Devin Katayama

Some 250 volunteers have signed up to help build a playground in just six hours at the Parkland neighborhood Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday.

The project is a partnership between the Humana Foundation and a national non-profit organization called KaBoom, which has helped build over 2,100 playgrounds nationwide. The playground, which includes a community garden space, will be built next to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana's Parkland neighborhood club.

The University of Louisville Medical Center is inching closer to securing a merging partner, which officials say could come in the next several weeks.

U of L’s Board of Trustees authorized the school’s vice president of health affairs, Dr. David Dunn, to complete negotiations with finalists, whose names are being kept quiet during the negotiating process.

After a potential merger with Catholic Health Initiatives and Jewish Hospital fell through, UMC opened the merger to a bidding process.

KentuckyOne Health--the state's largest healthcare system--has announced its first major investment of the $325 million it promised to spend after its creation.

“This is the first down payment on that commitment,” said Dr. Dan Varga, the group's Chief Clinical Officer.

Kentucky One Health was formed this year in the merger of Saint Mary’s and Saint Joseph Health Systems and Jewish Hospital.

Jefferson County Public Schools is extending communication with the public through a new committee created by Superintendent Donna Hargens. 

“[It’s] really a way to include more voices and to also include people who are key communicators who will leave this meeting and be able to respond to others who ask them questions,” said board member Linda Duncan.

The University of Louisville will move 270 freshmen from its Miller Hall dorms following the discovery of visible mold spores in 80 percent of the rooms.

Officials are baffled by the finding and more facility closures are possible.

The decision to close Miller Hall came Wednesday morning after several mold spores were found over the fall break which began Oct. 5, said Phillip Bressoud, U of L’s director of student health.

With less than a month until the elections, the Jefferson County Teachers Association’s political action committee (PAC) has begun spending money on the three candidates it has endorsed.

The JCTA has historically been the largest financial supporter of candidates in past elections, spending around $1 million in the last three elections, and for the first time a separate PAC called the Bluegrass Fund was created.

The University of Louisville Foundation has opened a downtown work-space  called "iHub" for local entrepreneurs and innovators working on a tight budget.

Local and state officials celebrated the opening of the new downtown iHub Tuesday.

It’s a 2,200 square foot building offering young start-up companies or businesses a spot for $80 a month. The idea is to give entrepreneurs a space where they can conduct business and also collaborate, said Mayor Greg Fischer.

This, he said, is important in the early phases of starting a business.

The Kentucky Board of Education has approved a new restraint policy this week, which several educators argue is too vague.

The new regulations would only allow teachers to physically restrain or seclude misbehaving students when they pose an immediate threat or physical harm.

Several superintendents spoke at a public hearing last month against the policy. They argued teachers dealing with misbehaving students often need to make quick decisions, and the consequences aren’t spelled out in the policy.

Certain private schools in the Louisville region are taking a page from the public school system by implementing portions of the common core state standards.

Kentucky was among the first states to adopt and implement the new standards unifying what students are expected to learn, which is why all but four states have conformed.

A group of former Jefferson County Teacher’s Association presidents are prepared to support Marty Bell for the District 7 school board race, even though the JCTA has endorsed one of his competitors.

Bell, a former Jefferson County Public Schools administrator and former JCTA executive director, is one of five candidates vying to replace outgoing board member Larry Hujo.

He was the only candidate not considered for endorsement by the teacher’s union as a whole, he said.