Don’t Forget! CycLOUvia Happens This Sunday, Oct. 14th

Despite the seemingly goofy name*, CycLOUvia is happening on Bardstown Road this Sunday, October 14th, and we’re glad for it! Here’s the deal: Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue will be CLOSED to all automobile traffic between Douglass Boulevard and Broadway, open only to pedestrians and bicyclists (and other non-motorized folks) from 1:30 to 6:30 PM. Here’s a map of the closed area, with automobile access points: http://cyclouvia.org/map.

Even TARC buses are being detoured, so you know it’s serious. Serious fun! As someone who works part-time in two businesses on Bardstown Road (including a business that was recently damaged by a drunk driver — thankfully no one was hurt), I can’t think of anything better than to have a nice, chill day without aggressively-speeding or cluelessly-phone-talking car drivers on what is generally a pretty badly congested, lacklusterly policed road.

*the term comes from cyclovia, a successful 30-year long program to reduce automobile traffic in Bogota, Colombia.

Aung San Suu Kyi to Speak at U of L

The Courier-Journal is reporting this evening that Nobel Prize winner and Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi will speak at the University of Louisville on September 24th:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, a longtime pro-democracy activist in Myanmar who spent nearly two decades under house arrest, will speak Sept. 24 at the University of Louisville.

Suu Kyi’s visit — organized by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a fierce critic of Myanmar’s military junta — comes amid reforms in the former Burma that recently led the United States to restore full diplomatic relations.

In April, Suu Kyi was elected to the country’s parliament, more than 20 years after she was placed under house arrest in the violent crackdown that followed a short-lived pro-democracy movement.

McConnell, who has championed Suu Kyi’s cause and was among the U.S. leaders, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to recently visit the once-closed Southeast Asian nation, invited Suu Kyi to stop in Louisville, university officials said.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi symbolizes the peaceful struggle for freedom, democracy and reconciliation in Burma,” McConnell said. “Having her visit the University of Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a great honor. I appreciate that she accepted my invitation, and we look forward to welcoming her to the Bluegrass State.”

Despite not being a big fan of McConnell, we gotta say, this is pretty fantastic, and we thank the Senator and the University for giving Suu Kyi the opportunity to speak in Louisville. Here’s how to get tickets:

The Center for Asian Democracy is inviting people in the Louisville community with ties to Myanmar to attend Aung San Suu Kyi’s talk Sept. 24 — including some in the refugee community. A limited number of tickets will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who want to request a ticket can do so at www.mcconnellcenter.org starting Monday.

Also, as a reminder, the Dalai Lama will visit Louisville in mid-May, 2013.

Ali Home For Sale

(Picture of Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home from the Courier-Journal.)

The Courier-Journal is reporting that Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home in West Louisville is now for sale:

Two “for sale” signs have popped up in the front yard of the small white house on Grand Avenue where boxing great Muhammad Ali — known in those days as Cassius Clay — grew in western Louisville.

The home, which was recognized as Ali’s boyhood home with a historical marker in May, is described by the plaque as the place “where young Clay’s values were instilled.”

The sale price of the house was not listed on the for sale signs and a message left at the number listed was not returned. The Jefferson County Property Valuation Administration values the property at $23,260.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said Sunday that it is too early to know what role the city might have as the house is sold, but he plans to be involved in the process in some way. He even hinted at the possibility that the home could be transformed into more of a tourist attraction.

“I would hope that we would find some reasonable way to make (the house) a part of our history here where people can visit more formally than they do right now,” he said. “The city would be interested in making sure that it falls into the right hands and there’s a partnership there in some way.”

Sounds like a bargain, that despite the home’s historical significance, it needs some work. Here’s hoping that, if it ends up being bought by a private party, the proper renovations will be carried out and, at some point, it could help drive tourism to an otherwise-overlooked part of the city.

UPDATE, 8/28/2012: The Courier-Journal has published an updated story on the Ali Home, with some interesting new details. First, apparently Ali’s family isn’t interested in buying the home:

The 1920 one-story at 3302 Grand Ave. in western Louisville, appraised at $23,260, is in such bad condition that “we probably would not be interested in buying it,” said Lonnie Ali, the wife of the three-time heavyweight boxing champion.

“It would be nice if someone were interested,” she said in an interview Tuesday, adding that she feared that any hint of the family being a potential buyer would drive up the price. “It is going to be a very important piece of real estate for Louisville and as a tourist attraction.”

According to the Ali Center, an anonymous donor is interested, but with no more information to divulge.  Additionally, check out the last sale price of the house, from 1998:

The house, which was last sold in 1998 for $2,500, is owned by a Southern Indiana couple, Steve and Kassandra Stephenson, according the Jefferson County PVA website. Their asking price couldn’t be determined.

Kentucky Birther Didn’t Get the Memo

In it’s-so-embarrassing-it’s-got-to-be-Kentucky news, the Courier-Journal is reporting that this guy (on the right, we think):

(Picture of Dr. Todd House and, apparently, his wife Suzanne, and your jet! from the very dubious http://obamaballotchallenge.com site.)

thinks this guy:

(Picture of President Obama from http://www.whitehouse.gov.)

is, how you say? NO BUENO when it comes to his citizenship, and they’re suing to get Obama off the Presidential ballot in Kentucky:

A Louisville anesthesiologist has asked a Frankfort court to bar President Barack Obama from the November ballot.

