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The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page B2
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The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page B2

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Louisville, Kentucky
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Page:
B2
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Time: 01-16-2007 22:40 User: mjohnson PubDate: 01-17-2007 Zone: KY Edition: 1 Page Name: B2 Color: Bftapbnta B2 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2007 THE COURIER-JOURNAL METRO Goldman Sachs picked as bond underwriter for arena bond issue in September. The arena is envisioned as a site for college sports championships, concerts, ice shows and other events. Construction is expected to start next year and be finished in 2010. The authority will hold its next meeting, which is open to the public, at 9 a.m. Monday at the Kentucky International Convention Center in rooms 101-104.

The savings would stem, in part, from lower-than-expected interest rates on bonds that will be issued later this year to pay for the $252 million arena, part of a $450 million complex near Second and Main streets. Institutional investors and others would buy the bonds. Goldman Sachs estimates that $339 million in bonds would be sold, with a total debt of $573 million over 30 years. That's down from earlier estimates of $689 million. The Louisville Arena Authority selected Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs executives in Louisville yesterday said the firm has worked on several high-profile financing projects, including the New York Yankees' new stadium; the refinancing of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, home of the National Football League's New England Patriots; and financing for the Indianapolis Colts' new stadium.

Arena authority officials expect to sign an agreement with Goldman Sachs within the next two months that would lock in interest rates in advance of the Financing could save $116 million By Marcus Green The Courier-Journal New York brokerage firm Goldman Sachs, which proposed an arena financing plan that could save $116 million over three decades, was chosen yesterday as the bond underwriter for Louisville's downtown arena project. at a special meeting. Recently elected Metro Council President Rick Black-well, attending his first meeting as a nonvoting authority member, said he was pleased with the Goldman Sachs proposal. "Looks to me like a great deal," said Blackwell, D-12th. Blackwell and other council members negotiated a deal last year that reduced Louisville's financial stake in the arena, which will have the University of Louisville basketball teams as its main tenants.

The city will contribute $6.5 million to $7.2 million annually over 30 years. If the arena authority fails to meet its revenue projections, the city's payment will rise possibly to as high as $10.8 million a year. Jim Host, the arena authority's chairman, said he hopes that the savings anticipated with Goldman Sachs as the bond underwriter means the city won't need to pay more than its minimum commitment. "So this is a very important day for you and for the council," Host told Blackwell at yesterday's meeting. Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675.

Baby pygmy hippo is new arrival at Louisville Zoo female, Kibibi, was born in May 2005 and now is sharing a stall and indoor pool with her father, zoo officials reported. Tracy and the baby will remain off exhibit for some time, partly because of the cold weather. Officials said the public probably will be able to view the baby early this spring. Zoo officials said they will periodically post pictures of the baby on the zoo Web site, Pygmy hippos tend to be shy and solitary creatures. Mature animals weigh 400 to 600 pounds and grow to about 5 feet long and 40 inches high.

They best adapt to a dense forest environment. Pygmy hippos are considered threatened and are found in the African countries of Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089. By Sheldon S.

Shafer The Courier-Journal The birth of a healthy, 9-pound female hippopotamus was reported yesterday by Louisville Zoo officials. Consistent with their policy of not announcing births until they are sure of the newborn's health, zoo officials said the hippo was born between 6 p.m. Dec. 25 and 8 a.m. Dec.

26. Pygmy hippo births in captivity are rare. There are only 50 of the animals at 22 locations in North America, zoo officials said. The gestation period is 184 to 204 days. The mother, Tracy, is being attentive to the calf and is nursing the infant, zoo officials said.

The baby is gaining about a pound a day. This is the second offspring for Tracy and her mate, Maji Kitoto. A Ind. parole board rejects clemency for man convicted of killing trooper to work the day he was killed. Earlier, two brothers of Timberlake, 59, told the panel their older brother had been mentally unstable since he was a child.

Norman Timberlake's lawyers have argued he should not die because he is insane. By Rick Callahan Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana Parole Board recommended yesterday that Gov. Mitch Daniels deny clemency to a New Albany man scheduled to be executed this week for the 1993 shooting death of an Indiana state trooper. The unanimous recommendation came after the son and daughter of Master Trooper Michael E. Greene tearfully asked the board to reject the request from Norman Timberlake, whose execution is set for Friday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.

