Welp”s Louisville: Baby needs a new governor
When Steve Beshear wins the election in November everyone will say it’s a mandate for casino gambling, which is a shame because it will actually be a mandate for having a governor who’s not a second-rate criminal.* But with dozens of gambling options like racetracks, casinos, bingo halls, lottery outlets, dogfights and stockbrokers within an…
What, me worry? Inside the growing movement to oust Sen. Mitch McConnell
Kentucky’s senior senator, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Against the history of great American protests, 800 people howling like a pack of hyenas in a university gathering hall doesn’t stack up to King’s March on Washington or mid-May 1970, when 100,000 strangers pounded on Washington’s doorstep demanding an end to the Vietnam War. But in…
Guest Commentary: Arena design reveals the perils of micromanagement
by Stanley Collyer AmericanAirlines Arena.: photo ©Richard Barnes The worst thing that can happen to a municipal project is for clients — who think they know a lot about architecture — to get into the business of micromanaging a design. A forum featuring design input from the community for the new downtown arena was a…
City Strobe
Shawnee wet-dry vote set for TuesdayCommunity members opposed to the proliferation of liquor stores in a neighborhood already disproportionately full of them may get their wish Tuesday, when a special vote to decide whether a West Louisville neighborhood stays wet or turns dry takes place. Voters will choose whether four precincts of the Shawnee neighborhood…
The will to survive: After Hurricane Katrina, an impromptu school brought something like normalcy to evacuees
Michael Tisserand Michael Tisserand (left), author of “Sugarcane Academy,” will be in Louisville next Wednesday, Sept. 12, to read from and sign copies of his book. The event at Carmichael’s Bookstore (2720 Frankfort Ave.) starts at 6 p.m. with a set of New Orleans music from Louisville’s West Market Street Stompers. Tisserand starts at 7…
Rumor & Innuendo
Tit for tat. Red scores on the first play from scrimmage. Blue scores on the first play from scrimmage. Et tu, little birdie! Let’s beat a dead horse. The Cats and Cards should have been playing each other. Period. Did you see any of the Colorado/ Colorado State game? Buffs won in OT on HDTV.…
Guest Commentary: Creating a visionary framework for Kentucky energy policy
By Rep. Jody Richards, Speaker of the House; Rep. Larry Clark, Speaker Pro Tem; Rep. Rocky Adkins, Majority Floor Leader; Rep. Charlie Hoffman, Majority Caucus Chair; and Rep. Rob Wilkey, Majority Whip Gov. Fletcher signed the energy legislation, House Bill 1, into law Thursday afternoon.Last month, the future of Kentucky’s energy policy was unclear. The…
Erosia
LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or e-mail to leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.Keep Bike…
Bluegrass Beacon: Beauty and the gambling beast
Beauty isn’t the only thing in the eye of the beholder. So, too, the impact expanded gambling would have on Kentucky. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear’s view of expanded gambling reminds me of a lonely lady who relies on an overdose of makeup rather than her ability to engage a man with the real “her.”Beshear…
Staff Picks
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6Suspected Terrorists & moreThree heavyweights of contemporary punk rock share the stage Thursday night: Pink Reason and Little Claw roll into town for the first time, and Suspected Terrorists play their first hometown show since the release of their debut album. Suspected Terrorists represent a new breed of local punk rock that has…
Video TapeWorm: Releases through Tuesday, Sept. 11
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKSFROM BEYOND1986; DVD $19.95, URFinally! An unrated Director’s Cut of Stuart Gordon/Brian Yuzna’s Lovecraftian follow-up to “Re-Animator.” An interdimensional kink-fest about a group of … snicker … medical researchers who sit around stimulating their pineal glands (that waggle from their foreheads) with something called a “Praetorius Resonator.” Hey, whatever floats yer boat.…
CD Reviews 9-05
All I See is GreenRuffside Playaz(RUFF SIDE PRODUCTIONS)In 1993, there was a group out of Flint, Mich., the land of MC Breed (and Michael Moore, but I don’t think they hung out much), called Top Authority. They released what became a hood classic called Somethin’ To Blaze To. In the early ’90s era of gangsta…
