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FAST LANE - August
2002
MADISONVILLE
Rexam Opens State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Facility
 Rexam
Closures and Containers has opened a 190,000-square-foot injection molding
plant in Madisonville, just east of the Pennyrile Parkway.
Rexam is a worldwide
supplier of consumer packaging used for food and beverages, beauty/
healthcare, automotive products, pharmaceuticals and other products.
Rexam clients include companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Con Agra,
Procter & Gamble and International Paper.
The new $30 million
facility is described as being one of the most highly automated plants
of its kind in the world. The British-based company has more than 100
manufacturing plants world-wide, with an employee base of 20,000. The
Madisonville plant employs approximately 100.
LOUISVILLE
Three Firms Honored with Kentucky World Trade Award
Three Louisville
companies have been honored by the Kentucky World Trade Center for outstanding
achievement in international trade.
 Advanced
ChemTech Inc., APB Financial Inc. and Tasman Industries Inc., all headquartered
in Louisville, are the 2002 recipients of the World Trade Success Awards.
Advanced ChemTech,
which specializes in synthesizing natural elements to accelerate the
process of bringing new compounds to research labs, received the manufacturing
award.
APB Financial, the
service award recipient, is a broker in electricity and energy-related
products and has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing
U.S. companies.
Tasman Industries,
a large and fast-growing exporter in the cattle hide industry, was the
thoroughbred honoree for creativity, innovation and beating the odds.
STATE
Kentucky Companies Partner on Hi-Tech Infrastructure
Eight additional
businesses have committed to partner with Kentucky’s Office of
the New Economy and the Appalachian Regional Commission for a new project
dedicated to helping build up the state’s technological infrastructure.
Bank One, CSX, Humana,
Nortel, Qwest, Toyota, USEC, and Yum! Brands will be joining Ashland
Inc. Foundation, Belcan, BellSouth, Cincinnati Bell, and Scotty’s
Development on the connectkentucky steering committee, co-chaired by
Mr. John Hall, retired chairman & CEO of Ashland Inc., and Dr. Bill
Brundage, commissioner of the Office for the New Economy.
“The decision
we are facing today is very similar to the transportation decisions
that were made 50 years or so ago,” stressed Governor Paul Patton.
“However, this time we are not talking about physical highways,
but information highways. Our state’s future depends on how effectively
and quickly we build the technological infrastructure that is needed
to compete in the New Economy.”
Kentucky’s
new economy strategic plan, entitled Kentucky Innovation, outlines five
priority research areas on which the state should focus its future new
economy efforts: biosciences, environmental and energy technology, human
health and development, information technology and communications, and
materials science and advanced manufacturing.
“For Kentucky
to be competitive in the New Economy, it must make certain that network
use, network access and network infrastructure are proportioned for
stable regional growth,” said Brundage.
A recent study by
the Progressive Policy Institute and Case Western Reserve University’s
Center for Regional Economic Issues recently ranked Kentucky 42nd in
the nation in terms of its success in transitioning into the “information
age.”
STATE
Haynes Steps Down from Washington Post
Audrey Haynes, director
of Kentucky’s Washington, D.C. office, has resigned from her post
to take on the role of national director of governmental relations for
the YMCA.
Haynes started the
state’s D.C. office in August 2001 after serving in both the Clinton
administration in Washington and the Patton administration in Frankfort.
Kevin Goldsmith,
a former staff member in Governor Paul Patton’s office, has been
appointed as Haynes’ successor.
Goldsmith is leaving
the consulting firm of Goldsmith, Ratliff and Shoop to continue the
Kentucky office’s work with the Washington D.C.-based firm of Barbour,
Griffith and Rogers, which boasts strong ties to the Bush administration
and the Kentucky congressional delegation.
Goldsmith will also
assist Gov. Patton in his role as chair of the National Governors Association.
STATE
Kentucky Ranks 42nd Nationally in '2002 State New
Economy Index'
Kentucky has been
ranked 42nd nationally among states in making the transition to succeed
in the “information age,” according to a recent study by the
Progressive Policy Institute and Case Western Reserve University’s
Center for Regional Economic Issues.
The “2002 State
New Economy Index” used 21 economic indicators grouped in five
subcategories: knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism and
competition, transformation to a digital economy, and technological
innovation capacity.
The index ranks
states on the extent to which they have made the transition to the new
economy.
LOUISVILLE
Brown-Forman Receives Distinguished Vendor Award
 Brown-Forman
Beverages has received the William B. Darden Distinguished Vendor Award
for outstanding vendor quality, service and product value.
