It is a toh four here Kentucky in this morning news on news radio eight forty whas Nick, coffee with you, and we are now joined by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
Good to see you, may great, how we doing. Great to see you, Nick, Congratulations on this new role. I'm so excited that you are in this position and it's going to be a great run.
If I didn't know you a little and first of all, thank you. If I didn't know you at least a little bit before this, I will admit I would be very nervous. I'm about to have a conversation on news radio eight forty WHS with the mayor of Louisville.
Is this real? Don't wake me up?
So glad to have you here and really looking forward to hopefully having you on every now and then to talk about some big things. And I think abolutely the biggest conversation this week, at least consistently throughout the week for me, has been the last couple of weekends in the Highlands. What has taken place overnight early morning. Obviously, you guys are going to hold people accountable who do things they're not supposed to that have contributed to this issue.
But as far as things that are in place now moving forward to prevent this for happening at third straight week, third straight weekend, what's the plan here.
There's a lot. And first let me say that we are not afraid to take action. Already, we have closed down three bars in the Highlands over the past year long Barstown Road bars that were not playing by the rules. So unlike what's happened in the past, we are taking action and we are not afraid to take action when we need to, and we'll keep doing that. Earlier this week, we revoked a license of a hookah lounge that didn't well. They didn't have a license, so we shut them down
until they got their license. Met yesterday with several business owners and residents along the Barstown Road corridor yesterday, the chief, myself, the director of the Alcohol Beverage Control for our city, Deputy mayor, my chief of staff, all talking about what our plans are for the weekend, for the summer, and then what are the long term solutions as well. We will have a significant LMPD presence all weekend long, this weekend,
next weekend, throughout the summer. We will prevent this from happening as we move forward, but we also have need longer term solutions. We don't want Barstown Road to be a street that just has late night nightclubs. That's not what it's about. It's about the balance between, yes, having great bars, having great restaurants, having great retail, and having great residents that can all coexist peacefully. That's our goal, and so we talked about a lot of long term solutions.
Whether we need to use the zoning code locally and at the state level. What are things we can do beyond just the force of LMPD and alcohol beverage control to crack down. We want to prevent it from happening in the first place and make it a great place to live and enjoy yourself.
What is the most consistent thing you're hearing from residents in the area that clearly want this addressed, and it's probably not been in the last couple of weeknds, certainly what they what they thought when they purchased a home there, or what it's been for the majority of their time there, what's been I guess.
The consistence themes that we hear are people love where they live. They made a choice to live near Bargstown Road, near a thriving commercial corridor where they could walk to restaurants and stores and bars. That's why they live there. But they've had enough. This has gone too far. Whether it's the noise violation, whether it's these extreme crowds, or violence that's taking place outside of these bars. They've had
enough with the violence. They want the action. They don't want violence, and we're going to prevent that.
In your conversation yesterday that you had with residents and business owners, does.
It feel as if they're they're aware.
That you guys have not only made it clear that you understand this, people will be held accountable. As we discussed, it's not going to happen, but we're going to prevent it. Does it seem as if as we head into this weekend that there's been an appreciation to how much attention you guys have put on this.
I think there's some of that. I mean, certainly, they're very frustrated and they want to see action, and I get that. I get that on this issue or any issue. And you know, I've been working with South Louisville residents this week too on some concerns they have about issues that are facing their part of the city. Every part of the city deserves to enjoy whatever they are doing safely.
Public safety is the foundation for everything else. Whether it's going to the UFL basketball game this afternoon, going to Barstown Road tonight for a drink, or going to the South End and enjoying yourself at the new Tom Wallace Recreational Area at Jefferson Memorial Park. Everyone deserves the right to do all of that safely. And that's our goal. That's what I'm working with Chief Humphrey on and that's what will continue to do.
Louivill may Or Kreugerenberg joins us here on News Radio eight forty whas you recently appointed Bill Bell as the inaugural director of the first Louisville Department of Transportation. Talk a little bit about that as well as sort of I guess what stood out about Bill.
Well speaking of public safety.
I mean, when we travel a lot, we need to make sure that people are getting to where they go safely. Whether you're in a car or whether you're walking, whether you're on a bike. We want to make sure that our roads are safe. And so the Department of Transportation really has a couple folds. First is to ensure that all the infrastructure we're building around the city is safe and improves the neighborhoods. Look at what we're doing in New lou right now, where we're really shrinking the street.
