Category: Byline

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Byline Environment

Private Homes Contaminated Near Black Leaf Site; What’s Next?

Soil testing in the yards of fifty homes bordering the former Black Leaf Chemical site in Louisville’s Park Hill neighborhood recently revealed carcinogenic chemicals in all of them. The Environmental Protection Agency found toxic contamination at the 29-acre Black Leaf site itself in 2010, but scientists weren’t sure how far it had spread beyond site boundaries. Now, testing has revealed levels of heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic substances in some 50 private yards near the site.

Friday on Byline, WFPL’s environment reporter Erica Peterson sat down with Metro Councilman David James to discuss the findings and what approaches the EPA may take to address the problem.

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Byline Local News

Analyzing Mayor Fischer’s City Budget for FY 2012-13

Friday on Byline WFPL’s Political Editor Phillip Bailey provided review and analysis of Mayor Greg Fischer’s austere budget plan for 2012-13. The spending plan does not raise taxes and balances the budget without Metro employee layoffs or furloughs, and gives non-union city workers a 2 percent raise. Metro Government had faced a $20 million shortfall in the coming fiscal year, but filled that hole with $13.5 million in projected revenue estimates and selling two downtown parking lots to the Parking Authority of River City for $10.7 million. Metro Council members will hold budget hearings over the next month.

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Byline Politics

Analysis of Louisville’s Next Budget and Tuesday’s Election Results

On Thursday, Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled his proposed city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st. The mayor had warned that it would be an austere spending plan; metro government has been faced with a multi-million dollar shortfall. Phillip M. Bailey covered the story for WFPL and joined us Friday on Byline to explain where the city’s money will go, and why.

Tuesday’s primary election set the stage for November’s general election here in Kentucky and nationally. WFPL’s Gabe Bullard and KPR’s Kenny Colston joined Phillip later in the segment to talk about election results—from undecided voters in the presidential election to who will serve on the Metro Council.

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Arts and Humanities Byline

Author Pamela Steele and Poet Albert DeGenova Return to Louisville for Spalding Residency

This weekend marks the beginning of Spalding University’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program’s semi-annual residency. Alumni Albert DeGenova and Pamela Steele are in Louisville as part of the residency, and they joined WFPL’s Erin Keane and Rick Howlett on Friday’s Byline to talk about their work. DeGenova’s book, Postcards to Jack, is a series of poems about traveling and place, some of which are addressed to Jack Kerouac. Pamela Steele’s novel, Greasewood Creek, is a love story, but also a book about loss.

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Byline

Black Leaf Contamination; City Budget; Elections Review: Today on Byline

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We began Byline today with an in-depth discussion of soil test data from the neighborhood surrounding the Black Leaf Chemical site in the Park Hill area of West Louisville.  The tests were conducted by the EPA and revealed some carcinogenic and suspicious chemicals, but full results were not revealed to the public.  District 6 Councilman David James joined WFPL’s environment reporter Erica Peterson to review the what is known and what’s ahead.

Mayor Greg Fischer released his proposed city budget yesterday.  Phillip Bailey went over it in detail in the second segment of Byline.  Following that, the rest of the WFPL News team dropped in to review other major Metro stories of the week, including a wrap of the recent Kentucky primary elections.

We then heard part of an interview with Courier-Journal publisher Wesley Jackson (the full interview will air on Monday, May 28 during Here and Now).  He describes the financial challenges at the CJ and provides details on the website paywall that Gannett is implementing at their newspapers in hopes of providing needed revenue.

Finally, WFPL’s Arts and Humanities reporter Erin Keane sat down with two writers, Pamela Steele and Albert DeGenova, who are in Louisville for the Spalding University Festival of Writing.  Each read from recent works and discussed inspirations, technique, and other aspects of their writing.

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Arts and Humanities Byline

Weekend Arts Overview: Writing Festival, Ryan McGinness, and Samurai

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Friday afternoon on Byline, we wrapped up the hour with WFPL’s Arts & Humanities reporter Erin Keane talking about arts in the news and some local arts events to consider this weekend.

Literature fans will enjoy the Festival of Writing from Spalding University, as well as a writing collaboration between Silas House and Nela Vaswani.

Keane also discussed an equine sculpture donated to the Frazier Museum the week by William Shatner; the Samurai exhibit currently at the Frazier Museum; and a public appearance this evening at 21C Hotel by noted painter Ryan McGinness.

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Byline

Assessing the Shootings in West Louisville: Today on Byline

A series of brazen shootings in the streets of West Louisville left three dead and three injured yesterday.  Today, additional shots have been fired roughly 24 hours after the first of the shootings yesterday.

On WFPL’s Friday news round up, Byline, our reporters Phillip M. Bailey and Devin Katayama reviewed  the events, taking stock of what is known and what remains unknown, discussing the danger of making assumptions before the facts are all in, and recapping what’s been said in the flurry of press conferences since the shootings began.

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Byline

Primary Election Preview; Spate of Shootings; Sustainable Energy: Today on Byline

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1:06: We preview Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky, with WFPL’s Phillip M. Bailey, KPR’s Kenny Colston, and Joe Sonka from LEO Weekly.

1:20: WFPL’s Devin Katayama and Phillip M. Bailey covered yesterday’s shootings in West Louisville. They join us to talk about what is known and what remains unknown about the incidents, and what’s been said in the flurry of press conferences in the shootings’ wake.  In other Metro Area news, we discuss the proposed merger of MSD and the Louisville Water Company, the latest with the landmarks dispute, and review the Barbara Shanklin flap this week.

1:35: The Atlantic’s James Fallows talks about his new book, China Airborne, in which he looks at the possible future of China’s aerospace industry.

1:40: WFPL’s Erica Peterson talks to former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy, Sue Tierney, about “sustainable energy,” and what it means.

1:50: WFPL’s Erin Keane joins us with the week’s art news, including the Flyover Film Festival lineup and what’s going on in town this weekend.

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Byline In-Depth News Local News

Homicide at Churchill Downs Casts Spotlight on Backside of Track

The homicide of a Churchill Downs worker, 48 year old Adan Fabian Perez of Guatemala, the day after Derby has raised questions about the culture of backside work at racetracks.

Frank Agrinsoni is the backstretch activities coordinator for Churchill Downs, where he works with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Horsemen’s Protective and Benevolent Association. He joined us Friday on Byline to talk about the lives of backside workers, and the impact of the recent homicide on the people who work there.

WFPL’s Devin Katayama also sat in on the conversation; he recently reported on immigrant workers at the racetrack. We listened to his piece and he explained more about what he learned.

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Byline

Byline: MSD and Louisville Water Consider Merging, Mayor Fischer Wants to Ban Encampments in Parks, Parking Authority Boots Legally-Parked Cars

Friday on Byline, Erica Peterson explained the possible benefits of a full or partial merger between MSD and the Louisville Water Company. Devin Katayama and Philip M. Bailey talked about the Mayor’s proposed ban on encampments in parks, and what it means for the Occupy Louisville Movement. And Devin also gave us an update on the Parking Authority’s intention to boot cars whose owners owe on parking tickets.

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