Rick Howlett

A Noah’s Ark attraction built by the group Answers in Genesis is ready to open in northern Kentucky. The group held an open house for media and donors Tuesday at the $100 million park near Williamstown, Kentucky.

The long-awaited Ark Encounter theme park is based on the Old Testament story. The centerpiece is a 510-foot wooden ark, filled with exhibits based on descriptions in the Bible.

Its construction has rankled opponents who say the attraction will be detrimental to science education. They’ve also criticized the group’s faith-based hiring practices, which were at the core of a legal battle over tax rebates awarded, then withdrawn by the state.

That case was won by Answers in Genesis. Founder Ken Ham says a federal judge rightly ruled that religious preference in hiring is legal.

General Electric’s Louisville-based appliance division has a new owner.

GE Appliances is now part of the China-based Haier Company. The multibillion-dollar sale was finalized on Monday.

About 6,000 people work at Louisville’s Appliance Park, which was constructed by GE more than 60 years ago. The division will now be called “GE Appliances, a Haier Company.”

Chip Blankenship will continue as president and CEO. He said employees should not expect any major shakeups under the new owner.

Negotiators for United Parcel Service and the Independent Pilots Association will resume talks later this month in hopes reaching a contract agreement.

The latest round of federally mediated negotiations ended last week in Washington.

UPS pilots have been working under the terms of their previous contract for five years. The IPA, which represents some 2,500 pilots, has been preparing for the possibility of a strike.

Earlier this month, the union set up a strike operation center at its Louisville headquarters, a move dismissed by UPS as a publicity stunt.

For a strike to be called, the mediator would have to declare an impasse and release the two sides from talks. That would be followed by a 30-day cooling off period.

Union president Bob Travis said the IPA and UPS have been called back to Washington by the National Mediation Board for what he called “two consecutive weeks of intensive negotiations” starting the week of May 16.

Union officials said some of the remaining sticking points involve flight schedules and crew fatigue. Both sides say there was some progress made in the most recent round of talks.

Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel is retiring.

That’s according to Borel’s agent,  Larry Melancon, who tells the Daily Racing Form that Borel informed him of his decision.

The publication says Borel is currently based at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and has not commented publicly.

The 49-year-old Borel has won more than 5,100 races, including three Kentucky Derbys. In 2009, he became the first jockey to win the first two legs of racing’s Triple Crown aboard different mounts.

He rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Derby and finished first aboard the filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes.

Borel was inducted into the racing Hall of Fame in 2013.

Seven new members will be inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame Wednesday night in Louisville.

The inductees include former WKU women's basketball coach Paul Sanderford and former Major League Baseball umpire Randy Marsh, a native of Northern Kentucky.

Hall of Fame President Jim Ellis says Marsh worked dozens of big events during his 28 year career, including five World Series and four All-Star games. “Kind of guy you could sit and listen to forever," Ellis said, "He’s got stories about past players that a lot of us grew up watching on television, and he actually umpired and got nose-to-nose with some of them.”

Other inductees include Keeneland Race Course, former Fairdale High School basketball coach Lloyd Gardner, Laurel County basketball standout Sharon Garland, track star Shandy Boyd Smith of Louisville, and Mel Purcell, who played on the pro tennis tour and is the men’s tennis coach at Murray State University.

Triple Crown champion American Pharoah returned home to Churchill Downs Sunday as his handlers prepared for boisterous celebrations 37 years in the making.

Less than 24 hours after winning the Belmont Stakes to become the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since 1978, the bay colt received the VIP treatment upon his return to Louisville.

Police escorted American Pharoah's transport van from the airport to trainer Bob Baffert's Barn 33, and the horse was cheered like a rock star by hundreds of fans as his entrance was broadcast over the jumbo screen overlooking the storied track.

The energy figures to ratchet up for the horse, whose display in the adjacent Kentucky Derby museum was updated to reflect his historic achievement.

Churchill Downs' famous twin spires will display Zayat Stables' turquoise-and-gold colors all week.