We're going to make it safer for cars. We're going to make it better for pedestrians and the businesses that are there. It's going to be a better neighborhood as a result. So make sure we get our infrastructure done on time and on budget, and that we actually implement this stuff. And then it's also got to be done safely. And so Bill comes from the Kentucky Highway Transportation Cabinet.
I were really excited about his experience. He's going to help us get these projects done and ensure safety for everybody.
Now I know this, and I'm sure a lot of people know this. That Craig is a big Louisville Cardinal fan.
That's right.
And how about this run Dan McDonald the baseball team, they have had a lot. I mean, Dan's done a great job since he's been here. We got really spoiled for a while because it was Super Regionals. Seemingly every year we're hosting them, and then many trips to Omaha, and this year was a good bounce back season, but the momentum had really faded towards the end of the season. And now here they are. They are two wins away
from omahall hosting once again a super regional. I think, from my perspective, whenever you've had something so consistent and then it's gone for a while. This is the first time they've hosted or super regional I believe since twenty nineteen. The excitement's back and you learn to appreciate it a little bit more. Kind of like when Pat Kelsey brought Louisville basketball tack to life. Things that used to just be the norm, the expectation. Man, they felt a lot
better because gone a while without it. I can sense the baseball fans, I mean all the texting, Hey, anybody got tickets? Are you going? Are we pregaming somewhere? There's excitement once again and again it's a big event to host here in the city Louisville.
Oh, it's so wonderful. Rachel and I are so excited to go out and cheer on the cards at Jim Patterson Stadium this afternoon. It's going to be wonderful. I mean, I know that the city is buzzing again. We love sports here, we love I know there are a lot of UK fans as well. That's wonderful. We love our sports and so be able to bring our city together around events like this, to see this program shining. Coach McDonald is such a wonderful human being. He's of course
a great coach, he's also a great person. He's done so much for his teams, for our cities, for every player that's been through the program, and I'm excited that the city is going to and hopefully this leads to even more support for the baseball team. It's a challenging sport right now to be in the ACC here, competing with some of the bigger programs in the SEC that have a lot more funding for their baseball programs. I'm hopeful that this continues to build the support for u of L baseball.
Whenever there are NCAA postseason events where the winner gets a chance to host, what kind of an impact. I guess it depends on the sport, but obviously the good thing whenever you can have and there's going to be ESPN coverage and they're going to be showing that beautiful ballpark, showing this city.
That's great for the city. Oh, it's great visibility for the city. It's just like, I mean, how about our women's volleyball team at u of L too. They had a great run this year having the final four, the women's volleyball final four.
That was huge for the city.
Of course, it's dollars people coming here to eat and to spend the night and to buy things. But it's also great exposure to keep Louisville on the map as this amazing college sports city that we are. It's going to build it for professional sports and for so many other economic development things that we're doing. It's really really helpful.
When I hear that the city of Louisville has better vibes and things are just booming in a much better way when the Cards are having success. That's a no brainer. Because I've lived here my whole life. I'm a big Louisville fan myself, but recently it's really stood out again with the basketball coming back to life. You mentioned volleyball that's become now a new sport that the die hard fans just always you know, they get into more so, so yeah, I know, things are better for them.
We're looking at we had that there's a new volleyball professional buyball league that has strumed for women as well, and we're looking can we get one of a professional volleyball teams here in Louisville. It'd be a great fit. That's only possible because of the success of our collegiate teams, because of the great high school programs that we have, the club programs we have in that sport, baseball can be the same thing.
It's a it's a big part of our culture. Sports.
It's something that I'll always be passionate about, but now I get to talk about some other things, which you know, a lot of fun.
I love about sports is you know, there's so many parts of our lives these days in the world that are working to divide us. Sports bring us together. Yes, there are rivalries, but that's also bringing us together to have great fun with these rivalries, and so that's one of the great things about sports. It's going to be great to watch the Cards win today at three.
That's right, you hear that on taking on Miami, two wins away from another trip to Omaha. Lastly, Craig, go want to ask you you're gonna You're gonna be making an appearance tomorrow at the Miracle League Baseball the Miracle League Baseball league, which is out in Fern Creek, and I've talked about it quite a bit. My daughter Maya, she's a part of this league and she's a specially each child. She has an intellectual disability. She's also also autistic.
