IdeaFestival 2012 will kick off with a day-long conference about water--how we use it, what happens when there's not enough of it and how groups and countries are addressing the global water crisis.

News that Lexmark will lay off hundreds of local workers has Lexington city officials assessing how it will impact tax revenues.

The Lexington-based firm will reduce it's workforce by 350 full-timers and 200 contract employees locally. According to one city official that could result in a $1 million revenue loss.

Mayor Jim Gray said "our hearts go out to this folks who have been hit with this bad news, losing their jobs."

But the mayor says Lexmark remains a competitive electronics business.

The Louisville Metro Ethics Commission has tapped two local attorneys to serve as the judge and prosecutor in the hearing against Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2.

Former Assistant Kentucky Attorney General Ann Sheadel will serve as the hearing officer and preside over the proceedings as a judge.

In a surprise move, the commission has re-hired Louisville attorney James Earhart as the investigative officer who will prosecute the case. Last year, Earhart led the proceedings against former Councilwoman Judy Green that ultimately resulted in her removal from office.

Deborah Kent is legal counsel for the ethics commission. She says the board chose Earhart due in part to his experience in the Green case.

"My understanding is the commission was very pleased with his work last year. But secondly, that his experience in understanding the issues and the mechanics of Metro Government will be invaluable. He won’t have the learning curve this time around," she says.

As interest in Kentucky bourbon grows, construction has begun on a $4 million visitor center for the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg.

The AP reports:

Gov. Steve Beshear was among officials who attended a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the facility, which is expected to open in April, ahead of a new 125,000-square-foot packaging facility, which is set to open next fall.

Republican Congressional candidate Andy Barr focused on coal in his national debut at the Republican National Convention.

Barr is running against Congressman Ben Chandler in Kentucky’s Sixth District, which covers much of the central part of the state. In a short speech at the convention today, Barr repeatedly said President Barack Obama doesn’t care about coal issues.

In contrast, Barr says he and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney do care about the coal industry in Kentucky.

The Obama Administration has announced new fuel economy standards for cars and small trucks that will go into effect in five years.

Starting in 2017, cars and light trucks will have to be more fuel efficient than they are now. By 2025, the average car’s fuel economy will be 54.5 miles per gallon.

Wendell Berry, Helen Keller, Malcolm X and Eleanor Roosevelt are just a few of the prominent figures whose portraits have been painted by artist Robert Shetterly for his Americans Who Tell the Truth series, a portrait exhibit celebrating courageous citizens who have spoken out for democracy and human rights.

A Jefferson District Circuit Judge will open the files surrounding the Savannah Dietrich case.

The County Attorney's office confirms that Judge Angela McCormick Bisig has ordered the case to be opened in response to a request filed by the Courier-Journal newspaper. 

Dietrich, 17, first made national headlines earlier this summer. She was sexually assaulted, then, after a juvenile court proceeding, tweeted the names of her attackers in response to what she felt was too light a sentence from the judge.

In Indiana's Ninth Congressional District race, Democrat Shelli Yoder is calling on Republican incumbent Todd Young to get serious about a series of debates she has proposed.

Last month, Yoder challenged Young to 13 town-hall-style debates, one in each county in the southern Indiana district. In response, the Young campaign called the request a political stunt meant to gain media attention because Yoder's staff delivered a letter requesting the debates only 15 minutes before sending it to the press.

Yoder told WFPL in a recent interview that the two camps met since her initial request, but she now accuses Young's campaign of "stalling" and "wasting time" while voters want to hear the issues.