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The beach at Lake Barkley State Resort Park, which usually opens on Memorial Day weekend, still hasn’t opened this year because the waters have tested for high levels of E. coli bacteria. “We’ve got our fingers crossed that next week we’ll open,” park manager John Jordan said in a phone interview Friday. The bacteria has forced closings of Lake Barkley’s beach in the past — most recently in 2009, Jordan said. He doesn’t know why the bacteria builds up, but he cited the goose population as a potential factor.

As protesters spoke out on Saturday against the expulsion of two gay men with intellectual and developmental disabilities from a city-owned pool in Hazard, the city took several steps to try to remedy the situation. Kim Haynes, the city employee who cited the Bible while telling the men and their caregiver to leave the Hazard Pavilion on June 10, will be suspended without pay for five days because of his "failure to be respectful to the public," "unsatisfactory job performance" and "his use of inappropriate language" about pool policies, the city said in a press release.

On a drizzly, overcast afternoon in March, a man walked through Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and fell to his knees in front of a simple stone marker. A soldier's funeral was going on nearby, but the man had eyes only for one tombstone which identified the grave of Ernest L. Wrentmore, veteran of World War I, World War II and Korea. The back side of the stone states that Wrentmore had been the "youngest soldier to have served with American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 12 years of age." Tears filling his eyes, Ernest L. Wrentmore III ran his fingers softly over the marker, pressed his lips to the cold stone, and began whispering to the father he had waited so long to know.

Traffic’s again normal at the exit ramp on the inner loop ramp of New Circle at Harrodsburg Road in Lexington. At least as normal as things can be in a construction zone.  “It’s still a construction zone so it's not going to look nice and pretty and all that,” said Bob Nunley who's with the Kentucky Transporation Cabinet.

Kentucky public colleges and universities are already compiling their capital project wish lists.   They're getting ready for next year's legislative session.  A $33 million Engineering-Physics building tops the projects list at Murray State University, but President Randy Dunn says the school also badly needs a new $62 million library.

A two-year collaboration between Greg and Becky Goodman, owners of Mount Brilliant Farm, and internationally known interior decorator Mona Hajj has resulted in Hajj's new coffee table book, Interior Visions (Random House, $50), featuring the farm. Texan Greg Goodman and his wife, Becky, bought Mount Brilliant Farm in 1995 and discovered that they would be caretakers of a significant slice of Bluegrass history. That history dates back to 1774, when Kentucky was part of Virginia and 2,000 acres of land on what is now Russell Cave Road was given as a land grant to William Russell for his family's service in the French and Indian War.

US Senator Mitch McConnell met this morning with law enforcement and community leaders in Bowling Green to discuss concerns about an upcoming terror trial that could be held in Kentucky. Two Iraqi nationals were arrested in Bowling Green late last month on charges that they tried to supply cash and weapons to Al qqeda in Iraq. Senator McConnell says the defendants should have been treated as enemy combatants and sent to Guantanamo Bay.

Thousands of people are in Wilmore for a weekend of worship, teaching, and music of many styles, all in God’s name.  It’s the 42nd annual Ichthus Christian music festival. At an early morning worship service on the hillside near the Deep End stage, was 17 year old Chelsea Hallomen who made the trip from Louisville.

Following other GOP nominees running for office in Kentucky this fall, Republican Attorney General candidate Todd P’Pool has voiced support for sending the terror suspects charged in Bowling Green last month to Guantanamo Bay. The Hopkins County attorney is hoping to mirror state Senate President David Williams’s success with the issue in the gubernatorial race by calling on his opponent, incumbent Attorney General Jack Conway, to explain his position publicly.

In May, Hubert and Louise Sparks were surprised to find a rare albino robin under a big tree in their front yard. Imagine their surprise when, on Thursday, they found another one in the same place a month later. Meanwhile, a full-grown robin was flitting about from fence post to fence post, making excited noises.  The Sparkses found the first albino robin, which was completely white and had pink eyes, at their home at 1816 Ecton Road, on May 11.

About a month ago, Jeannie and Doug Naselroad of Cole Road began raising chickens for eggs in their backyard. On Tuesday, eight tetra tints (referred to as Easter chickens for their pastel eggs) played a “game of football,” as Jeannie calls it, chasing each other for a bug inside their version of a football field — a homemade green chicken tractor.

After more than 40 years working at the Elizabethtown Police Department, Chief Ruben Gardner said the one thing that continues to baffle him is people’s inhumanity toward one another. “I’ve seen brothers kill brothers and a few hours later they’ll be asleep when we go get them,” Gardner said. “It’s really mind boggling to see that kind of  behavior.” Gardner, 65, is retiring at the end of July. Despite the sometimes dark nature of the job, he said what he enjoys about law enforcement and what has pushed him to continue working is the opportunity to help others.

Several local organizations are included in more than 3,000 entities in Kentucky which have not filed necessary information with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS posted a 101 page list of Kentucky organizations on its website, including Maysville Younger Women's Club, Mason County Little League, Lions International in Maysville, and the Maysville Mason County Humane Society. MMCHS is not The Humane Society of Buffalo Trace; HSBT is not on the revoked list.

Dennis Eads, 60, had no idea what he’d do for a living when Frankfort’s Bendix plant closed its doors a few years ago. He’d worked there for 33 years and assumed it’s where he’d retire. But Bendix decided it’d be cheaper to send his manufacturing job to Mexico. The shuttered doors started a long journey for Eads, who at 56 years old had to pick up his dreams of job security and retirement that vanished when he was left jobless in December of 2007.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was expected to be in Bowling Green today to discuss with local officials the recent arrests of residents on terrorism allegations, hours after Gov. Steve Beshear joined several state politicians in endorsing McConnell’s call to send the men to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for a military trial.