Michael C. Greene recalled how his father had made him breakfast, gave him his last $5 bill from his wallet and then told him he loved him before heading off DOGS I Mayor hears from unhappy owners about new law Samira JafariAssociated Press Melissa Lee, widow of miner Jimmy Lee, said mine safety legislation might avert some tragedies. Bill aims to improve Kentucky mine safety Associated Press James and Barbara Russell, however, came to thank Abramson for signing the ordinance. The Russells, who live near the Bullitt County line, told him they have a neighbor with a St. Bernard that barks incessantly.

James Russell blamed the dog for his wife's heart attack and other problems. "All I really want is a peace and quiet I'm entitled to," he said. Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702. Continued from Bl provision requiring that all impounded dogs be spayed or neutered. He said he expects other amendments to follow.

Abramson reiterated his comments in recent weeks that the law would be enforced using common sense. But Pam Sweiss, who raises American Staffordshire terriers, a type of dog commonly referred to as a pit bull, wasn't pleased. She said the law should be changed rather than ignored by enforcement officers. "I've always been legal," Sweiss said. "I don't want to be a little bit illegal." The ordinance gives animal control officers additional investigative powers and increases licensing fees for dogs.

It also limits the number of dogs people can keep outdoors on lots of less than two acres, and sets higher licensing fees for dogs and cats that have not been spayed or neutered. In the nearly 100 pages of the ordinance, there are dozens of new provisions that didn't appear in the old animal law. Melody Smith complained that she has four mixed-breed dogs and that she would be required to decide which one to get rid of, since her property is just shy of one-half acre. The law limits has a limit of three outdoor dogs on lots that size. "I can't see how my having four dogs gets at the problem they were trying to address," Smith said.

HAZARD, Ky. State Democratic lawmakers yesterday joined mining widows, safety advocates and union officials in Eastern Kentucky's coalfields to support new mine safety legislation. "We've got to make sure miners are safe in Kentucky's mines," House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, would increase the number of mine inspections, require all miners to carry a methane detector and beef up on-site emergency personnel.

Melissa Lee, whose husband, Jimmy Lee, was one of five miners killed May 20 in the Kentucky Darby Mine explosion in Harlan County, said the proposed legislation would prevent similar disasters. The miners died after two of the men accidentally ignited a methane leak by using a torch to do maintenance work, a state investigation found. METRO BRIEFS HOME Foes say exemption doesn't apply Forum on proposed UK tuition increase is poorly attended lieves the boys who would live there should live in a more structured setting, such as a foster home with parents. She also said boys in the group home might feel out of place in the "wealthy" neighborhood. "I think it leads to more resentment about their situation," she said.

Graves said Brooklawn would prefer to place children in foster and adoptive homes, but an acute shortage of such placements has forced Brooklawn to try to find other solutions for teens who have completed its program but have no home to return to. "Everyone here at Brooklawn would wholeheartedly agree that foster and adoptive homes are preferable, but they are not forthcoming," he said. Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228. Continued from Bl and neglect, David Graves, Brooklawn's president, has said. Brooklawn staff would supervise the youths.

Plotnik declined to identify the residents he represents but said they are ready to challenge the home in court. He said he will first ask local zoning officials to reconsider their stance that the home, zoned for residential use, doesn't require a zoning change or permit to operate. Donovan Fornwalt, director of government affairs for the Council on Mental Retardation in Louisville, doubts opponents will prevail on the zoning issue. Federal and state law support the provision that allows people with emotional or physical disabilities to live in settings such as group homes without zoning changes, he said. Fornwalt said he hopes Brooklawn and residents can work out an agreement without a court fight.

"Ultimately, we want the neighborhood to be at peace with this decision," he In a related development, opponents have dropped plans for a protest rally at Brooklawn Jan. 27. Graves said he is relieved. He said Brooklawn hadn't planned to allow any protesters onto its property on Goldsmith Lane. Neighborhood resident Robin Burnham said she helped prepare the flier calling for the protest and saying the home would bring "an alien element" into the neighborhood.

