Improving Bon Air participation in Next Door. Verifying People and maybe doing a Micro Merger?

I got an email tonight from Next Door asking me to verify some people in my neighborhood (I am on the Del Rio to Furman group) .  I looked at the list and it had people who had applied to be on Nextdoor back in September 2017.

With a little bit of examination, a number of them were renters and not the names of the property owners on the Jefferson  PVA roster.

I am interested in improving participation in Nextdoor in the Bon Air Neighborhood.  There are actually three groups within the historical Bon Air Neighborhood boundaries as described on page 103 of the Encyclopedia of Louisville.

(Encyclopedia of Louisville p.103 Google Books)

1) Bon Air estates with 174 members
2) Bon Air with 1006 members.
3) Del Rio to Furman with 786 members.

I am interested in making a point to get people verified who moved in and want to be in the groups.
I plan on knocking on some doors in the next few days to verify people in the Del Rio to Furman group and see if they are still interested in joining.

If you are a Bon Air, Bon Air Estates or Del Rio to Furman resident and are interested in getting verified on Next Door, I am very interested in helping you get you connected with the lead within your current group boundaries.  I will respect their privacy, but I know who the leads are of the three groups and how to get you in contact with them to get you verified

I am also pitching here the radical idea: merging the three Next Door Groups into one Bon Air group that coincides with the historical Bon Air boundaries so we can share information and advocate together as one voice so we can accomplish more together.  If we can merge together it would be a Next Door group with close to 2000 members.  Consider it cyber micro-consolidation.

 Next Door has potential to be a neighborhood asset to Bon Air  . . . more than it is now, and we can make it that way.

Can We Redeem This Grotesque Monstrosity?

So, I am driving west on Goldsmith Lane last week and I look over and see this huge metal edifice butting up against Boys and Girls Haven. Then it struck me . . . this is the Go-Store-It facility.

For the longest time, all I saw was this sign . . .

This is the storage facility on the site of the old Rose Bowl that is now proving to be a reality.  This is the view from Bardstown Rd just north of Thorntons.

You can see the profile of the building from the north side of the Watterson over the freeway.

This is what it looks like from Goldsmith Lane.

I must say that when I recognized what it was I was shocked.  I was imagining that it was going to be a storage facility that had one level and  not be a three or more story building.   This facility really sticks out like a grotesque sore thumb especially in the somewhat pastoral appearance of Boys and Girls Haven.

Of course I think I would rather have the storage facility rather than a medium-price-point hotel/motel that could be a site at risk for human trafficking . . . its appearance is still ghastly. .

When I thought about the grotesqueness of this building I was mindful of the story about the Eiffel Tower.  It was actually built for 1889 World's Fair.  It was considered to be an eyesore although Eiffel could show how it was beautiful in a mathematical fashion.  It was supposed to be torn down after the world's fair, but it was kept and it attracts millions of people every year.

My proposal is that the owner of the building paint the sides of the buildings in a grand fashion of some kind of equestrian scene.  If we have to look at it we should have something good to look at like this

I also think that the artwork could be an attraction for customers to actually use this given that there are a plethora of storage facilities (previously discussed in this blog  click here to see the post) up and down the Bardstown Rd corridor down to Watterson Trail.

Can we we redeem this grotesque monstrosity? Short of tearing it down,  making it artistic is a way of redemption.


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I am Thankful that I am Alive Today.

I submitted this to a "why I am thankful" content at my employer about five years ago.  Facebook reminded me of it. I thought I would share it here. 

When I look through all of the different medical problems me and my family members have had, I am thankful that God has blessed physicians with knowledge and ability to save our lives from removing brain tumors to conducting heart catherizations, to creating safe blood clotting factor. Even decades ago I am sure that myself and my family members would not be alive without this technology.

God has blessed me to live in one of the safest times and in the safest country in of all human history. We have clean water and great public sanitation that helps protect us from many diseases. While I still have to lock my door at night, my family and me are blessed to live in a democratic republic that values civility and social order. Strangers take turns at stop signs and hold the door for each other. Even with our political differences the vast majority of us are committed to making our communities safe places to live.

I live in one of the most prosperous times. While I would like a better house, I have a simple house with electricity, running water, heat, and air conditioning that 90 percent of the world would consider a mansion.

There will be times of dissatisfaction. There will always be times where my problems will seem bigger than other times. There is always the temptation for me to dwell on what I think is wrong with this world and this country today. There will be times where I do not think things are fair. There will be times where I would like to have some of the luxuries that richer people have. But I realize that I have a choice . . . realizing that today I live at a great time and in a good place in human history and for that I am thankful.

The Plan for the Meeting of November 11, 2019

As I was going to the special event on November 4 to the meet and greet U of L President Neeli Benapudi as the hospital where I work is now under new ownership and new colors, the business development person said, we're good for next Monday in Lexington?   I had forgotten about it. Yep, so for this meeting, I am going to miss it because I will be at:

When I am not working and doing neighborhood association things, I do a number of "Peace for Parents" presentations for my employer, U of L Peace Hospital (formerly Our Lady of Peace).  I do a presentation on ADHD, Anxiety, Preparation for Middle School, and Social Media, which is this week's presentation in Lexington.

