Briefs
Kentucky early voting starts this week. Tuesday last day to request a mail-in absentee ballot.
Some of Kentucky’s voters will go to their local polling locations this week.? Excused in-person early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 25, and will be held Oct. 25-27, and next week Oct. 30-Nov. 1.? Voters can find information, such as address and hours, for their local in-person early voting location on the State Board of Elections’ […]
More than 600 ‘orphan’ oil and gas wells plugged in Kentucky with federal funds
The director of the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas told state lawmakers Thursday that 627 so-called “orphan” oil and gas wells have been plugged thanks to recent federal funding, though thousands of such abandoned wells remain across the state.? Dennis Hatfield, the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas director, said the state officials estimate […]
Beshear makes surprise visit to striking autoworkers in Louisville
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear brought a box of fresh sandwiches to striking UAW Local 862 members outside the Ford Truck Plant in Louisville on Wednesday, reports a posting on the Kentucky AFL-CIO website. “Folks, I’m Andy Beshear and I’m the proud pro-union governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” he announced to cheers and applause from […]
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife plans prescribed burns on nearly 2,100 acres of public lands this fall
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has announced plans for controlled burns on portions of five Kentucky public land areas “to improve forest and grassland health and enhance habitats preferred by native wildlife.” According to a news release, Fish and Wildlife officials and partnering agencies are scheduling prescribed burns on 2,096 total acres of the Clay, Grayson […]
Kentucky’s largest city giving away free period products
LOUISVILLE – Eighteen of Louisville’s health department and Metro Hall public-facing bathrooms just got period products dispensers thanks to an investment of around a $1,000 from the city’s Office of Women.? The free products are part of a pilot program that city leaders said Friday is a step toward health equity and also a worthwhile […]
Lawmakers briefed on handling of sexual misconduct charges against juvenile justice staff
Since 2015, there were six cases in which Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice staff engaged in sexual misconduct or activity with a youth in the system, staff told the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee Thursday.? The misconduct could include “sexual harassment” or “inappropriate sexual banter,”? Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey told […]
Kentucky’s high school class of 2023 slightly improves average ACT score
Kentucky students in the class of 2023 improved the state’s overall average ACT score by 0.1, the Kentucky Department of Education announced Wednesday.? A department news release said Kentucky students achieved an ?average composite score of 18.7 on the college entrance exam. The average composite score in 2022 was 18.6. This year, 54 students across […]
$16 million federal grant aimed at easing Kentucky’s shortage of primary medical care providers
The University of Louisville School of Medicine plans to use a $16 million federal grant to help funnel more primary care providers into Kentucky’s underserved communities, it announced Monday.? The four-year grant comes from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The university plans to use it to “attract and train medical students with […]
Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission will celebrate 30th anniversary with public reception Oct. 10
The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission — created 30 years ago in response to a scandal that rocked the Capitol — will celebrate its anniversary at noon Tuesday, Oct. 10, with a public reception. The event in room 154 of the Capitol Annex will follow the commission’s regular meeting at 10 a.m. in room 171. A […]
GOP ag commissioner candidate Jonathan Shell will not appear on KET’s ‘Kentucky Tonight’
This story has been updated to show that the candidates for attorney general will not appear together on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight.” KET had invited them to debate Oct. 16. Kentucky secretary of state and one of the two candidates for agriculture commissioner will answer questions Monday night from Renee Shaw on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight.” KET […]
FOX scraps joint interview with GOP candidates for U.S. House speaker
WASHINGTON — Fox News has scrapped a joint interview from Capitol Hill with candidates for speaker of the U.S. House after the participants dropped out, chief political anchor Bret Baier said Friday afternoon. The network initially said in a Friday morning press release that the three men participating in the joint interview would be Republican […]
Letcher prison opponents urge Congress to reject Rogers’ ‘fast-tracking’ provision
More than 185 organizations — from across Kentucky and the nation — are urging Congress to reject “fast-tracking” construction of a federal prison in Letcher County. A Sept. 19 letter to leaders and members of congressional appropriations committees urges them to remove language that Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky put into a House appropriations bill […]