The LEO team’s got plenty of things that we want for Louisville (and ourselves) this holiday season. Santa might not be able to deliver most of these, but there’s no harm in asking, right?
Check out our holiday wishes in the gallery above.
Fewer Mayoral Scandals
Scandals keep reporters employed, but at the end of the day, it’s better overall to have a government that functions above-board. If you haven’t checked out our former coworker Josh Wood’s stories about nepotism in City Hall, you need to. — Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownAnother Music Festival
Festivals bring money, food traffic, and big-name artists to Louisville. I’ve shared my gripes and grouses about Forecastle before, sure, but we either need to bring it back or replace it with a comparable festival to give the city another boon. — Carolyn Brown
Photo by Nathan Zucker / Danny Wimmer Presents Photo by Nathan Zucker / Danny Wimmy Presents.For L&N Stadium To Get Its Real Name Back
It’s Cardinal Stadium and always will be. —Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownBombas
They’re perfect for cold feet, and the company gives back! —Elizabeth Knapp
Photo via Bombas.comFor More Of My Friends To Come To Wizard Wednesday
I keep inviting people to Wizard Wednesday and they keep saying no. I think they think it’s a cult or something, or maybe that it’s too magic-y for their tastes. TBH, anymore, we mostly just chat and play Klask. —Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownMore Time For “Weird” Stories, Especially Longform Ones
In 2022 and early 2023, pre-layoff, I wrote about a professional wizard, a psychedelic mushroom church, a bean club, and a cuddle party, among other things. Those stories helped me define and realize my beat — “weird” stuff — but I haven’t had the time or flexibility to do stories like those since. — Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownMore Media Tastings
One of the coolest parts of my job is getting to try free food at really cool restaurants — Paseo, Swizzle, The Kitchen Table, Big Bad Breakfast. I’d love for this to continue into next year. Local restaurateurs, hit me up. — Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownLight Rail, A Subway, Or Better Public Transit In General
I wrote about it last year, too, because the city still hasn’t met this need. We need public transit that we can rely on, comparable to what similar-sized cities have, that reaches far, far more areas of the city.
Photo by Jenna Day on UnsplashFor The Sherman Minton Bridge Project To Finally End
To be fair, the Sherman Minton Renewal Project hasn’t been the worst inconvenience, but driving across a bridge while workers are staring at its innards is a bit unsettling. I’m glad they are being thorough, but I’d rather concentrate on the road and not whether or not the workers look concerned. —Erica Rucker
Photo via shermanmintonrenewal.comFor LEO To be fully staffed and funded
All news outlets are suffering. The public doesn’t grasp the risk of losing their independent and working media. The risks of not getting contextual information and well-reported independent news constitute a real public emergency. With mistrust of government and media at an all-time high, your independent journalists are the ones uncovering the stories needed to protect public interests. See the work that Josh Wood did for LEO and continues to do at the CJ. The public can help, though — donate, sponsor a desk, a notebook, or a journalist, and support independent media efforts everywhere. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Adobe Stock Photo by Carolyn BrownA Full-Time Job
Echoing what Erica wrote — we are understaffed. For much of the time that I’ve been with LEO, we had five full-time staff; now, we technically only have one — just Erica. I’m not full-time. I would be if I could be, though. — Carolyn Brown
Photo by Carolyn BrownPoliced Police
I’d love to see police in Louisville and across the U.S. be accountable to the people they are supposed to “protect and serve,” not harass. When Louisville’s current police chief was caught giving false testimony in a trial — ahem, committing a crime — she made a snide joke when asked how she would be held accountable. Her response was, “Discipline myself?”
‘Ay, there’s the rub.’ The chief has little oversight, and that’s a large problem for a force that’s been found deeply corrupt. I would love to see a police oversight board with power. —Erica Rucker
Photo by Kathryn HarringtonA Sugar Daddy
I need to travel to more places, and, see above, we all want LEO to be well-funded and stable. Since both of those things take money that we don’t currently have… We’d like to open all applications for wealthy old dudes (or dudettes) who want to have witty conversations and pay for me (personally) to be out of the country or for LEO to exist without worries. We’re not proud here. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Adobe Stock.For Every Car To Be A No-Phone Zone
Your car is a tool capable of getting you where you want to go, but too often, with drivers focused more on their phones and less on the road, the vehicle becomes a tool for destruction. Be careful in 2024. Make your car a no-phone zone. Put it in the glove box and forget it. Be present. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Adobe Stock.Better State Reps
Rand Paul is bad and Mitch McConnell is worse, but this year’s “hold my beer” winner in bad U.S. representatives goes to House Rep. James Comer. He’s a dunce, and we’re stuck with his ridiculous antics that, during this Biden corruption pony show, have been peak dummy performance. Calling someone a Smurf and then sharing car payments as evidence of corruption is beyond the pale. For Christmas, get Comer some craft supplies so he can build himself a shred of dignity and stop embarrassing the state. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Rep. James Comer/Facebook.An Anti-Gardenia Gardener
I love gardening, but I rarely have time to do it in any meaningful way other than throwing plants in the ground and hoping they grow. I need someone with experience to tell me to leave the damned gardenias on the shelf and not to buy them. I’ve killed too many. It is criminal. Please, when the garden centers open, tell me not to buy the gardenias. They deserve better.
Also if you’re good with hydrangeas and can get them to grow in my yard, let’s be friends in 2024. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Creative Commons.More LEO Love
For ink prices to be lower, for distribution to increase due to need, and for stability! —Elizabeth Knapp
Photo via Adobe Stock.A New-To-Me Car …that doesn’t have applesauce on the roof
When my son was two, he waved an “empty” applesauce packet wildly in the back of my car. The applesauce went everywhere, and my car rooftop still has the stains to prove it. He’s 11 and the car is 14. Momma needs a new ride, and not just because of stains. The buttons on the door are sinking into the door. It’s time, but traveling is more fun than car payments. —Erica Rucker
Photo via Adobe Stock.Better Parking Around Cardinal Stadium
For that matter, parking around Cardinal Stadium is just as bad as the fact that we can’t call it that anymore. Can the school (or a fan group, maybe?) not charter some buses from big population centers around town? — Carolyn Brown
Photo via Adobe Stock.An NFL, NHL, or NBA Team
It’d be nice not to have to travel to see football, hockey, or basketball above the college level. This isn’t going to happen anytime soon, but we can dream. — Carolyn Brown
Photo via Adobe Stock
Sign up. We hope you like us, but if you don't, you can unsubscribe by following the links in the email, or by dropping us a note at leo@leoweekly.com.
Signup
By clicking “subscribe” above, you consent to allow us to contact you via email, and store your information using our third-party Service Provider. To see more information about how your information is stored and privacy protected, visit our policies page.
Subscribe to LEO Weekly Newsletters
Sign up. We hope you like us, but if you don't, you can unsubscribe by following the links in the email, or by dropping us a note at leo@leoweekly.com.
To sign up now, enter your email address in the field below and click the Subscribe button.
By clicking “Subscribe” above, you consent to allow us to contact you via email, and store your information using our third-party Service Provider. To see more information about how your information is stored and privacy protected, visit our policies page.
