Friday, February 24, 2012

724. Signs, signs, everywhere a sign - a test



Entry number 724 could have been about a number of things. It could have been something about my feelings on the demise of the casino bill in the General Assembly, but it isn't. It could have been something on the local Democratic Party reorganization that has, somehow, consumed me in recent days, but it isn't. It could have been about the numbers themselves, 7-2-4, which are significant to me in that my friend Rob died on July 24 and I mention him each year on that date, but it isn't. It could have been about my recent trip to Leitchfield with my friend Elizabeth Sawyer, and her discussion with the Grayson County Democratic Women's Club. I do want to write about that trip - there was a cave I noticed along the northern side of KY 920, the old Salt River Road from Leitchfield to Flaherty, as we took the road less travelled on the way down to the destination. It was aside a bridge over a creek in Grayson County and I have never noticed it before and want to see it again. But, it isn't. That is a story for another day.

So, today's entry will be a test, something we do every now and then here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. This one is specific to Jefferson County so it may be difficult to those readers outside of what is officially known as Louisville-Jefferson County Metro. The test isn't long, but it probably will prove difficult.

All of us who drive the streets and lanes of our county see a plethora of signs, most of which we summarily ignore as there are so many of them everyone and most of them serve some specific purpose not applicalbe to us at the time. The ones to really watch for are when you can and cannot park on the city's streets. It is useful to know the difference between a "No Parking" sign and a "No Stopping" sign. The latter prohibits parking entirely although one such sign is daily ignored by the LMPD who park their cars on 7th Street just south of Congress Alley in clear violation of the law. Complaints about this illegal parking, which prohibits drivers exitting Congress Alley - for the non-Louisvillians, it should be noted that Congress Alley at this point isn't an alley at all but a three-lane wide artery - westward from seeing cars headed northward on 7th, have gone unheeded by the LMPD's chief's office. I intend to speak to the new chief, Steve Conrad, about this as soon as I get a chance. But, I digress.

The signs that many of us ignore are those that tell us what route we are on, routes such as I-64, US60, or KY 1020. In Jefferson County, with only a few exceptions, we do not officially call streets by their route numbers, something more typical in other counties and especially rural counties. There are, to my knowledge, two excpetions to this rule - one road known by its US highway designation, and one known by its Kentucky highway designations. So, that is our little quiz for the day - identifying highway route intersections by their commonly known names. The first two questions I've already given, but will again below as #1 and #2. See how many you know, but don't cheat by using a map. Again, all answers are somewhere in Jefferson County.

To wit:

1. What is the US highway route number which serves as the name of a street from a point just outside, or northeast, of the Watterson Expressway?

2. What is the Kentucky highway route number for this street which begins with a "real" name in the Highlands area but changes names to a three-digit highway route for its final two miles in the county?

3. What is the single streetname which is applied to roads carrying a US highway designation, a two-digit Kentucky highway designation, and a four-digit Kentucky highway designation, although no two at the same time, and for a while has no highway route designation at all, but did at one time?

The rest are "Identify the Intersection" questions. I will give you two highway routes - you tell me the streets forming their intersection.

4. US 31 and US 60

5. US 42 and KY 3222

6. KY 146 and KY 2050

7. KY 1116 and KY 2053

8. KY 1142 and KY 1931

9. KY 1230 and KY 1849

10. KY 1447 and KY 1932

11. KY 1531 and KY 1819

12. KY 1703 and KY 2860

13. KY 1747 and KY 2052

14. KY 1865 and KY 2055

15. KY 1934 and KY 2054

More Difficult

16. KY 1851 and KY 2317

Much More Difficult

17. What is the name of the road numbered as KY 2803 ?

18. Where is the location of the road numbered as KY 6298 ?

Trick Questions

19. Which is higher - US 31 or KY 3077 ? Regular readers of the blog and/or my Facebook page should at least get part of this answer.

20. Where is US 31 and/or KY 3077 ? Regular readers of the blog and/or my Facebook page should at least get part of this answer.

List your answers in the Comments section of the blog. Thanks.

Friday, February 17, 2012

723. Once In A Blue Moon - presented by Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble - A Review



Ninety years ago, Pirandello's play Six Characters In Search of An Author made its way to Broadway to mixed reviews. While the play Once in A Blue Moon and Pirnadello's have nothing else in common, a thread could be drawn between the title of the latter and the formation of the former.

Last Friday, at the invitation of my friend Gil Reyes, Theatre 502's co-artisitic director, my date - Callaway Kosine - and I attended the opening night perfomance of Once in A Blue Moon, created, staged, and performed by the ensemble of Le Petomane, at the Rudyard Kipling on W. Oak Street. The play was a lot of fun, a little disjointed, but a nice story nonetheless. It seemed like six or seven vignettes in search of a common theme.

