News

A vendetta against the CEO of a former for-profit college in Louisville may have forced the school’s closure, but a federal court ruling released this week may have opened the door for the college to recoup millions of dollars lost in bankruptcy.

In 2004 the Atlanta-based Council on Occupational Education approved accreditation for three new technical programs—carpentry, electrician and HVAC—at Decker College. The programs included distant, or online, learning in its applications.

A conference on renewable energy that was scheduled for next month has been pushed back to March 2013.

This year’s Kentucky Statewide Workshop on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency—organized by the Conn Center at the U of L—was supposed to be next month. But Conn Center Assistant Director Andrew Marsh says the center just decided that more academic speakers would be available at a different time of year.

A new law that goes into effect tomorrow will help patients with chronic health issues maintain their standard of living.  The law allows doctors to show that a long-prescribed medicine would be the best for a patient. Previously, insurance companies could deny payments for such medication until patients had first tried a cheaper alternative.

Former Republican state representative DeWayne Bunch has died from head injuries sustained last year.

Bunch was a first term lawmaker when he was injured breaking up a fight at Whitley County High School, where he was a teacher. He went through months of surgeries and recovery in Lexington and in Atlanta.

His wife, Regina Bunch, was elected in a special election to succeed him as state representative. She’s currently still serving in that capacity.

Leaders of both the Democratic and Republican caucus in the state House praised Bunch’s service as a lawmaker.

The chairman of Common Cause of Kentucky has filed a complaint with the Louisville Metro Ethics Commission against Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2, citing a series of media reports over the past two months.

It alleges Shanklin violated the Metro Government code of ethics by using her office to benefit herself and her relatives. Earlier this week, the county attorney advised council members to not launch their own investigation into Shaklin's handling of an upholstery program until the city auditor and the Metro Police Public Integrity Unit complete their review.

Common Cause Chairman Richard Beliles says news reports have raised serious questions about Shanklin's decision-making and use of taxpayer dollars that need to be answered, but he isn't seeking her removal from office.

"She has a right to defend herself and to see what proof comes out of the hearings. I hope she's got real good reasons to prove she's done nothing wrong. We're not out to get her, but we are interested in protecting the public interest," he says. "I'm a lawyer and we can't jump to conclude that somebody is guilty, but I believe that my complaint shows these are issues that should be raised to protect the public."

Louisville's Air Pollution Control District has fined Louisville Gas and Electric for several violations at the Cane Run Power Station in southwest Louisville.

In the Indiana Senate race, Democratic candidate Joe Donnelly has launched a new ad criticizing Republican Richard Mourdock for rejecting compromise.

The 30-second spot features Donnelly on a basketball court coaching a group of children with a message of teamwork and a Mourdock impersonator heckling the congressman from the bleachers.

"You know, nothing gets done by yelling from the bleachers," says Donnelly. "It’s time for Hoosier common sense."

The summer has just begun, and Louisville has already seen dangerously high levels of ozone pollution on thirteen days. Scientists are predicting that ozone could become an even bigger problem as average temperatures rise.

Ozone is created when pollution from cars and smokestacks cooks in summer heat. Louisville’s seen a lot of it lately, and nearly every week there’s been at least one warning that the air outside could be unhealthy for at least some people.

 University of Louisville swimming coach Arthur Albiero  will join Portugal’s coaching staff for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The team will also include two U of L swimmers, Carlos Almeida and Pedro Oliveira

Albiero is a native of Brazil and has coached the U of L team for nine years.

Almeida is the NCAA national champion in the 200-breast competition.  Oliveira will be making his second appearance for Portugal in the Games.

The Louisville Ballet returns to the Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall with their new season, which opens in October with Val Caniparoli’s “Lady of the Camellias,” a tragic romance based on the 19th century novel by Alexandre Dumas fils about the courtesan Marguerite and her doomed affair with Armand, a provincial member of the middle class. The original story has inspired numerous adaptations, including Verdi’s opera “La Traviata.”