Greetings.

I hope this Postmortem finds you well. We've had such a stretch of beautiful weather and with the leaves changing right on cue, I wonder if we will have a "classic" Fall this year.

It's also election season, and we've been head down getting interviews with candidates recorded and ready to share with you. There are a lot of candidates. The County is pretty much sewn up, but there is a write-in candidate, Nick Marcum, for Dist. 1 magistrate, who added himself to the mix. 🤔

But first...

Across the jurisdictions

On Friday, a delegation from our region's Japanese family from Hokuto City, arrived. Their first stop was Keeneland. After Union Church's pastor, the Rev. Kent Gilbert showed the delegates how to place their bets (🤔), several members of the delegation won some cash, which they were excited to tell their Kentucky family friends about during the welcome ceremonial dinner that night.

Photographic evidence reviewed by an amused reporter also revealed that several young, blonde members of the horsey set, sporting wide brimmed hats and carrying fruity-looking drinks, inserted themselves into the just-arrived party from Japan, to help them celebrate their winnings in style.

The delegation, along with officials from the Fiscal Court, Richmond City, and Berea, will participate in a re-dedication of the sister city program on Tuesday morning at 9:30 in the Fiscal Courtroom.

Richmond City beat

Meanwhile, in Richmond City, we've offered each of the eight commissioner candidates and the two mayoral ones the opportunity to be interviewed by our Richmond beat reporter, Jemi Chew, or to write a letter to the editor, which we will publish. First to respond to our offer was Ed McDaniel who is running against incumbent Mayor Robert Blythe. You can read his interview with Jemi here.

Something I thought was interesting about his interview was that Ed has been a commissioner before, but he said he's running because Richmond needs new leadership. Commissioner Mike Brewer has been around almost as long as Blythe: 20 years and 24 years respectively.

I understand what McDaniel means in theory, but it seems that Richmond only ever elects the same people over and over, perhaps shuffling them around a bit, but still recycling the same old same old, including Ed.

What has changed since each of them got into office? There are less historic buildings standing downtown, for one thing.

There are less bars, but more breweries.

There's not a decent dining-out scene, so that's the same, unless you like Indian food, which I do, so that's okay by me. But where does one go for an elegant night out? No one in City Hall has emphasized bringing in that kind of small business.

Maybe Richmondians have no interest in elegant dining. Or, as someone said more emphatically to me recently, Richmond doesn't have that kind of vibe because the people with that kind of money in Richmond are antisocial.

I don't know if I agree with that, but I don't know that I disagree with that, either. Who are the people with "that kind of money" anyway? 🤔

Richmond does have a lot of university students, however, and I doubt they are thinking, "Where can I spend a small fortune on dinner?"

But as a quality-of-life indicator, it rates not at all.

What Richmond--and EKU--will have soon is a medical school, as our features and county beat reporter Aubrey Kimble recently reported. Congratulations to Aubrey for her reporting on this, which was picked up by the Kentucky Lantern, too!

County beat

Aubrey is working on a report about two land use-related law suits, each naming the Fiscal Court as the defendant, making their way through the county circuit court. We expect to have that for you before the week is out.

And, Bert Thomas, former planning and development director for the County, retired on September 30, after 30 years as a civil servant.

Deputy Judge Executive Jill Williams told me that the remaining staff would be handling most duties, but didn't confirm other intel I had that she will in fact be assuming Bert's directorship role through the end of the year when Williams and her boss, Judge Executive Reagan Taylor clear out their desks and make way for Donna Agee and whomever she hires...🤔

Berea beat

Speaking of land use-related law suits, last week, the appellate court accepted written arguments from both sides in the East Kentucky Power Coop appeal of the Circuit Court's ruling in EKPC v. Berea College. The coop seeks to build 9 miles of transmission line through the College's forest. When the College said no, the case landed in Kristin Clouse's court. She ruled against the utility. We covered every word of every minute in that case, and what led up to it.

Now, we're keeping the appeal in our sights and will report back when we know more.

There are at least 15, maybe 16, candidates running for office in Berea. There are only 8 spots for the 13 Council candidates, and there can be only one mayor. I know two of the mayoral candidates—incumbent Bruce Fraley and newcomer Ricky Clontz, but who is Troy Lane and where can I get in touch with him about his campaign for mayor, as listed on the County Clerk's website? 🤔

In partnership with StreamGoMedia on North Broadway (disclaimer: the studio is owned and operated by Anthony Hudson, husband of Council candidate Gina Hudson), we're offering each candidate an opportunity to make their case for 15 minutes, on camera. We will air the videos on our site, and they will also be posted in the Let's Grow Berea Facebook group.

I sent all the candidates a list of the exact same questions, so they all prepared along the same lines.

The interviews are going well. We've done five so far. We have to take a break this week because I am a National Press Foundation fellow for the second year in a row, and as such have a lot going on. More on that and other accomplishments we've been racking up here at The Edge in an upcoming Postmortem. We just have to get through it all first before I tell you more.

Your subscription to The Edge is about to be tax deductible

We are still moving toward our nonprofit model, however. I am the one who is moving slower than anyone anticipated, but I am honored and excited to say that is because I have been in demand nationally as a speaker and fellow, and am traveling a lot. These events (plus the election) will preoccupy me through November, but after that, I will get it set up so that in 2027, you will be able to take a tax deduction for your paid subscription to The Edge.

It's part of a larger overhaul to our audience engagement and donor relations protocols, which right now aren't so robust because I've been focused on building the editorial side more than the business side. We're shifting that now, as I have more support for the editorial, and since I have been working with a nonprofit audience engagement consultant through the small business support program at the Mountain Association (they do not fund me, contrary to one of the many erroneous claims made by Berea Moderate moderator, J. Bowling).

Proud of my team

Lastly, I just want to say how proud I am of the interns I have been blessed to work with. I am not an easy boss. I am a nice boss, but I demand and expect a lot from my staff, especially when I can see how talented they are. In my career, the best bosses I ever had were the same way with me. I have only gained from being trained up in that way.

So, shout out to Jemi, Aubrey, who might as well be full-time reporters instead of "just" interns, 'cause I am working them hard. Also, thank you to Erin Teegarden, who manages my admin and writes the How Can I Help? column, all while working her actual full-time job.

Have a great week. Thank you for being a fan and supporter of The Edge!

Whitney