Tag: Video

Money in Politics

Irony alert: Railing against debt, Sen. Paul’s defunct White House campaign owes $300K to dozens of businesses

Rand Paul for President reported $301,108 in debts and $2,558 in cash on hand as of June 30 in its most recent filing to the Federal Election Commission, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Paul and Gray
Paul and Gray.

After quitting the White House race in February, the first-term Republican senator returned to Kentucky, where he’s raised $3.1 million in a separate re-election campaign to beat Democratic challenger Jim Gray, the mayor of Lexington.

Campaign spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper told the Lexington newspaper that everyone will be paid in full, but declined to give a timetable. “Closing down campaigns takes time, as evidenced by other presidential campaigns that are at similar stages of doing so,” Cooper said.

In its story, the newspaper noted that Paul, 53, called debt  “the greatest threat to our national security” during one of the Republican White House debates. And on his Senate campaign website, Paul says: “When I talk with people across Kentucky and the United States, the most common top concern for our country is our ballooning federal debt.”

Here’s video of the debate:

Related: Paul’s stock portfolio jumped double-digits last year. (Also: he likes silver coins.)

Latest Headlines

UPS hits Q2 forecasts; Papa John’s hikes dividend 14%; it’s National Chicken Wing Day at KFC; and Franklin Circuit judge blocks new UofL board, casting school into more turmoil

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 4:56 p.m.

UPS just reported second-quarter results that were in line with Wall Street’s forecasts. The shipper — Louisville’s single-biggest private employer — reported net income of $1.27 billion, or $1.43 a share, up from $1.23 billion, or $1.35 a share, in the year-earlier period. The FactSet consensus of analysts was for earnings per share of $1.43.

Revenue was $14.6 billion, up from $14.1 billion in the year-earlier period and in line with the FactSet consensus of $14.6 billion. The shipper reiterated its full year EPS guidance of $5.70 to $5.90, compared to the FactSet consensus of $5.80 (MarketWatch and press release). UPS shares closed at $108.10, down 63 cents. The company employs 22,000 workers at the Worldport hub at Louisville International Airport — the biggest fully automated package handling facility in the world.

John Schnatter
Schnatter

PAPA JOHN’S late yesterday boosted its quarterly dividend by a whopping 14%. The new 20-cents-a-share payout, up from 17.5 cents a share, will be paid Aug. 19 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 8 (press release). The pizza giant’s shares closed today at $73.95, up 30 cents. On an annual basis, the 10 cents-per-share hike is worth another $1,045,598 to founder and CEO John Schnatter. His 10,455,981 shares — the most owned by anyone — are now worth $770 million. Shareholders proxy report lists all major holders.

KFC: In the U.K. and Ireland only today, fast-chicken giant KFC today will give away a year’s supply of hot chicken wings to one very lucky winner and their best mate in a promotion celebrating National Chicken Wing Day. “All you need to do is follow KFC on Twitter and then tell them why your best mate is, well, the best, using the hashtag ” (Metro). But don’t hesitate: You must enter by midnight tonight U.K. time, which is six hours ahead of Eastern Time.

TACO BELL: The world’s media outlets are now devoting wall-to-wall news coverage to Taco Bell’s new Cheetos-stuffed burritos debuting in the middle of August in Cincinnati. Behold the $1 sandwich in all its orange glory:

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AMAZON spent $3.9 billion in the second quarter on its distribution network, Continue reading “UPS hits Q2 forecasts; Papa John’s hikes dividend 14%; it’s National Chicken Wing Day at KFC; and Franklin Circuit judge blocks new UofL board, casting school into more turmoil” →

Wish List

The only $345 men’s swim shorts you’ll need this summer at Lakeside Swim Club. (Unless you want to spend $595)

Boulevard is always on the prowl for cool, locally available products that set Louisville apart. But every now and then, we run across an item so achingly beautiful, we break my solo-local rule. For the first time, here’s one:

British clothing company Orlebar Brown’s signature Bulldog mid-length swim shorts. They’re the latest in a collection based on society photographer Slim Aarons‘ pool photos taken in the 1960s and ’70s in Palm Beach, the Riviera, and other resorts made famous by that era’s jet-setters. (Keep reading for more about Aarons.) This pair is from a 1975 photo of the Princess Hotel in Acapulco. It’s $345, not including sales tax.

