SMILEY PETE
PUBLISHING
MARCH 29, 2013 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7
www.bizlex.com
$2.25
A PA R T N E R I N P R O G R E S S
SMALL-TOWN SURVIVAL
Coba Cocina takes a bold leap into Lexington’s restaurant scene PAGE 8
Helping the poor, or hindering the economy? Opinions differ on potential results of raising the minimum wage
Green BEAN delivers the goods PAGE 16
By Pam Mangas CONTRIBUTING WRITER
F
ollowing-up on a campaign promise to further strengthen America’s middle class, President Barack Obama proposed to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour during his most recent State of the Union address in February. Less than a month later, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, DCalif., introduced the Fair Minimum W age Act of 2013, a bill aimed at raising the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2016. Predictably, this reignited the minimum wage debate that has been all but dor mant since 2007, the last time Congress increased the wage. The million-dollar question: Does raising the minimum wage help or hurt America’s working poor, businesses and the overall economy? SEE MINIMUM WAGE PAGE 7
Local franchise Right at Home helps aging seniors PAGE 21
The Jefferson Davis Inn settles in South Hill district PAGE 22
Focus: Agriculture Second five-year strategic plan for agriculture unveiled By Tim Thornberry CONTRIBUTING WRITER: AGRICULTURE
Despite the loss of 160 jobs in a downsizing by local employer Joy Global, Millersburg residents are optimistic that the town they call home will weather the outcome
Robert Barker, owner of Millersburg’s 5th Street Café PHOTO BY EMILY MOSELEY
BY KRISTY ROBINSON HORINE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER: BOURBON COUNTY
T
he challenges facing the coal-mining supply industry have landed like a boulder in the middle of a central Kentucky town, where the employer of roughly 25 percent of the population has served notice that it is shutting down operations and letting people go. Joy Global, touted on its website as “a worldwide leader in high-productivity mining solutions,” is closing its Millersburg mining machinery plant. It’s a blow to the town of 792, but one which local officials and business people say they are prepared to weather. SEE MILLERSBURG PAGE 12
M
uch of the success the state’s agriculture industry has enjoyed is due in part to having good operating plans — one of them being a five-year strategic plan initiated by the Kentucky Agriculture Council (KAC). The group recently presented Gov. Steve Beshear with its second such plan, “Connecting: Strategies to Better Kentucky’s Agricultural Economy and Rural Communities (2013-2018),” at a ceremony at the Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. The idea of the plan began in 2007 with the convening of the first-ever Kentucky Agriculture Summit, which brought agriculture leaders from around the state together to accept a challenge from then Gov. Er nie Fletcher. They were charged with the task of developing a strategic plan of action to build on the state’s agricultural successes and propel all of Kentucky agriculture into the future. SEE STRATEGIC PLAN PAGE 15
INSIDE
POINTS OF INTEREST: MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS IN KENTUCKY PAGE 3 • BRIEFS PAGE 4 • WHO’S WHO IN LEXINGTON PAGE 6 CONSTRUCTION AT COBA COCINA PAGE 9 • UK CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM PAGE 10 • JIM AKERS, A TRUE KENTUCKY CATTLEMAN PAGE 14 REAL ESTATE SALES RETURNING TO NORMAL PAGE 21 • I KNOW EXPO PAGE 23 • PARTING THOUGHTS PAGES 24-25 • LEADS PAGE 26