It’s fine to hit the downtown First Friday Trolley Hop without a plan. Park, wander in and out of galleries, grab a drink or dinner with friends and hop a TARC trolley from one end of downtown to the next and back—you’re sure to find something to catch your eye or ears.

But with so many events and gallery receptions happening at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so every month we take a look at five don’t-miss art events happening during the hop.

The regional compact that oversees water quality in the Ohio River has a new chairman. Kenneth Komoroski is an attorney that often represents the oil and gas industry.

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission—or ORSANCO—is a regional body that oversees pollution in the Ohio River. It’s governed by a board made up of members from all eight member states, plus up to three federal commissioners appointed by the president. The board appoints its own chair.

“Like a Man” is singer/songwriter Adam Cohen’s first record since 2004. Cohen had some modest success with his band Low Millions ("Ex-Girlfriends"), but after a promising start, his musical career stalled.  

After decades of trying to distance himself from his famous father’s sound (he's the son of famed songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen),  he’s reclaiming his place in the Cohen legacy. “Like a Man” pays deliberate homage to his father’s songs while allowing Cohen to come full circle with a mature and vulnerable sound of his own.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has vetoed the contentious landmarks ordinance a week after the Metro Council passed the bill.

The legislation amended several provisions of the four decade old law, and allowed a majority vote in the council to overturn a decision made by the city's landmarks commission. Despite stiff opposition from preservationists and outcry from a handful of lawmakers it passed the council by a 16-7 vote.

In a letter to city lawmakers, Fischer agreed with preservationists, who argued the ordinance politicized the process and violated the separation of powers between the council and mayor's office.

"The positive impacts of our current, nationally recognized landmarks law far outweigh the need to change this four decade precedent for our city," he says. "Additionally, the citizens of Louisville have clearly told me that they fear the landmarks process potentially could be politicized through Metro Council involvement.I cannot support a law that allows a simple majority of the Metro Council to overturn the standards based review of the Landmarks Commission."

Kentucky politicians have been lining up to praise a judge’s decision earlier this week to overturn the new way the Environmental Protection Agency has been eval

The U.S. Department of Education will continue funding Advanced Placement tests for Kentucky’s low-income students this school year, but public schools in Jefferson County with the highest passing AP rates also have the lowest number of low-income students.

“In 2010-2011 which is the latest data I have, in Kentucky public schools there were approximately 38,000 AP exams taken," said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education.

The nation’s leading organization for seniors will use this year's Fancy Farm picnic to launch a nationwide tour to help voters be better informed about Social Security and Medicare.

The goal of the “You’ve Earned a Say” bus tour is to clear up what the AARP calls hype and spin around proposed changes to the nation’s biggest entitlement programs. 

Maureen O'Brien told her daughter Emily Macri: dream big.

She could pick any college she wanted and they would figure out a way to pay for it.

Macri chose the University of Vermont, which costs more than $49,000 in tuition and fees per year for out-of-state residents.

O'Brien and her daughter co-signed a private student loan from Sallie Mae for $24,000 and a $30,000 Parent PLUS loan, a federal loan program for parents. And that was just for Macri's first two years of college.

The author of a controversial landmarks ordinance is optimistic that Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer will not veto the legislation.

After months of debate, the council voted to change the city’s longstanding process to declare historic sites. But a group of preservationists is urging the mayor to reject the ordinance, arguing that it violates the state constitution and encroaches upon the executive branch’s authority.

Councilman David Yates, D-25, who introduced the measure, says the mayor isn’t likely to veto the law.

"If you veto it then you lose the improved legislation. We hopefully don’t have to go that route and I don’t think that would be his intention. But I can’t speak for him," he says.

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., addressed final approval of the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project by the federal government.

The Federal Highway Administration announced Wednesday it will allow Kentucky and Indiana to charge motorists a fee to use Interstate-65 (Kennedy Bridge) and the two new spans that are schedule to be built.

Details on tolling are still being worked out, but Yarmuth sidestepped that portion of the press release and rather focused on looking forward to the first phase.

From Yarmuth's office:

"This is the final signature needed from the federal government to begin construction of the Bridges Project," Yarmuth said. "I received personal assurances from Transportation Secretary LaHood and President Obama that the federal approval process would be expedited, and they have followed through on those commitments. Nothing else stands in the way of construction, and I look forward to breaking ground on the East End Bridge later this month."