Alejandro Escovedo”s renewal; Gaslight brightens J”town
Alejandro Escovedo Friday, Sept. 7To know Alejandro Escovedo is to know perseverance and reinvention. Through rock and punk and folk and country and god knows what. Through potentially deadly bouts with cirrhosis and Hepatitis C, and a frightening collapse in 2003 that threatened his life and career. Escovedo’s steady yet serpentine path began with The…
The Palace wrangles Criminals, Killers and John Prine
Ben Harper: Photo by Scott Soens Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals Monday, Sept. 10“You definitely found an eccentric cat for your interview,” Ben Harper says when LEO finally gets him on the phone. At the moment, Harper is holed up on Jay Leno’s set waiting to tape his appearance on the “Tonight Show” with…
Aftertastes
CAFÉ LOU LOU, 106 Sears Ave., 893-7776, www.cafeloulou.com. After leaving Clifton for St. Matthews, it’s nice to know that nothing got lost in the move. The popular eatery still serves up lavish Mediterranean-Italian-New Orleans portions, a festive atmosphere and striking art pieces. (Reviewed 8/8; Rating: 86) CAFFÉ CLASSICO, 2144 Frankfort Ave., 894-9689, www.caffe-classico.com. Caffé Classico…
Mug Shots: Madison”s got game
We ended last month’s weekend stay in Madison, Wis. (population 208,000) with baseball and beer. The Madison Mallards team of the Northwoods League is stocked with amateurs, unpaid collegiate players who room with local families and perform community work when away from the diamond. They use wooden, not aluminum, bats. In 2007, the 7,000-seat…
Looking for the source of the Nile at WorldFest
Thai Taste: in Clifton had a full contingent staffing its WorldFest booth. From left, Ratunaporn Sangrung, Hammarach Nuangkhamma, Malai Nuangkhamma and Samorn Thanawattako. Dr. Livingstone, I presume?At some point during the colorful WorldFest celebration over the weekend, I started to feel a bit in common with Dr. David Livingstone, the 19th century British explorer famous…
BIFF the 3rd: Bluegrass Independent Film Festival features strong work by locals and non-locals alike
One of the treats of the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival is how it affords the opportunity to catch up with our prodigal sons and daughters. Take Catherine Mattingly, a former Louisvillian, graduate of Centre College and U of L and current D.C. resident. She will screen her documentary “Khoristoria: The Story of the Yale Russian…
Theater Review – Sing Hallelujah!
“Sing Hallelujah!”: Photo courtesy of Derby Dinner Playhouse The cast of “Sing Hallelujah!” gets Southern. Sing Hallelujah!Starring Debra Babich, Dustin Cunningham, Janet Essenpreis, Bill Hanna, Lem Jackson, Michelle Johnson, Paul Kerr, John Payonk, J.R. Stuart, Rita Thomas, Matt Wallace, Tina Jo Wallace and Cary Wiger. Directed by Jim Hesselman. Presented by Derby Dinner Playhouse. Continues…
Theater Review – Regrets Only
Regrets OnlyStarring Sean Childress, Greylyn Gregory, Mary Ann Johnson, Sarah Mueler, Dale Strange and Carol Tyree Williams. Directed by Michael J. Drury. Written by Paul Rudnick. Presented by Pandora Productions. Continues through Sept. 15 at the Henry Clay Building, 604 S. Third St. For tickets, visit www.pandoraprods.org. “Regrets Only” is the third Paul Rudnick play…
Theater Review – Shot Me Down
Shot Me DownStarring Micah Babcock, Erin Crites, Sara East, Dan Halstead, Joseph Hatfield, Wendy Hames, Eli Keel, Erica McClure, Emily Miller, Zach Nord, Leah Roberts, Jeremy Sapp and Anthony Walker.Directed by Gil D. Reyes. Written by Brian Walker. Presented by Finnigan Productions. Continues through Sept. 8 at the MeX Theater, Kentucky Center. For tickets, call…
Theater Review – Fire on the Mountain
“Fire on the Mountain”: Photo by Harlan Taylor “Fire on the Mountain” details the plight of rural coal miners. Starring Molly Andrews, Mark Baczynski, “Mississippi” Charles Bevel, Margaret Bowman, Jason Edwards, A.J. Glaser, Lee Morgan, Mike Regan and Ed Snodderly. Directed by Randal Myler. Written by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman. Presented by Actors Theatre…
3 punk rock heavyweights converge on Lisa”s next week
Three heavyweights of contemporary punk rock share the stage Thursday night at Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge: Pink Reason and Little Claw roll into town for the first time and Suspected Terrorists play their first hometown show since the recent release of their debut album. All three groups are perfect examples of what the best…
