Rick has been a member of the WFPL News team since 2001 and has covered numerous beats and events over the years. Most recently he’s been tracking the Indiana General Assembly and the region’s passion for sports, especially college basketball.
A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a the woman who tried to extort millions in cash, cars and a house from University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today found that attorneys for 52-year-old Karen Sypher ``advanced no arguments of merit on appeal.''
In 2010, a jury convicted Sypher of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought the money from Pitino to stay quiet about a tryst in a Louisville restaurant.
People of all ages are invited to take part in the annual butterfly count Saturday in Oldham County.
Results will submitted to the North American Butterfly Association for its national census.
The local count has been conducted at University of Louisville’s Horner Wildlife Sanctuary since 1976, led by biology professor emeritus Charles Covell.
Information for this story also came from the Associated Press
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is touting state cash reserves he says will send more than $100 to each Indiana taxpayer through automatic tax credits next year.
Daniels said today he expects the state to close its books for the fiscal year with $2 billion in cash reserves.
Roughly $300 million will go to 2013's tax credits and another $300 million will go toward the state's unfunded teacher pension liability.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says a wiring problem caused the navigation lights on the newly rebuilt Eggners Ferry Bridge in western Kentucky to malfunction Sunday night.
Spokesman Keith Todd says the outage was reported by a boater and confirmed by state police.
An electrical crew tracked down the problem this morning.
Motorists who use the Kennedy Memorial Bridge can expect more traffic delays this week as workers continue a major repair project.
Southbound bridge traffic is still down to one lane to allow for some unexpected repair work. It will be expanded to two lanes on the morning of July 4thbut Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman Andrea Clifford says they’ll need to shut down an additional northbound lane after that.
Officials report no major traffic problems for this weekend's Sprint Cup Series races at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
It was a big turnaround from last year's inaugural event in Gallatin County.
The state and and the speedway spent $11 million on road and parking improvements following last year's gridlock that left thousands of NASCAR fans stranded in traffic on Interstate 71.
A statewide smoking ban signed into law by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels takes effect Sunday.
The law prohibits smoking in many indoor businesses and public spaces, including restaurants. But bars, casinos, tobacco shops and private clubs are exempt.
Danese Pease with the Harrison County Tobacco Prevention Consortium says businesses will be expected to police themselves, but state officials will make sure the law is enforced.
All six members of the national champion University of Kentucky men’s basketball team who declared for the NBA draft were chosen last night, including four in the first round of 30 picks.
It was the first time that six players from a college team were selected in a single draft.
UK had the top two overall picks; Anthony Davis was chosen by the New Orleans Hornets and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats.
Information for this post also came from the Associated Press
President Barack Obama's health care overhaul will proceed thanks to the help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. The Supreme Court upheld the law today with Roberts joining with the court's four liberal justices in a 5-4 decision.
With information from Kentucky Public Radio's Stu Johnson and the Associated Press
Kentucky officials say drought conditions exist in three-fourths of the state and the dry spell has become severe in parts of western Kentucky, where farmers are at risk of low yields or no crops at all.
