Lawson and Nighbert acquitted of rigging road contract bids
A jury found the owner of several Kentucky road construction companies and a former state official are not guilty of charges that they conspired to drive up the value of road contracts during 2006 and 2007 and later interfered with an investigation.
Leonard Lawson and former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert were indicted in 2008 after a former Transportation Cabinet engineer told the FBI that Nighbert had instructed him to leak confidential information to Lawson and that Lawson gave him $20,000 in cash as a reward.
The case hinged on the testimony of informant Jim Rummage, who admitted lying to the FBI early in the investigation, and recordings of conversations Rummage had with Nighbert, Lawson and others. But what prosecutors did not have was any of the cash Rummage said he got or clear evidence that Lawson had benefited from inside information.
"The key was the lack of Jim Rummage's credibility and a lot of missing evidence," said Howard Mann, defense attorney for Nighbert. He said Rummage's story was just "too fantastic and unbelievable."
Prosecutors called Gov. Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams as witnesses during the three-week trial. Nighbert and Lawson, who owns ATS Construction in Lexington and other construction businesses around the state, did not take the stand.
Lawson defense attorney Larry Mackey said calling Beshear and Williams was a "desperation move" by prosecutors trying to salvage a weak case.
"This was a case that should have never been tried, never been prosecuted," Mackey said after the verdict in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
Judge Karl Forester threw out two charges against Lawson and Nighbert before they even got to the jury. Prosecutors said Lawson gave Nighbert a "fake job" at a utility management company in which Lawson is an investor. Prosecutors alleged the job was a way to reward Nighbert after he was replaced as transportation secretary in December 2007. But Forester dismissed those charges for a lack of evidence.
Expert on international protocol to prep Lexington for Games
Some cultures have a thing about "personal space." Others typically stand close when talking. In Chile, you do not serve wine with the left hand. When sitting cross-legged while in the company of Pacific Islanders, avoid pointing your feet toward the center of the room. Asians are not "touchy" people - do not make casual body contact. Arab male society is "touchy" - but Arab wives do not shake hands. Confused yet? These are some examples of the culture shock headed Lexington's way with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in September.
Business owners, volunteers and others who expect to come in contact with the worldly throng can learn more about international protocol by attending one in a series of March seminars by international public relations and political consultant Harvey Thomas,
press and communications chief for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"The secret is actually very straight-forward," said Thomas in an interview available in its entirety online at bizlex.com. "I would say it's a biblical principle: respect all people. (The Bible) uses the word 'respect,' not 'tolerate.' Tolerance is bad because tolerance means, 'You're stupid, I'm smart, but I'm so nice that I will put up with you.' Respect means, 'I can learn from you and you can learn from me,' and it's an entirely different relationship. That is what is missing in global person-to-person relationships, especially from the West to the rest of the world."
Midway College will host a seminar on March 5 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. And Thomas is scheduled to make a presentation before The Lexington Rotary Club on March 11.
Kentucky Space gets launch assignment from NASA
Kentucky Space (www.kentuckyspace.com) has received an official launch assignment from NASA for its first satellite, KySat-1, on a mission set to launch in November.
The satellite, which includes a camera to support a scientific outreach program for Kentucky school children, will share space aboard a Taurus rocket with the primary payload, NASA's Glory climate research spacecraft.
Kentucky Space is a
nonprofit enterprise
involved in designing and developing entrepreneurial and educational space platforms. It is a consortium involving the combined resources and capacity of
the University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Murray State University, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, The Kentucky Space Grant Consortium, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and Belcan. The managing
partner and founder of the Kentucky Space consortium is the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation.
Columbia Gas: Switch to paperless billing, plant a tree
Columbia Gas of Kentucky and its parent company, NiSource Inc., announced a new environmental initiative with The Nature Conservancy focused on planting trees in exchange for any customer making the switch to paperless bills.
For every customer who enrolls in the company's free Direct e-Bill paperless billing service between January 1, 2010 and April 1, 2010, Columbia Gas of Kentucky will automatically contribute $10 to The Nature Conservancy to help rebuild the endangered Atlantic Forest in Brazil through the organization's Plant a Billion Trees program.
At a dollar per tree, the contribution is equivalent to helping plant 10 trees on behalf of each customer who signs up. The company's minimum contribution is $100,000 with a maximum contribution of $200,000. A check will be presented to the Kentucky chapter of The Nature Conservancy on or before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2010.
Columbia's free electronic billing service is a convenient way customers can manage their account and help the environment at the same time. Instead of getting a paper bill in the mail, customers receive an e-mail notification that their utility bill is available to view on columbiagasky.com the same day it's rendered. Customers can pay their bill on-line at no charge and perform other business on their account, such as signing up for the Budget Payment Plan. The e-mail notification also includes a link to electronic versions of monthly bill inserts, customer newsletters and other important account information.
The Nature Conservancy's reforestation effort to Plant a Billion Trees will restore more than 2.5 million acres of land and remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. That's like taking two million cars off the road. Only seven percent of the Atlantic Forest's original area - which was the size of the U.S. eastern seaboard from Maine to South Carolina - survives.
Learn how to make your business greener, healthier and save money
Bluegrass PRIDE and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government will host a free workshop at the Fayette County Extension office on February 25 on how to "green" your business or apartment complex. The workshop will include multiple break-out sessions on ways to become more environmentally friendly and improve your bottom line. Sessions will include introductory storm water practices, waste reduction, energy and water conservation, environmentally friendly landscaping, and best management practices for your maintenance team. There will also be two break-out sessions with a representative from Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to share information on the new incentive program they are offering to help offset the water quality management fee.
Light breakfast food and coffee will be provided. Registration will be open until February 21. Contact Bluegrass PRIDE at (859)266-1572 with any questions.
Also on Feb. 25, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is hosting a daylong Kentucky Worksite Wellness Conference at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa. The conference is recommended for anyone charged with implementing and maintaining wellness programs in the workplace. The chamber feels strongly about this one, offering a refund of the registration fee to anyone who is not "100 percent satisfied with your seminar experience." The fee is $299 for chamber members, $399 for non-members.
To register, contact Casey Adams at (502)695-4700 or cadams@kychamber.com.
Video game chip developer to speak at UK
Computer engineer David Shippy, a University of Kentucky graduate who helped develop the chips for two major video game consoles, will discuss his work during a reception in the second floor Lexmark Room in UK's Main Building at noon on Friday, February 19.
Shippy, chief architect and technical leader of the team that developed the PowerPC microprocessor for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, will read from his recent book, "The Race for a New Machine," co-authored by Mickie Phipps.
A question-and-answer period will follow Shippy's presentation.
UK receives grant to advance sustainable manufacturing
The University of Kentucky's new Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing has been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The grant is in support of efforts to develop a common standard by which the sustainability of manufacturing processes - and the products that result - can be measured and evaluated.
Such a standard would help manufacturers cut costs, reduce production time and better manage material use, energy consumption and waste, according to a statement by the Institute's director, I.S. Jawahir.
Lexington CVB launches iPhone app
The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a free slide puzzle iPhone application. Developed by Agent511, an Owensboro and Chicago-based mobile technology company, the slide puzzle features nine beautiful images of Lexington's Bluegrass region.
The application is available for download from the Apple iTunes' store and on www.visitlex.com.