Environment

The Louisville Zoo says its oldest polar bear has died. The Zoo says Arki, a female, was 28 years old and died from unknown causes on Wednesday. Arki came to Louisville in 2011 from the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. A news release from the Louisville Zoo says polar bears usually live into their mid-20s. Arki was considered one of the most prolific polar bears with five successful litters. One of the two remaining polar bears at the Louisville Zoo, 3-year-old Siku, is Arki's grandson. The Zoo says a necropsy will be performed on Arki to determine the cause of death.

Supporters of high-volume oil and gas drilling say a bill to regulate the practice in Illinois is ready for a vote after last-minute negotiations over hiring and environmental concerns.

The House bill initially had strong support in February but stalled over an amendment requiring energy companies to hire Illinois-licensed water well drillers. Instead, companies will get a break on certain taxes if more than half their workers are from Illinois and receive prevailing wages.

"From the Garden Gate" is next. Murray resident Roy Helton divides his time between teaching in the English Department at Murray State University and indulging his passion for gardening.

The Path of Least Resistance

When I was young my father devoted half of our back yard in Nashville to his energetically maintained vegetable garden.  And since there were five children in the family, there was a certain obvious utility to all his planting and harvesting.

TVA’s Shawnee Fossil Plant faces an uncertain future as the Knoxville-based utility company begins retiring coal-powered energy plants.

Yesterday, as part of an ongoing effort to clean up non-renewable energy stations, TVA announced plans to retire 18 of 59 fossil units region-wide by 2018.

At Shawnee, where nine units are coal-based, two units are being looked at for possible closure.