RPK targets 5 Democratic lawmakers with robocalls before floor votes Thursday

by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – FRANKFORT — Five Democratic lawmakers who voted against Republican priority legislation in committee on Wednesday are being targeted with robocalls in their home districts in an attempt to change their vote before the bills come for a full vote before the House on Thursday. The calls, which started Thursday morning, specifically reference three bills.…

Bathroom bill filed in Ky – by a Democrat

by Tom Loftus , @TomLoftus_CJ  FRANKFORT, Ky. — Two controversial social conservative bills that many top Republican leaders have de-emphasized in recent months were filed in the Kentucky House on Tuesday by a Democrat. Rep. Rick Nelson, a Democrat from Middlesboro, filed the transgender bathroom bill (House Bill 106) that would require public schools, state universities, state government and…

Trump’s commerce pick opened his wallet for McConnell, Kentucky Republicans

BY CURTIS TATE, [email protected] – WASHINGTON — Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who is Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, has been a generous contributor to the fundraising committees of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party of Kentucky. According to a questionnaire posted by the Senate Commerce Committee this week, Ross contributed $35,200 to…

Action! Louisville a hot spot for movie shoots

 by Kirby Adams and Elizabeth Kramer , The Courier-Journal – Star sightings picked up in Louisville in 2016 with Nicolas Cage spotted at the Louisville Zoo, Jon Voight in the Hurstbourne Lane Walmart and Jeremy Irons at Louisville VA Medical Center. Cage was here to film the horror film “Mom and Dad,” with actress Selma Blair, and Voight was shooting a family-friendly action…

Nate Haney, former deputy secretary of Bevin’s cabinet, joining McCarthy Strategic Solutions

by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – Nate Haney, a high-level member of Gov. Matt Bevin’s team, is leaving his post in the executive cabinet to join the private-sector lobbying firm of McCarthy Strategic Solutions. The Louisville Republican will join McCarthy Strategic Solutions as a principal. Haney is the highest-level Bevin administration policy staffer to depart the administration for the…

Kentucky has a Republican speaker of the House for the first time since 1921

BY JACK BRAMMER AND DANIEL DESROCHERS, [email protected] – FRANKFORT — The Kentucky House of Representatives elected its first Republican leader since 1921 Tuesday, completing the GOP’s dominance of state legislative chambers in the South. Jeff Hoover was elected speaker of the House by the 100-member chamber shortly after it convened at noon. “There is much work to be…

Kentuckians voice conflicting opinions on new rule to protect streams near coal mines

By Angela Reighard | HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT/AP) – The Obama administration has finalized rules designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal mining on the nation’s streams. The Interior Department announced last week the rule will protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests, preventing debris from coal mining from being dumped into nearby waters. With coal production…

Frank Lassiter resisting Bevin investigators

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A former Beshear administration official said on Wednesday that Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration lacks legal authority to force him to cooperate with Bevin’s investigation into what Bevin has said was significant corruption during his predecessor’s years in office. Frank Lassiter said the investigation overseen by Bevin’s Finance and Administration Cabinet secretary does not have the authority…