The award was presented
recently at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago.
Darden Restaurants
Inc., sponsor of the award, cited Brown-Forman for its assistance in
building a strong beverage program for its restaurants – Red Lobster,
Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones BBQ Sports Bar.
Brown-Forman products
include Jack Daniel’s, Canadian Mist, Southern Comfort, Early Times,
Korbel champagnes, Fetzer and Bolla wines.
MUHLENBERG COUNTY
KenAmerican Announces Second Muhlenberg Mine, Adding
135 Jobs
KenAmerican Resources
is planning to open its second underground coal mine in Muhlenberg County,
with production set to start in November and reaching full capacity
by early 2003.
The new mine, which
will employ approximately 135 workers, will primarily produce coal for
the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Paradise plant in Drakesboro.
KenAmerican’s
Paradise #9 mine near Central City, a longtime supplier of coal to the
TVA, employs 167 and produces more than two million tons of coal annually.
The company’s
announcement has buoyed hopes of an increased demand for the area’s
extensive coal reserves. Twenty years ago, the county boasted 18 active
mines and employed nearly 2,500 people, but those figures have gradually
diminished as the industry began relying on low-sulfur coal from the
West. By 2000, there were only eight open mines, employing 317 workers.
STATE
KCTCS Approves $449 Million Budget for 2002-03 Fiscal
Year
The Kentucky Community
and Technical College System (KCTCS) has approved an operating budget
of $449 million for the 2002-03 fiscal year that focuses on the priorities
of students, faculty and staff.
The budget anticipates
state funding for KCTCS included in a spending plan that Gov. Paul Patton
put into place for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
According to Regent
Richard Bean, chair of the board’s finance committee, the budget
includes an increase in student financial aid, enhances salaries and
benefits for faculty and staff, and focuses on effective and efficient
use of resources.
The KCTCS budget
is subject to change based on future action by the governor or by the
Kentucky General Assembly, which has yet to approve state budgets for
the next two fiscal years. The KCTCS budget includes a plan to set aside
$3.8 million to prepare for the possibility that the state will cut
the System budget next fiscal year because of declining tax receipts.
KCTCS absorbed a recurring $3.3 million cut in the 2001-02 fiscal year.
 LOUISVILLE
Free Bristol-Myers Squibb Drugs Expand State's Healthcare
Program
Bristol-Myers Squibb
has begun providing 36 of its medications free of charge to Kentuckians
who qualify for free healthcare. The free medications are part of an
effort by Health Kentucky to provide low-income Kentuckians with access
to high-quality healthcare.
The medications
include Pravachol (pravastatin sodium), a cholesterol lowering agent;
Glucovance (glyburide and metformin hydrochloride) and Glucophage XR(
(metformin hydrochloride) for Type II diabetes; Coumadin (warfarin sodium),
a blood thinning agent; and Tequin (gatifloxacin), an antibiotic.
In addition to Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Health Kentucky’s network of volunteer healthcare providers
consists of six other pharmaceutical companies, more than 3,000 physicians,
140 dentists, 460 pharmacies, all 127 acute-care hospitals in Kentucky,
and every home-health agency and hospice in the state.
Health Kentucky
is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to arrange access
to healthcare for uninsured Kentuckians. Since 1984, Health Kentucky
has coordinated access to free healthcare for more than 200,000 citizens
who live below the poverty level, do not qualify for government programs
and cannot afford health insurance.
SPRINGFIELD
Akebono Begins Production at New $70M Plant in Springfield
Production is now
under way at Akebono Brake Industry Co.’s newest plant in Springfield,
Kentucky. The 190,000-square-foot plant produces brake pads for original
equipment manufacturers as well as for the automotive aftermarket. The
$70 million facility is expected to eventually employ up to 200-250
workers.
The Springfield
plant is Akebono’s fourth facility in Kentucky. The company also
operates AC Remanufacturing Center in Munfordville, Ambrake Corp. in
Elizabethtown and AMAK Brake LLC in Glasgow.
WINCHESTER
Delta Gas is 98th Among Nation's Fast-Growing Small
Companies
 Fortune’s
Small Business magazine has ranked Delta Natural Gas as the nation’s
98th fastest-growing small company. The ranking appeared in the magazine’s
July-August issue.
Basis for the ranking
was Delta’s three-year average increase of 22.7 percent in earnings
per share, 33.6 percent in revenue growth and 29.5 percent in total
return to stockholders.
Delta had total
revenues of $67 million and earnings of $3.7 million for 2001.
