Louisville Kentucky News as its happening

Category — Louisville, Kentucky

2 Fort Campbell soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Two Fort Campbell soldiers were killed during an attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to the military. Sgt. Jonathan J. Richardson, 24, of Bald Knob, Ark., and Pfc. Jason M. Kropat, 25, of White Lake, N.Y., were killed Tuesday.

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Auditor will examine Passport dealings with U of L

In response to a request from Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, the state auditor’s office will examine “certain financial activity” among Passport Health Plan, University Medical Center, the University of Louisville and state government.

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House slashes salary of economic development boss

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The $250,000 annual salary of state Economic Development Secretary Larry Hayes would be cut nearly in half by an obscure provision in the House budget bill.

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Senate backs change in Breeders’ Cup incentives

A bill that passed the Senate on Thursday would force the Breeders’ Cup to commit by Nov. 4 to running its 2011 or 2012 races in Kentucky in order to qualify for a pari-mutuel tax break this year.

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Senate panel backs game to help racing

A bill to allow Kentucky racetracks to operate an electronic horse racing game — a way to help the financially troubled industry — won approval from a Senate committee Thursday.

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Iraqi sees hope for country

A former Iraqi diplomat said key democratic institutions failed in the run-up to his nation’s recent elections, but he found hope in the fact that its people appear to have voted against the religious divisions that raged just a few years ago.

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Council unanimously OKs ethics ordinance

After nearly two years of work, the Louisville Metro Council passed a revised ethics ordinance Thursday that expands the number of people covered by the law and tightens rules on how metro government officers — elected officials and political appointees — interact with government employees.

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Panel backs bill for more colon cancer screening

A bill to expand screening and treatment for colon cancer in Kentucky was approved by the House budget committee Thursday after a lawmaker agreed to withdraw a controversial abortion amendment.

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Panel backs domestic violence bill

A bill aimed at better protecting victims of domestic violence cleared a Senate committee in revised form Thursday. House Bill 1, called “Amanda’s Bill,” won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee and now goes to the full Senate.

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Kentucky unemployment rate ticks up to 10.7 percent

Kentucky’s unemployment rate ticked up to 10.7 percent in January as the state’s economy continued to struggle, the Office of Employment and Training reported Thursday.

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Westport Middle gets new principal

Staci Eddleman has been named the new principal at Westport Middle School.

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Zoo taking a big step back in time

Visitors to the Louisville Zoo may soon have to be forgiven if they are left wondering if they’ve just been admitted to the wrong geologic age.

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NY gov drops support for Aqueduct racino group

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. David Paterson’s administration dropped its support Thursday for a consortium chosen to build and operate up to 4,500 video slot machines at the Aqueduct racetrack, promising to further delay the 8-year-old plan to put a lucrative racino in Queens.

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Architect hired to design ShelbyHurst building

A Cambridge, Mass., firm has been approved to design a large office building at the University of Lousiville’s ShelbyHurst campus, formerly Shelby Campus near Shelbyville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway.

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Work starts on two downtown garages

Construction will begin soon on two large parking garages in downtown Louisville, one that will serve activity near the Henry Clay and Fourth and Chestnut streets and the other that will cater to office and tourist traffic near the Glassworks, the ZirMed tower and activity at Ninth and Market streets.

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Panel would allow some billboards without permits

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A House committee advanced a measure Thursday that would allow billboards with religious and other non-commercial messages to be placed along highways without state approval.

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Repair work suspended on area of Wolf Creek Dam

JAMESTOWN, Ky. — Federal officials said Thursday they don’t plan to lower the water level at Lake Cumberland while work is halted on a section of the lake’s massive Wolf Creek Dam in south-central Kentucky.

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House panel backs bargaining for public employees

The House Labor and Industry Committee approved a bill Thursday that would give employees of state and local governments and school boards the right to collective bargaining.

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Girls’ hit-and-run killer gets maximum sentence of life in prison

Blasting Kenielle Finch for actions that were “selfish and reprehensible,” a Jefferson Circuit Court judge Thursday sentenced Finch to the maximum penalty of life in prison for running over and killing two young girls inJuly 2008 as he was fleeing from police.

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9 students at Jefferson County Traditional suspended after drugs found

Nine students at Jefferson County Traditional Middle School were suspended this week after illegal drugs were discovered at the school, a district spokesman said.

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Bust of still largest in years in Bell County

Police say they found more than 100 gallons of whiskey and 500 gallons of mash, from which the alcohol is made.

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GOP mayoral candidates take aim at each other

The questions are getting tougher, and more personal, in Louisville’s mayoral race — in part because on Wednesday the candidates got to ask one of each other.

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Ky. lethal injection method on course for approval

Kentucky’s method of executing condemned prisoners could be in place again by May after a legislative committee raised no objection to the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol.

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House budget ignores dilapidated schools in GOP districts

The budget bill the House passed Wednesday would pay to replace eight school buildings that are among the state’s most dilapidated, and all are in the districts of Democrats who voted for a crucial revenue measure last week.

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House approves $17.5 billion budget

After more than three hours of impassioned debate, the House voted along party lines Wednesday to approve a $17.5 billion state budget that cuts two school days as well as higher education spending but funds a slew of new schools, roads and water and sewer lines.

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Area health industry robust despite Jewish cuts, experts say

Despite impending layoffs at Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and at Humana headquarters, health care continues to grow as a portion of the Louisville-area economy, local economic experts and Mayor Jerry Abramson said Wednesday.

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Marker unveiled at site of Scotia mine disaster

Thirty-four years after a pair of explosions killed 26 miners and mine inspectors, a bronze marker has been unveiled at the site of the Scotia mine disaster in eastern Kentucky.

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Man found dead after apparently jumping from hospital parking garage

Louisville Metro Police are investigating the death of a man who was found Tuesday in a University Hospital maintenance room near the campus’ main parking garage after he allegedly jumped from the garage’s top level.

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Baileys working to raise awareness on fire safety

Sound asleep, Cathy Bailey said she never heard the alarm triggered by the early Christmas Day fire that claimed the lives of her two young grandsons.

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Amended bill would move primary

A bill to clarify laws governing special elections was amended by a Senate committee Wednesday to move Kentucky’s primary elections from May to August and the filing deadline from January to April.

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