Briefs
Pilot program to add speed cameras to roadway work zones heads to Kentucky House
FRANKFORT — Adding speed cameras to highway construction zones received a House committee’s approval with bipartisan support Tuesday.? Under House Bill 192, sponsored by Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville,? the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet would create a three-year pilot program starting in 2025 to add speed cameras to work zones in an effort to discourage speeding and […]
Decrying ‘pick-a-side politics,’ Beshear responds to GOP calls for him to support Texas governor’s border stand
FRANKFORT — Responding to Republican calls for him to support Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration crackdown, Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday praised the 850 Kentucky National Guard members who have served at the southern border, saying they?“answered the call of our country, not the clamor of the latest political outrage.”? Declaring Kentuckians “exhausted with this […]
Kentucky legislators introducing ‘sexually explicit’ ban bills again?
A Kentucky senator and representative will file mirror legislation Tuesday aimed at regulating “adult oriented businesses” and how close they can be to minors: no closer than a city block.? Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, and Rep. Nancy Tate, R-Brandenburg, want their respective bills to move simultaneously, they said at a Tuesday press conference.? Should the […]
Kentucky Senate, again: Reopen Capital Avenue
FRANKFORT — A Republican senator is once again pushing to reopen Capital Avenue near the Kentucky Capitol to traffic. The stretch of road, which passes by the Governor’s Mansion, was closed to vehicles in 2021 for security reasons.? Senate Bill 75 from Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, easily passed the Senate Monday in a vote of […]
Bill to get home blood test kits covered by Medicaid passes Kentucky House?
FRANKORT — A bill that would require Kentucky Medicaid to cover at-home blood test kits passed the House 93-0 Monday. House Bill 31 can now advance to the Senate. HB31 would make life easier for Medicaid patients who take blood thinners for their mechanical heart valves. Some patients need the blood thinners after drug use […]
House budget falls short of providing competitive teacher salaries, say Kentucky school administrators
FRANKFORT — Kentucky school districts would be unable to offer competitive teacher salaries under the state budget proposed in the Kentucky House, according to a survey of Kentucky school administrators. The Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) says 96% of respondents said the “proposed budget increase will not enable the district to attract and retain […]
‘Becoming bell hooks’ to premiere on KET in February
KET will celebrate the February premiere of its documentary “Becoming bell hooks” with preview screenings in Louisville and Lexington. A KET release says the documentary “explores?the life and legacy of Kentucky-born author bell hooks, who wrote nearly 40 books and whose work at the intersection of race, class and gender serves as a lasting contribution […]
Kentucky Democratic Party announces new executive director
Morgan Eaves, a former member of Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, will become the executive director of the Kentucky Democratic Party next week.? Eaves will replace current Executive Director Sebastian Kitchen effective Feb. 1, a party press release said. Kitchen will return to the Beshear administration.? “I was honored to serve in the Beshear administration, which […]
House bill to ensure Medicaid coverage for at-home blood tests advances
FRANKORT — A Kentucky house bill that would require Medicaid to cover at-home International Normalized Ratio (INR) kits unanimously passed the House Health Services Committee Thursday with bipartisan support.? Sponsor Rep. Deanna Frazier Gordon, R-Richmond, told her colleagues this is a “common sense” bill and “cost saving measure.”? Medical experts previously told the Lantern the […]
Democrats file bill to undo Kentucky ban on some medical care for trans minors
FRANKORT — Two Kentucky Democrats filed a bill Thursday seeking to undo a law that bans gender affirming medical care for transgender minors.? Senate Bill 150 passed the general assembly in 2023. Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the bill, but the Republican supermajority overruled his veto, and the bill became law.? As a result, Kentucky […]
Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe back at work after horse kick, emergency surgery
FRANKFORT — Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe was back at work Thursday a little more than a month after she announced she was kicked in the face by a horse and had to have emergency surgery.? Bledsoe, R-Lexington, was caring for a family horse on Dec. 15 when she was “unexpectedly kicked in the face” and […]
A bill targeting low-income housing vouchers passes Kentucky Senate
A bill that would prevent Kentucky cities from requiring landlords to accept low-income housing vouchers, something housing advocates say doesn’t happen, passed the state Senate Wednesday by a near party line vote.? The debate on Senate Bill 25 echoed much of what was heard in the House the day before as a similar bill won […]