Devin Katayama

A charter school bill has been filed in the Kentucky House and supporters hope the less aggressive approach will help get it passed this year.

Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville , crafted the law with help from the Kentucky Charter School Project. It’s a coalition including several organizations that have argued for charter schools the past couple years.

Spokesman Joe Burgan says the bill attempts to appease opposition in the General Assembly by offering a trial run first.

It has begun. A year-long effort to report on issues related to public education in the community. We're calling it "The Next Louisville."

More Reports  

The project includes more personal features, lengthy discussions, more context and as much data as the ear (and eye for the Web) can take.

Community Participation

Newly elected Jefferson County School Board members will finish training this week before taking office on Jan. 14.

Chris Brady will replace Larry Hujo in District 7, David Jones Jr. will replace Steve Imhoff in District 2 and Chuck Haddaway will replace Joe Hardesty in District 4.

The three seasoned outgoing board members have all told WFPL they feel comfortable with their replacements and with leaving the district in the hands of Superintendent Donna Hargens, who was hired in 2011.

Over the next month, the officer assigned to embattled Louisville Metro councilwoman Barbara Shanklin’s ethics hearing will craft a response to the case.

Shanklin has been accused of violating five provisions of the city’s ethics code, including using her position to benefit relatives. 

Jefferson County families have one week to apply for their top public school choices for next school year and the district is opening some offices with extended hours this week to help complete the process.

“Parents that will be able to get their applications in by the Jan. 11 deadline will have a much greater opportunity to get the choices that they want and so that’s why we encourage parents to meet that deadline and not put it off any longer than they need to,” said JCPS spokesman Ben Jackey.

University of Louisville students living in the Miller Hall dorms that were displaced last year after mold was discovered will move back into the dorms this weekend.

Last October around 270 freshman students were forced to relocate after mold spores were found in a 80 percent of dorm rooms. U of L officials said mold was also found in other complexes and would be treated appropriately.

Officials with KentuckianaWorks say healthcare jobs remain in demand, but the organization will also prepare residents in the 13 county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for an increase in construction work this year as the Ohio River Bridges Project gets underway in the spring.

KentuckianaWorks was created under federal law to administer job placement and training programs.

A Kentucky lawmaker has crafted legislation that would abolish the death penalty in the commonwealth.

Similar measures have been proposed intermittently over the past 25 years, but none have had enough support to pass. Now Democratic state representative Carl Rollins has posted a bill that has the support of anti-death penalty activists.

Rev. Patrick Delahanty with the Kentucky Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty says even though past attempts have failed, he senses growing support for the measure.

Over 11,000 Jefferson County residents are expected to participate over the next few months in crisis phase of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, but the federal government has allocated less money for the program this year.

LIHEAP provides one-time funding for eligible residents at or below 130 percent of the poverty line in the cold winter months. Between November and December nearly 11,000 residents use the program, according to Debbie Belt, community outreach specialist for the Department of Community Services and Revitalization. 

Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth says reauthorizing the expired No Child Left Behind Act should be a priority of the incoming Congress.

But the law as it stands now would likely undergo significant reforms that follow what some states like Kentucky have already begun implementing.

Yarmuth was recently appointed to the  House Education and Workforce Committee, a position he held during his first years in office.