by Jack Brammer, jbrammer@herald-leader.com – FRANKFORT — Gov. Matt Bevin wants to put the brakes on Attorney General Andy Beshear’s efforts to get the Kentucky Supreme Court to consider quickly Beshear’s case against Bevin’s controversial midyear budget cuts to public universities and colleges. In a five-page response filed Monday in response to Beshear’s request to the state’s highest…
by CURTIS TATE, ctate@mcclatchydc.com – WASHINGTON — At an event promoting his memoir Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was “stupid” for Donald Trump to single out a judge’s Mexican heritage and said the Republican presidential candidate should apologize and “get on script.” He did not, though, back away from supporting the New York real estate…
by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky Republicans say they have years of momentum and that a big voter turnout in November for a presidential election will help them seize majority control of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the first time since 1921. “A fantastic chance,” said Tres Watson, spokesman for the Republican Party of Kentucky.…
PIKEVILLE – Innovative projects aimed at improving the economy and quality of life of Eastern Kentucky were the theme of a conference in Pikeville Monday, and there were examples in fields from telemedicine and education to agriculture. One thing nearly all the ideas have in common, however, is that they could benefit from high-speed Internet…
by Miranda Combs | LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – It’s estimated at least 40,000 people in Kentucky are dealing with drug addiction. In our investigations into treatment options, we’ve found there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer. According to Lexington Drug Treatment Specialist Dr. Stephen Lamb, about 10,000 people in Kentucky find help with Methadone. Methadone is a pure opiate agonist, meaning…
by Nick Storm, @NickStorm_cn2 – LOUISVILLE — A newcomer to politics, Shenita Rickman, received the backing of Kentucky junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul on Monday in her efforts to defeat longtime Sen. Gerald Neal. Rickman’s challenge to Neal represents the Kentucky GOP’s attempts to attract the African American population of west Louisville. Republicans in the state Senate currently hold a…
by Kevin Wheatley, @KWheatley_cn2 – FRANKFORT — New Legislative Research Commission Director David Byerman faced a daunting task when he took over the LRC in October — reform an agency that had been blistered in a 2014 audit by the National Conference of State Legislatures. LRC’s handling of compensatory time was one of many issues highlighted in the NCSL report, with past directors…
BY JANET PATTON, jpatton1@herald-leader.com – Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles on Thursday launched a statewide initiative, the Kentucky Hunger Task Force. Quarles said he hopes this will lead to a bipartisan strategic plan to help the one in six Kentuckians who go hungry daily, including a fourth of all schoolchildren. “I feel that in a state with such…
by Adam Beam, Associated Press – FRANKFORT, KY. – A Kentucky judge compared one of Gov. Matt Bevin’s executive orders to a neutron bomb Wednesday in a case that challenges the governor’s ongoing purge of powerful state boards and commissions. Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd said Bevin’s executive order abolishing the Workers Compensation Nominating Commission and…
by Jack Brammer, jbrammer@herald-leader.com – FRANKFORT — Companies and special interest groups spent an all-time high of $9.53 million lobbying Kentucky’s 2016 General Assembly, the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission reported Tuesday. That’s a 9 percent increase over lobbyist spending in 2014, the most recent 60-day lawmaking session. During this year’s session, a record 698 businesses and organizations registered to lobby.…