• Louisville at Work, the city’s initiative to maximize the use of federal economic stimulus dollars to create jobs and improve the community. Ten volunteer teams are working to prioritize projects and pursue grant opportunities in key areas such as transportation, education, economic development and health. Louisville expects to receive more than $250 million.
  
• The new downtown arena. This 22,000-seat facility on the banks of the Ohio River will serve as home court for University of Louisville basketball teams and attract regional NCAA events and major concerts. The arena will be a catalyst for the development of new retail, restaurants and other attractions. Developed in partnership with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the arena is a concrete example of the benefit of teamwork among government agencies and the private sector.
  
• Museum Plaza, a planned 62-story skyscraper, will include condos, offices, a hotel, a contemporary arts center and the University of Louisville's Graduate School of Business.
  
• Expansion of UPS World Port, the package-sorting hub that has transformed Louisville’s airport into the nation’s third busiest cargo port – and made UPS the largest private employer in Kentucky, with a workforce of more than 20,000. With a $1 billion expansion underway to increase its capacity, UPS has attracted thousands more jobs at dozens of businesses that require fast shipping.
  
• Keeping Ford in Louisville. Working with the state officials, company executives and union leaders, we have helped ensure new investment, save jobs and bring new vehicle lines to Ford’s two Louisville operations – the Kentucky Truck Plant and Louisville Assembly Plant.
  
• Fostering Humana’s growth. This hometown company has nearly doubled its workforce in the past 5 years to about 10,000, making it one of downtown’s largest employers.
  
• Backing General Electric’s green-friendly investments to add 400 new jobs to build hybrid-electric water heaters at Appliance Park, the first major investment at the Louisville plant in decades.
• Moving forward with a plan for revitalizing the Park Hill corridor, reclaiming a brownfields area in a pivotal location in the center of the city.
  
• Nurturing new and emerging bioscience and technology companies through the MetaCyte Business Lab, the University of Louisville’s growing life sciences sector and creation of seed and venture capital funds.
  
• Focusing on neighborhood retail development through the COOL Program -- Corridors of Opportunity in Louisville – with dozens of projects, from new shopping centers to renovated storefronts.
  
• Supporting local businesses. The city’s partnership with Greater Louisville Inc., the chamber of commerce, includes initiatives such as the award-winning Mayor’s High Impact Program, which supports 140 of the city’s fastest-growing local companies.
  
• Thinking regionally on economic development with partnerships such as WIRED 65, the new workforce development plan for 26 Kentucky and Indiana counties along I-65.

Public Safety - Mayor Abramson’s top priority is keeping Louisville safe – hiring, equipping and deploying first responders in ways that best serve today's needs and neighborhoods. It’s one of the reasons that Louisville has been consistently ranked as one of the Nation’s Safest Large Cities by independent researchers.

• MetroSafe, the city’s new $70 million communications and response system, links for the first time on a single network more than 4,000 police officers, firefighters and EMS and other emergency responders throughout the region. The system, which has been developed in phases over the past 4 years, includes a state-of-the-art radio transmission system and a new headquarters for communications and emergency operations at the site of the former Federal Reserve Building downtown.
  
• The Louisville Metro Police Department has made community oriented policing its top priority, with more police officers on the streets, new tools, expanded training and stronger community relationships. The department’s 574-LMPD citizen tipline – one important new crime-fighting initiative -- has received 100,000 calls since it was created in 2004, leading to about 2,600 arrests. The number of neighborhood block watch groups has more than doubled in the past 6 years.
  
• The Mayor’s 21^st Century Fire modernization plan is upgrading the city’s fire houses and equipment with the goal of improving response time across the urban-services district. Two new state-of-the-art fire stations have opened to serve the Portland and Clifton neighborhoods, with work underway for a third station in the Beechmont neighborhood. As an example of greater regional cooperation, the Louisville Division of Fire and 21 suburban and Southern Indiana fire departments were recently awarded a grant from FEMA – the largest grant of its kind in the U.S. – for personal security devices for their 1,700 firefighters.
  
• The Mayor created a community-wide Emergency Medical Service, which uses the latest technology and a data-driven approach to shave life-saving seconds off response times. New technologies such as wireless patient care computers allow ambulance crews direct, immediate communication with area hospitals – even allowing real-time EKGs to be transmitted to emergency rooms.

City of Parks - Projects in every corner of the community reflect the Mayor’s belief that parks shape quality neighborhoods and enhance quality of life. Improvements range from historic Olmsted Parks to suburban golf courses, from a visionary expansion of along Floyds Fork to a new 100-mile Louisville Loop trail. The progress includes:

• More than 250 improvement projects worth more than $33 million in dozens of existing parks. The investments have created new playgrounds, tennis courts, walking paths, golf clubhouses and spray parks; completed Iroquois Amphitheatre; expanded Jefferson Memorial Forest; and developed master plans for parks throughout the community, from Riverview Park in the Southwest to Champions Park in the River Road recreation corridor.
  
