Four groups who have proposed the next Jefferson County public school will make their pitches Monday to the school board, which next month will choose a winning design.

The JCPS School Design Competition was introduced to the community last year. After whittling down more than 60 proposals, district leaders worked with the four finalist groups. Monday night, the groups will present actionable plans that could be implemented by the 2015-2016 school year.

The Parklands of Floyds Fork system is still under construction, but the two northernmost parks - Beckley Creek Park and Pope Lick Park - are open. On Friday, Beckley Creek Park will host the Creekside Jam concert, the Parklands' first ticketed concert featuring acclaimed Bluegrass musicians Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, "newgrass" pioneer Sam Bush, and Rhonda Vincent and the Rage.

Beckley Creek Park is located off Shelbyville Road near the Gene Snyder Freeway. 

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold hearings this week on proposed regulations to limit the carbon dioxide coal-fired power plants can emit. And environmental activists and coal industry supporters are both traveling from Kentucky to Atlanta this week for the federal hearing.

On Tuesday, we examined a report that said 27 percent of Kentucky children in 2012 lived in poverty. 

The issue of poverty raises plenty of question. One of them is simply: What factors contribute to the financial struggles of Kentucky's families and children? And what can be changed?

A  leading cause is a lack of access to and dwindling opportunities for economic gain,  said Terry Singer, the dean of the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville.

Hello Brave Listener and welcome to Sound on Film.

This week, Steven Carr and I discuss the Earth’s destruction twice—by snow in the film "Snowpiercer" and by primates in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." Before that, I interview University of Louisville professor Andrew Cooper about the school's film minor, and we finish up by talking about some television news. 

It's often said that donating blood just one time can save three lives.  What is rarely heard is how one blood drive can be just enough to save a single life.

But it’s true, said Lindsay English, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross in Louisville.

“In a serious car accident, you can use 30 or more units,” English said.  “If you think about it, that is a successful blood drive right there—just one.”

And right now, blood donations from across the U.S. are dwindling.

A House committee on Friday announced an inquiry into a possible ethics violation by U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky.

The statement followed an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which concluded there was “substantial reason to believe” that Whitfield had committed one or more ethics violations.

The House Committee on Ethics’ brief news release noted that it had reached no conclusion about whether a violation had in fact occurred, and it did not disclose the nature of Whitfield’s alleged misconduct.

The Kentucky Department of Parks is poised to allow private corporations to develop at, or even operate aspects of, state parks, and expansion of previous efforts permitting commercial activity.

Parks Commissioner Elaine Walker suggested to a state legislative committee Thursday that General Burnside State Park, a 400-acre park 10 miles south of Somerset, could serve "as a potential pilot" for the effort.

Here are the topics covered in this edition of Byline (full audio link below):

Two years ago, Las Vegas real estate investor Jared Weiss purchased the boyhood home of Louisville boxing legend Muhammad Ali for $70,000. Weiss, an avid fan of Ali, bought the home with plans to transform it into a museum.

But in the years since, the Parkland house has been beaten and battered. Today, the paint continues to chip away and the roof looks to be caving in. Neighbors are hoping some change will come soon.