Pegasus Institute

Pegasus Institute released a Tobacco Harm Reduction Plan today aimed at saving lives, and reducing costs to taxpayers. The plan calls for a $0.50 increase in the cigarette tax as part of state tax reform, which is expected take place next year, and calls for maintaining the current tax rate on smokeless tobacco and vaping products, as an effort to transition smokers to products which have fewer medical costs associated with them. The research and proposal, authored by University of Louisville Medical School professor Dr. Brad Rodu, and University of Louisville Research Economist Nantaporn Plurphanswat, has been endorsed by 16 academics affiliated with universities all across the United State

Last Monday, the FBI released it’s 2016 Crime in the United States report, a publication of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, or UCR. The UCR is a voluntary statistical compilation of offense, arrest, and police employee data reported by law enforcement agencies. The federal program began in the 1930, and has collected data ever since. The 2016 report paints a grim picture for both the nation and closer to home here in Louisville. While much of what was contained in the report pertaining to violence in Louisville we already knew, the scope of Louisville’s problem when compared to other cities was not. There were 1,367 more murders in the United States in 2016 than in 2015. Louisvill

STATEMENT: LOUISVILLE METRO COUNCIL SHOULD DELAY VOTE, PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK, AND ANSWER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS BEFORE SUBSIDIZING PRIVATE SOCCER STADIUM For Immediate Release Last week, the Mayor of Louisville requested that the city’s Metro Council vote on a $30 million package to subsidize a proposed stadium project for the Louisville Football Club, which plays in the United Soccer League. Taxpayer money, in the form of bonded debt, will be used to purchase approximately 40 acres of land, a portion of which will house the team’s stadium. Initial estimates project that the city will lose more than $26 million on its investment. Most experts agree that these kinds of investments are an u