The company produces
and distributes natural gas to approximately 40,000 Kentucky customers.
CAMPBELLSVILLE
Brazilian Co. Buys Spec Building for New Respiratory
Equipment Plant
Air Safety Kentucky,
Inc. has announced plans to locate a new manufacturing plant in Campbellsville,
Kentucky. The company, which represents the first Brazilian investment
in Kentucky, will manufacture respiratory protection equipment in its
first facility outside of Brazil. Air Safety Industria e Comercio Ltda.,
begun in 1994, is a leader in the technological advancement and production
of respiratory protection equipment in Brazil.
The company has
quickly grown from one small facility in Sao Paulo to include a much
larger manufacturing facility and corporate office in Sao Paulo, as
well as a new manufacturing facility in Pindamonhangaba, SP, Brazil.
The company now has roughly one-third of the Brazilian market and is
working to grow its expanding international presence in Europe, North
America and Israel. Though the company manufactures products in accordance
to international standards and has attained several U.S. patents, exporting
from Brazil can be extremely difficult. In order to gain better access
to the U.S. and world markets, the company has established Air Safety
Kentucky, Inc.
The company is purchasing
the Campbellsville Spec #2 building, which was completed in October
2001. The plant will employ approximately 50 people.
MAYSVILLE
Work Begins on New Generator Utilizing 'Clean Coal'
Technology
Work has begun on
a new East Kentucky Power coal-fired generator following approval by
the Kentucky Division of Air Quality. The 268-megawatt unit will join
two other generators at the cooperative’s H.L. Spurlock Power Station
on the Ohio River.
More than 400 are
expected to be employed during the construction, scheduled for completion
in late 2004. An undetermined number of employees then will be added
to the plant’s employment roll of 159.
The new generator
will utilize “clean coal” technology, burning a mix of coal
and limestone at lower temperatures. The technology produces five times
less nitrogen oxide – a key ingredient in smog – than a traditional
coal-fired unit.
OWENSBORO
Large Scale Biology to Produce Cancer/AIDS Vaccine
from Tobacco
 Large
Scale Biology Corp. has signed an agreement with South Africa’s
University of Cape Town to develop and produce vaccines targeting both
cervical cancer and AIDS.
The vaccines will
be manufactured utilizing specialized tobacco plants, nicotiana excelsiana,
for which California-based Large Scale received a patent this year.
The vaccines will
be produced at the company’s bioprocessing facility in Owensboro
and then delivered to the university’s Institute of Infectious
Disease and Molecular Medicine for human clinical trials.
According to estimates
from the United Nations, nearly three-quarters of the African population
is infected with the HIV virus.
The agreement between
Large Scale and the University of Cape Town gives the university rights
to the sale of vaccines in Africa. Large Scale will have those rights
in North America and Europe and will share remaining territories with
the university.
PADUCAH
Threat of Quake May Keep Paducah from Landing $1B
Uranium Plant
The threat of an
earthquake may prevent Paducah from becoming home to a new $1 billion
uranium plant. Experts say it would be costly to build such a facility
in Western Kentucky and shore up infrastructure against potential damage
from the nearby New Madrid fault seismic zone. An additional $100 million
might be required to build the plant in an earthquake zone, according
to one expert.
Paducah and Portsmouth,
Ohio, are being considered for the new plant, which would use centrifuge
technology to process uranium into nuclear reactor fuel. Such an operation
could replace the 50-year-old Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in about
10 years.
In gaseous diffusion
plants, uranium is mixed with flourine, heated and turned into a gas.
Huge compressors and a series of filters separate uranium 235, which
is used in reactors, from the more common and nearly benign form of
natural uranium. In a centrifuge plant, the uranium is separated by
centrifugal force.
The U.S. Enrichment
Corporation hopes to make a decision by the end of the year on where
to build a demonstration plant to show potential investors.
The Paducah plant
employs 1,400 and its senior hourly staff, with overtime, can earn more
than $60,000 a year.
STATE
Two Kentucky Facilities Named to Industry Week's 'Best
Plants' List
 Two
Kentucky plants have been recognized by IndustryWeek magazine as being
among the “25 Best Plants” in North America.
Making the 2002
list were Dana Corp.’s light-truck frame plant in Owensboro and
ISP Chemicals Inc. in Calvert City.
The Dana plant,
which opened only four years ago, produces frames for the Toyota Tundra
and Sequoia. The plant employs approximately 300 workers.
ISP Chemicals produces
specialty chemicals for hair and skin care products and pharmaceuticals.