But, there was a common theme, that of the play's heroine, Ruby, and the loss of her voice and the journey to reclaim it. Through a series of scenes - a streetyard, a field, a diner, and some others I wasn't quite able to place, Ruby meets with adventures and antagonists in her effort to follow her heart and find her voice.

There were bits and pieces of familiar feelings - some spoken verse that sounded Elizabethan, some eerie dance from the 20th century, evocations of mystery in the form of a Coyote, and a Blue Moon which seemed to be the magical force keeping it all together. For those who follow me on Facebook, you know that I am strongly attached and attracted to the moon, a personal sort of lunacy.

There were doses of rhyme and rhythm, singing and dancing, and even sword fighting. I was intrigued by and completely enjoyed the music created by the playing of a propane tank. Listening, I envisioned in my head scenes from some Mithraic celebrations in one of Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogies - or maybe it was a scene from the Mists of Avalon, I forget which.

The ensemble is four actors, three of whom, Heather Burns, Tony Dingman, and Kyle Ware, played a variety of roles - too many to list and sometimes hard to distinguish, especially since I've waited a week to write my review - apologies extended. The fourth was Kristie Rolape in the lead as Ruby. One role played by Kyle Ware was that of narrator, in the character known as Fairy Thoughtfather. Dingman roles included Ruby's father, high school friend, truck driver acquaintance at the diner, and some slickster who looked remarkably like a young Frank Sinatra. For me, the star role wasn't the protagonist Ruby, however. It was Coyote Blue, as played by Heather Burns (who I know from somewhere but I can't quite place where). Her moves around the stage and through the audience as the Coyote, a non-speaking role, were mesmerizing, hynotic, and elegant, all at once. The Coyote character appears at different times throughout the play and the delivery was top-notch at all times. I found myself anticipating the Coyote's next appearance on the stage. The threesome also played a blue-haired stoner band in one scene which was a lot of fun. Dingman, as the trucker, is also a rapper - an interesting performance. In the diner scene is a dance number which was straight out of Stomp - a clogging in rhythm which provided a musical perfomance all its own - or maybe it was reminescent of the old Hayloft Hoedown, for those of you old enough to remember that local show which played for many years, on WHAS at first and finally on WLKY, in the golden days of television here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. But, I digress.

Like every good tale, the heroine succeeds in her mission; her voice is found and the show comes to a quick end - a little too quickly although the play ran a little over an hour and twenty minutes the opening night. Perhaps because of the bareness of the stage, or the venue itself, a very intimate space with dinner tables and chairs - and dinner and drinks all around. I've always enjoyed that sort of venue but it isn't for everyone. My friend Callaway seemed as equally pleased with the performance. And, the truth is I have been going to events at the Rudyard Kipling for almost thrity years. It is a great place for some sometimes less-than-serious fun.

After the play, the cast and most of the patrons retired down into the bar part of The Rud for some music from a band called Neulore - or something - at that point I was on my third glass of Pinot Noir and they sounded pretty good.

Two more showing for Once in A Blue Moon are offered - tonight (Friday the 17th) and tomorrow, both at 7:30 pm. While it wasn't polished theater, it was fun and engaging, and a little quirky. I give it a B+.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

722. Jefferson County Democrats

The blog's last entry concerned the filing deadline for the local Democratic Executive Committee. As it turns out, it may or may not have been extended based on Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd's extension of the legislative filing date, on which the local filing date is based. Judge Shepherd extended those filing to Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

Congressional filings were extended by the legislature last week to Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.

All other filing deadlines were yesterday at 4:00 p.m. So, while there exists the possibility that there will be more filings, we do know about the following filings for the local Democratic Party and Jefferson County's elective offices. Below is a listing of all of those. Incumbents are denoted by an (i). All of these Democrats should be applauded for taking these efforts toward election to partisan or elective offices.

LOUISVILLE-JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

10th Legislative District (LD) Chair - Russell Lloyd, Mark Suna
10th LD Vice Chair - Victoria Lloyd
10th LD At-Large -

28th LD Chair - Michael Bowman
28th LD Vice Chair - Julie Hardesty
28th LD At-Large - Richard Everett

29th LD Chair - Allsion Amon (i)
29th LD Vice Chair - Michael Amon, O'Dell Henderson
29th LD At-Large - Kathy Wright, O'Dell Henderson

30th LD Chair - Jim Stammerman (i)
30th LD Vice Chair -
30th LD At-Large -

31st LD Chair - Caroline Franklin
31st LD Vice Chair -
31st LD At-Large - Peggy Bass

32nd LD Chair - Jeff Barr (i)
32nd LD Vice Chair - Barbara Meyers (i)
32nd LD At-Large - Andy Reynolds, Daniel Grossberg

33rd LD Chair - Kim Greenwell
33rd LD Vice Chair - Jerry Ferguson
33rd LD At-Large - Marie Geary

