Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Our last sidewalk photo proved quite a challenge as no one got the location at 32nd Street looking toward Virginia Avenue.  Here’s a new sidewalk photo ready for guesses in the comments.

Local News

• Could road side art help calm traffic in Butchertown? (Historic B-town)
• New flower shop coming soon to the Douglass Loop (Consuming Lou)
• Take a look inside the new Downtown Qdoba (Consuming Lou)
• The problem of affordable housing in Louisville (LEO)
• Analyzing why the Chick Inn went out of business (Mojo, C-J, Fox 41)
• Loan will help Habitat & Youthbuild expand headquarters (C-J)
• What will become of Louisville’s most polluted nabe: Rubbertown? (Fat Lip)
• Spray ground planned at Breslin Park, swimming pool to be filled in (C-J)
• The tale of the Phoenix Hill shotgun house that didn’t get torn down (C-J)
• The West End School gets grant for expansion (Fox 41)
• Havana Rumba opening another location in Middletown (C-J)
• And other local restaurant news and rumors (Mojo)
• Norton Commons could get a new public school (C-J)
• Changes could be in store for Louisville condo law (C-J)
• More on Tafel Motors’ plans for Shelbyville Road (C-J, V-T)

Events

• Fundraiser to help West Louisville churches go green on April 6 (Green Guide)
• Meeting to plan Petersburg Park scheduled for Monday, March 15 (Metro Parks)
• Neighborhood planning group plans meeting on ORBP on March 27 (C-J)

Transportation

• Louisville is on Google’s new bike route planning service (F Gas)
• Planned dedicated bus lanes in New York look pretty cool (StreetsBlog)
• Can Louisville get in on this streetcar manufacturing game? (CNN Money)
• Watterson exit at Westport Road won’t open until after Derby (Lou.com)
• A map of the human body if it were a subway system (Info Aesthetics)
• This device powers a bike light from the movement of the wheels (Inhabitat)
• Ten transportation blogs worth looking at (The Source via CART)
• A bus stop you could call Home, Sweet Home (Apt. Therapy)
• A horrific picture of trampled bikes (OMFG, Bikes)
• Let’s build one of these between the Ali Center and the Belvedere (Space Invading)
• Imagine a traffic jam of books – not cars – on your street (Mocoloco)
• The state of the union for cycling and walking (Urban Velo)
• Lexington plans a Tweed Ride before Louisville has one (F Gas)

Everything Else

• Keep the next Yucca Mountain out of Kentucky (LEO)
• Considering branding strategies for cities (Urbanophile)
• Must see Rube Goldberg music video by OK Go (Boing Boing)
• Guerilla artist turns potholes into mini-gardens (Inhabitat)
• How to build a backyard chicken coop (Boing Boing)
• Urbanophile considers the downsides of consolidated government (Urb1, Urb2)
• The greenest building is the one that already exists (TreeHugger via tipster)
• American Enterprise Inst. talks about risks of ignoring beauty (AEI via Twitter)
• Cities need to promote & create ‘urban innovation hot spots’ (Biz Week)
• San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks initiative peels back the street (Inhabitat)
• More on the continuing General Growth saga (Biz First, WSJ1, WSJ2, WSJ3)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Jeff Noble for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as St. Joseph Street looking west toward Brook Street in Old Louisville.  Here’s a new sidewalk photo ready for identification in the comments.

And one more thanks to our February site sponsor, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company.  Our supporters keep Broken Sidewalk online.  If you would like to learn about our affordable sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch.

