Sometimes, you sit down to write a story and suffer from writer’s block, and other times, you know you have put together something good.
My top five stories of the year happen to all be stories featured in our weekly print edition. We spend more time and dig a little deeper for these stories than our daily turns. I think these five stories became some of my favorites of the year because of the extended effort that goes into them.
From affordable to unattainable?
I wrote this story because I wanted to get a year in review of what had happened in the affordable housing landscape around Northern Kentucky since Victoria Square was bought and its residents lost their homes.
I spoke to former resident Morgan Mullins, who I had been checking in with periodically since the notices to vacate were sent out in July 2022. Mullins provided an update on her living situation, which I found was costing her $890 more per month than when she lived at Victoria Square.
While writing this story, I discovered that local organizations like St. Vincent de Paul Northern Kentucky, and Welcome House provided more financial assistance than they had in years.
St. Vicent de Paul Northern Kentucky had an increase in emergency financial assistance of 25% over last year. In 2022 Welcome House provided more than $1.5 million in direct assistance, a 407% increase from 2019.
I wanted to do a deeper dive into the state of affordable housing in Northern Kentucky as a whole, with Victoria Square as a main example due to the numerous stories I wrote on the apartments last year.
When taxes are higher than school performance, is it time to consolidate?
This is another story that I wanted to have deeper coverage of based on the reporting I did in 2022.
I happened to stumble upon something called a nickel tax that Southgate Independent School was proposing at the end of last year. It made me want to look into local schools’ tax rates and their school performance after the nickel tax received some backlash from Southgate council members and residents, stating that taxes were too high for their performance rates.
With some people calling for the consolidation of the school, I got to look into the past success of a school consolidation that happened in Silver Grove.
The challenge of growth: Rural NKY grapples with change
Throughout last year, I spent a lot of time covering a subdivision proposal by Maronda Homes slated for rural Campbell County.
The plans made it through the county’s planning commission and fiscal courts but have remained in a legal battle in the court system.
I got to speak with Jen Armstrong, one of the residents who is involved with the court case. The Maronda Homes development would be directly behind her home, with a new road going roughly 10 feet from her property line. I got to speak with her at her home and see where the development would go.
The story looks further around Northern Kentucky in Boone and Kenton Counties at how the region’s rural areas grapple with certain developments.
The ‘invisible population:’ NKY school districts discuss state of student homelessness
We coordinated this story with the back-to-school season. The story looks into student homelessness in the region.
I included this story in my top five because I learned a lot while reporting on the topic. I learned about the McKinney-Vento law, the primary piece of federal legislation providing rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness. That law states that each district must have a homeless liaison.
I spoke with Newport Services, Tools, and Empowerment program coordinator Kristy McNally, who acts as the school’s homeless liaison, and found how passionate people in those roles are.
I also found that the McKinney-Vento law helps students experiencing homelessness maintain a stable education process by requiring districts to work together to provide student transportation.
By writing this story, I met David Childs, who experienced homelessness in his youth and gave a firsthand account of what that was like. He helped show that homelessness isn’t necessarily living on the street but also lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Landscape of addiction in Northern Kentucky: ‘You’re not just seeing one thing that people are addicted to’
This was the final print story I wrote this year, and I knew I had to include it in my top five because of Adam Pendleton.
His story blew me away. Pendleton shared with me his struggle with addiction and how he successfully found recovery. This story would not be what it is if I didn’t get that first-hand perspective from Pendleton.
I also found through speaking with people who work with folks struggling with addiction daily that drug trends have changed. Life Learning Center, BrightView Health, and the NKY Office of Drug Control Policy all said that fentanyl is the most prevalent drug in the region today. Not only that, but the organizations also saw an influx of drugs being laced with fentanyl.
The story highlights some of the recovery and prevention work being done in the region. It also shows that substance use disorders can affect anyone and often are a multigenerational issue.