Jean Ritchie was born in the Perry County community of Viper, and that was where she learned the Appalachian folk music she would bring to the world.

Richie moved to New York City in the 1940s and became an internationally recognized torch-bearer of the traditional songs. She sang and played the dulcimer and other instruments on dozens of albums and became a familiar figure in the folk revival of the 1950s and ‘60s.

Richie moved back to Kentucky several years ago, settling in Berea.

She was preceded in death by her husband, photographer George Pickow. Survivors include two sons. Her niece, Judy Hudson, says Ritchie died in her home in Berea, with her family around her.

The tall, red-haired Ritchie, who grew up in Kentucky's Cumberland mountains, sang ballads with a clear soprano voice. She accompanied herself on the guitar, autoharp or the mountain dulcimer, a string instrument that Ritchie helped rescue from obscurity.

Hudson said Ritchie suffered a stroke several years ago and moved back to Kentucky from the East Coast.

A record seven members of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team announced they will enter the NBA draft.

The seven were UK’s top scorers during their 38-1 season that ended last weekend with a loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four.

At a press conference Thursday in Lexington, Junior Willie Cauley-Stein, sophomores Dakari Johnson and Andrew and Aaron Harrison and freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker all said they’ve decided to turn pro.

“I mean, of course it was a tough decision for all of us,” Guard Aaron Harrison said. “But I think this is all of our dreams so we just want to chase our dreams, really.”

Coach John Calipari said he did not to try to convince anyone to stay or leave, but arranged meetings with the players, their families and NBA team officials early this week to discuss their pro prospects.

“I’m not convincing anyone to stay and I’m not pushing anybody out the door,” Calipari said. “This is their choice with their family.”

Karl-Anthony Towns could be the first player chosen overall on June 28. Cauley-Stein and Lyles could soon follow, with both projected as possible lottery selections. Booker is also a potential first-rounder, with the rest projected to go in the second.

International spirits company Bacardi Limited has made its entry into the booming bourbon market with the purchase, announced today, of a Louisville-based bourbon maker.

Bacardi is the new owner of Angel’s Share Brands. The company includes the popular Angel’s Envy bourbon, developed by the late Lincoln Henderson and his family. Henderson was a longtime master distiller for Brown-Forman Corporation.

Angel’s Envy is currently distilled off-site and aged in port wine barrels.

An estimated 16.4 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

That’s according to new data released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Richard Frank, assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, said number of uninsured Americans has reached a 40-year low.

“This is a historic drop in the uninsured and nothing since the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid come near to this type of change," commented Frank.

About 14.1 million adults have gained coverage since open enrollment began in October 2013, according to the report.

An additional 2.3 million 19- to 25-year-olds have gained coverage since a new provision went into effect in 2010, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26.

Kentucky has the second greatest reduction in the rate of uninsured people among the states, just behind Arkansas. The state’s uninsured rate is now 9.8 percent– down from 20.4 percent in 2013.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is urging motorists to stay off highways to allow emergency crews to clear snow and stalled vehicles. Heavy snowfall across the region led Beshear to declare a state of emergency for the second time in a month.

“A lot of these people have been working 12 hour shifts for two weeks now because of the first winter storm and now this one," Beshear said. "But, they’re doing a great job and we just ask people to be careful and be patient as we try to get the roads cleared."

Beshear said 85 National Guard troops from six armories have been activated to assist with the emergency response around the state.

The snowfall snarled traffic on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky and I-24 in western Kentucky. Dozens of motorists had to be rescued.

The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Thurs on whether sexual conduct between two teenagers should be prosecuted as a crime.

The case, from Woodford County, involves a 15 year old boy and his 13 year old girlfriend.
The boy pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for having sex and exchanging nude photos with his girlfriend. He was designated a juvenile sex offender. The girl was not charged.

An attorney for the boy said the teens had no intention of committing a crime.

The attorney general’s office says the boy was charged because he initiated the acts and had previously been charged with indecent exposure in a separate case.

No date has been set for the court to issue a ruling.