Local News

• These impromptu “flash mobs” sound really cool (Consuming Lou)
• New pizza place opening on Baxter Avenue (Consuming Lou)
• Two new pubs heading to the Highlands (Mojo)
• Another Italian restaurant headed to former Ray Parella’s site (LHB)
• Mayor of Mainz, Germany to tour green initiatives in Louisville (U of L)
• New Albany’s Ohio River Greenway growing again (N & T, C-J)
• The Church on East Market Street with new photos (Historic Butchertown)
• Check out the history of Russell’s Western Branch Library (Russell blog)
• Three from Louisville semifinalists in 2010 James Beard awards (C-J)
• If you haven’t been, you should check out the Swan Dive (Consuming Lou)
• Three new companies in Louisville to create 145 jobs (WFPL, C-J)
• Louisville still having a hard time dealing with that Peta chicken (LEO)
• More on the possible future of the abandoned Showcase Cinemas (C-J)
• What’s in store for Freedom Hall after the new arena opens? (C-J, Fox 41)
• Lecture on architects Clark & Loomis at Conrad-Caldwell House March 24 (H & I)
• What’s going to happen to Cherokee Park’s teepee? (Common Ground)
• Interesting feature on Downtown’s twin light houses (C-J)
• Louisville has a murder-free February (C-J)
• Floyd County group to focus on smart growth (N & T)

Transportation

• Rangeland Elementary gets grant for improved sidewalks (WFPL)
• Parking permits in downtown New Albany not catching on (N & T)
• More on Bunning’s shut down of the US DOT (StreetsBlog, C-J, Mojo)
• More about Louisville and national High Speed Rail (CART)
• Two ‘habitual traffic violators’ arrested in New Albany (N & T)
• Don’t get your car repaired in Louisville (Biz First)
• Say goodbye to the Hummer (NY Times)
• What a stupid car advertisement (F Gas)
• Video: In Japan, the tow trucks are motorcycles (How We Drive)
• It looks like people are starting to drive more again (GOOD)
• Motor vehicles are pretty bad for climate change (NRDC)
• Rules for bikes and mopeds in New Albany (NA Confidential)
• Promote wintertime biking by giving out hot chocolate (Copen-ize)
• Why J.R.R. Tolkien sold his car and went by bike (Disc. Urbanism)
• Drive thru’s hurting in the down economy, too (Hub & Spokes)

Everything Else

• Write about Louisville, win two free nights at 21c (Trazzler)
• New study links liquor stores and crime (The Edit)
• E.On is considering selling LG & E (C-J)
• Kansas City planning a museum about the suburbs (KC Star)
• Graffiti looks strangely appropriate on Chicago’s modern wing (A-N)
• Housing starts up but still way down (Economist)
• But local Realtors happy about recent gains (C-J and C-j2)
• More on the spread of poverty into the suburbs (NAC)
• Still following the bankrupt General Growth Prop? (WSJ 1, WSJ2, WSJ3)
• Rem Koolhaas’ OMA splitting once again (Dezeen)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Gary Guss, Jeff, and Mike MC for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as Vine Street looking toward Swan Street in the Paristown Pointe neighborhood.  Here’s a new photo ready for guesses in the comments.

Thanks again to our current site sponsor, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company.  Our supporters keep Broken Sidewalk online.  If you would like to learn about our affordable sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch.

Local News

• Mardi Gras in Louisville in 1873 appears to have been quite a party (Filson)
• NOLA-based NakedPizza planning on opening 10 units in Louisville (Mojo)
• Floyd County preservationists deal with proposed Federal spending cuts (N & T)
• Expansion wraps up at new facility for The Healing Place (Fox 41)
• On the rise of foreclosures and homelessness in Louisville (LEO)
• UL gets stimulus funds for pollution prevention center (C-J, WFPL)
• What’s going on with the Showcase Cinema site on Bardstown Road? (Mojo)
• What happened to the Kentucky BBQ Company on Frankfort? (Whitewashed)
• Take a look at what was once Letterle Road in Butchertown (Historic B-town)
• Tafel Motors buys St. Matthews Women’s Club for storage space (C-J)
• More on one group’s goal of finding 15,000 farms in Louisville (Consuming Lou)
• Do we need geographic diversity on metro boards & commissions? (Lou H & I)
• Don’t try to melt icicles on your house with a blow torch (C-J)

