March 20, 2023

On the calendar today is the spring equinox, aka the first day of spring, although it hardly feels like it. In lieu of this, today we’ll be celebrating Alien Abduction Day so try your best not to get beamed up into the stars.

The truth, much like these stories from the Lexington Herald-Leader, is out there.

Lexington

When a freak storm rolled through Fayette County on March 3 knocking out power to Abe Mashni’s south Lexington home, he and his family decamped to his parents’ home, which still had power. When they finally returned a couple days later, they realized they had been the victim of an unlikely and strange burglar.

The Herald-Leader’s Beth Musgrave has the story here.

If you live in Lexington or Fayette County and you’ve thought about switching your home to solar power, you could qualify for a 20% discount through a citywide buying group and do it with a vetted installer.

Here’s how to apply for the program, plus who qualifies.

A contrabass clarinet from the 1960s, a violin from 1972, a trumpet from the 1960s held together with electrical tape, and an oboe made in 1912 — the year the Titanic passenger liner sank — were shown to board members during a budget workshop last week where various district staff talked about their department’s needs.

About 5,000 Fayette County students taking traditional band and orchestra are using these dilapidated instruments. More here from Herald-Leader reporter Valarie Honeycutt Spears.

Here’s what else is happening in Lexington:

Sports

Eight national championships. Over 2,000 victories. An arena that seats over 20,000. A loyal and dedicated fan base that will travel to the ends of the Earth to watch its team play. A generous budget for recruiting and staff. A head coach who is paid accordingly at $9 million a year. And who has a “lifetime” contract.

As the old saying goes, to whom much is given, much is expected.

And John Calipari is not meeting those expectations. Read more in this column from the Herald-Leader’s John Clay.

More from Kentucky’s loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament last night:

Around the Commonwealth

Before starting a two-week break on March 16, the Kentucky legislature sent two bills to Gov. Andy Beshear that would spend tens of millions of dollars while making several changes to how the state runs its juvenile detention centers. Here’s what the bills would do.

Take a look at what else is going on around Kentucky:

Scroll on for more news, sports and opinion from the Herald-Leader. See you back here tomorrow, same time and same place.

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Lexington Herald-Leader audience growth producer Andrew Henderson
Lexington Herald-Leader audience growth producer Andrew Henderson