By John Gregory, KET – With everything on his plate during his first year as Kentucky’s commissioner of education, Stephen Pruitt didn’t expect to be testifying before Congress. But there he was, giving his thoughts on the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to House and Senate committees earlier this summer. Pruitt praised lawmakers for passing…
by The Associated Press – FRANKFORT, KY. — Republicans in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional district are expected to nominate James Comer for a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield. Whitfield is resigning from Congress at 6 p.m. Tuesday. He announced his resignation last week, about one year after announcing he would not seek re-election this…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky has reached a milestone by welcoming its 1 millionth visitor. The distillery in Frankfort says the unsuspecting visitor, from Lexington, was greeted with cheers, a balloon drop and a special prize pack at the Visitor Center on Wednesday. The celebration continued throughout the day with cupcakes and…
by LINDA BLACKFORD, lblackford@herald-leader.com – The University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has been awarded an $8.25 million, five-year grant to continue its work on Alzheimer’s disease. The grant will continue Sanders-Brown’s designation as an Alzheimer’s Disease Center, one of only 30 in the country. UK’s center was among the first 10 centers designated in 1985, and…
by GREG KOCHER, gkocher1@herald-leader.com – The timing of a family court judge’s announcement of his resignation — and the subsequent filing by his wife to succeed him — has raised questions in Clark and Madison counties about whether the retirement was orchestrated to prevent competition from other potential candidates. Jeffrey Walson, who retired effective Aug. 7, denies the…
by Laura Ungar and Beth Warren, @BethWarrenCJ – The Courier-Journal’s community forum on the region’s prescription pill and heroin crisis, “A Way Forward,” drew more than 400 people July 21 with dozens of questions for featured panelists. Here are answers to more of your questions. Question: People do not seem to be aware of the opportunity to use Casey’s…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton is hoping to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs with a competition for students. Hampton announced the start of the Lieutenant Governor’s Entrepreneurship Challenge on Monday. The contest will consist of a business plan proposal and a live pitch competition. It will include two components next year…
BY JACK BRAMMER, jbrammer@herald-leader.com – State Rep. Russ Meyer, D-Nicholasville, released Tuesday a recording of a voicemail message he received in December from Matt Bevin in which Meyer says the Republican governor warned him of the “impacts” of not switching political parties. Meyer said in an interview Tuesday morning that he received the call from Bevin on his…
by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – FRANKFORT, Ky. – It turns out that the Kentucky Democratic Party did not get a windfall cash transfer last month from a Hillary Clinton political committee. In a report filed with the Federal Election Commission earlier this week, the Kentucky Democratic Party reported receiving $793,000 in July from “HVF,” or Hillary Victory…
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – A retired Texas official who oversaw a raid on a polygamist sect has been chosen by Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration to run Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice. The Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/2bIm0KF) reports Carey D. Cockerell begins his new role in Kentucky next month. Kentucky Justice Secretary John Tilley on Friday praised Cockerell’s…