Transportation

• Thoughts on radar camera traffic enforcement (Bikeolounger)
• Bike lanes in Portugal offer poetry while you ride (TreeHugger)
• Parking meters in New York City to become bike racks (Inhabitat)
• Considering pollution generated by river traffic (WFPL)
• Battle brewing over parking in neighborhoods around Bellarmine (lou.com)
• Study says one hour of driving could reduce lifespan by 7.2 – 20 mins. (Transport-ist)
• Has automobile advertising gone too far? Require regulation? (GOOD)

Everything Else

• Louisville should have an event planned for Obscura Day on March 20 (Official)
• Another cool video of light art on buildings (this time interactive) (Archinect)
• On the hidden pitfalls of government transparency (Governing)
• Habitat for Humanity builds a LEED-Gold multifamily building in Brooklyn (NY Times)
• Slumburbia and the real estate collapse in the suburbs (NY Times)
• And more on the decline of the suburban dream (Fast Company)
• Bright green cities reduce carbon footprint & childhood obesity (Worldchanging, GOOD)
• Bill could require Kentucky to use more renewable resources (C-J)
• Kentucky state colleges balancing funds to build new or maintain existing buildings (CoHE)
• Video: interesting rap on utopian cities and a plan forward for archi-nerds (arbitare)
• Generation-Y more often choosing to rent instead of buy housing (Examiner via P-zen)
• Bankrupt national operator of local malls could be purchased for $10B (C-J, Fox 41)
• But turns down the hostile takeover bid (Biz First)
• But the deal could be ’sweetened’ as other bidders emerge (WSJ)
• Ten suggestions for improving neighborhood spirit (GOOD)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Barturtle and Michael for correctly identifying our last sidewalk photo as Shelby Street looking north towards Madison Street and the Phoenix Place apartments in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood.  Thanks to Diane Deaton-Street for venturing out into the snow to bring us our latest sidewalk photo ready to be identified in the comments.

Sorry for the short hiatus, content should be back to normal by Monday.  I couldn’t get all the news in this post, so there will be another soon.

Local News

• Editor of Architectural Record to talk at 21C Feb 17 (Facebook)
• 21st Century Parks to hold forum Feb 16 (Biz First)
• Downtown-centric mayoral debate to be held Feb 12 (Biz First)
• Local group wants 15,000 backyard gardens in next 5 years (Lou H & I)
• There’s a new book about Oldham County being released (Lou H & I)
• Butchertown’s Church now has its own web site (Official Site)
• Kentucky Theater Marketplace on Fourth Street back in the news (C-J)
• Derby Museum renovation moves along, renderings released (WFPL)
• Steamboat museum surpasses $1 million in fundraising (Lou H & I)
• The stopped Colgate Clock is right two times a day (C-J Letter)
• More info revealed about the new Italian restaurant in Nulu (Mojo)
• In wake of Shawnee wet-dry vote, another West End nabe could follow (Mojo)
• Home sales in Louisville ahead of national average (Fox 41)
• And a look at home sales numbers by neighborhood (Lou Homes)
• Not-so-great statistics on race and education in Louisville (Ville-Voice, Russell)
• Germantown now has a Facebook page (G-town S-burg)
• Vernon Lanes has been a Butchertown hangout for 130 years (Historic B-town)
• Historical marker to designate first mainland settlement in Lou (H & I)
• Scrub-a-dub-dog in Cherokee Triangle is ‘dog gone’ (Whitewashed)

