Month: June 2016

A dangerous mix: brandy ‘shooters,’ two boyfriends, and one angry woman

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants.*

KFC

Crime scene tapeIn Athens, Ga., 30-year-old Tina Gail Anderson was arrested after she showed up drunk with her current boyfriend at her former boyfriend’s KFC workplace,
called for him to come outside, and then drove recklessly in the restaurant’s parking lot.

When police arrived, they saw Anderson driving over a curb and into the parking lot of Ingles next door, according to a police report cited by the Athens Banner-Herald.

After Anderson was stopped, police said they found empty “shooter” bottles of brandy in her car, along with an open pint bottle of the liquor, the newspaper said.

Taco Bell

In upstate New York’s Genesco, two men who already had a string of misdemeanors were charged by police with three more on Saturday, after they allegedly crashed their U-Haul truck into a Taco Bell restaurant awning, then drove off after causing minor damage.

One of the men, Ricky Jackson, 49, had 15 suspensions on his expired permit, plus an active bench warrant for misdemeanor petit larceny, according to WHEC. After driving off, Jackson then returned to the scene and allegedly told a cop he watched police investigate from afar (which seems weird, right?).

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants in five countries. With that many locations, crimes inevitably will occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Kentucky Opera names Dallas’ Derrer as new general director, in 2nd recent hire among big local cultural groups

Madame Butterly
The 2016-17 season starts with the classic Madame Butterly.

Ian Derrer, artistic administrator at Dallas Opera for the past two years, started his career at New York City Opera in 2004, after receiving his masters degrees in opera production, voice and performing arts management from Northwestern University and Brooklyn College, and a bachelor’s of music in voice performance from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.

Kentucky Opera announced his appointment yesterday, effective Sept. 1. Derrer, 41, will oversee a 64-year-old organization with a $2.4 million budget. He succeeds David Roth, who died unexpectedly last July.

Ian Derrer
Derrer

In 2006, Derrer moved to Chicago’s Lyric Opera, starting as rehearsal administrator and moving up to production director and head of the rehearsal department. In all, Derrer spent eight seasons there, with one summer as rehearsal director at Santa Fe Opera.

As artistic administrator at Dallas, Derrer oversees budgets for the orchestra, chorus, and principal artists as well as members of the artistic staff, orchestra librarian, orchestra manager, chorus secretary, and scheduling department. The company was founded in 1957, five years after Louisville’s. Its budget is considerably larger, however: $14.2 million for the year ended in June 2014, according to its most recent annual IRS tax return.

Dallas Opera CEO Keith Cerny praised Derrer’s work, telling The Courier-Journal that he “guided important artistic and patron relationships, in addition to serving as advisor to both the music director and me.”

Louisville’s 2016-17 season of three productions starts Sept. 23 at the Brown Theatre with Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Dallas Opera’s upcoming five-production season also includes Butterfly.

Shifting artistic leadership

Derrer’s is at least the second appointment this year Continue reading “Kentucky Opera names Dallas’ Derrer as new general director, in 2nd recent hire among big local cultural groups”

Count ’em! 312 days, 9 hours, and 49 minutes…

. . . until the 143rd Kentucky Derby, of course! That’s according to our exclusive 2017 Derby Countdown Clock™. Until then, let’s swoon over singer Ray J. and fashion designer Princess Love from their appearance at this year’s first Saturday in May.
Embed from Getty Images

Ford debuts 2017 GT ‘Heritage’ echoing 1966 Le Mans winner

Ford GT 66 Heritage
A limited number of GTs with the special livery will be available this year alone.

The all-new 2017 Ford GT will be available in a limited-edition Heritage theme commemorating the GT40 Mark II driven to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon at the French Le Mans race 50 years ago, the automaker said today. The car has a shadow black exterior in either gloss or matte finish with silver stripes and exposed carbon fiber package.

Limited quantities will be available for the 2017 model year only, the company said. It didn’t disclose its suggested retail price, however

Here’s a list of Ford dealers in Louisville.

New Ky. campaign finance data show Clinton’s raised 16 times what Trump’s received

Although Donald Trump has a virtual lock on the GOP nomination for president, he’s at the back of the pack in campaign contributions from Kentuckians.

Trump and Clinton
Trump and Clinton.

Newly released Federal Election Commission figures through May 31 show the New York billionaire has taken in just $43,861 in the 2015-2016 campaign cycle. The Democrats’ likely nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has raked in 16 times as much: $709,377.

Viewed another way, of the 10 White House candidates who’ve raised the most money in the commonwealth, Trump has only received 3% of the GOP donations from Kentuckians. Clinton has gotten considerably more: 54% of Democrats’ total contributions:

Final campaign finance graphic

Still, the Republican Party of Kentucky — led by Brown-Forman executive J. MacCauley Brown — says it isn’t worried about Trump’s weak fundraising. Spokesman Tres Watson told WFPL: “The RPK and Republican National Committee continue to raise significant funds and will have more than enough financial resources to win races up and down the ballot this fall.”

Nationwide, Clinton also has a huge fundraising advantage. She’s received $229.3 million vs. $63.1 million for Trump. That’s burdened him with the worst financial and organizational disadvantage of any major party nominee in recent history, according to The New York Times.

Trump began June with just $1.3 million in cash in the bank vs. more than $42 million for Clinton.

Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican now defending Continue reading “New Ky. campaign finance data show Clinton’s raised 16 times what Trump’s received”