Dr. Todd House — who is running for president as a write-in candidate with his wife, Suzanne Dudgeon House as his vice presidential candidate — filed the lawsuit Aug. 10 claiming that Obama is not a “natural born” citizen, which is required of presidential candidates by the U.S. Constitution.

Face, meet palm. But wait, it gets better!

In an interview Wednesday, Todd House, 52, said that he filed to run for president in part to give him standing to file the suit but also because he opposes both Republicans and Democrats and wanted to help get the Libertarian message out.

And he said he wanted to bring suit because the courts are “shirking the issue” by not addressing the merits of similar cases that have come before them. “Really, the judiciary and the Supreme Court needs to hash this out and decide it once and for all for the greater good of the country,” House said.

Read the rest of the article for some good ol’ anti-14th Amendment gobbledygook. And, if you’ve got the stomach for it, you can read a nifty little press release about Dr. House’s suit at a creepy web site called obamaballotchallenge.com here: http://obamaballotchallenge.com/do-it-yourself-obama-ballot-challenge-opens-another-case-in-kentucky. The site offers a Do It Yourself Obama Ballot Challenge Kit!

In case you were wondering, here’s where Dr. House practices (though technically his practice is separate from Calobrace Plastic Surgery Center): http://www.calobrace.com/about/anesthesiology.cfm.

Frank Evans, R.I.P.

(undated picture of Frank Evans from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.)

The Courier-Journal is reporting that Frank Evans, former Louisville Redbirds coach and Negro League phenom, has died:

Frank Evans, a former coach for the Louisville Redbirds and a former Negro League Player, died Aug. 3 in Auburn, Ala. He was 90 years old.

Evans worked under manager Jim Fregosi in 1984 and 1985 when Louisville won consecutive American Association championships.

Evans’ playing career spanned from 1937 through 1965 as an outfielder, first baseman, and catcher. He played for the Memphis Red Sox, Kansas City Monarchs, Detroit Stars, Cleveland Buckeyes, Birmingham Black Barons, and Philadelphia Stars.

Some choice quotes from Evans about his career in baseball are at his player profile page at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum site:

“We took a lot of abuse, stuff that people wouldn’t know about these days, but we were one family. We were the nice guys who finished last except on the field.”

Evans said that the big losers in those days were the white baseball fans. “They didn’t know what they were missing. They talk about all the great hitters – Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. They don’t ever talk about Josh Gibson, the greatest home run hitter of all time. Josh could hit a home run with one hand. I was there. I saw him do it. They talk about the great base runners, but they don’t talk about “Cool Papa” Bell, the greatest of them all. They talk about the great pitchers, but most of them never saw Satchel Paige . I admired him because he threw strikes. He was always around the plate. He had absolute control, and he did it for more than 50 years.”

Evans was a journeyman who played catcher, first base, outfield, and, occasionally, pitcher. However he was well-known around baseball for being one of the best hitting instructors of his day.

The Mammoth Profiled By a Dinosaur

(photo of Hallie Jones and Aron Conaway from the Courier-Journal.)

Okay, so the snarky headline was too good to pass up. In yesterday’s Courier-Journal, there was an excellent, and expansive, profile of The Mammoth, the behemoth multi-use arts space in Louisville’s Park Hill neighborhood, run by Aron Conaway and Hallie Jones:

Now, with this three-story, 90,000-square-foot building — where Conaway and Jones live on the first floor — and another attached building with 36,000 square feet, the couple are poised to see their dream become a reality.

They’re looking to convert this space, which they now call The Mammoth, into art studios and artists’ residences, an art installation space and art gallery, an independent media center, band practice spaces, a live music venue, film-viewing space and even community gardens and other green spaces.

The idea is to have enough space for artists to have the privacy to work on their own, but also shared space to work together. It includes outfitting the space with equipment for making art.

The plan includes artists pooling their resources and generating income for the endeavor though sideline businesses and eventually renting space to commercial businesses. The couple envisions a nonprofit entity overseeing the shared art-making spaces.

While we haven’t yet been to The Mammoth, we’re excited about it. Read more here.

Dalai Lama to Visit Louisville Next May

(photo of the Dalai Lama from Louisville.com)

Louisville.com is reporting that the Dalai Lama has scheduled a visit to Louisville next year:

The Dalai Lama recently confirmed plans to travel to Louisville next year, on a mission designed to spread blessings and compassion. He is making the trip here to bless a Tibetan Buddhist temple and teaching center, and to also reach out to the general public. He is scheduled to visit Louisville May 19-21, 2013.

The Dalai Lama is a frequent guest of Bloomington, Indiana, where his brother founded a Buddhist center. He, however, is not a frequent guest to Louisville, or even to Kentucky. The last time he was in Kentucky was in 1996 for recognition after he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. The last time he was in Louisville was two years prior to that; the purpose of his 1994 trip was to visit the Cathedral of the Assumption.