• The Floyds Fork Project, which has preserved more than 4,000 acres of new parkland along this suburban watershed through an extraordinary public-private collaboration with 21^st Century Parks. Three or four large parks, linked by greenways, will offer canoeing, hiking, playing fields and more, shaping development of the surrounding neighborhoods.
  
• Increasing Louisville’s reputation as a major-sports-event destination, hosting the 2007 Senior Games, the Ford Ironman Triathlon, the 2008 Ryder Cup and national competitions than range from volleyball to bicycling.
  
• Expanding Waterfront Park, the city’s award-winning 85-acre downtown park with a playground and children’s water park, a new Abraham Lincoln Memorial, a waterfront promenade and beginning work on the Big 4 pedestrian bridge.
  
• Creating the city’s Bike Louisville program to embrace bicycling’s growing popularity for recreation and alternative transportation. The Mayor has added 30 miles of dedicated bike lanes; 30 miles of bike and pedestrian paths and opened the first 23 miles of the 100-mile Louisville Loop. As a result, Louisville was named one of Bicycling Magazine’s Top 3 Most Improved Cities for Bicycling and one of Outside Magazine’s Best Towns in 2008.

Roads, drainage improvements - The Mayor has invested in infrastructure to meet the needs of the new city of Louisville – from road improvements to drainage to storm response. Progress includes:

• Championing efforts to build the Ohio River Bridges Project, to improve safety, avoid gridlock and foster economic development and transportation of goods and services. He was a strong advocate for new state legislation that will pave the way for financing the two new bridges and reconstruction of downtown’s Spaghetti Junction.
  
• A better system for fighting winter storms, which includes creating a multi-department Metro Snow Team to treat roads ahead of storms, as well as afterwards, and adding computer technology to track progress of road clearing efforts.
  
• Project DRI, one of the mayor's first initiatives following merger, has invested $166 million to resolve more than 1,000 neighborhood drainage problems across Louisville. The Metropolitan Sewer District has completed the first two phases. Next up: Phase III with 255 additional improvement projects citywide.

Housing - The past 6 ½ years have seen major progress in the housing landscape – from the development of Liberty Green at the eastern gateway to downtown, where barracks-style public housing once stood….to the foreclosure crisis that rocked the entire community. The Mayor has set the goal of housing at all price points throughout the city – and made it a priority to stabilize and raise up struggling neighborhoods and their families.

• The award-winning Park DuValle revitalization project was completed – a new mixed-income neighborhood with 1,000 houses and apartments where a rundown, crime-plagued housing project once stood. It has become of a national model for the federal Hope VI program.
  
• Liberty Green, a second Hope VI project, has transformed a neighborhood east of downtown. The decaying Clarksdale housing project was demolished to make way for 400 new apartments, which are now home to hundreds of families. Developers have been selected for the next phase, building 300 market-rate houses and condos.
  
• With the help of $7 million in federal funds, Neighborhood Stabilization Programs are under way to improve housing in five city neighborhoods hard-hit by the foreclosures: Newburg, Smoketown/Shelby Park, Shawnee, Portland, and Park DuValle.
  
• Foreclosure assistance has been provided by the city working with local agencies, including The Housing Partnership Inc. The city launched a foreclosure assistance hotline to help homeowners connect with their mortgage-lenders – an idea adopted by the state as well, to encourage homeowners to reach out as soon as they know they are in trouble.

Healthy Hometown - Public health is a top concern in a community that has high rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

• The Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement was launched to educate and invigorate, raising community consciousness about healthy eating and physical activity. The movement fosters a wide range of activities, involving dozens of agencies and community groups – from walking clubs to stop-smoking classes to farmers’ markets. The Mayor’s twice-yearly Healthy Hometown Hike and Bike events attract thousands of cyclists and walkers downtown for a trip through the city’s historic neighborhoods and parks. The Healthy Hometown Movement won Louisville an award as “America's Most Livable Large City" by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
  
• The STAR program (Strategic Toxic Air Reduction) is reducing toxic emissions from industrial plants. The Mayor led efforts through the Air Pollution Control District to develop this ambitious and successful anti-pollution effort that has gained national attention. The result: healthier air outside – including a 75 percent reduction in one of the biggest chemical culprits.
  
• And the city has healthier air inside. The Mayor was a strong supporter of Louisville’s 2007 smoking ban in public places.

Go Green Louisville – The Mayor has accelerated the city’s commitment to environmental responsibility, including partnerships with the federal Energy Star program and local businesses and educational institutions.

