Tagged: Louisville Metro Council

The chairman of the Louisville Metro Council’s Appropriations Committee is asking the Ethics Commission to weigh-in on whether city lawmakers can pass out gifts to constituents.

Earlier this week, the appropriations committee discussed a pair of Neighborhood Development Fund requests made by council members Rick Blackwell, D-12, and Vicki Welch, D-13. The two were seeking to give Metro Parks $3,000 in return for 400 tickets to performances at the Iroquois Amphitheater, which Blackwell and Welch would give out to residents.

The county attorney warned that tickets can have a "monetary value and political value" and lawmakers should discuss the matter further. After a fierce debate, the committee voted down the proposal by a 3-to-3 vote.

Councilman Robin Engel, R-22, who chairs the appropriations panel, sent a letter to the commission Friday asking if it is a violation of the city's code of ethics for council members to control the distribution of tickets. He says there has been a fierce debate on passing out tickets, but lawmakers need non-partisan guidance.

"The question is the temptation and the possibility of impropriety of being able to distribute tickets as a council member. That is in play here and that’ the question of the day,” he says.

The Louisville Metro Police Department is launching a criminal investigation regarding Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2, and the financial management of her office.

The Public Integrity Unit has been working closely with the internal auditor’s office to determine if a formal probe was necessary. The auditor is examining an upholstery program for ex-offenders that served several of Shanklin's relatives instead.

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Attica Scott, D-1, is concerned about lead poisoning at the dozens of vacant properties in her district.

Those abandoned homes have lead dust from deteriorated paint, renovation and demolition that is toxic and has been linked to a number of health problems such as lower child I.Q. and attention span, and increased aggressive behavior.

Scott's office is partnering with the Network Center for Community Change and the group Lock Up Lead to detoxify the 50 worst vacant properties in the district. She says besides creating blight and economic hardships in many neighborhoods, abandoned homes also pose an environmental risk.

"I’m definitely concerned about the safety of some of these properties that are in District 1 that are deteriorating and literally leaning to the side and falling apart. And also the issue of lead, the toxic lead levels in some of these properties," she says.

A report by the Bluegrass Institute showed the achievement gaps in Jefferson County Public Schools along lines of race are actually wider in the East End of Louisville.

The conservative think tank unveiled some troubling numbers last month and organizations supportive of charter schools, such as the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), argue the report underscores the student-assignment plan has failed African-American students.

JCPS officials have said they are aware of the problem and are committed to changing the numbers, but impatience is growing as three seats open on the school board this year.

I spoke with WFPL’s education reporter Devin Katayama and former Louisville Metro Councilman Dr. Deonte Hollowell, who is a BAEO member, about the report’s ramifications on the education debate.

An ordinance before the Louisville Metro Council would require restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus.

Council President Jim King, D-10, and Councilwoman Vicki Aubrey Welch, D-13, are sponsoring the bill.

It requires businesses that have caloric and other nutrition information available to post that information on their menus or on a menu board located in the restaurant. The ordinance would only apply to businesses that have the information available.

Welch is chairwoman of the health, education and housing committee. She says the law will give residents the needed information to make better choices.

"I want consumers to be able to choose what they’re eating and putting into their bodies. I think they deserve to know what they’re purchasing. So many people are health conscious now about what they’re eating," she says.