Steve Kay for Lexington

Diapers or Food - The Wage/Cost Gap continued

A recent study published by Yale University found that 30% of low-income mothers reported that they had trouble paying for diapers.  Diapers cost on average of $18 per week or $936 a year.  For a mother making minmum wage, this is 6% of her annual salary.

Senior Citizen's Center Moves Forward

At the August 20th Work Session, Council approved building a stand-alone Senior Citizen’s Center located in the Idle Hour Park.  The anticipated timeline for construction is 18 months.  You can read the Herald Leader’s coverage here.  You can also read my previous blog on the topic here. The city w…

The Gap Between Wages and the Cost of Living

I ran across an article the other day about Costco and its support for raising the minimum wage. The giant retailer is building a new facility in Hamburg.  Costco has employed a different model than most large retailers to save the company money.  It pays higher wages and provides more benefits, re…

Improved Facilities for Senior Citizens

Lexington has been talking about building a new Senior Citizen’s Center for several years now, in clear recognition that the current Senior Center is no longer adequate .  Last year the city hired a consultant team to evaluate sites for a new Center, and this year’s budget allocates $5 million for …

Food Trucks Pilot Program Ready To Go

As many of you know, on June 20th the Council unanimously passed an ordinance approving a six-month pilot program to allow food trucks to vend on public streets.  The ordinance provides the following for food trucks:they can operate from on-street metered public parking in identified zones Monday t…

Downtown Lexington Traffic Movement and Revitalization Study - North Area Analysis

The Executive Summary for the Downtown Lexington Traffic Movement and Revitalization Study, North Area Analysis, has been released.  This part of the study focuses on the streets of Short, Second, North Limestone, North Upper, Fourth, and Third.  The study found no major problems associated with th…

Distillery District Feasibility Study

Last week the consultant team released the Final Report of the Lexington Distillery District Improvements Program Feasibility Study  The report provides three alternatives and a ranking system, with costs ranging from $14 to $24 million  The report recommends Alternative #3 with a cost of $17 milli…

The Food Truck Dilemma

I face a dilemma when I consider the latest proposal for a pilot program to allow food trucks to occupy metered parking spaces in a few limited areas of downtown.  I am a long-time downtown resident and booster.  I have worked in many ways over the years to advance downtown interests, previously in…

Mayor's Commission on Homelessness - Final Report

After months of hard work, the final report of the Mayor’s Commission on Homelessness has been completed.  You can find a copy here.  I am very grateful to the Mayor for asking me to serve as chair; to Debra Hensley, my invaluable co-chair; Mark Davis, Melody Flowers, and Ike Adams, the members of …