The plant has a staff of 520.
In evaluating plants,
IndustryWeek looked at quality performance, on-time delivery, productivity
improvements and profitability. Also considered were customer-focused
organizational structures, empowered work teams, application of new
technologies, and the implementation of lean manufacturing concepts.
From the group of
25 finalists, IndustryWeek judges will narrow the list and announce
its 10 Best plants in the October issue of the magazine.
RICHMOND
EKU Receives $620,704 Grant to Ease Region's Nursing
Shortage
Healthcare, an economic
concern in Eastern Kentucky, has received a $620,704 shot in the arm
through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The grant will benefit
the Basic Nurse Education and Practice Program at Eastern Kentucky University.
The program, directed to all the 49 Appalachian counties of Kentucky,
is designed to recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds and assist
them with the demands of college and the nursing curriculum.
U.S. Congressman
Ernie Fletcher, who announced the grant, and EKU President Joanne Glasser
said the money will assist in addressing the critical nursing shortage
in Eastern Kentucky. It also will provide for two new sites in Harlan
and Bell counties, which in collaboration with Southeast Community College
will improve registered nursing students’ access to bachelor of
science degrees in nursing.
LEXINGTON
Swiss Company to Provide Online Banking with Exstream's
Software
 Zürcher
Kantonalbank (ZKB) of Switzerland will provide personalized online banking
services for its customers through software provided by Exstream Software
Inc. of Lexington.
With Dialogue software,
ZKB customers can view account information, money transactions and other
bank statements online, as well as download them in other formats. “Custody
Online,” the online system for businesses, also produces performance
reports, portfolios and internal overviews.
Using Dialogue and
systems integration services, ZKB is handling 120,000 logons per month
and processing three to four online requests a minute-around the clock.
ZKB is Zurich’s largest banking operation and the third largest
bank in Switzerland, with 88 branch offices, 26 agencies and two million
customers.
SHIVELY
Mother's Cookie Company Invests $45 Million in Plant Renovation
Kellogg Company
will invest up to $45 million in renovating its Mother’s Cookie
Company plant in Shively. Most of the money will be spent on purchasing
new equipment, according to Kellogg Corporate Communications Director
Christine Ervin.
Approval for $9
million in tax credits was provided Kellogg, a Battle Creek, Mich. cereal-production
leader, through the Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act. The act
allows companies to seek incentives to renovate plants facing closure
due to a lack of profitability or modern equipment.
Mother’s is
Shively’s largest employer with approximately 670 personnel.
FRANKLIN
Quebecor Plans
Include $15M Plant Upgrade and Creation of More Jobs
Quebecor World Atglen,
a Franklin printing company and one of the area’s largest employers,
has announced a $15 million upgrade, subject to a permit from the Kentucky
Division for Air Quality.
The addition of
another printing press will create new jobs and add to the 500 already
employed at the plant. The upgrade, however, could increase air pollution.
The new press cannot be installed until an air quality permit is provided.
Quebecor, which
prints magazines, catalogs and newspaper inserts, hopes to have its
new press on line during the first quarter of next year.
The new press would
allow the company to concentrate on printing higher-quality catalogs.
GEORGETOWN
Toyota Cites
Auto Parts Suppliers as "Outstanding Business Partners'
Four Kentucky facility
and spare parts suppliers have received the 2001 Outstanding Business
Partner Gold Award from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc. The
suppliers were cited for the highest expectations in safety, cost-containment,
quality, delivery and management support.
Recipients and their
products are: Concept Packaging Group of Cynthiana (corrugated foam),
CHD Meridian Healthcare of Georgetown (occupational health, management
services), Safety Today Inc. of Lexington (gloves, safety supplies)
and General Rubber and Plastics Company Inc. of Lexington (various rubber,
plastic products).
KCI Crane Pro Services
of Frankfort (cranes, hoists) and SMC Pneumatics Inc. of Erlanger (hydraulic,
pneumatic parts) received the Outstanding Business Partner Silver Award.
LOGAN COUNTY
New Aluminum Processing Plant to be Built in Logan County
Plans have been
announced for the construction of an aluminum processing plant in Logan
County that is expected to initially employ 60 people.
Kentucky Aluminum
Processors, Inc. (KAP) plans to build a 120,000-square-foot facility
where it will process aluminum scrap and dross by-products, melting
them into materials that can then be used for further aluminum manufacturing.
News of the new
plant is a tremendous relief for economic development officials in Logan
County, who have experienced difficulty in recruiting new industry to
the area due to a scarcity of adequate water as well as wastewater problems.
