What a Week: The City's Weekly Zeitgeist Radar

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A Metro Council committee rejected a proposal to ban plastic bags used for yard waste in Louisville. The bill will go before the full council this week with a negative recommendation, although it still has a good chance to pass. Brightside — the Metro beautification agency — proposed the ban, which officials said would result in an additional $8-a-year for the average yard-waste producer.

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The Jefferson County Board of Elections announced last week that it is moving 13 precinct locations in advance of the May 20 primary, affecting more than 12,000 registered voters. The BOE blamed accessibility problems, lease issues and storm damage for the moves. When asked to comment, one local Republican said, “Birdie!”

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State Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, announced that he would withdraw his bid for reelection in November and give up his seat. Wilkey, the House Majority Whip, cited the overwhelmingly futile 2008 session and the infighting with House leadership over some major issues as reasons. Now, if only the rest of both parties’ leadership would take a walk, the state might be able to get somewhere.

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A brawl on a TARC bus turned deadly over the weekend, when 22-year-old Apollo R. Avery allegedly shot and killed 26-year-old Timothy D. Barbour just after the two got off the bus at Union Station on West Broadway. No one on the bus was injured. It was the first time in recent memory that an incident on a TARC bus actually fit the stereotype public transportation has in the city.

World-classness:
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