FRANKFORT, Ky. — Tobacco giant Altria spent a massive $379,760 to lobby the 2018 Kentucky General Assembly – more than twice as much as any of the 720 corporations and associations that are registered to lobby the legislature. And while the General Assembly’s tax bill included a 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax, a health advocate…
The competition is already in the starting gate as organizations across Kentucky and the nation prepare to capitalize on Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision, which struck down a federal ban on sports betting. After the ruling came down, Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, released a statement that read, in part, “Our multi-billion…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 14, 2018) – Norton Children’s Hospital has announced a $500,000 gift from BB&T to support a special area for infants in the soon-to-be constructed Jennifer Lawrence Foundation Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). The gift through the Children’s Hospital Foundation will fund a three-bed section for infants needing heart care. Every year, more…
As Kentucky struggles to deal with the growing opiate epidemic in the state—lawmakers are scrambling to find different ways to tackle the scourge of addiction. One way officials on all sides of the political spectrum have aimed to tackle the epidemic is by creating safe drug disposal programs. What began as county specific disposal…
Three former University of Louisville Foundation officials have filed a countersuit against the foundation, seeking to have it pay their legal fees in its own lawsuit against them over the management of its finances. The lawsuit, filed this week in Franklin Circuit Court, states former Chief Financial Officers Michael Curtin and Jason Tomlinson and former board…
McCRACKEN COUNTY, KY – We’re tracking your tax dollars. McCracken County Fiscal Court and Jailer Tonya Ray have gone back and forth over the last few months. Commissioners say she went $100,000 dollars over in her overtime budget. Even if you never step foot inside, you still pay for things at the county jail with…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Bill Brasch cast an absentee ballot in the Kentucky primary last week with only a faint thought that hackers might be trying to disrupt the election. He was confident, he said, that his vote would be accurately counted. “I worry just a bit, but I’m not really concerned,” Brasch said after…
WUKY’s Alan Lytle talks with Kentucky Gazette editor and publisher Laura Cullen Glasscock about the amount of “outside” money that’s already been spent on Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District race. CREDIT MATT GOINS/LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER VIA AP
Kentucky Thoroughbred Association Director Chauncey Morris anticipates his industry will ultimately be asked to justify tax breaks benefiting horse farms. He said that could happen in a special legislative session. Morris said those in the thoroughbred business need to demonstrate the value of the equine industry and defend tax exemptions. “This is something that every…
A law that allows municipalities to phase in massive increases in state pension costs is not quite a windfall for local governments, but leaders will gladly take it. As part of efforts to shore up the state’s troubled pension system, municipalities and school districts were informed last year they would face increases of as much…