The American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville has partnered with the Dollywood Foundation to print books that will be distributed to children under five across the country. The foundation’s Imagination Library program sends a free book each month to promote reading before entering school.  The program will now be able to offer their books with a Braille overlay for children or parents who are blind.

Several local organizations are included in more than 3,000 entities in Kentucky which have not filed necessary information with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS posted a 101 page list of Kentucky organizations on its website, including Maysville Younger Women's Club, Mason County Little League, Lions International in Maysville, and the Maysville Mason County Humane Society. MMCHS is not The Humane Society of Buffalo Trace; HSBT is not on the revoked list.

The University of Kentucky has issued a statement regarding John Calipari's total number of wins as a basketball coach. UK honored Calipari for his 500th career victory on February 26. The school said Thursday that after consulting with the NCAA, UK officials were informed that the celebration was in error. 42 of Calipari's wins at Massachusetts and Memphis have been vacated by the NCAA. UK says it will correct Calipari's stats in media guides and other publications. The coach's win total now sits at 467.

Federal and state law enforcement authorities raided a Dry Ridge doctor's office Thursday morning. The raid at Dr. Sundiata El-Amin’s office at 95 S. Dixie Highway began about 11:30 a.m., said Russ Neville, agent in charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Cincinnati office, which covers Northern Kentucky.

Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley, who already faces the potential loss of his law license, took another hit Thursday when Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine barred him from representing the state in a major case. A DeWine spokeswoman said Chesley would no longer be permitted to oversee the state's class action lawsuit against mortgage giant Fannie Mae. The decision comes two days after the Kentucky Bar Association's board of governors recommended that Chesley should be permanently disbarred in the state for his role in the settlement of the fen-phen diet drug case.

The Goin’ Back to Harlan Bluegrass Committee will host their sixth annual Goin’ Back to Harlan Bluegrass Music Festival June 23-25, at the Harlan campus of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. “We have an outstanding lineup of bands this year,” said committee member Jerry Haynes. “There’s fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins, basses and dobros and then there’s singing — everybody’s doing it and most are really good.”

Emily Greenwell leapt around the colorful carpet as if she was riding a ferocious tiger. Although there was nothing except air beneath her legs, the 10-year-old's imagination revealed another story to all those who were watching. "I like to sing, do plays, dance and all the theatrical stuff," Greenwell said. "My mom says I'm a drama queen."

For the first time in more than two years, Kentucky's unemployment rate fell below 10 percent. The measure dropped to 9.8 percent in May from 10 percent in April. However, a different measure of the state's employment continued to show weakness: The state lost 6,000 non-farm jobs during the month. The state's unemployment rate of 9.8 percent matched the rate in February 2009, the most recent time Kentucky's rate was below 10 percent. The state continued to lag behind the national rate, which was 9.1 percent in May, up from 9 percent in April.

A day after his Republican opponent charged he lacked the courage to do so, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear has issued a statement calling for the two Iraqi nationals facing terrorism charges to be sent out of Kentucky. On Wednesday, state Senate President David Williams challenged Beshear and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, to join him and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky,, who initially demanded Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi be sent to the controversial military base to be tried as enemy combatants.

Advocates for protection for gay Kentuckians say a recent incident in Hazard further underscores the need for updated civil rights laws. Two gay men, who are also developmentally challenged, were with the group Mending Hearts at the public pool in the Hazard Pavilion. One man reportedly sat on the other’s knee and put his arm around his partner. They were then told to leave. Mending Hearts representatives say workers told them gay people weren’t allowed to swim in the pool. Others say the two were kicked out for violating the policy against public displays of affection.

Summer destinations rely more this year on their neighbors for support.  Instead of tourists, summer events like the Ichthus Christian Rock Festival near Wilmore, The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown and A Grand Night for Singing at the University of Kentucky, now target local audiences.  Reporter Rich Copley of the Lexington Herald Leader offers an explanation.

Attendees of this morning’s premiere of the short movie Building Bridges with Benny Breeze were asked to sign an oath saying they would listen to all sides of the debate over the Ohio River Bridges Project and be respectful of anyone with differing opinions. At the end of the movie, the star—Chris Saunders playing Benny Breeze—faced the camera and told the dozen people who signed the oath and stayed for the show that they were either for progress (meaning they were in favor of the bridges project) or against it. And if they were against it, they should “get the f*** out of this region.”

The Red Cross says a restructuring of its blood services division won’t have much of a local impact. The agency announced this week that 400 to 500 jobs will be cut nationwide under the plan. It says a drop in monetary donations and rising costs forced the restructuring. “Locally the impact of the restructuring has been minimal. Three positions in the River Valley Region were affected by restructuring,” said Katy Maloy,spokeswoman for the Red Cross River Valley Blood Services Region, which includes the Louisville area and parts of Indiana and Illinois.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is selling surplus state property again. This time it's a vacant lot in Frankfort. Since taking office in 2007, Gov. Beshear says his administration has generated nearly $7.5 million through surplus real estate sales. Included in that figure is nearly $79,000 Beshear says the state got for a vacant, two-acre industrial lot in Frankfort.

The head of Louisville's Sewer District says the fish kill on the Ohio River last night may have resulted from an algae bloom, rather than a chemical spill as was previously reported. The sheen on the Ohio River was noticed south of Rubbertown by cameras at Dow Chemical’s plant, and about 20 Asian Carp were found dead. It was initially thought to be a chemical release from somewhere upriver, but water sampling by three separate entities was negative.