She said opponents are considering a protest rally at another location but haven't finalized plans. Burnham said she opposes the group home because she be 1-year-old found dead identified as Jamea Cole A 1-year-old boy who died after being found Monday night facedown in the bathtub of a house in the Hallmark neighborhood has been identified as Jamea Cole, Deputy Coroner Eddie Robinson said yesterday. Robinson said it appears the boy drowned after he was left for a brief time in the tub with an older sibling, but an investigation will continue. Emergency workers were called to the house in the 1900 block of South 28th Street about 915 p.m. Man indicted in slaying of 2 at Okolona apartment complex A Louisville man has been indicted in two slayings last week in Okolona.

Antonio-Marco Solis-Lopez, 30, of Louisville, is charged with murder in the deaths of two men and one count of first-degree assault in the wounding of a third on Jan. 12, said Officer Dwight Mitchell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman. Isaias Perez Gallegos, 50, was shot to death, and Isaac Vidaurri Perez, 28, was beaten to death. Their bodies were found at the Jefferson Square Apartments at 5405 Outer Loop, which is Solis-Lopez's address, Mitchell said. The third man was found wounded, shot in the head.

He has not been identified. Anyone with information about Solis-Lopez's whereabouts is asked to call the anonymous crime tip line at 574-LMPD. Next of kin sought for Sharon Mishler The Jefferson County coroner's office is seeking the next of kin for Sharon Mishler, 61, of 12517 Old Dixie Highway Lot 13. She died Jan. 12 at her home of natural causes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the coroner's office at 574-6262. N0RTHUP Plans to announce for governor By Nancy C. Rodriguez The Courier-Journal LEXINGTON, Ky. A public forum on possible tuition increases at the University of Kentucky drew few students and even fewer questions yesterday. The university is considering raising tuition by 9 percent next year.

That would raise what incoming freshmen and sophomores pay each semester by $293, to $3,548. The total annual costs for tuition, housing, dining and mandatory fees would climb by $835, to $12,835, for 2007-08. Juniors and seniors also would see a 9 percent increase $302 more in tuition and fees and graduate stu-ON TH WEB dents would see a $317 increase. Read more The board of trustees is about the pro- scheduled to vote on the in-posed tuition crease Tuesday, increase and University officials say an in- share your crease would help UK hire thoughts at more faculty and pay them www.couier- more competitive salaries. journal.com During the forum, a student localnews asked how the increase would improve conditions for undergraduates, noting specifically the need for classroom upgrades and lower professor-to-student ratios.

University officials say they hope that hiring additional faculty will decrease professor-student ratios from 18 to 1 to 16 to 1, but it might take a few years to do that. They also said fewer cuts to education in the last state budget will let the university make more improvements on campus, noting $6 million in classroom and other improvements already under way. Reporter Nancy Rodriguez can be reached at (502) 582-7079. Continued from El "All we have to do is have the resources to get our message out, which I'm confident we will do, and to talk about Governor Fletcher's record of accomplishment," Ryall said. Harper already has spent several million dollars on television ads around the state.

In an interview, Harper called Northup a "fine person" whom he's known for a long time. But Harper said her expected candidacy does not affect his plans. "It'll be tough," he said. "It's not going to be an easy race, but I certainly think it's a doable thing." Northup and Hoover plan to roll out their campaign announcement over two days in stops this week around the state, Savage said. A Louisville event is planned for tomorrow, he said.

The Democratic side of the gubernatorial field still is in flux. The deadline for filing is Jan. 30. State Treasurer Jonathan Miller and former Lt. Gov.

Steve Beshear have announced their candidacies and taken out pa pers. Former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry had said he planned to announce this week, but that was pushed back because of the death of an adviser. Perennial candidate Gate-wood Galbraith also has said he'll run.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, and Attorney General Greg Stumbo have not said definitively whether they will run. Reporter Elisabeth Beardsley can be reached at (502) 875-5136. BARGES I Four craft break from fleet on river; two unsecured Owen said. The Coast Guard expects to work out a retrieval plan today. Officials of the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency were summoned to monitor any ecological problems that might ensue. American River Transportation had dispatched representatives to begin developing a plan to salvage the two unsecured barges. Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089. Reporter Chris Kenning contributed to this story.

Continued from Bl McAlpine Gate 2, but out of the commercial channel where it would not interfere with river traffic. Owen said the Coast Guard considered the two barges awaiting re trieval to be stable in the water, but added that "high water has a way of doing things." The river level yesterday was several feet above normal pool, and a water surge could have played a role in causing a coupling or cable holding the tow together to snap,.

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