Devin Katayama

Jefferson County Board of Education chairman Steve Imhoff has  stepped aside for the remaining few months of his term.

The chair position, and leader of the seven member JCPS board, will be vice-chair Diane Porter. Imhoff is one of three board members retiring from his duties at the end of this year. Imhoff, who works as an attorney, said the three trials he has over the next six months is the primary reason for his decision and he said Porter is well qualified for the position.

University of Louisville officials are continuing plans to develop a research park near the Belknap Campus.

In a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday, the project--located just North of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium--was unveiled and includes a new road and two bridges that will connect the research facilities with the rest of campus.

Several Jefferson County Public Schools principals will begin workshops this week in an effort to improve their leadership skills.

The program called Leadership Institute for School Principals was offered last year by the Kentucky Chamber Foundation as a pilot project. Principals participate in workshops offered by the Center for Creative Leadership in North Carolina. This year, the program is fully funded at $9,000 per principal by local businesses.

Officials with Louisville’s Family and Children’s Place will break ground this week on a new social services center for children who have been sexually abused.

The center is based on a national model that combines private and public services under one roof, said President Dan Fox. It will serve as the starting point for investigations and children seeking help, he said.

The effort is meant to reduce the trauma on the child.

The University of Louisville has partnered with Enterprise to provide a car-sharing program that will offer faulty and students a low-cost transportation option next school year. 

The company’s We-Car program will allow participants to pick up a Toyota Corolla for an hour, a day or a weekend, said John Drees, spokesman for the University of Louisville.

“Members will have access to these cars at any time. You sign up for time slots, but it’s a 24/7 365 day a year operation," he said.

The new manager of the KFC YUM! Center will likely be a familiar partner.

The Arena Authority’s executive committee has chosen Los Angeles’s AEG Worldwide to enter into contract negotiations and replace the Kentucky State Fair Board. The company already books events in the center, which Arena Authority Chairman Larry Hayes said was a major reason for its selection.

The Arena Authority chose to disconnect from the state fair board earlier this year after a consulting firm said the state’s operating costs were high.

The Veterans Administration is primed to purchase over 35 acres of property on Brownsboro Road to build a new VA hospital, and officials say that decision could be made in the coming weeks.

Environmental impact studies have been finalized for the two locations under consideration for the over 800,000 square foot facility. One location under consideration is near Factory Lane in eastern Jefferson County.

The preferred Brownsboro Road location plan, also called the Midlands Development, would build the hospital on nearly 36 acres near the I-264 interchange.

A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report rates Kentucky’s higher education system below the national average in cost versus benefit.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce put out its Leaders & Leggards report showing Kentucky’s four-year institutions cost more than the national median,  but they have a lower graduation rate than other schools.

The Federal Highway Administration approved the bi-state authority’s record of decision for the Ohio River Bridges Project Wednesday, while Kentucky officials say questions over tolls and a pending lawsuit will not stand in the way of construction. 

“We got by the biggest hurdle today," said Gary Valentine, project manager with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System’s (KCTCS) board has approved a tuition increase and raises for full-time staff for next year.

The state’s Council on Post-Secondary Education still needs to grant final approval this Thursday, but the KCTCS is within the council’s four percent tuition cap.

In-state students will now pay $140 per credit hour. For students living in contiguous counties to Kentucky that amount will be $280 and nearly $500 for all other out-of-state students.