It was actually challenging and fun presentation to put together because I read things that I would have never read in my normal life. While in the preparation for this, it struck me that emotional and behavioral problems related to social media happen in Africa, Asia, and Europe and not just here in the United States.   On a lighter note, I do have the question whether this slide will make it into the

presentation version that I had given business development, because on the one hand it may be too edgy, but on the other hand some parents need to see it because anger is a very impulsive emotion that makes people do and say things they regret.   People indeed publish things on social media in impulsive anger and as a result, besides criminal charges have,

• Had their posts pulled off of Next Door,
• Lost jobs, 
• Failed to get jobs,
• Gotten suspended from school,
• and even gotten admitted against their will to the hospital where I work.

Nonetheless, despite my being called to the Bluegrass, thankfully, Charlaine, the very capable treasurer and former president will oversee the meeting this Monday, November 11, 2019 in the community room of the Bon Air Library at 6:30.  The main objective I have is distribution of membership letters to houses in the neighborhood.  We are seeking to boost our actual membership and interest of board membership for the health of the organization.  (You can scroll back and see the letter a few previous posts ago from 9/11/19).  I hope you can come. 

Bon Air Crime Analysis For October 2019: Down By 61.1 Percent!

This is an analysis for October, 2019 based on data posted by the Louisville Metro Police Department at https://data.louisvilleky.gov/dataset/crime-reports/resource/6d81fdf8-27e7-41ac-9ae4-1bfd8730f002 

It is a Microsoft Excel file that requires just a touch of manipulation and sorting

As usual it includes the crimes reported within the boundaries of the historical Bon Air Neighborhood as defined:
1) Bardstown Road on the West  
2) Hikes Lane on the South
3) Furman Blvd on the East and
4) Taylorsville Rd and the Watterson Expressway on the North. 

The Analysis reflects events that happen on the lines and so some of the reports reflect what has happened just on the line and outside the geopolitical boundary of the neighborhood. 

I had to resort the file because I could not believe the initial results.  There were only 21 police reports the area between October 1 and October 31. The total number of police reports in September was 54, and this means that there was a decline by 61.1 percent. 

There were 18 reports in the 40218 portion of the area and 3 reports in the 40220 part. 

To make it easy: here were the three police situations in the 40220 area. 

10/3/2019   BURGLARY - 3RD DEGREE  BURGLARY          3000 BLOCK HIKES LN                                        

10/9/2019   VEHICLE BREAK-IN/THEFT                                2800 BLOCK DEL RIO PL                                      

10/21/2019  ROBBERY - 1ST DEGREE     ROBBERY             3500 BLOCK BROCKTON LN                                    

The Robbery appeared to be at an apartment house. The Burglary was at a church--Probably St. Michael's Orthodox, but the vehicle break-in appears to be by the Bon Air Manor Shopping Center. 

In the 40218 area, the 3300 Block of Bardstown Rd had the most reports with six and they were as follows:

10/6/2019 14	HARASSMENT (NO PHYSICAL CONTACT)
10/5/2019 1:04	POSS CONT SUB-1ST DEGREE-2ND  OFFENSE-HEROIN
10/5/2019 1:04	DRUG PARAPHERNALIA - BUY/POSSESS
10/26/2019 17:00	FORGED INSTRUMENT-2ND DEGREE-IDENTIFY
10/20/2019 18:20	ROBBERY - 1ST DEGREE
10/17/2019 7:58	TBUT OR DISP FROM BUILDING < $500

The second location of note was the 2300 Block of Goldsmith with four reports.  Three of the reports were missing person reports and one was a sex crimes (Sodomy 1st degree) investigation.  Out of respect for Boys and Girls Haven I will say nothing more.

That leaves 11 reports: 

• Two of the events were on Proctor Knott 18 days apart.  First there was a car break-in on 10/2/19 and on 10/20/19 there was a burglary. 
• There was a 2-for-1 drug bust at I-264 and Bardstown Rd on 10/4/19  where there were two charges for possession of substance and paraphernalia.   The possession appeared to be someone with pills that were not prescribed to them.
•  Someone got a license plate stolen off of their car on Terrier CT on 10/4/19
• A car was stolen on Gerald Ct on 10/8
• There was an assault at the 2500 block of Meadow Drive on 10/18
• There was a shoplifting report at the 2900 block of Hikes Lane. 

You, the residents of Bon Air deserve the credit for the improvement in the crime rate.  The prevention measures work. 

There is always the chance that crimes will increase.  There will continue to be people stealing to finance drug use or just because they can and do.  

I believe that we can continue to improve on the results by block watches and more people getting doorbell cameras, burglar alarms and making sure their cars are locked.  Therefore, the Bon Air Neighborhood Association will continue to support the formation of block watches in light of the budget cuts in the Louisville Metro Police Department.  

But for now, a 61.1 percent decrease in the reported crimes over a one month time is something to celebrate.