by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – Nearly 700 groups have reported spending more than $14.3 million to influence the Kentucky General Assembly this year, the vast majority of that was in fees paid to lobbyists. Groups that lobby the General Assembly must report their lobbying expenses to the Legislative Ethics Commission. Last week reports were filed covering…
by Associated Press – FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has issued $7,000 in fines to three former state workers for violating ethics laws. The commission fined former Probation and Parole officer Patrick Hoover $1,500 for exchanging “sexually explicit text messages and photos” with a woman he was supervising. Former Department of Corrections officer Dana…
by Fatima Hussein, fhussein@enquirer.com – Boone County Schools, Northern Kentucky University and others have been invited to apply for consideration funding through Gov. Matt Bevin’s contentious new workforce development program. The Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee, formed to select projects for the commonwealth’s new $100 million workforce bond program, has invited 91 local applicants to submit proposals for funding consideration. The…
by Andrew Wolfson, @adwolfson – In a bloodbath at KentuckyOne Health, the embattled hospital company Friday laid off top executives, including two senior vice presidents and the president of Frazier Rehab Institute. In an internal announcement that wasn’t shared publicly, the Kentucky division of financially troubled Catholic Health Initiatives said it was axing leaders to “improve…
by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – Here are a dozen examples of bills that have easily passed the Republican Senate in the last two years but died in the Democratic House. They could be in play if the GOP captures the House in November. 1. Abortion ultrasounds In 2016, the Senate voted 32-4 for Senate Bill 152to require a doctor to display the…
by Scott Wartman, swartman@nky.com – The rise in online tax filing means the loss of 1,800 jobs at the Internal Revenue Service facility in Covington, the agency announced Wednesday. An overwhelming majority of the American population filed their income tax returns via the internet in 2015: 86 percent, up from 58 percent in 2008, the IRS reported. That…
by Darla Carter, @PrimeDarla – Though it’s just September, flu cases already are popping up in Louisville and elsewhere in the state. The Kentucky Department for Public Health announced Thursday that there have been 10 laboratory-confirmed cases, stemming from Jefferson, Bullitt and Fayette counties. It’s a little early to be seeing flu, according to the department, which noted…
by Deborah Yetter, @d_yetter – STORY HIGHLIGHTS HHS will take public comments through Oct. 8 on Kentucky’s Medicaid plan. People may comment at Medicaid.gov. Gov. Matt Bevin’s plan to reshape the state’s Medicaid program was debated in Louisville on Wednesday, with top officials from his administration defending it and health advocates arguing against his proposal submitted last week…
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – Communities across Kentucky will compete for $100 million in state funding to pay for projects to train Kentucky’s workforce. The Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee, appointed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, is scheduled to meet Wednesday to review 114 proposals for the money. The 10-member committee led by Education and Workforce Development…
by DANIEL DESROCHERS, ddesrochers@herald-leader.com – Democratic candidates for federal office in Kentucky criticized Gov. Matt Bevin on Tuesday for suggesting last weekend that blood might someday need to be shed if Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election, going so far as to suggest impeachment. In his off-the-cuff speech Saturday at the Values Voters forum in Washington, D.C., Bevin referenced a famous…