May 30 Local News Preliminary East End Bridge Work Set for August Indiana officials are advertising for bids for preparatory work on the state‘s portion of the Ohio River Bridges Project. By Rick Howlett May 30 Local News Preliminary East End Bridge Work Set for August Rick Howlett
May 30 Arts and Culture Novelist Creates Own Drinking Game at Readings Louisville author Patrick Wensink has discovered one simple strategy to help people pay attention during book tour readings. He’s made a drinking game out of his.“I’ve always felt like the worst part of a book reading is the book reading,” says Wensink. “I’m as guilty as anybody. I’ve sort of zoned out in the past and haven’t paid attention to every word.”Wensink hands out a list of six words before he reads an excerpt from his new novel. Every time he reads one of the key words, everyone (author included) takes a sip.“I did a reading last month in Portland and I finished two and a half beers in, what, ten minutes? Fifteen minutes, maybe, depending on how fast I read? I suffer for my art, I guess,” he says. It might be a gimmick, but at least it’s thematically sound. Wensink’s new book, “Broken Piano for President,” is a dark comedy about a loser who tends to black out after a couple of beers.Wensink’s hero Deshler Dean parks cars for a living. His experimental band, Lothario Speedwagon, is going nowhere fast. Dean’s life sounds like a recipe for failure, but in Wensink’s absurdist world, his problem becomes a strange gift.It turns out Dean is brilliant when he’s dead-to-the-world drunk. He invents an addictive fast-food burger. His band signs a record deal. It’s the fantasy every hard-partying twenty-something in a dead-end job hopes will come true.“He’s a mid-twenties guy who just drinks a lot. When I was writing this book, I was a mid- twenties guy who drank a lot,” says Wensink. “As the story progresses, he realizes he’s been doing a lot while blacking out. He’s been more productive drunk than while he’s sober.”This isn’t the first book tour Wensink has livened up with an unorthodox performance. For his last novel, “Black Hole Blues,” he conducted a trivia contest about his book’s villain.“I made up a game show called ‘Death to Kenny Rogers,’ where people could win Kenny Rogers prizes by answering stupid questions I made up, that were completely false, about Kenny Rogers and what a horrible human being he is,” says Wensink. “I felt like I had to one-up myself.”If Wensink’s readings sound more eventful than the average author appearance, it might be due in part to his recent work with Project Improv. Wensink says improv comedy has made him a stronger reader of his own work.“Once you bomb on stage at an improv comedy show, you have no more fear when you’re up there reading from a book,” he saysWensink will read from “Broken Piano for President’ at Second Story Books Friday at 6:30 p.m. The event, the author says, is BYOB.“What could be better for a book about a guy who is more productive when he’s drunk than sober than to watch the author get drunk on stage and get drunk with him while you’re watching?” says Wensink. By Erin Keane May 30 Arts and Culture Novelist Creates Own Drinking Game at Readings Erin Keane
May 30 Local News Preliminary East End Bridge Work Set for August Indiana officials are advertising for bids for preparatory work on the state‘s portion of the Ohio River Bridges Project. Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield says construction will begin this summer on a road extension between Utica, Indiana and the River Ridge Commerce Center. It’s the first step toward construction of a new east […] By Rick Howlett May 30 Local News Preliminary East End Bridge Work Set for August Rick Howlett
May 30 Environment AEP to Reconsider Alternatives to Coal at Eastern Kentucky Plant American Electric Power may have changed its mind about the future of the coal-fired Big Sandy Power Plant in Eastern Kentucky. The company has an application pending with the Kentucky Public Service Commission to install pollution controls at the plant to continue burning coal. But WFPL has learned that AEP filed to withdraw the application […] By Erica Peterson May 30 Environment AEP to Reconsider Alternatives to Coal at Eastern Kentucky Plant Erica Peterson
May 30 Environment AEP to Reconsider Alternatives to Coal at Eastern Kentucky Plant American Electric Power may have changed its mind about the future of the coal-fired Big Sandy Power Plant in Eastern Kentucky. The company has an application pending with the Kentucky Public Service Commission to install pollution controls at the plant to continue burning coal. By Erica Peterson May 30 Environment AEP to Reconsider Alternatives to Coal at Eastern Kentucky Plant Erica Peterson