In May, the Dalai Lama will be visiting the Drepung Gomang Institute (DGI) and the Tashi Gomang Dharma Center, located on Hubbards Lane.

Pretty exciting news, presuming the Mayans are wrong and the world doesn’t end. Though we can’t help but wonder what Southern Baptist Seminary President and local blowhard Al Mohler has to say about it? Probably nothing as wise or coherent as:

…So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald… striking. So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one – big hitter, the Lama – long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? “Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-galunga.” So we finish the 18th and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.

Dolls Market Sale Pending — And We’re Back

(Photo of the former Dolls Market swiped from the Courier-Journal.)

According to today’s Courier-Journal, the former Dolls Market on Brownsboro Road will soon have a new owner:

An out-of-town developer has a contract to buy the former Doll’s Market building and parking lot on Brownsboro Road for a retail use, and a closing is expected by the end of the year, real estate agent Paul Grisanti said.

The building could be one store or perhaps three smaller ones, but Grisanti said he could not disclose details because of a confidentiality agreement. Grisanti is selling the property for the owners, the Charles F. Bauer family.

The developer interested in the Doll’s building has 53 “units” in 13 states, and this would be the first store in Kentucky, Grisanti said. “It’s something people in that area will most likely appreciate,” he said.

We figured we’d google “53 stores 13 states retail” to see if there we could find any hints, but the only relevant result was the Wikipedia entry for American Signature, the parent company of Value City. Not that exciting, we know. Perhaps someone out there has a tip they can share with us? Anyway, it will be good for that stretch of Brownsboro Road to have more robust retail again. Now if only they can get a good restaurant back in the old Azalea space…

In other not-really-news news, we’re restarting State of the Commonwealth on a most-likely sporadic basis, so we hope you enjoy it. Work schedules now allow for some time to dedicate to SotC, which we haven’t updated since 2008. We’ve unfortunately missed out on a lot of changes, some positive and some otherwise, around Louisville and Kentucky in the past three years, and we regret that. But hopefully we can jump back into the swing of things! Thanks for reading.

Kaelin’s Restaurant, the Birthplace of the Cheeseburger, Closes… for Remodeling?

(Kaelin’s, and their famous “Please WAVE” sign, from lie_inourgraves’ photostream on Flickr.)

According to a thread on the Louisville HotBytes forum, Kaelin’s Restaurant — allegedly the birth place of the cheeseburger, opened in 1934 — closed for good last night. We haven’t seen confirmation from any local media just yet, and their web site is still active, but the HotBytes forum is usually a good authority on such matters.

Needless to say, the closing of a great Louisville institution is something we’re not thrilled about. When we find out more details online, we’ll update this post.

UPDATE, 10:45 PM: It appears we may have been misinformed as to the permanence of Kaelin’s closing. Michelle at Consuming Louisville informs us that Kaelin’s is closing for renovations. We can only assume for now that means an updated Kaelin’s.

WHAS 11: Metro Parks Spent $600k Last Year on New Mowers

WHAS 11 aired a whopper of a story last night, that Louisville Metro Parks spent over $600,000 on new mowers last year, just before spending cuts were announced by Mayor Abramson in December. Here’s the full story (you can watch video of the story by following the link above to WHAS 11):

Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) – WHAS11 News has learned that as Louisville Mayor Abramson was closing Otter Creek Park to save a half million dollars, the Metro Parks Department was spending more than that on new lawn mowers.

It’s your tax dollars, and critics are saying its misplaced priorities.

But the parks department says the mowers are a great deal for taxpayers for the future.

The parks department says the fancy new lawn mowers are more efficient and were purchased just before the price went way up.

But spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawn mowers in tough budget times has got some folks flabbergasted:

You’ll be seeing these all-in-one Toro lawn mowers on Louisville’s public golf courses this summer. The metro parks department bought eight of these new mowers last fall to replace the old tractor and pull behind blades currently being used.

Those eight faster, easier mowers were purchased last October. The total cost was $507,000. The next month, in November, metro parks purchased nine of these tractor pulled blade mowers which are designed to bushhog and cut high grass. Total cost on those was $96,000. More than $600,000 spent on new mowers just as Mayor Abramson was announcing a huge budget shortfall and millions in spending cuts.

Nowhere in the parks department’s capital budget is there any mention of cash for new mowers. Storch says that’s because the money is coming out of metro government’s depreciation account. Councilman Downard still wonders how the mower purchases will sit with city workers who face four mandatory furlough days without pay.

And yes, it is true, that $600,000 price tag on the new mowers is about $100,000 more than metro government expects to save by closing Otter Creek Park. Downard says that’s one less park to mow with more lawnmowers.

One minor note about this story: Louisville Metro only predicted to save on the order of $180,000 for this fiscal year by closing Otter Creek Park, so the $500,000 figure cited in the story is a bit misleading. Louisville may save $500,000 in the next fiscal year if OCP remains closed, but closing OCP also ended a revenue stream, as well the potential for more. Either way, spending $600,000 during a recession on lawnmowers that, no matter how nice they are, will depreciate is not what we’d call fiscal responsibility.