Each pair is individual, and expertly mapped to work 360° around in extraordinary detail, as you can see in this side view:

Bulldog 2 side

Although I like this model best, there are plenty more to choose from.

About the designer
Adam Brown
Brown

Photographer Adam Brown launched Orlebar in London in 2007. It got a big publicity boost in 2012, when producers of that year’s James Bond film Skyfall confirmed star Daniel Craig was wearing Orlebar poolside. You can’t buy any of the company’s clothes locally, unfortunately; the closest retailer is in Birmingham, Ala. (Weird, yes.) Of course, you can mail-order direct from the company.

But here’s what’s truly handy: the lovely Lakeside Swim Club in the Highlands’ Belknap neighborhood. It’s open to members and their guests all summer until 9 p.m.; opening times vary. Operating hours.

Lakeside opened in 1924 at the site of a former rock quarry, according to Wikipedia. It’s known for its steep, 40-foot rock walls and huge quarry “lake” — actually, a 3.2 million gallon swimming pool, with a flat concrete bottom and depths ranging from 3-20 feet:

Lakeside
Looking northwest across Lakeside’s main pool.
About Aarons
Poolside
$59 at Amazon.

He published his photographs in Town & Country and other society shiny sheets, as well as a series of books. He died in 2006 at 89, following a career made out of what he called “photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.”

Now, if you think your pool photos are even better than Aarons’, Orlebar let’s you design your own suit based on a photo you supply via the company’s #snapshorts app from the Apple and Google Play app stores. But it’ll cost you $595!

Catch 007 wearing Orlebar:

Jobs

$35,000 to $65,000 to be a baby momma from Louisville. (But you can’t have any recent tattoos. No ecstasy use. And start counting your sex partners!)

time-clockBoulevard reports extensively on executive pay at big local employers. But we also look at what folks make down in the trenches — or in the maternity ward. Here’s a help-wanted ad from our favorite Louisville Craigslist section: et cetera.

The job: surrogate mother.

The duties: First and foremost, you gotta get pregnant (duh) through in-vitro fertilization with donated sperm, according to your prospective employer, Family Creations Inc., a fertility clinic in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles. You’ll also have to relocate to one of six states, presumably because there are fewer legal issues there: California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Oregon or Texas.

You’ve also got to be OK with carrying twins, “as multiples are very common with this process,” the company says, adding: “Because of the high percentage of multiple pregnancies, surrogates must also be willing to undergo selective reduction.”

Other basic qualifications require you be 21 to 44 years old; have a BMI under 35; not smoke or use drugs; have had at least one easy pregnancy with no complications, and you can’t be getting any kind of government assistance.

Questions to expect on the application form include:

  • Have you ever used a mind-altering drug such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, LSD or methamphetamines?
  • How many sex partners have you had in your lifetime? How about in the last 12 months? The past 30 days?
  • Have you or your partner tested positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis in the past 12 months?
  • Have you ever been arrested, received a DWI, or been convicted of a felony?
  • Have you received a tattoo or a piercing in the past 12 months?
There’s an informative video!

What it pays: $35,000 to $65,000, the highest compensation in the industry, according to the company. The payment will be made in 10 increments of $3,500 to $6,500. After giving birth, the surrogate will get a lump sum of the balance.

That sounds like a lot until you consider Continue reading “$35,000 to $65,000 to be a baby momma from Louisville. (But you can’t have any recent tattoos. No ecstasy use. And start counting your sex partners!)” →

Cops and Courts

With Georgia cops pursuing armed robber, Taco Bell employee shouts: ‘He’s inside, he’s right there!’

