by James Bruggers , @jbruggers – Without any support from the Energy and Environment Cabinet or the Kentucky General Assembly, some question whether environmental advisory panel should continue to exist STORY HIGHLIGHTS Environmental Quality Commission has helped Kentucky navigate hot environmental topics since 1972. Commission has suffered from budget cuts and lack of political support. Commissioner says…
By Erica Peterson – When the legislature reconvenes next month, one of the bills lawmakers will be considering is a measure that could change Kentucky’s regulatory landscape. And experts say the changes could be particularly problematic for the state’s environmental regulations. It’s a piece of legislation that bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Kenny Imes, said is in the…
By Lisa Gillespie & Nicole Erwin, Ohio Valley ReSource – A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control offers a stark example of the declining power of medicine’s most important weapons against infectious disease. The CDC noted that a patient who died at a Nevada hospital last year had an infection that was resistant to 26 different antibiotic treatments. That’s…
by Grace Schneider , @gesinfk – A federal judge in Washington D.C. has dealt a huge blow to health insurer Aetna’s $37 billion bid to acquire Louisville’s Humana, backing regulators who’d argued that combining the companies will stifle competition in hundreds of markets around the country. Although Aetna and Humana can appeal Judge John Bates’ decision, a delay,…
by James Bruggers , @jbruggers – Agency warns of flooding, sink-holes from cave-ins, if it can’t do much more to shore up its aging infrastructure. STORY HIGHLIGHTS No rate proposal yet but engineers identify 23 percent increase this year to complete plan on time. MSD eyes plan to soften the blow to low-income customers. Agency wants residents…
by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – With more than three decades of experience in the appropriations committees in the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, is adding to his biography by serving on three appropriations subcommittees in the 115th Congress. Rogers, who served as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee from 2011 to 2016, is serving on…
by Grace Schneider , @gesinfk – Health insurers Aetna and Louisville-based Humana should know this month whether a federal judge will side with the government to block the companies’ proposed $37 billion merger or give it the green light. After hearing final arguments in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. on Dec. 30, Judge John Bates told the…
by Don Weber, @DonWeber_cn2 – WILLIAMSTOWN – According to Williamstown attorney and former 4th district Democratic Congressional candidate Bill Adkins, it’s time for Democrats to tell the truth when it comes to the future of coal in the state. Adkins, a Letcher County native, says for too long Democrats in the state have cried about the loss of coal…
By Jacob Ryan – A coalition of state lawmakers from Louisville is backing a bill that would give officials in Kentucky’s largest city the power to enact local gun control laws. The push comes as the city reels from a record number of criminal homicides. House Bill 101 would allow consolidated local governments to regulate firearms and ammunition to…
By Caleb Noe, Kyle Collier | FRANKFORT, Ky. (WYMT) — Government cutbacks are leaving some workers in Kentucky unsure of their futures. Ironically, those concerned are the people who spend every day helping the unemployed. “I’ve been there. I know how it feels. It makes you sick to your stomach,” said Chad Scott. Scott was laid off from his coal…