Transportation

• How Louisville & the region stacks up in terms of biking and walking (CART)
• Bicycling for Louisville needs your help to move their HQ by bike (CART)
• Drivers can’t see bikes at night: Too little light or too much speed? (Bikeolounger)
• A cartoon about the relentlessly late TARC buses (louisville.com)
• Strategies for increasing transit ridership (Urbanophile)
• Snow causes drivers in Copenhagen to drive at safer speeds (Copenhagenize)
• Strange cars: a humvee turned into a horse drawn carriage (Inhabitat)
• Serious road rage in the UK as a teen tries to kill a cop cyclist (TreeHugger)
• Car sharing spikes 117% in North America between 2007-09 (GOOD)
• NRDC Study shows link between car ownership and foreclosure rates (Hard Drive)
• Proposed New York sidewalk shed canopies are all the rage (Art Daily via tipster)
• A satirical proposal for modifications to highway signage (How We Drive)
• Nice video on how transportation could change with High Speed Rail (Regional Plan)
• And another video showing High Speed Rail around the world (Infrastructurist)

Everything Else

• Cincy is getting excited about their own 21C (Urban Cincy)
• Kentucky studying locations for potential nuclear power plants (C-J)
• ‘Don’t you have a friend you could hook Kentucky up with?’ (McSweeney’s)
• Video: how augmented reality could allow you to see through walls (Boing Boing)
• Another video: how do earthquake shock dampeners work? (Boing Boing)
• Obama cuts historic preservation programs to save $200M (Unbeige)
• Photographer documents the way we use public spaces (Shareable via Twitter)
• New technology could make home energy management fun (mocoloco)
• Portland, Oregon planning 200-foot-tall green wall on Federal building (GOOD)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Congratulations to Dennis Langford, Michael, and Alexandra Crume for correctly identifying last Friday’s sidewalk photo as West Market Street between 25th and 26th Streets looking towards Downtown in the Russell neighborhood.  Here’s a new sidewalk photo ready for guesses in the comments.

Thanks again to our current site sponsor, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company.  Our supporters keep our servers powered and the site coming to you every day.  If you would like to learn about our affordable sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch.

Local News

• Frank Faris given extension to sell house before facing jail time (C-J, Wave 3)
• Check out some background info on the story from Broken Sidewalk
• Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot opening Bardstown Road location (lou.com, LHB)
• Cracker Barrel creating a chain vs local rift in downtown New Albany (NAC)
• More on New Albany’s Bicentennial public art campaign (N & T, NAC)
• Councilman wants to study merging suburban fire districts (Fox 41, WFPL, Mojo)
• Jeffersonville urban planning director, Jim Urban, resigns (C-J)
• Progress being made at the zoo’s polar bear exhibit (Fox 41)
• Sprawl watch: Jeffersonbille building low density patio homes (N & T)
• Derby City Espresso had a ’soft reopenning’ on Wednesday (LHB)
• Derby Museum to reopen in April after flood damage renovations (C-J)
• Mayoral debate on Downtown issues set for Wednesday, Feb. 16 (LDMD)
• Meeting to discuss Tyler Park improvements set for Sunday, Jan 31 (lou.com)

Transportation

• New TARC bus route to connect to Bullitt county (C-J)
• New Albany seeks grants to fix four dangerous intersections (N & T)
• Cars and bikes really can coexist on Louisville roads (Mojo)
• This is what you might call a luxury bicycle (Mojo)
• Do mandatory helmet laws keep people from riding bikes? (Hard Drive)
• More teens waiting longer to get their driver’s license (GOOD)
• Subway system maps of the world drawn at the same scale (Fake is new real)
• Japanese companies want in on High Speed Rail and a fancy national map (WSJ)
• Luxury garages: these people really care about their cars (If it’s hip)

Everything Else

• Useful public art: bridge helps pedestrians over sidewalk sludge (Wooster)
• The un-green downside of public parks revealed (NY Times)
• New wind turbine design more efficient, uses jet engine tech (TreeHugger)
• Uncle Pennybags heads to the city in new Monopoly edition (Unbeige)
• Coal producing states advised to switch to other industries (C-J)
• U of L to switch to unsorted recycling for ease of use (U of L)
• Even the White House hurt in recession, loses $15.5M in value (Luxist)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Here we are at another news roundup and another successfully identified sidewalk photo.  David Barhorst correctly identified our last sidewalk photo as Highland Avenue looking toward Barret Avenue.  Here’s a new photo ready for guesses in the comments.

