Archive for the ‘Breaking News’ Category

Councilman Hawkins just received the following announcement from Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare:

Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Health Care Announce Staff Reductions

500 positions will be eliminated

I wanted to make you aware that Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare (JHSMH) announced today that due to the continuing economic recession and its impact on healthcare delivery, the organization is implementing a comprehensive expense management plan that will include workforce reduction as well as a variety of other measures.

This decision comes as a result of the general downturn in the economy and its effect on hospitals across the nation, including JHSMH, which has experienced reductions in patient volumes, rising levels of uninsured, bad debt and charity care.

In a prepared statement Janice James, JHSMH’s Transition CEO, said, “Staff reductions are always a last resort, and these were difficult and painful decisions. The people we are losing are trusted colleagues, and we appreciate their contribution and support over the years. But these decisions were necessary to ensure that through the economic downturn and the changes in healthcare, JHSMH remains financially strong and operationally healthy to continue to deliver quality healthcare to the Louisville community, as it has for more than a century.”

Approximately 500 positions will be eliminated throughout the system.  This will be achieved through attrition, layoffs and productivity improvements.  Affected team members will receive separation packages based on years of service and employment status. Transition assistance will also be provided to affected team members where possible.

In an effort to limit the number of team members leaving the organization, JHSMH has implemented over $55 million in cost saving measures through change in supplier assignments, process improvements, etc.  Going forward, the organization also is implementing standardized practices in terms of pay and paid time off (PTO), and is evaluating services that do not have enough customers to adequately cover their costs, and others that duplicate services offered elsewhere in our community. Most of these changes will not be visible to patients or the community.

“Hospitals across the country are experiencing declines in volumes as people are deferring elective medical procedures because of change in employment status and health insurance coverage.  Hospitals are also seeing increases in uncompensated care. With 900,000 Kentuckians now without health insurance, we are not immune from this turn of events,” said James.  “In 2008, we provided $52 million in uncompensated care.  In 2009, that number increased to $68 million.  As a result of this, the reality is that we are experiencing a perfect storm of declining volumes and increasing levels of uncompensated care.”

“Operating in such a challenging environment, we remain committed to providing quality healthcare to this community. The measures we are announcing today will not only enable our dedicated team to continue to deliver quality services, but will also strengthen the organization for the future,” James stated.

National Weather Service Center Predicts Potential Winter Storm Friday and Friday Night For Louisville

A storm system is expected to develop across Texas Thursday and move across the Deep South Friday and Friday night.  Moisture riding over the top of this system will generate light to moderate snowfall starting early Friday morning and continuing into Saturday across our region.  The heaviest snows likely will fall in the period from 9 AM Friday morning to 10 PM Friday evening, with snow beginning as early as 5 AM Friday across south-central Kentucky.  The latest forecast calls for snow totals of up a half a foot possible across parts of far South-Central Kentucky and the Lake Cumberland areas.  Further north across the Louisville/Lexington corridor, totals around 1-3 inches are possible.

There is still large uncertainty in the exact track of the storm system moving by to our south.  A more southern track would mean less snowfall from the amounts given above.  Residents of and visitors to the region should stay tuned to the latest forecast updates on this developing winter storm.

Tips for Staying Warm & Dry from the Louisville Metro Health & Wellness

•             Wear layers of cotton and wool clothing to help insulate the body

•             Slacks are warmer than dresses or skirts.  Long socks and leotards will protect the legs.

•             Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves.

•             Don’t drink alcohol when outside during extreme cold temperatures.

•             Be careful shoveling snow.  Overexertion may lead to a heart attack.  The signs of a heart attack include chest or arm pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, pain, sweating, and dizziness.

•             Stock your vehicle with blankets, a flashlight, a tin of food that requires no cooking, jumper cables, and a sack of sand and make sure you have adequate fuel in your tank before the trip.

Tips from the Louisville Water Co to prevent water lines from freezing

•        Wrap exposed pipes with insulating material. Pipes under kitchen sinks and in crawl spaces, near windows or in unheated basements are prime areas for pipes to freeze.

•        Locate your inside water shut-off valve. If pipes burst during freezing conditions, you can save valuable time and prevent water damage if you can turn the water off inside the house. The shut-off valve may be located in the basement, under the kitchen sink, in a utility closet, near the hot water heater, or even under the house in the crawl space. If you cannot locate or do not have a shut-off valve, call a plumber.

•        If you think you’ve found the shut-off valve, and to be sure it’s the right one, try turning it off.  If all your faucets are without water, you’ve found the right one. If not, try again.

•        Once you locate the shut-off valve, place a waterproof tag over it, so it’s easy for you and your family members to find if there’s ever a problem. If you need a tag, call our Customer Service department at 583-6610.

•        If your house has a crawl space, cover outside vents to prevent winter winds from entering and freezing pipes.

•        If your house has a slab foundation, keep the garage door closed. Water pipes are often located under the concrete floors of the garage.

•        If you’ve had problems with frozen pipes in the past, try running a small steady stream of water from a cold water faucet in extremely cold weather. The cost of the water is small compared to dealing with the cost and inconvenience of frozen or burst pipes.  Make sure you run the water from a faucet children don’t use — they may inadvertently shut off the faucet after using it.

Concerns about black ice

City managers are concerned about the formation of black ice on roads.  Black ice is a thin glaze of ice that forms on streets and is nearly undetectable to drivers.  The ice often forms after snow melts and re-freezes, or after a period of freezing rain.  Motorist should increase the distance between them and the vehicle in front.

