by JOSH JAMES – Congressman Andy Barr convened his drug task force in Lexington Wednesday. The 6th district representative discussed how the recently passed national Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act will affect the panel’s recommendations to the federal government. The task force brings together experts in education, prevention, healthcare, and other areas to formulate specific policy prescriptions…
by Kevin Wheatley, @KWheatley_cn2 – After addressing the country in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, her most likely surrogate at this year’s Fancy Farm picnic announced Wednesday that she would not attend the annual event. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said in a news release that she would be spending time with her husband, Andrew,…
by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky’s legislative leaders approved a job classification plan and an updated personnel policy manual for the 320-person legislative staff on Wednesday – reforms suggested in a 2014 audit that found a severe dissatisfaction among the staff. “What this plan entails are job descriptions for every position…” said David Byerman,…
by Joseph Gerth, @Joe_Gerth – Ghazala Khan refuted Donald Trump’s claim that “she wasn’t allowed” to speak at the Democratic National Convention, saying she was too emotional to talk. Muslim women have responded with the #CanYouHearUsNow hashtag. Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer blasted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Twitter over Trump’s continued sniping at…
by JOHN NULL – The 136th Fancy Farm Picnic, a fundraiser for St. Jerome Catholic Church, will take place this weekend in Graves County. The contest between Sen. Rand Paul and Democratic challengerJim Gray is the most high profile race this year and both candidates will be in attendance, as will former agriculture commissioner James Comer and Hopkinsville Army veteran Sam…
by ROB CANNING – A Hopkinsville lawmaker is suing the Greater Paducah Economic Development Corporation for what he says is race and age discrimination. State Representative Jeff Taylor is a retired TVA economic development manager and applied for the senior position of Vice President of Ecnomic Development and Special Projects with PED last year. That was before…
by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – Children across the commonwealth are gearing up for another school year, but the data points on education in the commonwealth don’t always add up. Kentucky Youth Advocates Executive Director Terry Brooks says many state leaders “engage in happy talk” when it comes to Kindergarten through 12th grade education, but the results are not…
by Justin Sayers, @_JustinSayers – Louisville-based Humana released a joint statement with Aetna Tuesday morning announcing that both companies agreed to sell assets in an effort to ease concerns from the U.S. Justice Department over Aetna’s proposed $37 billion acquisition of Humana. The two companies entered into separate agreements to sell part of their respective Medicare Advantage…
by Lisa Gillespie – Gov. Matt Bevin is delaying submitting changes to the state’s Medicaid program, which were initially due to the federal government on Monday. Adam Meier, Bevin’s deputy chief of staff for policy, said the extension is due to the large number of comments the state received regarding the proposal. Under Bevin’s proposed plan, recipients would have co-pays for doctor…
Phillip M. Bailey, @phillipmbailey – Louisville’s largest cable and internet provider says the city is giving Google Fiber an unfair advantage, and it wants Mayor Greg Fischer to step in and ease key regulations in the coming weeks. In a July 28 letter, Charter Communications told Fischer the city’s separate franchise agreements allow Google to operate…