The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page B1

Metro Breaking news on your cell MONDAY JULY 23, 2012 Text CJ NEWS to 44636 (4INFO) for local news alerts. Weather B2 Deaths B4-5 Mike Trautmann, Metro editor 582-4691, phone 582-4200, fax Clark re-election chance clouded POLITICAL Joseph Gerth It's the middle of summer and Democrats are now realizing that they may have to defend a seat in the Kentucky Senate that they didn't think was at much risk last winter when a Franklin circuit weren't behaving totally. But, I have been recommended marijuana for my back." That sound you just heard is the opening of a door for Republican candidate Chris Thiene-man. Not only did Clark admit it, he equivocated on why he smokes pot. Is it because of a bad back or is it because the U.S.

Navy put him in an Asian port where drugs were readily available? Clark made the admission after David Toborowsky, a former school board candidate who lived in Thieneman's home for a while Clark has put the 37th District into play and could end a 17-year political career in the process. It started out innocuously enough with a news conference a couple of weeks back for Clark to announce that he would sponsor a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky. The bill likely doesn't have a chance, but the legislation isn't out of line with the libertarian Democratic positions Clark has taken over the years. The idea of legalizing hemp, marijuana's non-high-producing cousin, is gaining traction in even mainstream political circles these days. But when WHAS television asked Clark about his marijuana usage, something that has long been rumored around the state Capitol, Clark told the truth.

"I have chronic back pain. I've been known to smoke weed. People know that about me somewhat. I'm not a chronic smoker. I'm a '70s child, child of the '70s, I'm a veteran," Clark told the television station.

"They put me in not the greatest places in the Orient. We were sailors so, you know what we were doing and we in an effort to gain residency in the school board district, said he was friends with Clark and was offered pot on a visit to Clark's home. Now the country's last two Democratic presidents have admitted past drug use and its last Republican president would never answer questions about it, leading many to believe that his answer would have been "yes" had he fessed up. Never let it be said that George W. Bush is more honest See GERTH, Page B3 judge struck down a Republican redistricting plan.

But an admission of drug use by incumbent Democrat Perry Some ramps, lanes to open Morning commute may be improved By Jeffrey Lee Puckett The Courier-Journal i seLi fes 1 Joe Hemk, left, and Chris Bascur participate in a fisticuffs exhibition Sunday at the Jane Austen Festival at Historic Locust Grove. "It's was pretty much a brawl back then," said Art Bilodeau, who organized the choreographed fight, photos by aaron borton special to the c-j JANE AUSTEN EVENT ADDS A NEW PUNCH The rush-hour commute for drivers in Louisville and Southern Indiana should be much improved this morning. Crews worked throughout the weekend to open several key lanes and ramps closed for repair and resurfacing projects on Interstate 65. A northbound 1-65 lane on the Kennedy Bridge opened Sunday morning, bringing the total to two. The first northbound 1-65 exit ramp to Jeffersonville (Exit 0) was also opened.

Several other lanes and ramps, including some that have been closed for several weeks, were scheduled to open at 5 or 6 a.m. today. They include: Ramps from eastbound 1-64 and westbound I-64southbound 1-71 to southbound 1-65. Ramps from westbound I-64southbound 1-71 to northbound 1-65. Also, southbound lanes on 1-65 between 1-64 in downtown Louisville and the Watterson Expressway, which were closed Friday night for asphalt paving, were expected to open by 5 a.m.

"It'll be much better than it has been, mostly because of the ramps being open," said Andrea Clifford, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Work will continue this week to remove temporary barriers and replace a section of median barrier walls on the Kennedy Bridge. Lanes and ramps have been closed while corroded steel on See TRAFFIC, Page B6 Bare-knuckle boxing is part of festival By Charlie White The Courier-Journal The fifth annual Jane Austen Festival at Historic Locust Grove took on a decidedly physical flair during the weekend as organizers introduced exhibitions on fencing, dueling and bare-knuckle boxing. Dozens watched two pugilists square of in a ring outside the circa 1790 Georgian home amid the aesthetics of afternoon tea and other usual events that showcased English fash ions and high society from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Art Bilodeau, an English teacher who organized the choreographed fight and served as its referee, said "fisticuffs" were an "unseemly" part of the period's subculture that weren't mentioned in Austen's writing or regularly discussed among proper culture.

"It's nice of them to include things for the gentlemen as well," said Albert Roberts, 39, See AUSTEN, Page B3 Sporting period costumes. Rick Simmons, right, and Rob Trumbull, center, cheer during the boxing exhibition. "We don't want people to think it's a women-only event," organizer Bonny Wise said. Gait House is turning 40 quietly Coal operator James Booth, of Inez, and his wife, Linda, contributed $20,000 to the Kentucky Democratic Party in June. No public events are being planned By Sheldon S.

Shafer The Courier-Journal The Gait House Hotel Suites, a pioneer in Louisville's riverfront development, is quietly celebrating the 40th anniversary of its opening in 1972. The late Al J. Schneider, whose Courier-Journal obituary in May 2001 described him as "a sometimes cantakerous yet generous developer and hotel owner who left his distinct imprint on Louisville's landscape," built Kentucky's largest hotel. It has 25 stories, 1,290 rooms and 128,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, playing host to more than 2,000 meetings and conventions a year. Jason Langford, a spokesman for the Gait House and the Al J.

Schneider said the hotel has no public events planned in recognition of the anniversary. Gait House East, a 600-suite expansion of the original hotel, opened in 1985. Langford said See ANNIVERSARY, Page B3 Rlli ran'1 Read the rest from reporter Tom Loftus at the Politics blog, www.courier-journal.com polblog mm wmsw. mmm in The Gait House, left, opened in 1972, and the Gait House East, right, began operations in 1985. 2005 file photo Imagine it, see it, live it.

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