Every year, Actors Theatre of Louisville commissions a new multi-writer play to showcase its apprentice company during the Humana Festival of New American Plays. A project already forged through collaborative partnerships will take on a larger role within the community this season. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., continues to praise Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of her visit to Louisville.

Suu Kyi received the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday for her commitment to democratic reforms in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar. The medal is Congress’ highest honor, and lawmakers including McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. John McCain, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush attended the ceremony.

Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell says Suu Kyi has been an international symbol of peace and democracy since first being put under house arrest by the Burmese dictatorship in 1991.

"For nearly two decades—two decades—she remained under house arrest in her mothers old home on university avenue on the shores of Inya Lake. Over the years I’ve followed Suu Kyi closely, and I’ve done what I could to advance her cause," he says. 

Elected officials from Kentucky’s metro areas are appealing to state lawmakers to reform the public pension system to keep it from consuming a growing share of their budgets.

They testified in Frankfort this week before the Task Force on Pensions.

Among them is Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. He says pensions accounted for just over five percent of the city’s budget in 2004. By 2011, the figure had risen to nine percent.

Every year, more than a million kids drop out of school. Without a diploma, they will have a tough time succeeding.

But the problem starts much earlier than high school. This hour, we'll ask the big questions: Why are students dropping out? What's the cost? And, what works to keep them in school and graduate?

Kroger is recalling spinach sold at grocery stores in 15 states due to possible Listeria contamination.

The Fresh Selections Tender Spinach brand was sold in 10-ounce packages and had a "best if used by" date of Sept. 16. The grocer says if customers bought the recalled product, they should return it to stores for a full refund or replacement.

A report from the Kentucky auditor says the Kenton County School District spent excessive amounts of money on out-of-state travel and was lax in monitoring its finances.

Auditor Adam Edelen says the district’s food services department has spent more than $116,000 on out-of-state travel since 2007.

The Louisville Tea Party will hold a forum featuring several local candidates running for Congress, Metro Council and the Jefferson County school board, but the group’s leader is criticizing Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth for not attending.

The forum is being moderated by 84 WHAS radio host Mandy Connell on Thursday, and is expected to draw more than 100 people.

Candidates running for the Kentucky General Assembly are also invited to the forum, and Louisville Tea Party President Sarah Durand says the event will question those candidates on issues that other groups and the mainstream media have overlooked.

"We plan on asking the state Representative and state Senate candidates about pension reform, which we have not heard enough about in the media," she says. "With the school board, I haven’t seen anybody asking them about raising our taxes every single year. We plan to ask the school board candidates how they feel about that and how they would deal with budget shortfalls if they’re not in favor of raising our taxes every year."

A retired Jefferson County Public Schools administrator will be allowed to stay in the school board race this fall, after a judge dismissed a case filed by two local teachers.

As reported by the Courier-Journal's Antoinette Konz, the teachers alleged that District 7 candidate Marty Bell solicited JCPS staff for support, which is against state law.

Officials with Greater Clark County Schools will study the benefits of reducing staff and other ways to increase revenue over the next few months.

Superintendent Andrew Melin told the school board Tuesday night that the district will be nearly $2.5 million short next year.

Staff salaries and benefits make up nearly 92 percent of the district’s general fund, he said, and district leaders will spend the next three to six months studying which jobs might be eliminated to save money.

The four candidates vying for Jefferson County Public Schools' District 2 seat will give residents a wide range of opinions to choose from this fall.

In a debate hosted by WFPL Tuesday night, the candidates discussed their visions for the district and ways they would better student achievement. Two of the four--Phil Haming and George Tolhurst--felt strongly that reverting back to neighborhood schools could help the district accomplish this.