Louisville News: Some Crazy Bad Stuff Happened

Let’s see, what’s happened in Louisville the past few days? Well, on Friday night an apartment building over at Bonnycastle and Bardstown Road burned down, leaving a few residents homeless (however, the Red Cross is helping them out).

And yesterday, a guy got shot to death by Louisville Metro Police while trying to rob a bank in the Beechmont neighborhood. I had a pretty busy day, so I didn’t even hear about it, but it was a pretty big deal (3 WHAS reporters, including Chuck Olmstead? Wow.).

Oh yeah, and the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House (does that get a trademark?) was shut down for a bit because of an abandoned briefcase. Yikes.

All in all, a pretty exciting, sorta fucked-up kinda day. But if you’re like me, you might be asking yourself, “What else did I miss?” Well, today might not be nearly as exciting, but there’s a couple of interesting stories out there. For starters, it appears that Museum Plaza is in trouble due to interest rates and the current credit crunch:

Despite a cut in a key interest rate by the Federal Reserve last September, [Developer Craig] Greenberg said the total interest cost on Museum Plaza bonds is higher than it was last fall. He would not disclose the interest rate.

But he said that even with interest rates declining, bond buying activity has dried up. If the bonds were sold today, he said, Museum Plaza developers would be paying bond holders more in interest, resulting in less money for public infrastructure at the project site.

“When the markets change we will be ready to move quickly,” Greenberg said.

Wait, the Courier thinks that last September’s rate cut is somehow news? Weird.

Also, in other Kentucky news, the Kentucky House Budget Committee has approved portions of a new tax bill, which includes a 25-cent increase in the cigarette tax. As far as I can tell from the Courier‘s short story above, the full bill will be voted on in committee later today (right?). Additionally, it looks like Big Coal is gearing up for the fight against the Stream Saver bill by enlisting what one might call Little Coal? Not sure what to call it exactly, but we’re pretty sure it stinks. The House Appropriations & Revenue Committee will likely vote on the bill Tuesday.

UPDATE: The Stream Saver Bill didn’t make it through the A&R Committee, unfortunately. Thanks to LEO City Strobe and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth for the vote breakdown.