General Assembly being asked to strengthen laws on sale of cigarettes and vapes to minors

“When the General Assembly returns to Frankfort on Jan. 2, one of the many problems it’s been asked to address is youth smoking — particularly vaping, which studies suggest has become more far common for Kentucky high school students than cigarette smoking,” reports John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader. “State regulators, public health experts and…

Ahead of filing deadline next month, here’s a list of the candidates who’ve filed for 2024 ballot so far

By McKenna Horsley Kentucky Lantern Kentucky’s candidate filing deadline is next month. So far, many have already signed papers seeking the Kentucky General Assembly and U.S. Congress. To appear on the primary election ballot, candidates must register by Jan. 5, 2024. Next year, Kentucky voters will decide who will represent them in Frankfort and Washington…

Kentucky Board of Education approves job posting in search for new education commissioner

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) approved a candidate profile and job description in the search for a new education commissioner during a special meeting held last week. During the KBE regular meeting on Dec. 7, the board approved an agreement with McPherson and Jacobson LLC to lead the commissioner search. KBE Chair Sharon Porter Robinson said…

Kentucky lawmakers are pre-filing bills ahead of the 2024 session, but they’re not easy to find

House speaker says past prefiled bill process allowed for distraction BY: MCKENNA HORSLEY Typically by this time of the year, less than a month from the start of the January legislative session, drafts of dozens of bills that lawmakers planned to introduce would be readily available on the legislature’s website for the public to read. Not…

States strive to get opioid overdose drug to more people

Kentucky offers residents free naloxone through the mail BY: ANNA CLAIRE VOLLERS Posing as shoppers, a team of researchers from the University of Mississippi called nearly 600 pharmacies across the state and asked a simple, yes-or-no question: “Do you have naloxone that I can pick up today?” Mississippi enacted a law authorizing pharmacists to sell the opioid overdose…

UK to study impact of mothers’ opioid use on babies; KY 3rd in nation for opioid withdrawal syndrome

By Lindsay Travis University of Kentucky A team of researchers at the University of Kentucky is working to better understand the impact of opioid-use disorder on mothers and babies. Every 24 minutes in the United States, a baby is born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) after being exposed via a mother with opioid-use disorder. In Kentucky, about…

Ky. auditor’s office identifies over $200k in inappropriate payments from tornado relief fund

WKMS | By Hannah Saad A special examination of the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund by the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts’ office found that nearly $240,000 in inappropriate payments were made from the account in Fiscal Year 2023. These actions include duplicate payments, ineligible individuals receiving payments and overpayments. The bulk of these payments – nearly…

How wealthy donors legally gave even more to Democratic Party during Beshear’s campaign

London Mayor Randall Weddle contributed $550,000 to Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund BY: TOM LOFTUS FRANKFORT — Ahead of  last month’s governor’s race, London Mayor Randall Weddle and other Kentuckians gave big to a type of political committee that allows wealthy donors to make massive legal contributions. Weddle, whose earlier excess contributions to Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection effort…