And we've been in this league for three years. You're going to be in for a treat. It is such an awesome atmosphere to see all the kids play and having fun. They put so much into it. For me as a parent, it's just great to be around other families. It's just been so such a great thing for me.
And my family. But they go all out.
They've got a big video board where they put the picture of the players up there. They announce them as they walk up to the plate. It's a lot of excitement. I know you're making an appearance. Are you thrown out a first pitch?
Not thrown out a first pist Rachel and k will both be there and we're gonna be paired with athletes. We're going to be each be paired with the kid.
Yes, you're gonna be one of the buddies.
We're going to be one of the buddies for the entire game, and so we were out opening the pick off. Of course, had seen you know on socialdia here I heard you talking about your experiences there.
I knew of it.
And then recently when I was out at Fern Creek Park opening one of our new thirty four pick aball courts that we've opened this year throughout the city, I was talking to the individual who organizes the Miracle League, and so I knew there would be something that Rachel and I really wanted to do. We've been meaning to do it, and so we're excited tomorrow to be buddies with two great young people for the Miracle League baseball game.
And we're really looking forward to that at at Fern Creek Park tomorrow morning.
It is going to be a lot of fun. I hate that I'm going to miss it. It's actually the one game this year we won't be able to be at because we're traveling. But I know you'll have fun, and I know Rachel will have fun as well. So have a great weekend.
Go cards. Let's hope they can go cards.
And I do want to say one last thing, which is today's National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Here in Louisville, we are making tremendous progress. We are down thirty percent year over year in shootings and homicides, but we still have a lot of work to do. I want to invite everyone to join us as we advocate for change, as we work to support victims and their families, as we work to hold perpetrators accountable. We can and must
do more. We're making great progress, but you will see me main committed every day to making Louisville safer, and I just wanted to say that on today, National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Nick, Congratulations again. Excited to continue these conversations for many years to come.
Thank you so much, Thank you so much. It still doesn't seem real, but I'm enjoying it. This is great doing a great job. Thank you so much.
Greg. We'll take a quick break.
We've got news in traffic, weather coming your way right here on news Radio eight forty whas.
It is eight forty five here on.
A Friday morning on news radio eight forty whas, good vibes. Thank you for doing this for me, John. For those who don't know, whenever John used to be my producer before he was ripped away from me, and that's what it was too. Exactly what it was made it a little bit easier to deal with because it would have been more emotional on mi end if it was like a long sind off. They just took you, He just kidnapped you and brought you to has and now I'm
here where we are reunited. But this was always the final song you heard in the last segment on a Friday before we get out of here for the weekend.
So thank you good vibes here. Really appreciate it.
So we're gonna hand it off to Tony and Dwight coming up here shortly. They're gonna be at Mercurial Wealth Advisors for the show today, so this will be the last last time you hear me before we come back next week. Hopefully they let me come back after one week in this position, and I do believe they plan on allowing me to return next week and hopefully for a long time. And it's it's been a lot of fun, been a big adjustment, but still just so appreciative to
be in this position. So hopefully you guys have enjoyed what you have taken from this if not, come back next week, we'll try it again. Done work, come back the week after, We'll give it another shot. And if you just say that you're out, that's that's your fault, that's a you problem. I say that sarcastically because I do realize that this is a big change for a lot of people. You've heard the same voice in this position for twenty plus years, and he's a legend. That's
Tony Cruz. And you know, I miss him greatly. But I'm I'm gonna be me as best I can, because if we could all be Tony Cruz, we would've said that throughout the week.
It's true.
Who wouldn't want to be Tony Cruz. I mean, what a cool name, Tony Cruz, and he's a cool gen.
Hear his story on where that came from. It was from Michael did did He isn't like a prostitute or something.
I'm not kidding, I know, but I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have. There's a lot of ways people can take what you just said. I mean, if you missed the story, go back and listen. So he did talk about it on the air. It did, okay, I did. Yeah, that's why I'm People.
Who didn't hear it might think prostitute gave Tony Cruz his name.
No, there's teas, though, there's your teas.
Just go check out last week's podcast from his farewell shows and you can find out the full story on where it came from.
And it is a wild story. But again, to be clear, it wasn't the prostitute gave him that name. But yeah, he was sharing some great stories in the last couple of weeks that I really enjoyed. Not only is somebody that enjoys hearing stories from people like Tony, who I look up to, who obviously had a legendary run in broadcasting and I hope to to, you know, have half the success that he did, maybe a fraction of it.
