Brad Yost

Here's what is covered in this edition of Byline:

At the top - No one's favorite part of living in an urban area is finding a place to park your car.  On Park(ing) Day, we look at a re-designed parking system in San Francisco that may take the city one step towards a smarter, well-parked city.

Today is Park(ing) Day, when city dwellers across the country put parking spaces to new use - ideally a green and park-like use. WFPL set up a streetside studio outside of our headquarters at 619 S. 4th Street.

For the past two years, the Courier-Journal has been investigating Kentucky’s prescription drug abuse epidemic, with reporting by the C-J's medical writer Laura Ungar. 

Friday Laura joined us on Byline to talk about the latest installment in the series, focusing on newborns suffering from serious opiate withdrawal symptoms because of the drug use of their mothers.

Here's what is covered in this edition of Byline:

At the top - Violent protests erupted this week across the Middle East and elsewhere in response to a film that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.    WFPL political editor  Phillip M. Bailey speaks with Congressman John Yarmuth about the Middle East developments and their impact on the U.S. presidential race.

Friday on Byline, we talked about the just-completed Democratic National Convention.  Our panelists were CN2’s Ryan Alessi, who joined us by phone from Charlotte, WFPL political editor Phillip M. Bailey, and Kentucky Public Radio’s Kenny Colston. 

Panelists discuss the reaction to the speeches, the different impressions of the TV audience versus the live audience, votes of Kentucky delegates, the limited participation of Kentucky politicians, the shifting electoral map, and speculation on voter turnout.

Here is the rundown for today's Byline:

At the top - A look back at this week’s Democratic national convention with  CN2’s Ryan Alessi, WFPL political editor Phillip M. Bailey and Kentucky Public Radio’s Kenny Colston.  Panelists reflect on the major speeches, and the lack of Kentucky participation compared to last week's Republican convention in Tampa.

Violent crime statistics are on an uptick in Louisville in 2012, and Police Chief Steve Conrad recently announced the formation of a new unit to specifically tackle this growing problem.  The VIPER unit will go after the worst offenders in the city and focus resources on known hot spots.

The Republican National Convention is over, with Mitt Romney formally accepting the GOP presidential nomination.  Friday on Byline, we talked about the RNC with the Courier-Journal’s James Carroll, who covered the convention in Tampa, WFPL's Phillip Bailey, and Kentucky Public Radio’s Kenny Colston. 

WDRB sports reporter Eric Crawford checked in with WFPL's Rick Howlett on Byline yesterday to dissect the big UofL/UK football game this weekend.  It’s the highly-anticipated season opener for two teams facing very different challenges. Crawford and Howlett discuss the coaches, key players, the potentially iffy weather forecast, and other factors making this game a fan favorite in the Bluegrass state.

Today on Byline, WFPL's arts and humanities reporter Erin Keane spent some time with new artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, Les Waters.

Keane talks with Waters about his background and experience, what he hopes to achieve in Louisville, the first production of the new season, and his curatorial decisions behind the productions for the 2012-13 season.