Briefs

Cell phone alert Wednesday is just a test?

BY: - October 3, 2023

Expect a national emergency alert on your cell phones Wednesday afternoon, but don’t worry – it’s just a test.? The? Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will test the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to make sure widespread alerts are functional and effective ways to inform […]

Beshear wants money for clean water, internet access in Kentucky’s next budget, will face voters before then

BY: - October 3, 2023

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments. Gov. Andy Beshear is calling on the General Assembly to set aside millions in the next state budget for clean water, high-speed internet access and economic development.? Beshear, a Democrat seeking reelection this year, said in a Tuesday morning news conference that his “Better Kentucky” plan […]

One of ‘100 greatest film books’ was published by University Press of Kentucky

BY: - October 3, 2023

A book published by the University of Press of Kentucky has made a list of the 100 greatest books about film “Hawks on Hawks,” comprising author Joseph McBride’s interviews with director Howard Hawks by Joseph McBride, will appear on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of “The 100 Greatest Film Books” and will be celebrated in The […]

$13.9 million in grants distributed from Kentucky opioid settlement funds

BY: - October 2, 2023

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Monday the distribution of $13.9 million in grants to organizations fighting the opioid epidemic through recovery and prevention services in Kentucky.? Standing in the Capitol Rotunda, Cameron called the opioid crisis the “public safety challenge of our lifetime” that continues to be “unacceptable.”? “We could have the finest schools, […]

Kentucky among the most vulnerable states to climate change impacts, according to new research

BY: - October 2, 2023

A new index measuring 184 categories of public data across more than 70,000 census tracts in the country shows Kentucky communities, particularly Eastern Kentucky, among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.? The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, created in collaboration by researchers at Texas A&M University and the nonprofit advocacy group Environmental Defense […]

50 take advantage of new law helping domestic violence survivors hide their addresses

BY: - October 2, 2023

Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.? Kentucky’s Safe at Home?program, which helps survivors of interpersonal violence or threats stay anonymous on public records, is now serving 50 people, Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office announced Monday.? The program, which went into effect in June, lets survivors of domestic […]

Voter registration deadline is Oct. 10. And more about how to vote in Kentucky’s election.

BY: - October 2, 2023

In a matter of weeks, Kentucky voters will decide who will lead the state’s executive branch.? The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 7. Most Kentucky voters will decide statewide office holders, though Fayette County voters in House 93 District can vote in a special election to fill the late Rep. Lamin Swann’s seat.? […]

Flags lowered Sunday in honor of Frank Brooks, Kentuckian who died a POW in World War II

BY: - September 29, 2023

Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered flags at all state buildings lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Sunday, Oct. 1, in honor of a Kentucky soldier who died in World War II, but whose remains were only identified this summer. U.S. Army Pfc. Thomas Franklin “Frank” Brooks of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, was a member of […]

Documentary about women’s movement in Southern Baptist Convention will air Monday in Louisville

BY: - September 29, 2023

“Midwives of the Movement,” a documentary about the women’s movement in the Southern Baptist Convention, will premiere Monday in Louisville. “The women who started our movement were bold and tenacious visionaries,” said Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. “While they found a way forward, the patriarchal forces they fought are still at […]

Online sports betting begins in Kentucky

BY: - September 28, 2023

Kentucky sports fans began placing online bets with mobile phones Thursday morning.? As part of the state’s rollout for legalizing sports betting, mobile applications were approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in recent weeks. Users could also pre-register for accounts before Thursday in preparation to make wagers.? Earlier this year, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear […]

An up-close photo of a brown-shaded relict darter.

Wildlife officials downgrade protection status of West Kentucky fish to ‘threatened’

BY: - September 26, 2023

A small fish native to a stream system in West Kentucky is having its federal protection status under the Endangered Species Act downgraded from “endangered” to “threatened” in large part due to decades of conservation efforts.? The relict darter, native to the Bayou de Chien stream system that runs through West Kentucky into the Mississippi […]

Biden administration to create new gun violence prevention office

BY: - September 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday announced the formation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention that will help states and local governments as they implement a gun safety legislative package President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Lacking additional action in Congress to curb gun violence, “the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along […]