On Track

Across Kentucky, families are feeling the squeeze as the cost of living keeps rising, while wages have barely moved.

We spoke with Jason Bailey, the founder and executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, about what’s driving essential costs up across Kentucky, and what we should be watching as we head into the holiday season.

November is Family Literacy Month — a chance to focus on how families, schools and communities support reading. Here in Louisville, Felicia C. Smith, president and CEO of the National Center for Families Learning, leads two-generation literacy work that connects adults and children.We spoke with Smith about the state of literacy in Kentucky, what family literacy looks like in practice, and where families and educators can make the biggest difference.

Janice Clarke opened a Jamaican restaurant Elliment in downtown Louisville earlier this year, and it’s already become a gathering spot and resource for Louisville’s Jamaican community.Last month, Clarke’s native country of Jamaica was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest recorded hurricane to ever hit the island country. We talked with her about how she came to start the restaurant, and how she is raising money and collecting non-perishable food and new and gently used clothes to send to Jamaica amidst the recovery.

Unlike a lot of places in greater Louisville, access to groceries in west Louisville can be difficult, especially for those who don’t have their own transportation.Since 2019, the nonprofit Change Today, Change Tomorrow has worked to narrow the gap between needing food and having access to it. We talk with Taylor Ryan, the organization’s founder and executive director, about what her organization does and what more it wants to do to help feed the West End.

It’s the end of the growing season, when pumpkins shrivel on porches and leaves blanket our yards. But instead of sending that fall waste to the landfill, gardeners can turn it into something useful.Seamus Allman is the urban horticulture manager at Louisville Grows, where he helps residents care for community gardens and build healthier soil.We spoke with Seamus about composting pumpkins, reusing leaves, and how to prepare gardens for the next season.

Louisville-based nonprofit Nile Orphan Care is working to help hundreds of orphans in South Sudan, a country that’s experienced decades of conflict and civil war.

October is Women’s Small Business Month, and here in Louisville, Amanda Dare has built a platform that celebrates women-led shops year-round. She's the founder of Woman-Owned Wallet Feminist Gift Shop in NuLu and creator of the Woman-Owned Walking Tour — a map that highlights local businesses owned by women.LPM's Ayisha Jaffer spoke with Amanda about Louisville’s women-owned business community, her feminist gift shop and other business ventures, and the growth and challenges facing female entrepreneurs today.

It’s Halloween season, when bats appear in holiday decorations and spooky stories. But beyond their eerie reputation, bats are year-round neighbors in Kentucky and a vital part of our environment.Matthew Springer is an associate extension professor of wildlife management at the University of Kentucky. His work focuses on wildlife ecology, human-wildlife interactions and conservation outreach. We spoke with Matthew about Kentucky’s bat species, the threats they face, and what people can do to support them.

The event has expanded from a grassroots graffiti jam to a festival hosting more than 170 artists, raising the city’s profile in the street art community.