Briefs
Calls up 22% in year since Kentucky launched 988 crisis lifeline
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. Almost a year after Kentucky launched a simplified, 3-digit suicide prevention hotline number – 988 – Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that more people are calling and texting crisis counselors.? The number, which replaced a […]
Hearing on Kentucky Medicaid dental, vision, hearing services rescheduled for Friday
A public hearing on Gov. Andy Beshear’s plan to have Medicaid cover more dental, vision and hearing services for adults has been rescheduled from Thursday, July 13, to Friday, July 14. The hearing by the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee will be held at 1 p.m. July 14 in Frankfort at the Capitol Annex in Room […]
Sports betting will begin in Kentucky Sept. 7, mobile betting on Sept. 28
LEXINGTON — Gamblers can begin casting legal sports bets at racetrack-related locations across Kentucky on Sept. 7 and through mobile apps on Sept. 28, under emergency regulations signed yesterday by Gov. Andy Beshear at the Red Mile. The legislature earlier this year made Kentucky the 37th state to legalize sports betting. The U.S. Supreme Court […]
Five cases of Legionnaire’s disease reported by Lexington health department
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department says it’s seeing an increase in? cases of Legionnaire’s disease, which can be fatal if left untreated.?? An LFCHD spokesperson said the department is reporting five cases, an increase from the normal: zero.? Legionnaire’s is a pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which survives in soil and water, according to the […]
Donated site in Letcher County to house survivors of Eastern Kentucky floods
Local, state and federal groups are working together to secure housing for flood survivors in Letcher County.? The fiscal court of the Eastern Kentucky county previously voted to transfer about four acres of property to develop a small housing site near Whitesburg. The land has space for 10 housing units.? According to a recent news […]
Microvast confirms it won’t develop battery technology plant in Hopkinsville
Microvast Holdings Inc.?has announced it won’t proceed with plans for a battery technology plant in Hopkinsville — a project that would have brought a $504 million investment and more than 500 jobs to Commerce Park II. A press release issued Friday from the Texas-based company says the project is off “at least for now.” The […]
Judge limits Biden administration contact with social media platforms in censorship case
A federal judge on Tuesday prohibited Biden administration officials from communicating with social media platforms about “protected speech,” a ruling emerging from litigation originally filed by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. The ruling, by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, granted a temporary injunction barring […]
Awaiting Supreme Court hearing, ‘random’ change of venue law on hold, putting other cases on hold
A new law allowing some court cases to be randomly moved across the state is on hold as the Kentucky Supreme Court plans to hear arguments about its constitutionality. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Senate Bill 126 on Aug. 16, after Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd in April requested the state’s highest […]
Four Kentucky infrastructure projects awarded more than $33 million in federal funding
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to be in Lexington Thursday to highlight more than $33 million in federal grant funding for four transportation infrastructure projects. According to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release, the funds come from the RAISE discretionary grant fund. Funding in the 2023 Fiscal Year will go to rural […]
‘Unhealthy’ air from Canadian wildfires blankets Kentucky
Kentucky is under an air quality alert from the Energy and Environment Cabinet as Canadian wildfires left the commonwealth’s skies hazy with smoke.? The Air Quality Index shows much of Kentucky is in the “red” — basically, unhealthy.? The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet says people who have heart or lung disease, older adults and […]
Cameron solicited, refunded campaign donations from execs of a company his office was investigating
Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron’s campaign solicited contributions from officials of an addiction recovery center that was under investigation by Cameron’s attorney general office.? The Daily Beast first reported last week that Cameron’s campaign refunded political donations from Edgewater Recovery Center executives. The donations were originally accepted in March and April. The attorney general recused […]
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife gives safety tips about black bear sightings
As the summer season begins, wildlife officials are advising Kentuckians about possible black bear sightings.? The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says that sightings of black bears are common across the state. Encounters with the animals are possible, too, especially in early summer.? Recent sightings have been reported in eastern, southeastern and southcentral Kentucky, […]