Top paid lobbyists for 2016 session

by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – Through the first four months of 2016 many of Frankfort’s top lobbyists have already made much more money in lobbying fees than the $140,000 salary that Gov. Matt Bevin will make for the whole year. The nearly 700 corporations and associations that lobby the General Assembly are required to report exactly how much they pay each…

Contracts to test previously untested rape kits approved; 600 kits could be tested in next two years

by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – After more than a year since 3,090 previously untested rape kits were identified, two contracts providing for the testing of 600 of what could be more than 5,000 untested rape kits has been approved by the Finance and Administration Cabinet. Since the audit performed by former Auditor Adam Edelen, kits have been collected…

Legislative primary race roundup: Jefferson County incumbents lose while Senate Democratic leaders, Speaker Stumbo take wins

by Pure Politics – Tuesday was not a good day for incumbents in Jefferson County, with two longtime lawmakers meeting their last legislative days in the primary. The election also revealed a close race for House Speaker Greg Stumbo and set up some interesting general election matchups. 33rd House District Twenty-year incumbent Rep. Ron Crimm, R-Louisville, will…

How Kentucky Democrats will handle presidential delegate distribution

by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both claimed victory after Kentucky’s presidential election after the campaigns essentially split Kentucky’s 55 pledged delegates. The delegates are awarded by the Kentucky Democratic Party, and a spokesman for the party says the results will be split by congressional districts to determine exactly how many delegates will be…

Bevin names judge for Oldham district

by Sheldon S. Shafer, @sheldonshafer – Gov. Matt Bevin has named attorney Doreen Showalter Goodwin as Family Court judge for the 12th Judicial Circuit, Division 2, which covers Oldham, Henry and Trimble counties. She replaces Judge Tim Feeley, who has resigned.  The unexpired term runs through November 2016. Goodwin is a solo practitioner and served as the master…

Bevin: Kentucky schools will resist Obama transgender ‘intimidation’

by Carl Weiser and Scott Wartman, [email protected] – Top Kentucky Republicans – including  Gov. Matt Bevin – vowed Friday to resist the Obama administration’s directive ordering schools to let transgender students use bathrooms that match their gender identity. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race earlier this month, declined comment. Kentucky schools, Bevin…

Panama Papers Reveal Possible Kentucky Ties

by Kate Howard – Among more than 320,000 offshore accounts and trusts unveiled in a Panama Papers database Monday are a handful of accounts with names similar to Kentucky entities, and a few registered to addresses in the commonwealth. Names on the accounts mirror a consulting company, a coal education foundation and historic Churchill Downs. Among the individuals identified…

Grimes Urging Voters To Head To The Polls

by KARYN CZAR –  Secretary of State Allison Lundergran Grimes expects voter turnout to be slightly better than in the 2004 and 2012 primary elections, which were under 14 percent.  She’s predicting around 20 percent turnout next week.  Grimes wants to get the word out that Republicans still have several things on the ballot even though…