the

The settlement is the second of its kind. The Kentucky Attorney General’s office announced the first in July 2021. In that case, the state secured $478 million from manufacturers and distributors of opioid-based medications, according to a February letter from the attorney general’s office. As of February, companies have paid out about $50 million.

Half of the money from the first settlement will fund the state’s opioid advisement council. The other half will go to local government efforts to combat opioid abuse. Covington received about $800,000 from the 2021 settlement as of March, according to Andrew Wilhoite, the city of Covington’s director of special projects and intergovernmental affairs.

The attorney general’s office secured another settlement in 2022, yielding $364 million over 15 years. This will bring the amount secured from various companies to $842 million.

Kentucky statute dictates how local governments can spend the money. Eligible expenses include funding residential treatment centers, buying emergency supplies for first responders, and establishing training fellowships and scholarships, among other measures for mitigating opioid abuse.

The city has retained outside counsel to help with the settlement. The amount of money Covington stands to receive has not been established.

Covington’s House of Orange closed indefinitely

Though it seemed Covington’s House of Orange Sports Bar & Grill was permanently closing, the bar’s owners have confirmed its closure is temporary.

Stephen Williams, the director of operations for Holland Farms Restaurant Group, confirmed Friday that House of Orange’s closure is temporary due to renovations and upgrades.

The confirmation comes after the Mainstrasse-area bar and grill posted a note on its doors Wednesday detailing its closure. The note didn’t specify that the closure was temporary or for renovations.

Williams said there is no certain timeline for when the bar would be reopening. It also may not reopen with the same branding as the owners consider the option to make House of Orange more family-oriented.

Cold Spring eyes proposal for modernization of municipal playground

Parks and recreational spaces have the potential to impact both quality of life and home values positively but require main- tenance and upkeep to stay attractive to residents.

This week the Cold Spring City Council reviewed a proposal from Amy Riddle, a company representative from Bluegrass Recreation, a Danville, Ky-based company specializing in playground equipment design and implementation.

The presentation was made after previous research to vet potential vendors and funding levels for the project led by public works director Ronnie Hitch, with a goal of replacing old, dated playground equipment all around the city.

“The presentation went well,” said Hitch. “I think the vendor gave the council everything they needed to make a decision as to whether and how the project moves forward.” Hitch worked with Bluegrass Recreation in partnership with a playground committee composed of volunteer Cold Spring citizens and city staff members.

“It’s time to replace most of the park equipment – it’s been there at least 20 years,” said Mark Majors, resident of Cold Spring and volunteer participant in the play- ground committee.

“This would be our spotlight park,” said council member Cindy Moore in response to the size and scope of the proposed concept, a flagship project for a state-of-theart playscape for the Community Center Municipal Park that could cost the city as much as $604,000.

The project cost would include teardown and removal of the old playground equipment, purchase price of new playground equipment, installation, and shipping costs. According to Riddle, with proper maintenance and upkeep the equipment should last the city another 20 years and would include a 10-year warranty.

The park includes a permeable surface that exceeds ADA compliance for wheelchair accessibility, has areas for a variety of age groups, and includes a quiet space for those with sensory issues who may get overstimulated with vigorous play.

The future of the playground is dependent on whether it is approved for inclusion in the 2024 project as part of the fiscal planning process that must have an approved budget in place by June 30.

Erlanger breaks ground on new public works facility

The Erlanger City Council and Department of Public Works broke ground at the site of the city’s new public works facility at a ceremony on April 7.

The new facility will be located at 26 Montgomery Drive and will contain a 6,700-square-foot administration building, which is about double the size of the current building, according to Joe Daugherty, the project administrator for Erlanger Public Works.

The new complex will also contain a maintenance building measuring about 10,600 square feet, housing several maintenance trucks and a storage building for storing 1,500 tons of rock salt.

Daugherty estimates that construction of the facilities will take about a year.

Five Seasons Sports Club to host children’s summer camps

The Fives Seasons Sports Club in Crestview Hills has a variety of children’s summer programs scheduled from the end of May to the beginning of August. The programs will feature several day camps for children ages 4 to 13.

“Each of the eleven weeks of themed programming will vary from animal safaris to pirate adventures to Hollywood stars and more,” Five Seasons said in a press release.

For kids aged 4 to 9, there will be daily crafts, games and activities, swimming, weekly fit kid activities and a couple days of tennis. For kids ages 10 to 13, there will be the same activities but with experiments in place of crafts.

Pricing varies based on club membership status and the amount of time the child will spend at the camps.

To register a child for one of the camps, visit Five Seasons’ sign-up page.

Covington to hold public hearing for community and housing investment

The Covington City Commission will hold a public hearing focused on affordable housing and community investment on April 25 at 6 p.m. at city hall on Pike Street.

According to a press release from the city, the hearing will focus on “a draft proposal that outlines how to invest a little over $1.4 million in Covington neighborhoods, plus almost $700,000 on affordable housing in Covington and five surrounding cities.”

The funds come from two federal grant programs.

The first is the Community Development Block Grant program, which aims to address issues of economic development, infrastructure improvement, literacy education and other community issues.

The other is the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which aims to increase home ownership. The HOME program also includes a consortium of five other cities in the region: Bellevue, Dayton, Erlanger, Ludlow and Newport. Neither program is related to COVID emergency funding.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend the meeting to ask questions and submit suggestions on how the city should spend the money. The city will also accept written comments on the programs until May 7. People who wish to submit written comments should email Covington’s Federal Grants Manager Jeremy Wallace at jwallace@covingtonky.gov.