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Preston-Osborne head departs for job in Frankfort
Preston-Osborne Owner and CEO Phil Osborne will leave the company to become chief communications officer for Governor-Elect Steve Beshear's administration.
Longtime Preston-Osborne employee Ellen Gregory will be the acting-CEO, Leanna Comer will oversee management of the research operation, David Caldwell will take on some additional responsibilities in account management and Jennifer Osborne will assume some administrative and business development responsibilities.
Osborne will take an unpaid leave of absence from the company and leave the door open for his return. He plans on discussing with Beshear's new General Council, Ellen Hesen, the legality of his ownership of the firm.
Though he is the company's sole owner, Osborne said he's only been drawing salary, which should pass the state's ethical limpness test.
Asked if the company could be sold, Osborne said: "No I don't think so. I could put it into a blind trust, I think if I had to, but I don't think I'd have to do that. Ellen will continue to operate it as the CEO now, and until they're told differently, it is just business as usual."
Osborne started at the company in 1985 when it was called The Preston Group and was named president a decade later when his name was added to the title. Osborne became sole owner in 1997 when he bought out founder Tom Preston, who too has been rumored to join Beshear's administration.
Osborne's role with the administration will be to develop overarching strategic communication plans for the entirety of state government. Beshear's campaign communications director, Vicki Glass, will be Osborne's deputy and will act as the voice for the governor's office.
PDR program exceeds 20,000 acre milestone
The seven-year-old Purchase of Development Rights program that aims to buy the development rights of 50,000 acres in Fayette County by 2020 announced it is 40 percent of the way to its goal.
The PDR program broke the 20,000-acre mark with the purchase and donation of development rights on Richland Farm in the eastern part of the county. Currently 174 farms are involved in the program and the city has put $21.6 million toward the cause.
Farmers who sell their development rights still own the land and can use the proceeds from selling their development rights to make needed improvements on their farms. The land can also be sold, though development of the land is prohibited.
The goal of the PDR program is to preserve the trademark farmland around Lexington as well as to protect the agricultural industry taking place on this land. Agriculture brings in nearly $3 billion a year to the regional economy of Central Kentucky.
"W" Weekly exits to make way for new media effort
In a time when more and more people are carrying tiny laptops in their pockets, the publishers of Smiley Pete Publishing decided to halt production of the printed version of the W Weekly magazine and focus their attention on creating a relevant and entertaining Web presence that blends all the material from their other publications under one roof.
While the publishers considered the content of W Weekly to be of the utmost importance to Lexington's arts culture, the medium in which the information was being disseminated has fallen out of vogue for the demographic the publication served. The company's other publications are Business Lexington and the Chevy Chaser and Southsider Magazines.
As Smiley Pete Publishing's new Web site is being developed, the company is analyzing its options for restructuring the material W Weekly generated, such as musician and artist profiles, extensive calendar listings, movie reviews, and off-beat social commentary, into its Web presence.
"The Internet has become the great revelator for the publishing industry, and its appeal to users, of all ages, must be recognized," said editor Robbie Clark.
Smiley Pete Publishing purchased the Wildcat Weekly in January of 2006, and, after a thorough redesign and shift in content, renamed the publication to W Weekly magazine in June of that year. Twelve thousand issues were printed each week and delivered to over 400 locations in the Lexington area, specifically the downtown and campus areas. All employees have been retained.
Lexington high-tech firm lands NASA research contract
Advanced Dynamics, Inc., a Lexington high-tech firm, has won a NASA research award under the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The company, located in the Coldstream Reseach Park, is to develop a capability for computer-based analysis and modeling of aerospace vehicles ranging from conventional aircraft to advanced spacecraft.
Advanced Dynamics' proposal was chosen based upon technical merit and innovation, the firm's performance with an earlier Phase I SBIR project, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities.
The challenge to Advanced Dynamics is to provide an essential software design tool not currently available in an integrated dynamic fluid-structure interaction environment. The software tool is expected to be significantly more robust and efficient than traditional analysis methods, and could potentially lead to savings in time and cost as a result of improved specification, design, and operational performance for a range of aerospace vehicles and increase U.S. aerospace mission effectiveness.
Floor sweeper an executive under the FLSA
A finding in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case sends the message to employers that they should have procedures and policies that demonstrate that managers have the primary duties of management and that these duties are essential to the business—that they, for instance, exercise authority over employees, have discretion in decisions, and are relatively autonomous.
In the recent Sixth Circuit case of Thomas v. Speedway SuperAmerica , the Court found that a gas station and convenience store manager was a bona fide executive exempt from overtime pay under FLSA and the Ohio Wage and Hour Act even though she performed non-management tasks and was closely supervised.
Mabel Kay Thomas began working as a store manager for Speedway in 1998. She was supervised by a district manager who visited the station once or twice a week. Thomas claimed that approximately sixty percent of her work time was spent on non-managerial tasks, such as stocking shelves, sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms, operating the register, and performing clerical duties. Thomas, however, also performed many management functions, including hiring and supervising employees, preparing work schedules, handling employee complaints, evaluating employees' work performance, and handling terminations. In 2003, Thomas was terminated and she filed a lawsuit in federal district court alleging that the Company had violated the FLSA and Ohio wage laws. The Company, represented by David Owen of Greenbaum Doll McDonald, in turn argued that Thomas fell under the executive exemption of the FLSA and state wage laws. The district court granted summary judgment to the Company and the Sixth Circuit upheld that decision.
The Sixth Circuit reiterated its prior holding that the test of whether an employee's duties are primarily managerial is not whether they are "in charge." In this case, however, the Court found that being "in charge" did equate to being in management. The Court held that Thomas met the criteria for the executive exemption. Her managerial duties were much more important to the station's success than her non-managerial duties; on a daily basis, she exercised discretion over matters that were vital to the station's success, was relatively free from supervision and earned approximately thirty percent more than other employees, which indicated that management was her primary duty. All of these factors, the Court held, supported the Company's position that Thomas qualified for the executive exemption under both FLSA and state wage laws.
According to Owen, the case emphasizes that courts will look at an employee's actual duties in determining whether they qualify for the executive exemption.
364 area code on hold
The Kentucky Public Service Commission revised the starting date for the optional use of area code 364, delaying it by six months to Jan. 1, 2009.
The change reflects an updated estimate of the date by which the present area code 270 — from which area code 364 will be split — will run out of available numbers.
The PSC also continued to hold open the date for mandatory use of area code 364. It will not be determined until after the PSC fully assesses how a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision regarding the assignment of telephone numbers will further affect the lifespan of area code 270.
Area code 364 will cover the western portion of the current area code 270, including the cities of Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Murray and Paducah.
EKU to broadcast Metropolitan Opera
The Saturday matinee broadcasts of New York City's world-famous Metropolitan Opera are moving from WUKY-FM to WEKU-FM.
Beginning on Dec. 8, the public radio service of Eastern Kentucky University will add the Met's weekly programs to its classical music format. Most of the shows, including the 2007-08 season debut, begin at 1:30 p.m. Some begin at 12:30 or 1 p.m.
"Airing classical music is part of our station's mission and history," said WEKU Station Manager Roger Duvall, so, "switching the Met to an already established classical station in the market makes obvious programming sense."
WUKY's music format is adult rock, and the listening audience for the Saturday Met broadcasts had been declining. "It is only logical for the nation's oldest and most venerable classical music program to be on WEKU," WUKY Station Manager Tom Godell said. "By working together to move the broadcasts, we will not only be able to keep the great program on the air in this region, we'll also be making it available to a much larger potential audience."