Last month I tried to warn our community about the Mayor taking over the county fire districts by stacking the boards of trustees.  Today, I learned Councilman Dan Johnson has taken the first steps to merge the city and suburban fire departments.  Johnson filed a resolution asking the state legislature to look at merging the city and county fire departments.  I strongly disagree and oppose this legislation.

Please call Councilman Johnson at 574-1121
and ask him to withdraw this resolution.

Recently, the Mayor ignored the outcome of a fire board election in Pleasure Ridge Park.  Instead of seating the winner of the election, the Mayor handpicked someone to serve on PRP’s Fire Board.  I warned that the Mayor was positioning his people so he would have more control over the suburban fire departments.

The county fire departments have millions of dollars that are collected from suburban property owners and that money should stay in their fire district. This is the first step in trying to grab the budgets of every suburban fire department.  This income stream can be bonded producing hundreds of millions of dollars, like a mortgage, which can be immediately spent.  The money, however, does not necessarily go toward fire equipment, as it should, but could go to Cordish Company or other less seemly projects; like was the mayor’s intention with the Library Tax.

Abramson decided years ago not to honor the contract of city fire fighters.  As a result, he lost a lawsuit, multiple times, and now has dumped the responsibility of paying the city fire fighters back pay on the next administration.

A merger of city and county fire districts means that taxes collected in the former county could be spent anywhere in the city.

A merger would also abolish volunteer fire departments and put the city in control of all operations of every fire department in Louisville.

You need look no further than the city fire departments’ condition of their stations and their equipment to know they are underfunded, unappreciated, and ill-equipped.

As always, I will continue the fight to keep our suburban fire departments running independently of the Mayor.

Our county fire departments do a fine job in protecting our community and efficiently utilize our tax dollars to best benefit the citizens.

Forest Hills Neighborhood Meeting has been Rescheduled

The Forest Hills Neighborhood Meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 7, 2010 at the Southwest Government Center has been canceled due to expected inclement weather.

A new meeting date has been rescheduled for  A new meeting date has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 PM at the Southwest Government Center.

All residents wishing to form a Block Watch Program in Forest Hills Neighborhood are invited to attend this informational meeting.  The group is seeking residents who can volunteer their time as a Block Watch Captain for their street.  In addition, residents will discuss the possibility of reinstating their neighborhood as an association.

For more information, please call James Givens at 645-2213

The Department of Highways District 5 Office announces the temporary closure of exit ramps on Interstates 64 and 265 for guardrail repairs.  The following ramps will be closed simultaneously on Wednesday, December 16^th from 7:00 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.:

• Exit ramp from eastbound I-64 to northbound I-265
• Exit ramp from northbound I-265 to westbound I-64

The actual starting date and duration of this work may be adjusted if inclement weather or other unforeseen delays occur.  Dial 511 or log on to 511.ky.gov for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

• US 31W: Lane closures and delays possible at Dixie Manor (mile point 12.1) due to traffic signal upgrades.

• US 31W (Dixie Highway): Watch for construction vehicles entering and exiting the roadway at the bridge over the Salt River (mile point 0.03) due to bridge repairs.  Construction activity is taking place underneath the bridge.

Motorists may want to take alternate route during parade

Medora Elementary, located at 11801 Deering Road, will hold their annual parade along Deering road on Tuesday, November 24. The parade will start around 1:00 PM and last about an hour. Motorists may want to consider taking alternate routes to avoid congestion.

Metro Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche has resigned and will be leaving his position effective Dec. 31.

Assistant Director Wayne Zelinsky will lead Metro Animal Services as interim director.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

A big thanks goes out to all of you that patronized the Spring Book Sale in early June.
The event was a big success and we appreciate all the support. Unfortunately due to the Flood of ‘09 and the damage sustained at the Main Library, Friends of the Library have been forced to cancel their 2009 Fall Book Sale which was scheduled for October 2009.

The Friends of the Library book sales help fund many programs at the library including:

• The Reading Power project… in support of the Jefferson County School System’s Everyone Reads Program
• The Read, Baby Read program encouraging new mothers to read early & often to their children

· The Preschool Reading Program

• Continuing education scholarships for deserving library staff members
• Library staff appreciation awards

PLEASE NOTE: At this time the Library is
NOT accepting book donations but we will be in the near future – so hold on to them.

More details will be provided soon about the
2010 Spring Book Sale, tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in June at the

Salvation Army – Male Campus (Old Male High School)

For volunteer opportunities or more information, please contact Sandra Murphy at 502-574-1760,
or email murphy@lfpl.org

Metro Council Announces new online government checkbook

District 25 has the lowest office expenditures in 2008!

The public can now see some of how this administration spends their tax dollars.  Residents can use this new online tool to better understand Metro Government.   The site offers visitors the opportunity to search through checks written for the previous three fiscal years.  This information includes: travel expenses, contractual payments and supplies for both operating expenses and capital projects.

The checkbook, however, does not show the city’s entire budget.  For instance, employee payroll is not reflected in the online checkbook.  That is a significant dollar amount (employee payroll accounts for approximately 65% of the total budget).

“The online checkbook is a step in the right direction.  However, it does not show how Cordish spent $950,000 that the mayor gave to them unconditionally,” said Councilman Doug Hawkins.   Hawkins added, “There are still serious and unanswered questions about how our tax dollars are being spent.”

Hawkins is concerned that people will mistake this e-transparency reporting tool as accountability.  “It is only a tool, but it is a step in the right direction”, says Hawkins.  Currently the website only shows spending for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Hawkins hopes that the checkbook will develop into a quarterly reporting tool to provide more recent figures and more thorough and detailed information.

A link to Louisville’s Online Checkbook has been posted at DougHawkins.com.

Click on the picture of the checkbook on the right side of the webpage.