$18M in budget will address deferred maintenance concerns in many state parks, commissioner says
05/30/2016 10:35 PM
FRANKFORT — With the unofficial start of summer here, Kentucky’s 49 state parks and historic sites will see their attendance figures spike during the vacation season. But overall, the number of visitors at the parks has dropped in recent years due to deferred maintenance at many of the state-owned facilities. With that fact in mind, Gov. Matt Bevin allocated $18 million in the latest biennial budget to address the maintenance issues. Commissioner of Parks Donnie Holland looks at the $18 million as a... Read more 
Korean War veteran fears that many Americans have lost significance of Memorial Day
05/30/2016 02:13 PM
ALEXANDRIA — Veterans are concerned that many younger people in the country today have forgotten the true meaning of what Memorial Day is all about. U.S. Army Korean War veteran J.W. Crail, who was the grand marshal at this year’s Campbell County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3205 Memorial Day Parade, expressed concern that a lot of citizens just look at the holiday as a day off work for picnics and fun and not a day to recognize the service of... Read more
Heather French Henry tells of family experience tracking down lost military loved one during Memorial Day service
05/29/2016 11:37 PM
JEFFERSONTOWN — Heather French Henry shared her father’s experiences during and after the Vietnam War to underscore the importance of honoring veterans during a Memorial Day service Sunday. About 100 military veterans, families and supporters gathered at the Jeffersontown Veterans Memorial Park to recognize those who have served in the U.S. armed forces. Henry, the deputy commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, offered the keynote speech for the event, hosted by the City of Jeffersontown and the American Legion G.I.... Read more
Gateway CTC interim president making tough decisions with shrinking enrollment and cuts in state appropriations
05/29/2016 08:00 AM
FLORENCE — Like most Kentucky Community and Technical College System institutions, Gateway Community and Technical College is going through some tough times. The school, which has 4,500 students at its three campuses scattered across northern Kentucky, has seen its enrollment drop 15 percent since 2014, its fixed costs increase, and a 4.5 percent reduction in state appropriations for the next two fiscal years, which has led to some tough decisions. Interim President Vic Adams, who has led the school for nearly two... Read more
The Chatter: How D.C. leadership PACs spend their money, new Ky. Colonels on hold and Gov. Bevin's office sells 237 Derby tickets
05/28/2016 02:18 PM
Golf outings, poolside fundraisers in Beverly Hills, gambling tips from an expert horseracing handicapper and political consultants. Those are among the items paid for by leadership PACs affiliated with Kentucky’s congressional delegation, according to reports by the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday. The newspaper examined how leadership PACs linked to Kentucky’s elected representatives in Washington, D.C., spent their dollars ahead of this year’s election cycle, expenses defended as necessary to help boost fundraising and, in turn, help other like-minded politicians win or retain... Read more
Kentucky will join lawsuit against Obama administration's transgender bathroom guidelines, Bevin says
05/27/2016 01:16 PM
UPDATED: Kentucky will join 11 other states in a federal lawsuit against transgender bathroom guidelines laid out by President Barack Obama’s administration, Gov. Matt Bevin announced Friday. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Texas, follows a directive by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Justice Department and other federal agencies on Wednesday, came in response to a directive by the Obama administration that individuals’ gender identities are covered by sexual discrimination laws and that schools could jeopardize federal education... Read more
Attica Scott plans on taking progressive fight to Frankfort in January
05/27/2016 10:27 AM
After defeating 34-year incumbent Tom Riner in the Democratic 41st House District primary, Attica Scott has scooped up national attention and plans to make waves in the General Assembly. Scott, a former Louisville Metro Council member, is known for her activism. With no Republican opponent filed to contest the seat in the general election, Scott will attempt to turn that activism to action when she heads to Frankfort in January. “Because of my experience I’m able to talk to other... Read more
Rare 1825 document signed by President William Henry Harrison found in Boone County
05/23/2016 03:10 PM
BURLINGTON – A document signed by the ninth President of the United States, William Henry Harrison, has been discovered in the collection of the county records stored in the Boone County Courthouse. The document, a bond for an estate from 1825 was discovered by Boone County historian James Duvall, who has been contracted by Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown, to go though the documents and identify, catalogue, and begin to preserve many of the more notable and valuable items in the... Read more
Carly Fiorina headlining fundraiser for Sen. Rand Paul in June
05/23/2016 01:02 PM
UPDATED: Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina will be in Kentucky weeks ahead of the Republican National Convention helping the campaign of her one-time presidential rival Sen. Rand Paul, who is competing in his first re-election bid for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Fiorina will be the guest of Cathy Bailey, former Ambassador to Latvia under President George W. Bush, who says that the former candidate and Hewlett Packard executive is committed to helping Paul in the U.S. Senate race and... Read more
Rising ozone levels Tuesday could result in air that’s unhealthy for sensitive groups. The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District has issued an Air Quality Alert for ozone, saying the air pollution could affect young children, the elderly and people with respiratory ailments like asthma and COPD. This year marks the first ozone season when Louisville will be subject to stricter federal ozone standards, and subject to a limit of 70 parts per billion. The previous standard was 75 parts per billion. [...]
Tue, May 31, 2016 12:00:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
These days, the rain in Louisville comes on fast and hard. The intense rainfalls are contributing to sewer overflows and inland flooding, and they’re why the Metropolitan Sewer District recently proposed a 20 percent rate increase. The plan was approved by the MSD board last week, and it’s now is set to go before the Metro Council. In the older parts of the city, it only takes one-tenth of an inch of rain in an hour to trigger a combined sewer overflow — where the water treatment plant can’t handle the volume of liquid it’s getting, and so a mix of rainwater and [...]
Tue, May 31, 2016 10:00:00 AM, Continue reading at the source
The Bevin administration says it has met the June 1 deadline of demonstrating that it’s made adequate progress in Kentucky’s transition from the state health insurance exchange Kynect, to the federal exchange, healthcare.gov. Doug Hogan, communications director for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the state has “met milestone requirements ahead of schedule,” but refused to comment on details of what criteria the state has accomplished. According to a March 15 letter sent to state officials by Kevin Counihan with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal government has to “determine whether sufficient progress has been made to proceed with leveraging the federal [...]
Mon, May 30, 2016 5:00:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