May 30 Local News State Tax Overhaul Panel Begins Regional Hearings From Chad Lampe, Kentucky Public RadioLieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson and Kentucky’s Blue Ribbon Tax Commission are seeking public comment to help develop recommendations on overhauling the state tax code. By Rick Howlett May 30 Local News State Tax Overhaul Panel Begins Regional Hearings Rick Howlett
May 30 Politics Paul Proposes Cutting Pakistan Aid to Help Release bin Laden Informant U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., plans to introduce legislation to cut all aid to Pakistan until the foreign country releases a physician who assisted the U.S. in killing Osama bin Laden. According to reports, Dr. Shakil Afridi worked with U.S. By Phillip M. Bailey May 30 Politics Paul Proposes Cutting Pakistan Aid to Help Release bin Laden Informant Phillip M. Bailey
May 30 Local News State Tax Overhaul Panel Begins Regional Hearings From Chad Lampe, Kentucky Public Radio Lieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson and Kentucky’s Blue Ribbon Tax Commission are seeking public comment to help develop recommendations on overhauling the state tax code. Abramson says around 100 people attended the first of six regional public hearings last night in Paducah. The commission wraps up public meetings in August […] By Rick Howlett May 30 Local News State Tax Overhaul Panel Begins Regional Hearings Rick Howlett
May 30 Local News Paul Proposes Cutting Pakistan Aid to Help Release bin Laden Informant U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., plans to introduce legislation to cut all aid to Pakistan until the foreign country releases a physician who assisted the U.S. in killing Osama bin Laden. According to reports, Dr. Shakil Afridi worked with U.S. intelligence officials to run a number of a fake hepatitis B vaccine programs in order […] By WFPL News May 30 Local News Paul Proposes Cutting Pakistan Aid to Help Release bin Laden Informant WFPL News
May 30 Politics National Progressive Group Targets Kentucky Lawmakers for ALEC Ties A national progressive organization that's pressuring Democrats to drop their memberships in a conservative nonprofit is now operating in Kentucky. By Kenny Colston May 30 Politics National Progressive Group Targets Kentucky Lawmakers for ALEC Ties Kenny Colston
May 30 Local News Louisville Innovative Delivery Team to Tackle Urban Problems Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has put together a special team that will take on five urban challenges. The projects range from to expanding recycling and reducing the number of low-severity 911 calls to implementing a more efficient rezoning process. Fischer announced a six-member “Innovation Delivery Team” will deal with the five goals, which will be […] By WFPL News May 30 Local News Louisville Innovative Delivery Team to Tackle Urban Problems WFPL News
May 30 Local News State of the News Is Now Byline For three years, WFPL has brought you the reporter roundtable show State of the News every Friday. Now, we’ll bring you Byline. Byline will continue to feature analysis of the week’s top stories, but we’ll incorporate more voices, more field reports and (thankfully) new theme music.Stay tuned. By Gabe Bullard May 30 Local News State of the News Is Now Byline Gabe Bullard
May 30 Local News Yarmuth Hosting Third Annual Workshop for Job-Seekers U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., will host the third annual “Build Your Skills” workshop next month at Jefferson Community and Technical College’s downtown campus. The event is hosted in conjunction with KentuckianaWorks, the Louisville Urban League and Metropolitan College, and is free and open to residents. Yarmuth says Louisville residents who are unemployed, underemployed or […] By WFPL News May 30 Local News Yarmuth Hosting Third Annual Workshop for Job-Seekers WFPL News
May 30 Local News National Progressive Group Targets Kentucky Lawmakers for ALEC Ties A national progressive organization that’s pressuring Democrats to drop their memberships in a conservative nonprofit is now operating in Kentucky. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has spearheaded several national campaigns, like the push to recall Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker and with Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s U.S. Senate bid. The group is also encouraging lawmakers […] By Kenny Colston May 30 Local News National Progressive Group Targets Kentucky Lawmakers for ALEC Ties Kenny Colston