Briefs
Want free COVID-19 testing? Federal site launches to help.?
Kentuckians can search for free COVID-19 testing sites nearest them thanks to a new website that launched nationwide last week.? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the site Jan. 24 with a goal of “focusing on communities at a greater risk of being impacted by the pandemic, people who do not have health […]
Kentucky receiving an additional $182 million in federal funds for broadband?
Gov. Andy Beshear joined U.S. Department of the Treasury officials to announce more than $182 million in federal funding Thursday for broadband deployment throughout Kentucky, padding onto hundreds of millions of dollars the state has already invested in expanding internet access.? The federal funding, made available through the American Rescue Plan Act, is one of […]
Calls to 988 mental health lifeline increasing since Kentucky launch
This story discusses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. Since the launch of a new and shorter Suicide Prevention Lifeline, calls in Kentucky have increased monthly, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. The “mental health version of 911,” […]
Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund to help build eight new homes, help cover some home repairs
The Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund committed $600,000 in funds to build eight new homes in partnership with two housing nonprofits, the Housing Development Alliance in Hazard and Homes Inc. of Whitesburg, Gov. Andy Beshear’s office announced Tuesday. The fund is providing $75,000 per home for building materials. “While we are at the beginning […]
Beshear’s juvenile detention plans include bump in starting salary, building new facilities
Gov. Andy Beshear has announced an increase in starting pay for staff in youth detention centers and unveiled a proposal to build two new facilities to house juveniles. Those and other changes outlined by Beshear on Thursday come amid criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s handling of unsafe and sometimes violent conditions in the […]
Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame adds five new members
The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame will induct five new members, two posthumously, March 23 in Lexington at the Kentucky Theatre.? A release from the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington says, the new members are: Marsha Norman, a prolific playwright, screenwriter and novelist, is one of the best-known writers in American drama. […]
U.S. Education Secretary Cardona visiting Hazard Thursday
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will travel to Hazard Thursday to spotlight new federal funding for Partners for Rural Impact, a “place-based partnership”?founded by Dreama Gentry that works to create student opportunity and success in Appalachia. Accompanying him will be Geoffrey Canada, president of Harlem Children’s Zone and founder of the William Julius Wilson […]
Researchers to spend five years, $3.7 million looking into Eastern Kentucky COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy?
University of Kentucky researchers announced Wednesday they will spend the next five years and $3.7 million to better understand COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Eastern Kentucky.? Researches from the colleges of Medicine, Public Health, Communication and Information and from the Department of Public Health will work on the project, named Kentuckians Vaccinating Appalachian Communities (K-VAC). The […]
Kentucky teachers can sign up for Holocaust education workshops offered by UK
Teachers across Kentucky have the opportunity to enhance K-12 Holocaust education through a?University of Kentucky-led training initiative, according to a news release from UK. Educators can?register?for online and in-person Holocaust education workshops, offered from late January through early June of 2023. Funded by a grant from the?Jewish Heritage Fund?(JHF), the UK-JHF Holocaust Education Initiative creates […]
Conservation officers investigating death of bull elk in McCreary County, reward offered
Frankfort — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking information about the poaching of a bull elk in McCreary County. A news release from the agency last week said conservation officers began investigating after a?department employee found the bull elk carcass on Jan. 13 near Middle Ridge Trail on Beaver Creek Wildlife […]
Charles Booker, former Kentucky Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, to lead governor’s faith-based initiatives office
Charles Booker, a Louisvillian and former state representative, has been appointed to lead the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement.? In a press release from his office, Gov. Andy Beshear announced several leadership appointments within his administration. The office Booker will helm was created by former Gov. Ernie Fletcher.? “I am honored to […]
Jan. 15 deadline to sign up for health, dental insurance through state marketplace
Jan. 15 is the deadline to enroll for health and dental insurance through the state-based marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act. To see plan options, visit kynect.ky.gov or call 1-855-459-6328. Kentuckians who don’t have coverage through another source, such as an employer, Medicaid, the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare or TRICARE, can shop […]