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

Crime scene tapeIn Athens, Ga., a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery of a Taco Bell early Sunday morning. The man, Dontavious McCullough, entered through a side door before the restaurant had opened, surprising an employee who was on the phone with a friend, whom the employee told to call 911, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

When officers arrived, the employee ran out the front door yelling, “he’s inside, he’s right there!” McCullough then ran out a side door, authorities told the newspaper. An officer chased and tackled him.

While retracing the path McCullough took while fleeing, police found a ski mask hed discarded, according to the newspaper. They also recovered a 9mm pistol the suspect had hidden in the breaker panel at Taco Bell, according to police.

In San Antonio, it was another viral video about a fight at a fast-food restaurant.

The video shows a man in a Taco Bell drive-through recording the parking lot brawl between two girls screaming and swinging at each other, as he calmly orders three chicken soft tacos, a large diet coke and a chicken quesadilla, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The man continues with his order as firefighters walk into the frame, the paper says, seemingly unconcerned with stopping the fight.

The video, originally posted to WorldStarHipHop.com, has been viewed nearly 1 million times, and has been shared more than 14,000 times since it was uploaded Monday. It contains language that might not be appropriate at work.

The San Antonio video comes less than a week after one filmed in a KFC in Russia, where one man cold-cocked another diner unconscious in an incident one witness called “the hardest punch I’ve ever seen.”

Pizza Hut

In San Diego last night, a man armed with a semi-automatic handgun Continue reading “With Georgia cops pursuing armed robber, Taco Bell employee shouts: ‘He’s inside, he’s right there!’” →

The A-list

21c co-founder Steve Wilson has a ‘death clock,’ a private jet, and other things we learned from that amazing Louisville Magazine profile

Associate Editor Arielle Christian wrote the 14-pager in the July issue, and it’s still brilliant.

Louisville magazine
Ali tribute cover.

He has a “death clock.” It’s Austrian artist Werner Reiterer‘s “My Predicted Timeline. “The piece looks like a large alarm clock — a black bulky box with LED-red digital numbers — but instead of time to wake up, it’s time never to wake up again.” Reiterer based Wilson’s predicted time of death on an actuary test. (Wilson’s 68.) If the clock is right, on May 27, Wilson had 11 years, eight months, 18 days, zero hours, 52 minutes and 34 seconds left.

He has a tattoo on the middle of his forearm. It’s a green four-leaf clover outlined in black.

Steve Wilson Laura Lee Brown
Wilson and Lee

The 21c Museum Hotel chain he founded with his wife Laura Lee Brown, the Brown-Forman heiress, has 1,000 employees, and more than 60,000 square feet of exhibition space. “I never expected it to be such a big enterprise, to have people identify with it so strongly,” he says. The first week the giant “David” statue was installed outside the flagship hotel on West Main Street, “an incensed woman wrote a letter saying she’d never be able to bring her 12-year-old daughter downtown again.” There are three more 21cs in the works, in Kansas City, Nashville, and Indianapolis. Other possible locations include New York City, New Orleans and Cuba.

At the 2014 Art Basel fair in Miami, Wilson bought $117,000 worth of art in less than 40 minutes.

Growing up on his father’s Wickliffe farm, he was allergic to everything: hay, corn dust, animal dandruff. He would not be a farmer, disappointing his father, a man who came from a family of them. “Even though he’s dead now,” Wilson says, “I’m still trying to prove to him that I’m good enough. I don’t think that will ever change.”

Wilson's red framesHe bought his famous red eyeglass frames on a whim in Paris. But he doesn’t see well enough to read much because he has Fuchs’ dystrophy, which is partly why he has a driver to get around, and needs someone to read restaurant menus to him.

21c has its own jet, a Cessna Citation II, and it’s Continue reading “21c co-founder Steve Wilson has a ‘death clock,’ a private jet, and other things we learned from that amazing Louisville Magazine profile” →