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Regional

  • Legislative Preview: A guide to the top issues facing state lawmakers

    By John Cheves

    Lexington Herald-Leader

    FRANKFORT — The Kentucky General Assembly begins its 2014 session on Tuesday, facing the usual trouble: Not enough money is coming in to pay for the services Kentuckians want, and there’s no political appetite to raise taxes, especially not in an election year.

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  • Judge fines Kentucky cabinet $756,000 for making ‘mockery’ of state Open Records Act

    By John Cheves

    Lexington Herald Leader

    A judge on Monday hit the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services with a $756,000 fine for making “a mockery” of the state’s Open Records Act and repeatedly withholding information in its files about abused and neglected children.

    It was the latest in a series of rulings by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd in favor of the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Courier-Journal of Louisville.

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  • UK researchers hope to find miracle drug in Kentucky coal mines

    By Linda B. Blackford

    Lexington Herald Leader

    Coal mines produce what’s sometimes called black gold, but researchers at the University of Kentucky hope the mines could hold something even more valuable — a miracle drug.

    A team from the Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation has been gathering samples from deep underground in Eastern Kentucky to see if the microbes that survive there could be put to use fighting disease.

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  • Record deer harvest among state Fish and Wildlife highlights for ‘13

    Earlier this year, Outdoor Life magazine picked Kentucky as the nation’s top spot for trophy white-tailed deer.

    The state produced 42 reported entries into the Boone and Crockett Club record book in 2012.

    “We’ve got more hunting opportunities now than we’ve ever had,” said Karen Waldrop, wildlife director for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “And we’re nationally recognized as a deer destination.”

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  • Gambling has shot in state Legislature

    By Scott Wartman

    Kentucky Enquirer

    The Problem: For the past six years, the state Legislature has grappled with whether to allow casinos in the state.

    Horse industry leaders say casinos in surrounding states have pulled away customers from Turfway Park and Kentucky’s five other thoroughbred horse tracks.

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  • Remembering the Possum
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  • Beshear hails $44M Race to the Top grant as ‘game changer’

    Kentucky’s new $44.3 million Race to the Top grant will jump-start learning, support parents and improve early learning programs for thousands of Kentucky preschoolers, Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday.

    The White House announced Thursday that Kentucky is among the six winners of a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant to support early learning and development reform agendas. The winning states, which will receive a combined $280 million, must show a willingness to carry out sweeping improvements to programs focused on children from birth to age 5.

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  • Medicare change period begins Jan. 1

    The Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period is Jan. 1 through Feb. 14 of every year.

    During this time, Medicare beneficiaries who have coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan (also known as a Medicare Replacement plan or Medicare Health plan) can drop their Medicare Replacement plan and return to Original Medicare.  Changes that you make during the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period go into effect the first day of the following month. 

    During the MADP you can make changes only if you have a Medicare Replacement plan. 

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  • Motor fuels tax rate to decline by 1.5 cents per gallon on Jan. 1

    Kentucky’s gas tax on sales of gasoline, diesel and ethanol motor fuels will decrease by 1.5 cents per gallon on New Year’s Day, reflecting a drop in the calculated average wholesale fuel price.

    The decrease would result in a loss to the Kentucky Road Fund of about $45 million on an annualized basis.

    “The Road Fund is our source of revenue for building, improving and maintaining Kentucky roads and bridges, so any loss of revenue is concerning,” Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said Thursday in a state news release.

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  • Reduce stress to prevent child abuse

    Stress can increase during the holidays, even in the most loving of families. And that can put some children at risk for abuse.

    With children home from school, holiday travel and seasonal shopping and associated expenses, parents can get frazzled more easily than usual. What is typically a fun and joyful time for children can become devastating when parents or caregivers cope with stress by becoming abusive.

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