• Louisville was named one of the EPA’s five ENERGY STAR priority city partners. The designation led to an aggressive and productive outreach program with the city’s private sector. Louisville is profiled on ENERGY STAR’s website, and city representatives have provided guidance to dozens of other towns and cities across the country wishing to improve energy performance.
  
• Louisville’s Kilowatt Crackdown, a yearlong contest to improve energy use in all community buildings, was honored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Almost 250 buildings have signed up for this year’s challenge.
  
• Louisville is part of the Partnership for a Green City, with University of Louisville and Jefferson Public Schools sharing best practices. The Partnership published a comprehensive guide of goals for the community in order to reduce the production of greenhouse gases.
  
• The city launched its Go Green Louisville initiative, which aims to reduce energy usage in government buildings, decrease fuel consumption, expand green space and increase recycling. Results so far include: more energy efficient fluorescent bulbs; reducing the size of the city’s fleet and increasing the number of hybrid vehicles. The Mayor replaced his Lincoln Continental with a hybrid Ford Escape. He replaced all city traffic lights with energy-efficient LED lights – saving $250,000 each year.

Government Accessibility – The Mayor is focused on connecting our citizens with city government through a number of initiatives:

• LouisvilleKy.gov – Louisville's official website -- makes an increasing array of services and information easily available for citizens. LouisvilleKy.gov has been ranked among the nation’s Top 5 city websites three years in a row by the Center for Digital Government. On LouisvilleKy.gov, citizens can find and map city services and facilities, apply for permits, license their pets and be notified of zoning and development. They can also find easy-to-understand information about the city’s budget and track federal stimulus dollars awarded to Louisville.
  
• MetroCall 311 – Louisville’s award-winning city information center -- is the 24/7 non-emergency number to call when you've got a concern, question or idea for city government. MetroCall has responded to about 3.5 million phone calls and emails from citizens.
  
• Community Conversations are held every month except December – a time when Mayor Abramson, department directors and Metro Council members meet directly with residents to answer questions and listen to concerns and ideas.
  
• MetroTV - Louisville's government television channel (Insight Cable Channel 25) provides award-winning programs and features, coverage of news conferences, Metro Council meetings, special events and more. Through the city’s website, citizens can also view on-demand MetroTV coverage of all Metro Council meetings – live – or whenever it fits their schedule.

Financial responsibility – The merger of city and county governments provided the opportunity to improve financial management and make the most of our city’s resources in challenging times.

• The city has reduced the size of government by 20 percent by steadily streamlining its workforce and not filling vacant positions.
  
• Louisville earned stronger bond ratings from Wall Street, which has lower the cost of borrowing and saved taxpayers money. In spring 2009, Standard & Poor’s said Louisville’s “strong financial operations guided by strong management policies” provide stability “even in the face of the economic downturn.”
  
• A systematic effort to consolidate staff in city-owned buildings and to negotiate better leases for rented space has saved $2 million on rent in the past 5 years and raised more than $5 million through surplus property sales.

Education - Mayor Abramson is committed to raising the bar in education, recognizing that it is the key to opportunity for individuals to improve their lives and essential for Louisville to have a skilled workforce to keep, attract and generate good jobs.

• He has been a committed partner in keeping students in school, increasing the number of people with GEDs, technical certificates, associate and bachelor’s and higher degrees – and encouraging a culture of lifelong education.
  
• Every 1 Reads – the partnership between JCPS, GLI and city government – focused on getting every public school student reading at grade level in 4 years, with a new curriculum, new teacher training and 10,000 volunteer reading tutors and mentors. The Mayor has helped rally support from nearly 70 community and faith-based organizations.
  
• The Mayor’s Top Reading School Awards of Excellence recognizes schools showing the most progress on reading scores and those who have the fewest novice readers.
  
• Cutting the dropout rate has been a top priority. The Mayor hosted the scommunity’s first dropout prevention summit in 2008 – “One in 4 is too Many.” He also kicked off a new program called Close the Deal, that urged seniors at Valley High School to go to college. It was such a success that Close the Deal will visit more high schools in the year ahead.
  
• The innovative Metropolitan College program has expanded as UPS has grown -- and other employers have joined in -- offering participating students a free college education as they work in key jobs, like the UPS night shift operation.
  
• The Youth Opportunities Unlimited Center – nicknamed YOU – provides a one-stop center where 16- to 21-year-olds can get information about jobs, education and careers. The city’s annual Youth Opportunity Showcase provides a link to summer jobs.
  
• The new Mayor’s Education Roundtable brings together top education leaders throughout the Louisville metropolitan area to draft a plan to increase educational attainment. They will hold their first retreat in Summer 2009.