Those issues were
not a problem for KAP, which does not require water as part of its manufacturing
process.
The KAP plant is
also expected to benefit its neighbor, Logan Aluminum, which presently
trucks in the majority of its molten metal by from Morgantown.
Business
Briefs
BARDSTOWN
- The Bardstown-Nelson
County Airport Samuels Field has installed an $86,000 automated weather
observing system that will help pilots monitor weather conditions
and plan flight routes. A major portion of the funding for the new
system was provided through a state aeronautics grant, with the remainder
provided by the air board.
BOWLING GREEN
- The Department
of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have given initial approval
for Kellwood Company’s purchase of Gerber Childrenswear Inc.
Gerber is the parent company of Auburn Hosiery Mill and a plant in
Adairville that manufactures sports socks.
CAMPBELLSVILLE
- The Kentucky
League of Cities and the City of Campbellsville have conducted a six-week
pilot program to test a new wireless high-speed internet service.
Campbellsville officials have identified high-speed access as an aid
to assist existing industries and to recruit new businesses for the
area.
CLAY CITY
- Ground has been
broken for the Clay City Business Park, located at the crossroads
of the Mountain Parkway and Kentucky highways 15 and 82.
CORBIN
- NCS Pearson,
a subsidiary of Pearson Education, is expected to provide up to 400
new jobs at a new location in Corbin. The company is a global provider
of applications, services and technologies for education, testing,
assessment, government and complex data management.
ELIZABETHTOWN
- Barnes &
Noble Inc. has opened a new 23,000-square-foot bookstore at the Mall
Park Center in Elizabethtown. The store will stock some 200,000 book,
music, DVD and magazine titles.
- Crown Select
Cone and Distribution Company, a new Hardin County company, is making
cake ice cream cones for Dairy Queen stores across the nation. The
new venture is part of a cooperative among Dairy Queen operators to
help franchises better control their costs.
COVINGTON
- Covington Independent
Schools has partnered with the Northern Kentucky Community and Technical
College District to provide technology training to high school students,
who will also earn college credits for the courses.
EASTERN KENTUCKY
- The Kentucky
Coal Company has laid off 57 miners from 10 of its Eastern Kentucky
mining operations, which employ approximately 650 workers. The move
also involved the closure of a coal preparation plant in Pike County,
which employed 11. The company blamed a downturn in the coal market
for the lay-offs.
ERLANGER
- Century Construction
will provide construction and management service for the Newport Hofbrauhaus,
a German food and beverage facility scheduled to open in January 2003.
The 13,315-square-foot Hofbrauhaus will include a microbrewery and
a beer hall for 268 people and a beer restaurant accommodating 108.
An outside beer garden will overlook the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati
skylines.
FLATWOODS
- Construction
is now complete on the third phase of Industrial Parkway, providing
a direct link to Interstate 64 from KY 207 in Flatwoods. Area officials
are hoping that the improved access will lead to more economic development
for the region. Work is already under way on the next phase of the
project, which will connect the parkway to US 23 just south of Greenup
County.
FRANKFORT
- PlanGraphics
Inc. has been contracted by the District of Columbia’s Office
of the Chief Technology Officer to update its aerial photo base map,
which serves as the keystone of the District’s mapping activities.
PlanGraphics, based in Frankfort and founded in 1979, is a full life
cycle systems integration and implementation firm that provides a
broad range of services in the design and implementation of information
technology in the public and commercial sectors.
- Frankfort Regional
Medical Center has opened a new $9.25 million expansion of its surgical
center.
HARDIN COUNTY
- Property near
Glendale along Interstate 65 that was offered initially this year
to Hyundai Motor Corp. will be purchased by the state of Kentucky.
The 1,600-acre tract, valued at $17.7 million, will be used as a future
economic development site.
HARRODSBURG
- A major fund-raising
campaign is under way for the $6.5 million expansion of the James
B. Haggin Memorial Hospital. Groundbreaking for the new wing took
place in July with completion anticipated in May 2004.
HENDERSON
- Firstar Bank
of Henderson has been ranked No. 1 among all Firstar and U.S. Bank
branches for credit card sales. The Henderson facility is one of U.S.
Bancorp’s 2,147 retail branches.
- Day’s Inn
motel will undergo a $1 million renovation through the efforts of
new owners Terry and Linda Dukes of Owensboro.
