Ky.’s biggest city to make bid for Amazon project

LOUISVILLE (AP) — Kentucky’s biggest city says it is joining several other communities in a bid to land Amazon’s planned second headquarters.

The company said month that it will spend more than $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says the new space will be “a full equal” of its current home in Seattle.

Louisville Forward spokeswoman Jessica Wethington told The Courier-Journal on Monday that the city’s development arm is putting together a plan to bid on the project. She says they will highlight the region’s strong position in shipping, e-commerce, advanced manufacturing and logistics.

Amazon has said it will prioritize metro areas with more than one million people, a highly educated talent pool and a strong university system. Bids are due by Oct. 19.

Small earthquake reported in Illinois, felt in 3 states

ALBION, Ill. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a small earthquake in southeastern Illinois was felt across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

The USGS says the preliminary 3.8-magnitude earthquake occurred at 6:47 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday about 7 ½ miles (12 kilometers) northeast of the city of Albion (AL’-bee-uhn). The agency says the quake caused light to moderate shaking and very light damage. The quake’s preliminary depth was a little more than 7 miles (11.5 kilometers).

The Edwards County Sheriff’s office in Albion says there have been no reports of damage or injuries.

The USGS says shaking was felt in Terre Haute and near Bloomington in Indiana, Owesboro and Paduch in Kentucky, and Effingham and Carbondale in Illinois.

Albion is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Louisville, Kentucky.

Report: Louisville basketball escort’s daughter arrested

LOUISVILLE (AP) — The daughter of the self-proclaimed “escort queen” at the center of the University of Louisville basketball team’s sex scandal has been arrested.

The Courier-Journal reports that Louisville Metro Police arrested 25-year-old Lindsay Powell on Friday evening after an arrest citation says she broke into her aunt’s home and punched her in the face. Court documents say she is charged with burglary and fourth-degree assault.

Katina Powell’s legal representative, Larry Wilder, confirmed Lindsay Powell is the “Breaking Cardinal Rules” author’s daughter. But Wilder had no further comment.

Lindsay Powell is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 26. It’s unclear if she has a lawyer.

Man pleads not guilty to murder in 5-year-old’s death

MCKEE (AP) — A man accused of killing a 5-year-old Kentucky boy after throwing his mother from a cliff has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Media report Lonnie Jay Belt appeared in Jackson County District Court on Monday to answer to the charge in the death of James Spoonamore. An arrest citation says he admitted to striking the child in the head several times with a metal object.

Belt pleaded not guilty last week to charges of kidnapping, assault and tampering with evidence related to an attack on the boy’s mother, Jessica Durham. Police say Durham was beaten and pushed off a cliff, but survived.

Police found Spoonamore’s body about a half-mile from where Durham had been located.

Belt has a preliminary court hearing set for Sept. 25.

UK design college expands to Louisville with new studio

LOUISVILLE (AP) — The University of Kentucky has picked Louisville as the site for its College of Design’s first satellite studio.

UK officials say the studio in the Portland neighborhood of western Louisville will give School of Architecture students some valuable experience in a targeted yet underdeveloped community.

The architecture studio is the result of a partnership among the city of Louisville, the Portland Investment Initiative and UK’s College of Design.

Studio space is being provided in the Portland neighborhood. UK officials say a kick-off event is planned later in the month.

UK officials say the plan is to spread the initiative to other cities with a need for community transformations. They say the college’s other programs will be part of those efforts.

Ethics panel says ex-Personnel official violated ethics code

FRANKFORT (AP) — A Kentucky ethics commission says a former Personnel Cabinet official used his position to solicit campaign contributions from co-workers to support then-Gov. Steve Beshear.

The Executive Branch Ethics Commission said Monday that William Ryan admitted to two counts of ethics code violations while he was a special assistant in the cabinet.

In a settlement agreement, the commission says Ryan admitted to soliciting campaign contributions from two other non-merit cabinet employees between 2010 and 2011 in support of the Democratic governor’s successful re-election campaign.

The commission says he told the co-workers that the donations were “required.”

The commission says Ryan also admitted to submitting timesheets claiming to have worked during times he didn’t appear at any of the cabinet’s offices.

The commission says Ryan agreed to pay a $4,000 civil penalty.