Former McMahan Fire Chief Paul Barth, who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $200,000 from the Crusade for Children, has been ordered to prison weeks earlier than originally expected.

Barth's attorney, Thomas Clay, tells the Courier-Journal that Barth was notified about 10 days ago that he should report to the federal prison in Manchester, Ky., today. The prison assignment, which usually takes 45 to 60 days, took less than a month.

In a new effort to tackle the city's housing crisis, Louisville Metro Councilwoman Attica Scott, D-1, is announcing a campaign to demolish the worst vacant and abandoned properties in her district.

Scott joined worked crews from the city's Inspection, Permits and Licenses Department on Thursday morning to launch "Bringing Down the House," which is aimed at razing properties that are not habitable and have become serious neighborhood eyesores.

The effort will cost a little over $1 million, according to Scott. It is being funded with $60,000 in council appropriations, around $420,000 in federal HUD money and $500,000 from a settlement secured by Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway's office.

Scott is vice chair of the council's vacant properties committee. She says the demolition process takes a long time, but that the new campaign is worth the cost.

"I wish that we could demolish more of the houses that have been abandoned and vacant, and have just destroyed neighborhoods in our district," says Scott. "These are houses that are far beyond rehabilitation, they're house that neighbors have been crying out to city government for years to demolish. They're a public health nuisance and a public safety issue for neighborhoods."

Update at 7 a.m. ET, Dec. 21: We're Still Here.

Our original post continues:

It is Dec. 20, 2012 — and citizens of Earth are panicking, consumed by the idea that the world will end Friday, something they say was predicted by Mayan astronomers. Of course, most people are not panicking, and Maya expert David Stuart says no one should. The calendar, he says, has plenty of room to go.

This week on our audio diary series, The Big Break, two of our emerging artists see their stages from a different perspective. Louisville Ballet trainee Claire Horrocks takes a leap of faith in herself to create a piece for the ballet's Choreographer's Showcase, and Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice Samantha Beach takes us backstage at the revolving set of "A Christmas Carol." Kentucky Opera studio artist Brad Raymond is on hiatus and traveling until January. 

There are reports from a variety of states about local lawmakers who want to give teachers the right to bring guns to school. They're making the case that school shootings such as the one Friday in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 small children and six adults dead could be prevented or stopped if some school staffers were armed.

With the end-of-year deadline looming on automatic tax increases and spending cuts, President Obama on Wednesday made the case that Republicans should recognize "I have met them at least halfway in order to get something done for the country."

A clearer picture has emerged of the standoff between the Paducah Sun and the McCracken County Sheriff's Office that prompted a school closure earlier this week.

Clearer, but not prettier.

Authorities now believe that a letter received by the Paducah Sun on Monday referenced an incident the previous week that had already been investigated. A couple of kids in Paducah's Reidland High School were talking about the video game Minecraft; their chatter about placing bombs—part of the game—was misinterpreted as a possible threat.

No harm, no foul.

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes wants to explore the possibility of early voting in the commonwealth.

Across the country, 32 states and the District of Columbia permit a version of early voting that allows residents to cast their ballot prior to Election Day without an excuse.

Kentucky is surrounded by states that do allow early voting such as Indiana and Ohio, and state law only allows absentee voting for specific reasons such as pregnancy, being disable or military service.

Grimes says after the 2012 presidential race her office wants to review the effectiveness of eleciton procedures, adding she is concerned that Kentuckian’s voices aren’t being heard.

"During the period leading up to the general election we had a lot of Kentuckians who questioned what Kentucky’s current laws are regarding absentee voting. And right now here in the state of Kentucky you cannot vote early without an excuse," she says. "And at this time I think it is prudent for us to listen to the voices of the citizens who we work so hard to protect, and to respond to our customers."

Kentucky’s labor market numbers are returning to pre-recession levels.

Office of Employment andTraining Economist Manoj Shanker says Kentucky is now adding about 5,800 jobs each month. Shanker says one reason employers are hiring right now is because wages are low.

“Retail jobs and warehousing jobs have gone up. That’s because the wages have fallen a lot. So it doesn’t cost employers a lot to have people at the front lines working and selling things, especially during November and December,” Shanker said.