- Bridge View Inn,
a bar that dates to post-Prohibition days and is one of the oldest
taverns in Henderson, has been closed and was placed on the auction
block in June.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS
- Northern Kentucky
University has unveiled a new university-community partnership grant
program that pairs university faculty members with community organizations
to help address local problems. In addition to solving problems, the
goal of the partnership is to help non-profit groups evaluate the
effectiveness of their work, which in turn will help them qualify
for future grant requests from philanthropic organizations.
HOPKINSVILLE
- Hopkinsville
Federal Bank has changed its name to Heritage Bank. Incorporated in
1879, the bank employs 50 people at locations in Hopkinsville, Murray,
Cadiz, Elkton and Benton. New acquisitions are pending in Fulton,
Ky., and South Fulton, Tenn.
INEZ
- The final touches
are being completed on the Roy F. Collier Community Center, which
will feature four movie theaters, an indoor track, CenterNet, daycare,
a basketball court, and gym, among other amenities. Inez City Hall
and the police department also plan to move into the building when
it opens this fall.
JESSAMINE COUNTY
- One business,
an organization and four individuals have been honored by the Jessamine
County Chamber of Commerce for 2002-03: Business of the Year –
Taylor Made Farms; Outstanding Business Leader – Bill Jacobs,
JAMCO; President’s Award – Jerry Morgan, Sargent & Greenleaf;
Hall of Fame Award – County Attorney Howard Downing; Civic Award
– Ichthus Ministries; Special Community Service Award –
Sheriff Joe Walker and Jessamine County Sheriff’s Department.
KNOX COUNTY
- The Kentucky
Court of Appeals has overturned Knox County’s occupational tax,
saying that the Knox County Fiscal Court did not properly certify
the accuracy of the ordinance enacting the tax. The tax, which was
enacted in October, 1999, has produced more than $2 million in revenue.
The decision has been appealed and will now be heard by the Kentucky
Supreme Court.
LEXINGTON
- Lois Gray, senior
chair of James N. Gray Construction, has received the National Woman
Business Owner of the Year award from the National Association of
Women Business Owners. Gray, who assumed leadership of the company
when her husband died in 1972, has turned the company into a $335
million enterprise. The company employs 300 and is ranked 42nd in
Working Woman magazine’s list of 500 top women-owned firms in
the nation.
LONDON
- Work has begun
on a $5 million expansion of Flav-O-Rich’s London plant, which
produces dairy products and fruit juices. The expansion, which is
expected to create 30 new jobs, is scheduled to be completed in January.
LOUISVILLE
- Dean Fearing,
chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, served as a guest chef
during the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)
celebration of Julia Child’s 90th birthday at The Seelbach Hilton’s
Oakroom Aug. 1. Fearing, regarded as the “Father of Modern Southwestern
Cuisine,” is a former James Beard “Best Chef” honoree
and a native of Ashland.
- Wiser, Hemlepp
& Associates will make a presentation at the Public Relations
Society of America’s International Conference in San Francisco
this fall. Nancy Wiser and Mary Hemlepp will present “Meeting
the Ever-Changing Challenge of Consumer Satisfaction” as one
of several sessions offered during the three-day conference.
- Ventas Inc.,
a healthcare real estate investment trust based in Louisville, plans
to sell up to $750 million in common and preferred stock, debt securities,
depositary shares and warrants. The sale is intended to help the company
raise the debt or equity needed for its rent stream diversification
plan.
- The Kentucky
World Trade Center has named former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins
as a Book of Honor recipient. The award is given to individuals and
organizations who best exemplify the World Trade Centers’ goal
of advancing peace and stability through trade.
- Ventas Realty
Limited Partnership, a division of Ventas Inc., has agreed to sell
its Northern Virginia Community Hospital to HCA Inc., of Nashville,
Tenn. Ventas owns hospitals, nursing and personal-care facilities
in 36 states.
- Steel Technologies
Inc. expects a 16 percent sales increase for flat-rolled steel for
the quarter ending June 30. The Louisville-based firm cites increased
demand from auto makers and other industrial sectors for the improvement.
- Willow Marketing
Management Inc. has added Marmon-Herrington and The eBiz Shop to its
list of clients. Marmon-Herrington, headquartered in Louisville, is
America’s leading converter of commercial vehicles to all-wheel
drive. The firm created the first vehicle to win an Indianapolis 500,
the Marmon Wasp, which won in 1911. The eBiz Shop was created with
the goal of utilizing Internet technologies to help companies solve
classic business problems.
- Tumbleweed, the
Louisville-based Southwestern-style dining chain, intends to open
three company-owned restaurants during the next 12 months. Construction
of a new store in the Columbus, Ohio, area is expected to start soon.