Thanks again to our current site sponsor, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company.  Our supporters keep our servers powered and the site coming to you every day.  If you would like to learn about our affordable sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch.

Local News

• Metro Parks wants your opinion on park improvements (Common Ground)
• More on plans to bring a wine shop, restaurant to East Market Street (C-J)
• Walk outs at Homeless Shelter Task Force about inclusiveness (Wave 3, WFPL)
• Park DuValle could have new management co. under new deal (C-J, WFPL)
• Brownsboro Road Midlands project could get going again (C-J)
• Belknap Crossings brownfield site on Fourth Street to be cleaned up (C-J)
• Red Hot Roasters to open coffee shop at Spalding University (Consuming Lou, Mojo)
• Mrs. Potters Coffee on Main Street expanding operation (Louisville.com)
• Enviro group loses suit over Floyds Fork water quality plan (C-J)
• KY Green Bank issues first loan to School for Blind (WFPL, Biz First)
• U of L joins national rating system to monitor sustainability (U of L)
• Home Grown takes a look at The Green Building’s green wall (WFPL)
• J-town selects new logo, name for industrial park (C-J, WFPL, V-V, Biz First)
• Potstickers restaurant closes after three months (Mojo)
• Local commercial real estate activity looking up in 2010 (Commercial Lou)
• As requested: Added modern photo to the Bardstown Rd. montage (Broken Sidewalk)

Events

• Last chance to see Irish Hill’s Mediative Urbanisms display Feb. 5 (IHNA)
• Community Leadership Forum series begins on Jan. 25 (NDHC)
• Preservation Lou to hold tax credit workshop tomorrow (Saturday) (Biz First)
• Meeting planned to garner ideas for Bardstown Road Showcase Cinemas (Mojo, H & I)
• Metro Parks to hold public meeting about Tyler Park master plan (Metro Lou)

Transportation

• Oprah takes crusade against distracted driving mainstream (Fast Lane, T4America)
• Average American transit rider saves $9,240 a year (TreeHugger)
• National bike event coming to Louisville this year (F Gas)
• Even bike cops are subject to harassment (Commute Orlando via Twitter)
• Video shows how common Idaho Stop is for cars as well as bikes (Chi Bike)
• Nobel laureate says idea of car ownership as progress is ’silly’ (TreeHugger)
• Unusual ‘diverging diamond’ interchange coming to So. Indiana (C-J)
• Most people don’t know much about the national gas tax (Infrastructurist)

Everything Else

• Hidden costs of sprawl lead to ugly architecture (Original Green via P-zen)
• Interesting photos of suburban geometry from the air (Metropolis Mag)
• Study: sitting bad for your health, could be deadly (Boston.com)
• Video: Ten things you’ll never hear an architect say (Architechnophilia)
• Native landscaping can save quite a bit of money (Switchboard)
• California adopts first state-wide green building code (Inhabitat)
• London grocery markets itself as packaging-free (GOOD)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Welcome to the first news roundup of 2010 that was supposed to be the last of 2009.  A little behind schedule on the news.  As usual, the last sidewalk photo of 2009 was correctly identified as Goss Avenue from McHenry toward the railroad tracks.  Congratulations Talkfan, Ken Wilson, Bainter Jr., Jeff, and Michael.  Here’s a new photo ready for guesses in the comments.

As the first roundup of 2010, I would like to thank our newest site sponsor, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company.  Your support is certainly appreciated.  I would also like to encourage all Broken Sidewalk readers to keep sending in tips on what’s going on around town.  A lot of the content of the site is generated from tipsters and helps to keep the site fresh and interesting.  You can send tips to tips@brokensidewalk.com or anonymously through the red link up top.  As always, tipsters are confidential.

