Here's what we covered on Byline today (full audio available below):At the top - This week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops elected Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz to be its next president. What’s on the agenda for Kurtz’s three year term, as Pope Francis calls on bishops to refocus their priorities?We discuss the Archbishop’s new job with journalist Rocco Palmo, who covers the church and Catholicsm on his blog, Whispers in the Loggia.8:15 - Louisville Metro Government has reached a deal with Louisville Gas and Electric over violations at the company’s Cane Run Power Station. Under the agreement, LG&E will pay more than $113,000 to the Air Pollution Control District. The settlement covers ten instances since last year where coal ash and odors allegedly left the plant’s property and covers all of the company’s outstanding violations at Cane Run. WFPL's Erica Peterson explains why both sides are happy to have the matter settled.10:50 - Louisville Metro Government and the project’s developers, The Mardrian Group (TMG), have been trying for nearly a decade to bring a major retailer to a lot formerly occupied by a Philip Morris plant. A deal appears to be in the works to bring a Walmart to west Louisville, according to sources close to the negotiations. But WFPL's Phillip Bailey explains why not everyone is happy about the news.16:25 - Officials with Jefferson County Public Schools say many parents aren’t involved enough in choosing a school for their kindergartner. Some parents won’t visit schools, won’t speak with teachers and who won’t even apply when JCPS begins accepting applications for specific schools next week. This will have consequences on their child’s academic success, and those consequences could vary depending on where the parents live. WFPL’s Devin Katayama exploreswhat happens to parents who aren’t as engaged.21:00 - Devin Katayama updates us on the call from Jefferson County Public Schools officials to help design a new school of innovation. 24:10 - Last year Glenda Ritz was elected Indiana’s state schools superintendent, defeating incumbent Tony Bennett. Ritz is a Democrat and since taking office has clashed repeatedly with the states’ Republican governor, Mike Pence, over education policy, and what she says is his attempt to take over the education department. The feud came to a head this week when Ritz abruptly halted a state school board meeting over a proposal supported by Pence. We speak with Kyle Stokes, who covers education for the State Impact Indiana, a collaboration of NPR and Indiana Public Media.29:55 - Does the election of the first black president and the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager send mixed messages about U.S. race relations? That is just one of the questions that Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad will tackle a talk next week at the University of Louisville. A former Indiana University professor, Muhammad is now director of the famed Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. He is the keynote speaker at the Anne Braden Institute's speaker series next week. Muhammad speaks with WFPL's Phillip Bailey about what history tells us about today's U.S. race relations.36:30 - After a rundown of some noteworthy arts events happening in town this weekend, WFPL's arts and humanities reporter Erin Keane speaks with Louisville screenwriter David Henry and his brother Joe Henry, the songwriter and Grammy Award-winning producer, about a new book about the life and career of comedian Richard Pryor.43:00 - Erin Keane speaks with V. Heidenreich, longtime former company member at Actors Theatre of Louisville, who returns to perform in "Tom Jones," the new Jon Jory adaptation.
