Cover Story
No parole for old men …A plea for reform
In the story below, Gaye Holman, who has spend decades studying Kentucky prisons, writes about the need to reform the parole system. Also, read these sidebars on how the parole system works, and how victim impact statements are treated differently. Twenty-nine years ago, William Ray Stark Jr. headed out of his house to seek revenge.…
Wild Child sidesteps the rules on Expectations
The core members of Wild Child, Alexander Beggins and Kelsey Wilson, chose an unconventional approach for the band’s latest album, Expectations. Instead of working with a producer and recording the album in a single session, the duo reached out to a half dozen artists/producers they admired to see if they would like to co-write and…
10 under $5 – What To Do This Week In Louisville (8/27)
MONDAY Monty Python Movie Monday: ‘The Life of Brian’ and ‘The Holy Grail’ Old Louisville Brewery Free | 6 p.m. Spend your Monday in the world of Monty Python at Old Louisville Brewery where the bar is showing two comedy classics — “The Life of Brian” and “The Holy Grail.” The bar will also provide…
5 Things To Do This Weekend In Louisville (8/24)
FRIDAY Brews! Zoo! And More Booze! Central Park and Louisville Zoo Prices and times vary If you’re a fan of locally-brewed beer, you’ve got a busy weekend ahead of you, starting on Friday with the Old Lou Brew Craft Beer Festival from 6-10 p.m. with a $10 admission Expect live music by Bridge 19, local…
LEO Podcast #67: Recently Released: New music from PRJCTR, Brenda and GLOB
Scott Recker and Nik Vechery talk about new songs by PRJCTR, Brenda and GLOB on the latest edition of Recently Released.
How it works? ‘it’s a crapshoot’
The Kentucky Parole Board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor. Members are required to have five years of experience in related areas such as education, corrections, law enforcement, social work, medicine or law, or have previously served on the board for five years. Other than a requirement for a balance between political…
The power of the victim
Victim impact statements are allowed in Kentucky whenever an inmate is considered for parole. The victims, or others affected by the crime, can write letters and appear in person to speak with the parole board members making the decision about the proposed release. Most victims talk about the negative impacts of the crime on their…
Former Fair Board CEOs Big Pay
When former Kentucky State Fair Board CEO and President Jason Rittenberry announced his resignation last September, he offered to stay on as CEO through Dec. 31. He didn’t stay. But the Fair Board kept paying him anyway. Records and interviews show that Rittenberry was paid $100,000 as a consultant during those four months — his…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd
Be vigilant… | Thorn Interim Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis and The Courier Journal got into a spat about whether Lewis was “backing down” in negotiations over how much control the state might impose on our public schools. Lewis said, for example, his original intent was to give the state a veto over how students are…
The story behind Wolf Parade’s comeback album
After going on hiatus in 2011, Wolf Parade surprised long-time fans with new music in 2016. That EP was followed by reunion shows, and eventually, last year’s official resurrection with the full-length record Cry Cry Cry. They’ll bring the show to Headliners Music Hall on Aug. 23, and we spoke with guitarist/vocalist Dan Boeckner to…
A conversation with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips
Before the Flaming Lips return to town to play at the Iroquois Amphitheater this weekend, we caught up with frontman Wayne Coyne over the phone to talk about the band’s recent greatest hits record and his idea to press Miley Cyrus’ urine into vinyl, as well as rolling around in that giant plastic ball. LEO:…
Sonic Breakdown: Tender Mercy — ‘Leave Little Room’
[LEO’s biweekly Sonic Breakdown column deconstructs a single song from a Louisville musician or band.] Mark Kramer, the one-man army that is Tender Mercy, makes very tender music indeed. And he’s certainly not afraid of being honest with himself and his audience. “If there is an overall theme to Tender Mercy and this song, it…
‘The Wiz Jr.,’ Sparkles at The Russell Theatre
In late May, I wrote that Faith Works Studios’ production of August Wilson’s masterpiece “Fences” (directed by Kristi Papailler) was the strongest that I had ever seen from a brand-new theater company. A month later, the company returned “Steel Magnolias” in a fine production helmed by Rush Trowel, founder and leader of the troupe. And…
Picasso to Pollock: The Speed’s Art History Lesson
“The strangeness will wear off and I think we will discover the deeper meanings in modern art.” — painter Jackson Pollock Art in the 20th century is so varied and abundant that even art historians find it hard to keep up. Cubism, surrealism and abstract expressionism are just a few of the movements that stumble…
Comedian Chris Crowder: ‘Set the tone that you’re crazy, ?they can’t get mad at you’
The “Straight Outta Comedy” show, which takes its name from the movie “Straight Outta Compton,” promises to find the funny from four perspectives: local comics Chris Crowder, Mike Laws, Lucious Williams and Kevin White. “Of course, it’s four black guys, but it’s like we’re all from four different corners of the Earth,” Crowder told LEO.…
Looking backward:? A retrospective, ?best-of dinner
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards,” the great 19th-century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once said, and he should have known: The founder of existentialism, he coined the word “angst.” He called out for us to live passionately, worrying more about the problem of living life than trying to fit the…
New England IPA… the mistake we love
A year and a half ago, I reported in this space about the release of Mile Wide Beer Co.’s Tessie, a New England IPA that, as I put it then, “broke the local craft beer scene.” Many pundits since have labeled the style a fad, with its “juicy” character, curious and ultra-tropical aromas, with low…
Ask Minda Honey: Am I getting more than my? money’s worth with my Cam Girl?
In a relationship or life jam? Lemme unstuck your life — send your questions to: AskMindaHoney@leoweekly.com or reach out to me on Facebook.com/AskMindaHoney Hi Minda, I was encouraged to write you by a friend because of a recent relationship I have taken up. About two months ago, completely out of the blue and with no…
Savage Love: Pickles & Surrogates
Q: I’m in a pickle. All I want is to experience touch, intimacy and sexual pleasure — but without freaking out. I grew up with a lot of negative messages from men due to developing early, as well as having some other physical/sexual trauma (no rape or abuse), but the combination has me seriously fucked…
West of Ninth: People, in their own words…
Corbin, director, West Louisville Chess Club, Russell Aug. 13, 2018 “Where did my interest in chess stem from? I’d have to say my daughter, Sarah. She’s my first child and only child. I introduced her to chess when she was 6. She started participating in tournaments at the age of 7. I wanted to introduce…
The summer of talking it out
This summer has reaffirmed my belief that face-to-face conversations with another human about anything, everything and straight up nothing at all is super fucking important if you’re planning on navigating what the internet tells me will soon be a scorched earth (news flash! We’re all gonna die, like, next Tuesday, I believe is the date).…
Enemy of the people? Who cares?
Donald Trump says the press is the “enemy of the people.” So… why should we care? It is not as if Trump retracting this and apologizing would change anything. We are talking about a man who thinks the stealth fighter is invisible (“They said, ‘Well, it wins every time because the enemy cannot see it,…
