LEXINGTON — Payments to states by cigarette companies may prove to be $14 billion less than projected, the Council of State Governments says in a report.

        It cites a decline in smoking, coupled with a loss of market by the major cigarette makers.

        The four largest manufacturers — Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard — signed a “master settlement agreement” in November 1998, agreeing to make payments for 25 years to reimburse public costs of treating sick smokers.

        Total payments of about $246 billion were projected at the time. Kentucky's share was projected at nearly $3.5 billion. But payments are adjusted annually for sales and inflation, among other things, and the possibility of a smaller eventual payout has been acknowledged from the beginning.

        Twenty-eight smaller, more obscure tobacco manufacturers subsequently joined in the master settlement. Fifty-eight others did not sign onto the agreement and have kept cigarette prices significantly below prices for premium brands of the big four, according to the report.

        The report by the Lexington-based council did not attempt a state-by-state breakdown of the potential shortfall.

        Utility, state agree on tract for wildlife

        St. PAUL, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has reached an agreement with American Electric Power that would turn a 1,300-acre tract along the Ohio River into a wildlife management area.

        Melissa McHenry, spokeswoman for AEP, said the preliminary agreement would allow the state to develop the property for hunting and fishing. Ms. McHenry said all signatures could be on the agreement by the end of the month.

        The land near the community of St. Paul in Lewis County is rich with small game and deer and offers walk-in access to the Ohio River for fishing.

        AEP originally purchased the land to build a power plant.

        Consultants to study airplane noise effect

        LOUISVILLE — Consultants are to study the buildings in the Old Louisville neighborhood to judge the effect of airplane noise on the northern Louisville neighborhood.

        The $750,000 pilot project will concentrate on soundproofing individual housing to create a standard for various types of homes with noise problems related to their proximity to Louisville International Airport.

        Old Louisville, which is north of the airport, was selected as a starting point because of the diversity of condition, architecture and age of its buildings, Alderman Greg Handy said.

        “It's been a 10-year battle to get something like this accomplished,” said Mr. Handy, whose ward includes most of the neighborhood.

        Mr. Handy said he had recommended the budget item several times, finally gaining Mayor Dave Armstrong's agreement to leave it in the budget.

        Consultants will work to get a feel for the area's architecture and the volume and consistency of aircraft noise, then come up with recommendations to soundproof specific types of homes, Mr. Handy said.

        The project will soundproof about a half-dozen homes. The effort is not part of the Regional Airport Authority's anti-noise measures, which have included relocating families, Mr. Handy said.

        Tent city sprouts as students vie for rooms

        BOWLING GREEN — About 50 tents littered the front lawn of Western Kentucky University's housing office Monday morning as students began to jockey for rooms in newly renovated residence halls that will be ready in August.

        The 600 rooms in the renovated dorms will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

        North, South, East and West halls have been totally renovated, turning the rooms into suites and connecting West to South and East to North.

        Kit Tolbert, director of housing operations for Housing and Residence Life, said she stopped numbering applications at 750 but took at least another 100, and estimated between 850 and 900 students came through the housing office Monday morning.

        “We'll put everybody in their first choice until we run out, then we'll go to their second, third and fourth choice,” Tolbert said.

        Whitney LeGrand, a freshman from Warsaw, lined up at 12:30 p.m. CST Sunday. She wants to get into a renovated dorm because every room has a bathroom.

        “It was like getting called for a game show,” Ms. LeGrand said. “It was fun, but it was extremely cold.”

        Thomas Jefferson statue to continue

        JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — With an assurance from the city that he'll be paid, a sculptor plans to resume work next month on a 10-foot-tall statue of Thomas Jefferson.

        The clay figure of the nation's third president, for whom Jeffersonville is named, was put aside almost a year ago in sculptor Guy Tedesco's studio because the city did not have enough money to pay him.

        Mr. Tedesco last year got 27,000 for producing a model of the statue, which eventually will be bronzed. But the finished product is expected to cost $150,000, plus $50,000 for a fountain that will surround the statue in the city's Warder Park.

        Mayor Thomas Galligan, who is raising the money for the statue from private sources, said he has $10,000 in hand and expects a major donor to provide $50,000 to $60,000 within three months.

        The statue was to have been finished in time for the city's bicentennial celebration in June.

        “That's pretty much impossible,” said Mr. Tedesco, who will need about a month just to refine the figure and prepare a mold that he will send to a foundry in Montana. “It's going to take four months at the foundry at a minimum.”

        Evansville gets low health rating

        EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A health-oriented magazine placed the city last among 200 communities nationwide that were ranked according to the health lifestyles of women.

        The southwestern Indiana city's poor grade was attributed to statistics on exercise and eating habits, alcohol consumption, smoking rates and the number of health clubs per capita.

        The health lifestyles of women was one of several categories Self magazine used in analyzing the 200 largest U.S. cities to determine which are healthy places for women to live.

        Evansville was not listed among the worst 10 cities overall.

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