But it also let people who maybe listened for you know, ten twelve years that you know, they probably didn't know that a lot about him, so they were able to, I think, connect with him in a way that they hadn't before. And I thought that was really awesome. But yeah, Tony Cruz, he's he's been gone a week. You think he misses us?
I doubt it. I don't know.
I bet he felt out of place for the first couple of days, because when that's your routine for twenty plus years and then it's all of a sudden not your routine anymore.
I'm sure it was weird.
It was weird at first, but I bet he got acclimated pretty quickly, and I'm sure he's sleeping a lot better than he ever has.
Yeah, I mean he was. He was a wild one last night.
I said this earlier in the show if you guys weren't with us, but I have reason to believe he was up past eleven o'clock last night and it did not take him long to become I mean a night ol, I guess. I mean that's not technically what being up past eleven PM I think would would get you classified.
As a night oul.
But when you've been getting up really really early for many, many years, I'm sure the sleeping in will be a big thing for him if he can. Hopefully he can, because some people when you get up a early for so long, it just mentally you're just you're gonna wake up on your own and you're gonna try to go back to sleep and maybe you'll get a little bit
more sleep. But yeah, wishing him well after one week away and really happy to be one week in here real quick before we hand it off to the fellas, this is something I wanted to share with you, John, because you and I, again we're not super close in age, but on the younger side, I think I can say that right, I'm thirty six, I'll be thirty seven. I'm not old, but I'm not young. There's now a list
here that I wanted. This is a guy named Aaron Marino who is a men's lifestyle influencer with over eight million followers. So he's got recommendations for things that men should stop doing at a certain age. Living with your parents. He says, age twenty five, you shouldn't be living with your parents anymore.
I think that's a good number me too.
I mean I was out earlier than that, but it was really just a circumstantial kind of thing. My wife and I were together, we weren't married at the time, but my mom had just moved in with my now stepdad and and she was just getting out of high school at that around that time, so we just decided, okay.
Let's let's let's let's have it.
Let's get an apartment, and we did that, and now we're you know, we're still together. So yeah, twenty five. I guess everybody's situation is different, but I think twenty five is fair. What about taking money from your parents.
I think once you're I'd like to say, once you graduate high school is probably when you should be. I'm with you, you should be you should have your own job, that sort of thing. By that point, I feel like, even if it's just, you know, something temporary, I think that's a good time to do that.
He says twenty three.
And I feel like that aid that number is mentioned because it isn't uncommon, and I hope people are very appreciative if parents are able to pay or at least help pay for your college education. I mean, that's that's not you getting money in your bank account. But it's certainly something that can go a long way if they're
helping pay for your education. But I just it's one thing for parents to to help you out when it's in a time of need, when you're young, or when you're still kind of just becoming, you know, an adult in the workforce, to where you don't have a whole lot of money, maybe they'll they'll cover your end of the family vacation, keep you on the family phone plan, that kind of thing. But when it comes to just like an allowance or something past eighteen, that.
Would be I think that's a little that's a little odd.
This is This is one that I'm sure will be controversial if there was a real back and forth about it because video games. He says, video games are something you should stop playing by twenty four unless you're somebody that is earning income from streaming that kind of stuff.
I disagree with that. Actually, it can be a hobby.
It can be a something you do to just enjoy yourself, like instead of somebody, you know, spending a couple of hours binging a show, spending a couple of hours on the sticks.
As they say, is that a thing? Am I am?
I aging myself. When I was a kid, they would talk about the control they would call the control of the sticks or the joystick or whatever it was. Right they had joysticks on and that was there. I don't know, you not knowing what I'm talking about. Is another reminder that despite me being the younger guy on the lineup, and certainly the youngest person to have to to be a host on this station in a long long time.
You're gonna You're gonna keep me comfortable in realizing that I'm also not super young, right because oh absolutely ten years of age roughly between between the two of us, and then this one is partying. You should scale back the partying by twenty seven. I think that's fair.
This is my final year to party. I better live, get out of your.
System while you have a newborn baby girl at home. It'd be quite the year for you at twenty seven, making.
Sure you be eleven life every year. That's true.
Party as much as you can, but also, you know, help bring a new one into the world. So yeah, a lot of balancing at age twenty seven. But that'll do it for us. Tony and dew iider up next. We'll be back at it on Monday. Hopefully everybody enjoys their weekend. This has been Kentucky in his morning news on News Ready eight forty whis