I apologize for the slow dead tempo this last week, but I have so far been hit with an extremely busy schedule in 2010 and have also been under the weather.  It looks like things are easing up some, so expect more content coming right up.

Local News

• Coalition for Homeless joins lawsuit against city over Wayside (C-J, Wave 3, Fox 41)
• And Wayside says they are ’staying put’ at Broadway hotel site (Wave 3)
• Meanwhile, Homeless Task Force continues its discussion today (Friday) (WFPL)
• Louisville’s Boxelder area gets Neighborhood Stabilization Grants (C-J)
• 21c named among top hotels of decade by Times Magazine (T Magazine)
• 4th Street Live restaurant Rocky Rococo closes (Biz First)
• Louisville home sales up sharply in 2009 from 2008 (C-J)
• Looks like Louisville is getting the ‘World’s 2nd Most Awesome Art Market’ (Official Site)
• Louisville’s last drive-in theater for sale, future uncertain (C-J)
• Sprawl watch: another subdivision in Indian Hills opposed (C-J)
• Playground replaces skateboard ramp at Breslin Park (Common Ground)

Southern Indiana

• New Albany bar burns, building ‘totaled’ (NA Confidential, N & T, C-J)
• New restaurant opens in New Albany serving pies and paninis (NA Confidential)
• New Albany celebrating new year with public art project (WFPL)
• Troubled New Albany neighborhood gets $6.75M for redevelopment (N & T, C-J)
• Indiana cities lose revenue to rural counties just like KY (Indy Star via Twitter)
• 225 year-old Clark Mill found with ground-penetrating radar (C-J, Fox 41)

People

• Tom Owen elected Metro Council President (C-J, WFPL, Mojo, Ville-Voice)
• Meet Jon Salomon, lawyer at the center of Butchertown’s clean air battle (C-J)
• Meet David Bibelhauser, sculptor of the ‘loopy’ bike racks across Louisville (C-J)
• Craig Buthod, library director, named nation’s best (Metro Lou, WFPL, Mojo, C-J)
• Jim Host reappointed captain of S.S. Arena Authority (C-J)
• And he’s going to be honored by Business First affiliate company (Biz First)

Transportation

• Check out this amazing automated, underground bike storage (Copenhagenize)
• National campaign launched to fight distracted driving (P-G, NY Times)
• And ‘distracted driving’ declared the word of 2009 (How We Drive)
• Just as car companies add features to make you more distracted (C-J, LA Times)
• Would you ride your bike above the street on a wire? (Arch Daily)
• Are cars and bikes on the same roads really the ‘unsolvable problem?’ (Mojo)
• Speed Museum, Lou Film Society making film about mobility in Lou (CART)
• Another Car Free Happy Hour success, event growing (Bikeolounger, lou.com)
• China’s new High Speed Rail system averages 217 MPH (Inhabitat)
• Amtrak gets in some guerrilla advertising at the airport (TreeHugger)
• Celebrating 20 years of the Simpsons through funny traffic scenes (Hard Drive)
• Southern Indiana airport could improve Louisville’s air transport (Fox 41)

Environment & Sustainability

• It turns out Bullitt County’s toxic Valley of the Drums is still toxic (Unusual KY)
• Proposed stricter EPA smog rules could save money, improve health (Grist, Biz First)
• And Louisville and others would be in violation of air quality (C-J, NY Times)
• EPA still says VMT must be reduced to improve air quality (StreetsBlog DC)
• MSD undertaking creek restoration project in Cherokee Park (C-J)
• More on Duke’s Gallagher power plant settlement (TreeHugger, C-J, C-J Opinion)
• Duke considers a gas conversion, but new enviro-risks emerge (C-J)
• Proposed giant ash pond upstream from Lou draws criticism (C-J)
• Parking lot & driveway sealant raises cancer, health concerns (MSNBC via Twitter)
• New trees planted on Lou’s Olmsted parkways (Common Ground, C-J)