Tumbleweed has 61 restaurants in its system, 32 of which are company-owned.
- Stonestreet One
Inc. and Mindready Solutions Inc. of Saint-Laurent, Quebec Canada,
will offer a gateway between wireless connectivity standard and databus
technologies for use in car infotainment applications. The gateway
will provide the automotive industry with the first fully integrated
telematics solution in electronically equipped vehicles.
- Sullivan University
and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) have formed
an academic partnership, enabling the Louisville university to provide
an electronic conference center for the service. FMCS provides mediation
in labor-management contract disputes.
- Papa John’s
International Inc. has increased the amount for the company’s
stock repurchase plan from $275 million to $325 million. The pizza
chain owns or franchises nearly 3,000 restaurants worldwide.
- The Louisville
Airport Authority has authorized an extensive expansion plan for Louisville
International Airport that will essential double the size of its terminal.
The expansion, which is expected to cost more than $700 million, would
extend both concourses to allow for additional gate space and would
also enlarge the ticket and baggage claim area. The plan also calls
for a second parking garage to be built.
- Dana Corp.’s
Louisville plant has been selected to provide torque management and
traction technologies for Ford Motor Company’s 2003 Lincoln Aviator
sport-utility vehicle.
- Jewish Hospital
Health Network has opened a new supplemental staffing agency. HealthStaff
Solutions will staff registered nurses, licensed practical nurses,
therapists, nurse aides and other clinical positions for six medical
facilities.
MARION
- Ground was broken
in May for the Marion-Crittenden County Technology-Economic Development
Training Center that is expected to open early next year in the county
industrial park. The 10,000-square-foot center will provide education,
job-skills enhancement and training.
NICHOLASVILLE
- More than 43,000
checks totaling nearly $1.3 million were mailed in June to customers
of Blue Grass Energy, representing capital credit refunds for the
years 1948 through 1966, 1980, 2000 and 2001. Since 1988, Blue Grass
Energy has returned more than $10.4 million to its customers in the
form of capital credit distributions. This is the 13th year the electric
distribution cooperative has returned funds as part of customer investment
in the member-owned utility.
PADUCAH
- Computer Services
Inc. (CSI) has signed an agreement with Marketing Solutions Inc.,
the first step in providing CSI customer banks with a fully automated,
browser-based marketing solution. Software provided by the Paducah-based
company enables point-and-click access by customers to a bank’s
marketing and customer information system. CSI also has announced
that four Nebraska banks and another in Illinois are new recipients
of its data processing services.
PIKEVILLE
- A new Citizens
National Bank branch should be completed in October.
PRESTONSBURG
- David Tackett,
marketing president of the Community Trust Bank, Floyd County Branch,
has assumed the presidency of the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce.
The Banner resident has been with Community Trust Bank for more than
10 years, the last three at the Floyd County Branch.
RICHMOND
- The Eastern Kentucky
University Board of Regents has approved the construction of a new
health and wellness building that will serve as a center for students,
faculty and staff to use for recreation and physical training. The
first phase of the $7 million project is expected to be completed
and operable by the fall of 2003.
SHELBY COUNTY
- Jefferson Community
College and Jefferson Technical College have opened a new Shelby County
Campus, offering students the option of taking both college general
education classes and technical courses at one location. The school
also offers a multi-use lab to local businesses, which can use the
facility to train employees without having to close a production line.
SOUTHERN KENTUCKY
- The South Kentucky
Rural Electric Cooperative has been awarded a $25,154,000 loan from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service.
The money will be used to construct 355 miles of new electricity distribution
lines servicing 7,800 new customers, along with other improvements
to the existing system.
TAYLOR COUNTY
- Taylor County
Hospital has begun construction on a new $11 million addition that
will include a new intensive care unit, emergency department and increased
patient space. The project is expected to take nearly two years to
complete.
TAYLORSVILLE
- The Taylorsville-Spencer
County Industrial Development Authority has announced plans for Grandview
Park, a project involving 163 acres overlooking Taylorsville Lake.
Cottages, a lodge, restaurant and other tourist accommodations will
be built on the site. Groundbreaking is anticipated later this year
with some cottages available in the spring/summer of 2003.
WARREN COUNTY
- The issuance
of $25 million in bonds for the Kentucky Trimodal Transpark has been
approved by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Roger Crittenden. The Warren
County Fiscal Court more than a year ago voted to issue bonds to pay
for land acquisition for the first phase of the industrial and commercial
development planned for northeastern Warren County. The Transpark
would be served by road and rail and would include an airport.
