Brad Yost

Here's what you'll hear on this edition of Byline ('play' button below):

At the top - This week, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced the appointment of Anthony Smith as the city’s first Director of Safe Neighborhoods. It was a position recommended by a task force that’s been studying ways to reduce violence in the city.  WFPL's Devin Katayama discusses Smith’s appointment and his initial plans for the job.

In January of 2010, the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere struck Haiti—one of the nations least prepared to handle it. Jonathan Katz, a Louisville native, was the only full-time American news correspondent in Haiti at the time.  He was inside his house when it buckled, along with hundreds of thousands of others.

Here's the rundown for Byline today:

At the top - Kentucky’s education commissioner says some low-performing Jefferson County public schools face a state takeover if they don’t show progress soon.  We discuss the status of the schools, his remarks, and the JCPS response with education reporter Devin Katayama.

Here's the rundown for this edition of Byline:

At the top - Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear told lawmakers in his state of the commonwealth address that it’s time to find consensus on ways to overhaul the state’s tax and pension systems. We discuss that and  the rest of the governor’s legislative agenda and the 2013 general assembly with Kentucky Public Radio’s Kenny Colston.

Here is the audio and rundown on today's edition of Byline:

At the top - Immigration reform is back in the headlines, with President Obama stating a deal with Congress that includes a path to citizenship should be attainable this year.  We discuss the potential local impact with Edgardo Mansilla, executive director of the Americana Community Center, and Kate Miller, program associate for the ACLU of Kentucky.

Here's what we covered in this edition of Byline:

At the top - The Kentucky State Fair Board took a major step toward reopening Kentucky Kingdom with approval of a 50-year lease this week.  Developer Ed Hart and his team of investors say they are confident the park that’s been closed since 2009 will reopen next year.  Ed Hart speaks with WFPL’s Devin Katayama.

Jared Diamond spoke in Louisville on January 9, 2013 as featured guest at the Kentucky Author Forum, discussing in detail his latest book, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn From Traditional Societies.  Diamond is an author, physiologist, evolutionary biologist and bio-geographer, as well as a medical researcher and professor of geography at UCLA.

In 2009, writer Keith O’Brien set out to tell the story of a Kentucky high school boys basketball team’s quest to win a state championship.   He spent the basketball season in Scott County, where there were high hopes the Cardinals would capture the school's third Sweet Sixteen title just down the road in Lexington’s Rupp Arena.

The team’s ups and downs are chronicled in O'Brien’s just-published book, Outside Shot:  Big Dreams, Hard Times and One County’s Quest for Basketball Greatness. 

Today on Byline, WFPL's Arts and Humanities Reporter Erin Keane sat down with Ryan Daily of the Louisville Film Society. He discusses the functions of the Society, their newly-renovated cinema space, the Dreamland Film Center on Market Street, special Louisville screenings of New Jerusalem this weekend, and film noir.