Events Past And Future Past: This Memorial Day

PAST: This Memorial Day weekend is the 40th anniversary of the worst fire in Kentucky history, maybe our worst such tragedy ever...the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire which took 165 lives.  That’s 165 people dying in one fire.

 

A book issued 2-3 years ago by a northern Kentucky researcher makes, IMHO, a compelling case that the N. Ky-Cincy Mafia torched the place, causing these deaths...which is not the accepted cause. (A now disbarred lawyer convinced several courts it was faulty electrical wiring, and won multi-million dollar verdicts.)

 

Before all the witnesses and officials involved in this (including former Gov. Julian Carroll) die, we should have a major, new probe into this tragedy. Why the major Kentucky-Cincy media haven’t done this is beyond me. Maybe the Louisville center for news investigation, and KET, and others can get this started. It needs to be done...for all those who died needlessly, and for the possibility it was, in fact, one helluva coverup by state and local officials.

 

FUTURE: Sunday’s H-L had a fine story on progress to reopen the old Fayette County courthouse...hopefully by the end of this year. Many of the new approaches, new tenants and their plans are excellent—and are based on tourism and our heritage, such as race horses.

 

But I think we are missing a sure bet...as we have for several years now...in not trying to recapture our place in bourbon: its history and tourism, a place we have surrendered, needlessly, to Louisville.  (Why should the Bourbon Trail start there? After all, Bourbon County is here.) And the bourbon business is good, growing greatly in the last few years. And so have Kentucky wineries, many located within the greater Lexington area.

 

Years ago I visited a major wine growing area in California. A much smaller town than Lexington there had a fine, downtown wine center...which maps, info, and tastings of nearby wineries. Why can’t we do that here? For wine and bourbon?  That would tie into local restaurants and so many other things.

 

BTW, one major problem I didn’t see addressed in the HL story---parking. Our renovated courthouse and its shops and tenants will bring many more visitors (cars). Are we ready for that? Where are we going to put them?

 

One final thought, which I will elaborate on in time: TBHA!

 

I'm just sayin'...

It's Not Easy Being Gwen Ifill, Or Thoughts On The Media - Local and National

A recent NY Times article on Judy Woodward, and how she is handling the PBS NewsHour after the death of her longtime  co-host Gwen Ifill, reminded me of just how good Gwen was, and how well those two worked together.

 

PBS has launched the obligatory “nationwide search” for her replacement, who might even be (horrors!) a man, but no answers so far...and so Judy soldiers on.

 

Several men on the staff have received expanded roles; some have done well, some haven’t.

 

This past week, with Judy off and MAJOR news breaking, John Yang struggled in the anchor role and didn’t do well—possibly the failure of his producer. 2 examples: shortly after the latest (but not the last) Trump catastrophe broke, Yang asked an obscure senator what he thought...but the senator hadn’t heard the news and wisely said he couldn’t comment. (Mark that man down as a comer!) Later Yang mispronounced the name of a guest, a Washington Post reporter (what would public tv’s top newsprogram do without newspaper reporters???) Granted, the guy had a 4 syllable name, but that’s hardly an excuse.

 

CBS had a top reporter in Iran for its important Presidential elections. As I heard it, she said the contest would come down to between “a populist and the incumbent.”  No; the incumbent was the populist and was staving off a hardline conservative....and thankfully, he won

 

When news breaks on weekends...and it often does...I have said before the major networks' weekend anchors are often NOT up to the job. If this is where they break-in future weekday anchors, we are in trouble.

 

Turning locally, and some good news...on Wednesdays the Fox 10pm news highlights  “Spirit of the BlueGrass.” These feature reports by Marvin Bartlett have been excellent...and should remind all the other Lexington stations, especially Channel 27, why each needs their own “local Charles Kuralt”

 

And then there was the 11pm sports segment last Saturday, which after giving us a detailed report on the Transy women's softball game—as the 3rd story, went to a break, and returned with the story of an upset horse race victory, some small race called The Preakness, which merely ended, for another year, all hopes for a Triple Crown winner.

 

Ah so, judgments, judgments.

 

I'm just sayin'..

Thoughts On Some Recent News Stories

Someone in Washington is lying.

 

Please. OK, cynics (I am not one) believe someone is always lying in Washington...but..the recent “news” out of the White house on the Comey firing triggered, over several days, from the Pres, V-P, press secretary, deputy press secretary, and assorted etc...the most extensive series of lies I’ve ever heard (and I was around covering Watergate, the 5 O’clock Follies during the ‘Nam war, and others.)

 

Who can the American people believe?

 

And if not outright lies, then mistakes of gigantic proportions—which amount to the same thing.

 

Now we know what “fake news” really is.