Everything Else

• A roundup of some of 2009’s top Smart Growth stories (Switchboard)
• And another list of ten ways cities can ‘grow smarter’ (Fast Company)
• Quality suffers when small butchers are replaced by big industry (Butchertown)
• And JBS Swift faces a national lawsuit over unpaid wages (Ville-Voice)
• Should new homes be required to install sprinklers? (Wave 3)
• Report says road building doesn’t help unemployment (NPR, Rebuild Place, SGA)
• And generates backlash from industry groups (Infrastructurist)
• American industry needs an advocate, must thrive (New Geography)
• Considering the future of oil in the new decade (Atlantic)
• Attractiveness matters more in the city (Yahoo via Twitter)
• Penguin statues from Puma’s NYC store are a lot like 21C (NotCot)
• Winningest jockey gets more than roses, try a cool $18.5 Mil (Luxist)
• Are vast Walmart parking lots America’s ‘war zones?’ (Huff Po)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here and here.

Photo by Diane Deaton-Street

Many good guesses for last sidewalk photo, and Jim Patterson was correct in identifying the historic view at Cherokee Road looking north from the top terrace of the Parkview Apartments.  The trolley in the background is at the intersection of Cherokee and Longest Avenue.  As a special bonus, after the click I have included the postcard view and a modern view of the same scene from sidewalk level.  Above is a new sidewalk ready for identification.

Local News

• Gigantic coal ash pond near Louisville approved (Page One, Biz First)
• More commentary about our recent Best Landmark of 2009 contest (V-T)
• Which Metro Council members have a record for playing hookey? (V-T)
• New trees to be planted on Lou’s Olmsted Parkways (Fox 41, Biz First, WFPL)
• Arcadia Apartments to be renovated with historic tax credits (C-J)
• Mayor Abramson talks about the need to support libraries (C-J)
• Wayside’s white cross on Broadway and other updates (C-J)
• More on City Properties plans for the Glassworks district (C-J)
• Home sales up ’sharply’ in Louisville (Biz First, Fox 41)
• Yet new construction home sales fell 11% in November (Biz First)
• Jeffersonville ponders 1st Amendment issues of adverti-benches (N & T)
• A photo tour of Sheppard Square before it’s torn down (a pretty pickle)
• Duke to pay over $80M to improve local power plant (C-J, Biz First, Fox 41)
• Arena Authority wants to install some fancy artwork at the new facility (WFPL)
• Upcoming presentation to discuss blogging, journalism, & 1st Amendment (NAC)

Transportation

• MIT students create a really cool bike wheel (Inhabitat, F Gas)
• Know these common bike crashes & how to avoid them (I Bike PHL)
• Looks like the Lit Up Bike Ride was a great success (CART)
• Considering bikability in West Louisville (CART)
• New cyclocross track at Eva Bandman Park update (F Gas)
• Considering the future of Amtrak in Louisville (CART)
• Americans are still driving less through economy (Yglesias)
• Parking requirements in TOD’s way more than needed (Recon. Am. via P-zen)
• Investing in public transit creates 2x the jobs of roads (Smart Growth Am)
• More on historic commuter rail in New Albany & beyond (NAC)
• Gov. Beshear talks about banning texting while driving (Mojo)
• Toronto launches competition to rethink controversial elevated highway (The Dirt)

Everything Else

• Tips for creating a sustainable residential landscape plan (The Dirt)
• Interest in urban housing up according to AIA survey (Housing Zone via Twitter)
• Times Square: City life abounds after blizzard in the northeast (Chasing Light)
• What land uses are most opposed by Americans this year? (Saint Consulting)
• Using alternative materials like soy flour to build affordably in Syracuse (NYT)
• And a few flickr photos of the day here and here and here.

Click through for a modern view of the last sidewalk postcard.