Insight Offers Luxury Suite Tickets To Metro Council Members

The Louisville Metro Council has not yet voted on Insight Communications’s franchise agreement. But Dan Klepal at the Courier-Journal has an interesting story on Insight’s recent offer of luxury suite tickets to Friday’s basketball game in the KFC Yum Center.

Here are a few quotes:

“Whenever I do, that’s my business,” [Councilman Dan] Johnson said, adding that he doesn’t believe the tickets and suite access represent a conflict of interest. “Do you really think we’re going to vote against the Insight contract? I don’t think that’s even a question.”

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Council President Tom Owen, a Democrat, was not offered tickets and told his colleagues in an e-mail that accepting them would be “unwise” because it would be “impossible to avoid the public perception of inappropriate influence.”

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“Given the circumstances we’re dealing with … I don’t think it would be wise,” said Democrat David Tandy. “I’ll just watch it on TV.”

Democrat Barbara Shanklin declined, she said, because of the pending vote on the franchise agreement.

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“Insight routinely entertains business, civic and political leaders,” [Insight spokesperson and former Council Member Ellen] Call said. “There’s really nothing unusual about this — it’s the ordinary course of business.”

 

Councilman Hawkins Says Goodbye

The Ville Voice has the video of outgoing Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins’s farewell address.

Hawkins will be replaced by Democrat David Yates.

Anti-Sag Device

A New York City inventor has come up with a device that allows a moderate level of pants sagging, but eliminates the need for constant adjustment.

Last year, the Louisville Metro Council strongly encouraged residents to pull up their pants.

Yates Takes Oath Of Office

Democrat David Yates is the first person to unseat an elected Metro Council member. He has taken the oath of office and will replace Republican Doug Hawkins next year. The Valley Report has more on the swearing-in ceremony.

Adult Entertainment Ordinance Delayed

The Louisville Metro ordinance that would prohibit full nudity and lap dances at clubs that offer that sort of thing will not take effect on January 1st, as previously planned.

From LEO:

Initially, LEO Weekly was told by the Jefferson County Attorney’s office that Metro officials would start enforcing the law at the beginning of next year once letters to strip club owner were mailed by Nov. 1. Since then, however, no notifications have been received and the county attorney’s office has cited its “heavy workload”  from other case as the culprit.

City Hall’s Main Entrance To Open Wednesday

Council President Tom Owen led the efforts to renovate and re-open the building’s grand entrance on 6th Street. Work is complete and the doors will open Wednesday at 9 am.

The improvements are partially meant to make the council seem more accessible. Visitors who want to talk with their representatives or attend (or speak at) Metro Council meetings no longer have to go through the building’s basement to get to offices and the chambers.

 

Ward-Pugh No Longer Seeking Council Presidency

From WFPL:

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh will not seek the council presidency next year. That means Councilman and former mayoral candidate Jim King will likely win the office.

Ward-Pugh and King had both been discussing their potential bids for the leadership post with their colleagues. Ward-Pugh says King was able to secure more support first.

“It hasn’t been a contentious thing at all,” she says.

Fischer’s Council Breakfast Must Stay Social To Avoid Becoming A Meeting

As he promised after his election, Mayor-elect Greg Fischer has invited the Metro Council to his home.

On Saturday, Fischer will have breakfast with the council, but the transition team says the event is purely social. It has to be. If a majority of any committee or of the entire council is present, they have a quorum. If city business is discussed, it becomes a meeting and is subject to open meetings laws.

“Most council members should know that,” says minority caucus director Steve Haag.

Haag says the breakfast will be social, and council members will refrain from discussing business.

“They [the Fischer team] is learning the difference between the private sector and government as far as open meetings laws,” he says.

Majority caucus spokesperson Tony Hyatt agrees. He says the council is very aware of what would constitute a meeting, and they will not cross that line. They may discuss the election and share their thoughts on their districts, but they won’t go over the budget or talk about legislation, says Hyatt.

Ward-Pugh, King Reportedly Vying For Council Presidency

LEO is reporting that Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh is seeking the body’s presidency. She sent a letter to her colleagues Sunday touting her bipartisan work. The letter also acknowledged that some council members are supporting councilman and former president Jim King‘s re-election bid.

In that message to colleagues, Ward-Pugh specifically mentions possible tension with mayor-elect Greg Fischer if King were elected.

During the May primary, King attacked Fischer in several campaign mailers andtelevision advertisements, and the two Democrats traded barbs in the final days of the hotly contested election.

“While I believe (Councilman) King could do the job and do it well,” Ward-Pugh writes. “I believe I am better positioned to ensure building a fresh, positive foundation with the mayor-elect and the new administration given that I don’t have a record of criticizing mayor-elect Fischer’s ability to lead, regardless of whether it was during a heated campaign or not. As I told (Councilman) King myself, while I don’t have any belief that he would not work well with Fischer, I do believe there is a dynamic that will be present with him as president that won’t be there with me.”

Ward-Pugh told WFPL last year that she was considering running for president for 2010. She did not seek the office, but deferred to Councilman Tom Owen, who is currently president.

Insight Agreement Sent Back To Committee

The agreement that regulates how Insight Cable operates in Louisville will get another review by the Metro Council.

A council committee unanimously approved Insight’s franchise agreement last week. The full council, however, sent the agreement back to the committee Thursday due to some questions about the company’s operations.

Specifically, the council will look at why Insight waited until this month to pay more than five million dollars for taxes owed in 2009. Insight contends that the bill was late, but majority caucus spokesperson Tony Hyatt says more review may be necessary.

“There have been some members of the caucus who have been concerned that there is not enough monitoring of Insight in the light of what we’ve been finding out there in the last week or so,” he says.

Also at question is whether Insight has been open enough with the city. Hyatt says council members will review how well the cable provider has followed recommendations from a previous audit.

“This is going to be more of a situation where the committee looks at what it would like to see as far as any type of annual report or update coming from Insight, because the auditors in 2006 had recommended Insight needed to do an annual report on various areas of its operations.”

While the council may require Insight to report more frequently to the city, it’s not clear whether the body will impose more regulation on rates or services. Hyatt says cities often don’t strongly regulate cable providers.

“As the cable industry and communications in general have been deregulated over the years, the Public Service commission handles an awful lot now, the federal government with the FCC handles a lot now,” he says.

The committee that will review the document will likely meet once more this year.

Elsewhere: LEO, C-J