However, how long will it be before his impending marriage to a 21 year old college student when he is pushing 50, becomes politcal? Lets be honest...while age may not matter to him and his fiance, it looks questionable to the majority of Kentuckians (me included). The last thing Kentuckians want to do is vote for a man who is seen as a letcher, even if he has good politcal ideas.
So to close, I hope to see Anne Northup take a swing at the governorship. And even if she doesn't bite this time around, I think you'll be seeing her name again someday in the future.
Best of luck, Anne.
Before Anne can even be put on the general ballot come November, she must outmaneuver the politically vulnerable Ernie Fletcher (and others) in the Republican primary. Fletcher has been at the center of several scandals since taking the oath of office. Fletcher made a promise to clean up Frankfort after the disastrous tenure of Democratic governor Paul Patton, however, Frankfort seems as dirty as ever. Fletcher is accused of undermining the merit job system in which state jobs are awarded based on "merit" not political affiliation.
It is my personal opinion that Ernie Fletcher is not a bad man or even a stupid man; he simply surrounded himself with bad people. Many of the allegations around Governor Fletcher include several of his "right hand men" and much of their unbecoming behavior. Fletcher, however, magnified the scrutiny of his office when he gave a blanket pardon of all offenders in his administration. Currently, the head of Kentucky Republican politics, Mitch McConnell, won't even endorse the governor for a second term; things are that bad for Ernie.
In swoops Anne Northup, fresh off a major defeat, but as strong willed as ever. This is a woman who is tough as nails, but also a very classy individual. Anne had a tough 2006, to say the very least, as she lost a son in the summer to a heart defect and lost an election in November. I would have thought she would have gone into private life, if even only for a short while, to reflect on the year that was 2006. I was however surprised to see her face plastered across national television debate programs this week and now she is considering the governorship: I say do it. I didn't vote in Kentucky's 3rd District in November, (I was registered in Indiana's 9th, go Baron Hill!) however if I had been there, I would have pulled the lever for Democrat John Yamuth. Even with that disclosure, I had respect for Anne Northup and her many contributions to Louisville. She is bright, hard nosed, and hard hitting for Louisville. But in this election, things were really stacked against her, especially since she had too strongly allied herself with neoconservative national politics.
I have to say I am biased toward Anne Northup becoming governor because what she could do for Louisville, but also because I feel she is woman who could possibly give Frankfort an atmosphere of respect and accountability. Scandal after scandal have fallen on the laps of the people of Kentucky, and it really is time for the people to get someone who will uphold the basic ideals of the Commonwealth.
The Democratic party in Kentucky is in shambles. The only two viable options are Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, and Lexington's US Representative, Ben Chandler. Both men have made it known they will not be seeking the governorship. Dan Mongiardo , the Democratic doctor from Eastern Kentucky who was narrowly defeated for US Senate in 2004, has thrown his hat in the gubernatioral ring. However, how long will it be before his impending marriage to a 21 year old college student when he is pushing 50, becomes politcal? Lets be honest...while age may not matter to him and his fiance, it looks questionable to the majority of Kentuckians (me included). The last thing Kentuckians want to do is vote for a man who is seen as a letcher, even if he has good politcal ideas.
So to close, I hope to see Anne Northup take a swing at the governorship. And even if she doesn't bite this time around, I think you'll be seeing her name again someday in the future.
Best of luck, Anne.
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