 

And that’s sad, because we should be able to trust our elected leaders most of the time, and the FBI Director is a major official of our government.

 

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Did you see the sports story from Colorado where a Colorado State football player was arrested and charged with stealing from a teammate?  What he stole were diamond bracelets and Rolex watches.

 

And just how did the teammate get such items?  Are we missing a bigger story here?

 

And when will the NCAA issue its report on the UofL scandal...years since it began..and the North Carolina report, even years longer since the NCAA began that important investigation?

 

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Then there’s the latest (but far from the last) case of international hacking...where major firms are being held for ransom because of a flaw in the Windows software—that the firm fixed in mid March.

 

Right, the hackers used a flaw that was fixed 6 weeks ago...after Windows keeps telling its customer to install antivirus software, always keep your fixes up to date and back up your files.

 

All of this should NOT have happened...to Disney, Nissan, Renault, Britain’s National health System, and firms large and small...if they had just followed both common sense and good business practice and what computers firms have urged them to do for years.

 

Major banks, department stores, etc. have been guilty of this—and suffered (No, we the customers have suffered) the consequences for years.

 

When is someone going to file a major, global class action suit against these firms for such gross negligence?

 

Where are you Morgan and Morgan when we need you?

 

Talk about a case “for the people!”

 

I'm just sayin'...

Once Upon A Time In Lexington

Long, long go. Times were bad. In fact it was the Great Depression of the 30s. Every section of Society felt it. Universities such as UK, were no exception.

 

Faculty were let go. Classes were cancelled. Maintenance was put off. Fees were raised.

 

It was a truly difficult time and some feared the Commonwealth’s Flagship School just might go under...others had in other states.

 

Ways were sought out of UK’s financial problems...appeals to alumni (suffering similarly); appeals to donors (ditto); sales of what could be sold (few buyers); and especially requests for aid from local businesses who had profited over the years from UK’s being in Lexington...but none came forward. No one knew when the Great Depression might end and so were unable or unwilling to help.

 

Athletic Director Barney Mitchell canvassed his friends and supporters over the years especially. The football program had a promising new coach; the basketball team was on the verge of greatness with an experienced winner—both and the nascent SEC were facing a bleak future.

 

When all seemed darkest, help arrived. A well known and long established local business secretly went to Mitchell with an offer. It was one of the few in Lexington that seemed Depression-proof. Mitchell hesitated, even though he knew UK students had long been customers of the business; even faculty and staff used its services. Some UK students even worked there. But...but should the University cross into new territory and the controversy it was certain to arouse?? No one else in the SEC had ever done this before. It was sure to cause a great outcry.

 

But, as things seemed to grow worse, the AD hesitated no longer. He talked with the President and they debated the wisdom of the move for hours. Finally both could see no other way out of the school’s financial problems. The President  directed the AD to announce this radical move.

 

Before a small gathering, 2 radio stations and both local papers, Mitchell stood before a lectern making his announcement:

 

“Stoll Field”, he said, “is to be renamed...in return for a generous contribution which we direly need...for our students, for faculty and staff, and our future.”

 

“Hereafter, it will be known”...he paused, and slowly said "as Belle Brezing Field.”

 

(I'm just sayin' ...)

When One Vote Really Matters

I would hope that even the strongest advocate for the death penalty (I am not one) would have been appalled by Arkansas’ brutal plan to execute a dozen inmates in as many days recently...all because its supply of illegal(!) lethal drugs was about to run out.

 

Thanks to many problems, they only got to kill four...starting with one who denied his guilt and ending with one who convulsed a dozen times before dying—contrary to what the drugs were supposed to produce.

 

And all of this came about starting with a 5-4 vote of the Supreme Court allowing Arkansas to go ahead.

 

Who cast that one deciding vote for death?

 

Guess who?

 

Right, Judge Gorsuch, newest member of the court—which had deadlocked 4-4 when the vacant seat hadn’t been filled.

 

Thanks, Mitch.

 

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Speaking of matters legal...if you or I sold the same item to two different people, we could be charged with fraud.

 

Not the airlines.  

 

Thanks to Congress, they are entitled to sell the same seat to two (or more) people without violating the law...which is total crap.

 

The recent incident with United and the Kentucky doctor has prompted 2 airlines, so far, that say they will no longer “overbook”—that is sell the same seat two or more times.

 

Bully for them...may many more follow.

 

And let’s get to the “seat” of the problem...and get Congress to amend the law that allows them to do this.  We ought to be able to agree on simple justice and what would be right in every other business but aviation...and to get Rep. Andy Barr to support this change without yelling at him at his next (??) town hall meeting.

 

BTW, whatever happened to that old Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights?

 

I'm just sayin'...