Editor's Note: With all the emotion surrounding this story, we've asked Gabe Sowder and Rae Hodge, who last year wrote a stinging review of Taco Punk in the University of Louisville's student newspaper,  to contribute to a point-counterpoint feature. Read Sowder's here and Hodge's here.

Gabe Sowder’s first year as chef and owner of Taco Punk was rough.

Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday that Metro Government has purchased a 30-acre piece of land in west Louisville that it plans to market to companies wishing to expand or relocate to the city.

The property is the former headquarters of National Tobacco located at 30th and Muhammad Ali Blvd. It will cost the city $1.2 million to buy from state government, with $750,000 coming from a settlement with the state over an unrelated right-of-way dispute.

The other $500,000 was allocated by the mayor last year in the city budget to buy brown space in the West End.

"This property is ideal and ready for development," Fischer said in a news release. "The site is clear with no significant environmental issues. It’s on a rail line, abuts the interstate and is surrounded by a ready workforce."

Despite rising tuition costs, higher education is still worthwhile because college-degree holders have higher incomes and better opportunities for employment, according to a report released Friday by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Employers are increasingly requiring bachelor’s degrees as part of their hiring processes, the report said. In the next eight years, the report says, more than half of Kentucky jobs will require some sort of higher education. 

Still, students are also wrestling with increasing tuition costs each year. 

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education on Friday released a report that says people with college degrees are more likely to earn more and have better employment opportunities. Read the report:

Businessman Ed Hart today will join WFPL's Rick Howlett and Devin Katayama to discuss plans for getting the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park re-opened on Byline.

We’re number one! So says Lonely Planet in their list of top U.S. travel destinations for 2013. The publishing monolith has evidently caught on to what we all already know – that this is a fine place to be. Because I closely follow (and revel in) Louisville’s culinary scene, I give our food and dining a lot of credit for this recognition. But how exactly does a city rise to the top of these lists?