Ch. 13 Big Blue

& Robert E. Lee

I’m getting to an age now where my friends and I will likely talk about retirement when we get together rather than the stuff that used to interest us. With each new gray hair that pops up and ache, as I balance an empty keg on my chin, I feel more and more called to focus on finding and arranging the best setup for my final era. 

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I have spent over four years trying to change this site’s zoning. Still, the county will not budge, presumably due to the board’s wariness of turning the property into an entertainment venue, likely fearing direct competition. The City of Ludlow can override the county’s decision. However, considering our decade-long strained relationship, those in authority are not eager to help.

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April 4th, 2023: The Mayor of Ludlow, Chris Wright, emailed me a settlement offer outlining terms to permit my desired plan for development in Ludlow. The offer allowed me to host two weekly events for up to 200 people outside Big Blue, albeit with some rules and restrictions. The settlement also obligated me to further “necessary” repairs to the Oak & Davies property to grant rezoning to residential, which would eventually facilitate my desired artist housing.

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My experience as a teen living in Vanilla (aka Villa) Hills was different, to say the least, and in fact, my alma mater was the center of a nationwide racial controversy not too long ago. The famous Red Hat kid, whose interactions with the Black Hebrew Israelites and Native American activists in DC brought gobs of unwanted attention, went to my school. 

Having been personally enraged by this incident and its implications toward my alma mater, Covington Catholic, I’d reached out to the school administration. Trying to help deflect the media storm I could see brewing on the horizon, I made efforts to organize community events and sought to bring peace, recognizing alll sides of the lingering controversy had valid gripes and were entitled to them. I engaged local and national media to highlight these positive efforts. I made efforts to organize our community. I was interviewed by Christa Case Bryant, staff writer For the Christian Science Monitor.

What it’s like to live in a town the whole country is yelling about

Updated Feb. 07, 2019, 11:52 ET | COVINGTON, KY.

Before Covington became a code word for all that is wrong in America today – whether you think that means the smugness of white privilege, or the vindictive bias of the liberal media – it was known as a proud Rust Belt city on the rise.

This northern Kentucky city on the banks of the Ohio River is a place where Hillary Clinton received more votes than Donald Trump. Where voters elevated a working-class African-American woman to the role of vice mayor. Where a professional clown who once worked for a Trump casino is inviting the community to join a Lakota Sioux tribal leader this weekend to begin the healing process.

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As for the future the State of Kentucky has allocated 17.5% of the historic rehabilitation costs up to $520,921 for the rehab of Big Blue, Magnus Metal Company Building (See Workbook for Complete Part 1, Part 2, application and the award letter). Unfortunately, however, we have a standoff on our hands—like an old-time mountain feud, with the City of Ludlow waving a white flag as a settlement and then pulling it back tauntingly.

But shots fired at me continue in the form of police and fire harassment over “illegal” trailers (while adjacent food trucks and trailers are considered compliant) or by blocking my progress over minor maintenance issues, really anything they can find. Now, I’m firing back with the truth in the form of corrected deposition statements (currently awaiting the judge’s review), and this book tells the tale that the local powers-that-be would rather remain untold.