October 2007
Welcome to eFYI, your exclusive monthly e-newsletter from Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro Chamber of Commerce. As one of our valued partners, you can count on eFYI to cover the topics and issues of most interest and benefit to you. Share your comments and ideas with us any time at VFisher@greaterlouisville.com.
 City gets airline maintenance hub
Got an idea?
Jefferson population tops 700,000
Business leaders expect to 'see green' with trip to Ireland
U of L gets $20.5 million grant
Eagle Steel starts expansion at Clark Maritime Centre
Cool condos planned in old ice house site
U of L researcher gets $4.1M to study heart attacks
City gets airline maintenance hub
 Compass Airlines, a Northwest Airlines subsidiary that launched service in May, will build a $9.85 million maintenance facility at Louisville International Airport that will employ 70 when it opens in about a year.
Construction of the hangar is expected to begin in spring 2008. Read more.
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Got an idea?
 Here's a question: Can you find excitement, intrigue, stimulation and inspiration courtesy of about 50 big-thinking individuals with names ranging from Amira Al Hussaini to Ethan Zuckerman?
Here's the answer: You did if you visited IdeaFestival, the event that brought thinkers from various backgrounds to Louisville for three days of discussion and debate, panels and performances and to talk about big ideas and innovations.
Other guests included Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Shirin Ebadi and other noted thinkers.Read more.
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Jefferson population tops 700,000
For the first time, Jefferson County's population has surpassed 700,000, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau estimate.
The new federal population estimate for Jefferson County of 701,500, as of July 1, 2006, comes as Louisville officials plan a renewed effort to persuade the Census Bureau to include in the count of the city's residents the nearly 150,000 people who live in Jefferson's 84 suburban cities.
If the residents of those cities are counted, metro Louisville would be the country's 17th-largest city. Read more.
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Business leaders expect to 'see green' with trip to Ireland
 Ireland long has been known as a beautiful country with a lot of heart and heritage but few economic opportunities -- a perception that was very much the reality in the late 1980s.
The country was heavily dependent on agriculture. Emigration was rampant, with about 70,000 people leaving Ireland in 1989 alone. And Ireland was the poorest nation per capita in the European Union.
But the fighting spirit of the Irish prevailed. Education became a focus, and since 1996, Irish citizens have had access to a free college education.
The country made drastic reforms in its tax structure, which enabled it to attract outside investment from the likes of Dell Inc. and IBM. At the same time, business development and entrepreneurial efforts were encouraged, leading to growth and globalization of home-grown companies.
Today, Ireland is the second-wealthiest nation per capita in the European Union.
A contingent of 80-plus people from Kentucky and Southern Indiana recently took part in a five-day visit to Dublin to see the changes firsthand and to meet with the Irish leaders who made it happen.
The trip was part of the annual Greater Louisville Inc. Development Expedition, or GLIDE. This is the 20th excursion leaders have made in an effort to gather ideas and best practices from other communities. Read more.
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U of L gets $20.5 million grant
The University of Louisville's College of Education and Human Development will spend $20.5 million over five years to study how to increase academic achievement and success among career and technical students in high school and beyond.
The money, from the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest grant ever received by the College of Education and Human Development.
The center and its partners -- including the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, Clemson University and the Southern Regional Education Board -- will do research that will focus on identifying strategies to improve career and technical education in high schools, community colleges and workforce-training programs. Read more.
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Eagle Steel starts expansion at Clark Maritime Centre
Eagle Steel Corp. has begun preliminary construction of a 92,000-square-foot, $4 million addition to its Clark Maritime Centre plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
The project will increase the company's space by about 50 percent and add 20 employees to its payroll of 120. Read more.
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Cool condos planned in old ice house site
 Two investors have purchased the former Arctic Ice House, an old ice-manufacturing complex on East Main Street with the intent to renovate it into 52 condominiums.
Partners in Ice House Lofts LLC are Dave Steinbrecher, owner of Derek Engineering, a general contracting company, and David Barhorst, head of SoFo Development.
The developers hope the seven-story, two-story and one-story buildings will provide condo owners with a "funky, industrial-type space."
Work could start by year's end, with the first units ready for occupancy about a year later. Read more.
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U of L researcher gets $4.1M to study heart attacks
A University of Louisville professor, Suresh Tyagi, has received $4.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to study why heart attacks occur in people without risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Read more.
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