WESTERN KENTUCKY
- The U.S. Department
of Agriculture has approved a $48.2 million loan to the Logan-Todd
Regional Water Commission, which is currently building a water treatment
plant in Guthrie. The loan represents one of the largest single loans
for rural development in the history of the Ag Department, which typically
awards no more than $25 million in rural development money for an
entire state per year. When the plant is complete early next year,
it will supply water to 12 communities in Christian, Logan and Todd
counties.
WILLIAMSTOWN
- A former Wal-Mart
store has been converted by a Williamstown developer into a flea market
catering to upscale buyers. Keith Kinmon, who paid $65,000 for the
Wal-Mart property, in the first month leased more than 80 percent
of booths available in the 65,000-square-foot building.
STATE
- BellSouth has
asked the Federal Communications Commission for approval to offer
long-distance service for 8.2 million phone lines in Kentucky, Alabama,
Mississippi and the Carolinas. To obtain federal approval, the company
must show that its local phone service monopoly has become competitive.
BellSouth competitors now serve about 20 percent of business lines
and four percent of residential lines in Kentucky. The Kentucky Public
Service Commission approved in April BellSouth’s move to offer
long-distance service.
- Kentucky tourism
has received a boost as a result of a recent announcement naming three
Kentucky highways to the list of the nation’s National Scenic
Byways. Under the National Scenic Byways Program, the U.S. secretary
of transportation recognizes certain roads as National Scenic Byways
or All-American Roads based on their archaeological, cultural, historic,
natural, recreational and scenic qualities. In Kentucky, the Country
Music Highway, the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway, and the Wilderness
Road Heritage Highway now have the distinction of being listed as
a National Scenic Byway. The National Scenic Byways Program was established
by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation’s scenic
byways and promote tourism and economic development.
- Kentucky Attorney
General Ben Chandler has filed the first lawsuits under Kentucky’s
new telemarketing “No Call” law to stop two telemarketing
firms from violating the law. Chandler asked for a restraining order
to stop Simplified Data Solutions, Inc. (SDS) of Largo, Florida, and
Sound Media Group Inc. of Irvine, California from making any more
telemarketing calls to Kentuckians on the attorney general’s
“No Call” list. Sound Media was also cited for failing to
register and post a bond as a telemarketing company. “Kentuckians
have demanded relief from telemarketing phone calls and we will enforce
this law aggressively,” Chandler said. Over 670,000 residential
phone numbers are on the “No Call” list, which translates
into more than 1.5 million people, over one third of Kentucky’s
population.
- Republic Bank
& Trust Co. has expanded its new account program aimed at Spanish-speaking
Americans to include its four branches in Lexington. The UltraCash
accounts allow individuals with alternative forms of identification
– such as a Mexican driver’s license or voter registration
card – to make deposits and access funds through ATMs and other
places where debit cards are accepted. In addition, designated family
members can also have access to the account, even if they live outside
the country. Louisville-based Republic launched the UltraCash program
earlier this year in Shelbyville.
- Adelphia Communications
began operating in late June under bankruptcy protection after three
months of problems relating to off-the-books debt, accounting problems
and questionable deals by its founding family. Adelphia listed $24.4
billion in assets and $18.6 billion in debts The nation’s sixth-largest
cable television company serves 94 Central and Eastern Kentucky cities.
- Mindy G. Barfield
has been named as the 2002 Kentucky Outstanding Young Lawyer by the
Kentucky Bar Association. The award is presented annually to an attorney
under 40 years of age who demonstrates excellence in their legal practice,
devotion to the bar and service to their community. Barfield is a
partner with Dinsmore & Shohl and practices in the area of commercial
litigation with a concentration in complex litigation, employment
litigation, and natural resource matters.
- Kentucky communities
that lie near the Tennessee border are already seeing an increase
in business as a result of a recent tax hike in Tennessee. The Volunteer
State has raised its sales tax by a full one percent, giving it one
of the highest sales tax rates in the nation – 9.75 percent in
30 of the state’s 95 counties.
- The ABA Banking
Journal, a trade magazine published by the American Bankers Association,
has named three Kentucky banks to its list of the nation’s best
banks with assets of less than $100 million. Meade County Bank of
Brandenburg, Peoples State Bank of Chaplin and Williamsburg National
Bank were ranked in the top 25 of the Journal’s listing of 50
small banks. The banks were assessed based on their five-year return
on equity.
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