Some University of Kentucky professors are questioning whether former President Lee T. Todd Jr. needs a campus office that will cost as much as the median price of a house sold in Central Kentucky. Renovations for Todd's office in UK's Advanced Science and Technology Commercialization Center Building will cost $143,828. The median sale price for a house in Central Kentucky was $145,000 in June.

Motorists need to mark their calendars for delays and closures on the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge. The structure connects Maysville with Aberdeen, Ohio. Officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced Thursday an inspection is scheduled for Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 29 on the bridge on weekdays.

Two of the three gubernatorial candidates debated in Covington Thursday afternoon – Republican State Senate President David Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith. Gov. Steve Beshear announced earlier in the week that a scheduling conflict would keep him from attending the debate at the joint conference of the Kentucky County Judge/Executives Association and the Kentucky Magistrates and Commissioners Association held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

There was no change in output at the nation's manufacturers last month, the Federal Reserve just reported.

A flat June followed a scant 0.1 percent increase in May and a 0.5 percent decline in output in April, the Fed adds.

Another sign of sogginess in the factory sector: previously, the Fed had estimated that production rose 0.4 percent in May from April. The new estimate — of that 0.1 percent rise — marks a significant downward revision.

The Appalachian Youth Challenge Academy will open in July 2012 in Harlan at a former elementary school. The program will take volunteers between 16 and 18 years of age. Youth Challenge targets at-risk teens and teaches them life skills and physical fitness - all in a 22-week program in a military-like atmosphere.

This week marks the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two, the eighth installment of the most successful series in movie history. As such, it offers a useful comparison in the differences between what makes a successful summer blockbuster in Hollywood and what makes for one in Washington, DC. Here are the top ten:

Horse racing in Kentucky may be hurting, but it's not done fighting yet. The sport took an important step toward financial survival Thursday after the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved the first expanded gambling at a state horse track. Kentucky Downs, a track on the Tennessee border, had requested permission to implement a game called Instant Racing, in which players bet on past horse races using slot-like machines. “This was a big step in moving instant racing toward Ellis Park,” owner Ron Geary said Thursday.

Lexingtonians got an up-close look at the latest designs for the CentrePointe block downtown Thursday night. Chicago architect Jeanne Gang presented the newly fleshed out CentrePointe designs to a packed house at the Kentucky Theatre Thursday night. The new vision for the block includes a 30-story tower made up of "bundled tubes" inspired by the coral in Kentucky limestone and five smaller structures designed by local architects. After viewing the model in the lobby, Robert Maras, a teacher who has visited other buildings by the architect, said he was excited to see what he considers a truly collaborative effort. 

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer will sign an executive order this morning that will extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. The change will go into effect on July 1, 2012. According to the Courier-Journal, the city’s Human Resources Department estimates that as many as 400 of the city’s 5,500 employees will take advantage of the benefits, which would cost about $400,000.

The United States just announced that it now considers the main opposition group in Libya to be that country's legitimate government.

The Transitional National Council that opposes Col. Moammar Gadhafi won international recognition from the U.S. and other members of the Contact Group, the 22 nations who coalesced to address Libya's future. NPR's Peter Kenyon is at the Group's summit in Istanbul and tells NPR Newscast Desk that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement.