Tagged: Noise & Notes

Louisville will have a new chief prosecutor in January, and his name is Tom Wine.

After longtime Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel announced he was retiring, Wine stepped down as a state appeals court judge to run.

For over 30 years, Betty Winston Bayé wrote an op-ed column in the Louisville Courier-Journal until a round of layoffs last year ended her stint.

"I think what really hurt was I never really got a chance to say goodbye to my readers," she says.

But Bayé is still writing, and putting her views on the table—whether people agree or disagree—in radio and television.

Besides becoming a motivational speaker, she was recently inducted into the National Association of Black Journalist’s Hall of Fame and has plenty to share about African-Americans in media.

Bayé stopped by to talk about leaving C-J, the state of journalism and why it's important to teach the Civil Rights era as living American history.

UCLA Professor Robin D. G. Kelley is a historian and social justice advocate, and a bit of a jazz scholar.

The award-winning author was in Louisville this week for the annual Anne Braden Memorial Lecture Series to discuss what he believes is a war on youth through punitive economic and education policies.

Kelley is also an outspoken critic of those who worship the free-market in American politics, and he says neo-liberal ideology—which rose to prominence in the 1990s—poses a threat to all progressive movements.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer is the only Republican serving as a constitutional officer in state government, and is frequently mentioned as a future gubernatorial candidate.

Comer was elected to office with the highest number of votes among any candidate running in last year’s statewide election and he arrived at the agriculture department promising a new, bipartisan direction.

The former state representative immediately partnered with State Auditor Adam Edelen to address a growing scandal left by his predecessor—former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer—who is now reportedly being investigated by the FBI.