34th LD Chair - Anne Lindauer (i), Bennett Knox
34th LD Vice Chair - Shawn Riley, Joanna Erny, Ron Sheffer
34th LD At-Large - Jeremy Morris

35th LD Chair - Colleen Younger
35th LD Vice Chair -
35th LD At-Large -

37th LD Chair - Jeff Donohue, Virginia Woodward
37th LD Vice Chair -
37th LD At-Large -

38th LD Chair - Marianne Butler (i)
38th LD Vice Chair - Bill Meeks (i)
38th LD At-Large - Tim Firkins (i)

40th LD Chair - Lauren Ingram, Dennis Horlander
40th LD Vice Chair - Gail Linville
40th LD At-Large - John Crawford

41st LD Chair - Lesa Dae (i), Gordon Stoudemire
41st LD Vice Chair -
41st LD At-Large -

42nd LD Chair - Reginald Meeks (i), Pamela Osborne
42nd LD Vice Chair -
42nd LD At-Large - Dave Seutholz

43rd LD Chair - Clarence Yancey (i)
43rd LD Vice Chair - Queenie Averette (i)
43rd LD At-Large - Carl Bensinger (i)

44th LD Chair - Nicole Candler
44th LD Vice Chair - Steve Fein
44th LD At-Large -

46th LD Chair - John Sommers (i)
46th LD Vice Chair - Caroline Sommers (i)
46th LD At-Large -

48th LD Chair - Michael Garton, Lawrence Winburn
48th LD Vice Chair -
48th LD At-Large - Amy Lowen

KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

10th House - Teena Hlabig, Mark Suna
28th House - Charles Miller (i)
29th House -
30th House - Thomas Burch (i)
31st House - Steve Riggs (i)
32nd House -
33rd House - Rick Hiles
34th House - Mary Lou Marzian (i)
35th House - Jim Wayne (i)
37th House - Jeff Donohue, Wade Hurt (i)
38th House - Denver Butler
40th House - Dennis Horlander (i)
41st House - Tom Riner (i)
42nd House - Reginald Meeks (i)
43rd House - Darryl Owens (i)
44th House - Joni Jenkins (i)
46th House - Larry Clark (i)
48th House -

19th Senate - Gary Demling, Duran Hall
33rd Senate - Gerald Neal (i)
35th Senate - Denise Harper-Angel (i), Curtis Morrison
37th Senate - Steve Bittenbender, Dan Johnson, Robert D. Walker

JEFFERSON COUNTY ELECTIVE OFFICES

Commonwealth's Attorney - Tom Van De Rostyne, Tom Wine, Carol Cobb, Steve Ryan

Circuit Court Clerk - David Nicholson (i)

B District Commissioner - Alex Clements (i)

C District Commissioenr - Steve Fein (i)

1st Metro Council District (MCD) - Special Election - Rosa Macklin, Janis Carter Miller, Steve Colston, Attica Woodson Scott (i), Ray Barker, James Ponder
2nd MCD - Barbara Shanklin (i), Yvonne Woods, Rose Robinson
4th MCD - David Tandy (i)
6th MCD - David James (i)
8th MCD - Tom Owen (i), Bryan Mathews, Mason Roberts
10th MCD - Jim King (i)
12th MCD - Rick Blackwell (i)
14th MCD - Earl Yocum, Mark Romines, Ray Pierce, Cindi Fowler, Tom Childers
16th MCD - Tim Martin
18th MCD - Teague Ridge
20th MCD - J. Joseph Cohen
22nd MCD - Robert Zoeller, Jr.
24th MCD - Madonna Flood (i)
26th MCD - Brent Ackerson (i) - my boss.

Shively City Council - Maria D. Johnson (i), Delbert Vance (i), Dale Dummitt (i), Ronnie Wathen (i), Kimberly Williams (i), Rose Mary Renn (i), Chester Burrell, Beverly Burton

Finally, while not a partisan office, I wish to acknowledge the filing for the Kentucky Court of Appeals by my longtime friend and former boss Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze.

Two other Democrats' names will appear on the Jefferson County ballot this fall. John Yarmuth (i) is a candidate for reelection as Third District Congressman. The other one isn't even a Kentuckian. His name is Barack Obama (i). I am supporting both of their bids for reelection.

These are some of the Democrats willing to make a difference in Jefferson County.

The Archives at Milepost 606

Personal

Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Never married, liberal Democrat, born in 1960, opinionated but generally pleasant, member of the Episcopal Church. Graduate of Prestonia Elementary, Durrett High, and Spalding University; the first two now-closed Jefferson County Public Schools, the latter a very small liberal arts college in downtown Louisville affiliated with the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. My vocation and avocation is politics. My favorite pastime is driving the backroads of Kentucky and southern Indiana, visiting small towns, political hangouts, courthouses, churches, and cemeteries. You are welcome to ride with me sometime.