Commentary
Andy Beshear’s success is not a fluke
When Democrat Andy Beshear won the 2019 gubernatorial contest, election observers both inside and outside Kentucky passed off his success as a fluke.? Usually, they didn’t even give Beshear credit for his own victory. Instead, they attributed Beshear’s win to his opponent, combative Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Beshear won because Bevin was “a jerk.” Now […]
Burgone?
Burgoo is long gone as a Kentucky campaign trail staple. “Maybe Kentucky is too sophisticated for burgoo these days,” speculated Northern Kentucky Tribune columnist Bill Straub, a Kentucky Journalism Hall of Famer.? He suspects that many Kentuckians, especially younger folks, have never heard of the famous stew that was served at political events for decades. […]
Among all the candidates, which will get the most votes?
Perhaps the most telling TV commercial of this year’s campaigns comes from Secretary of State Michael Adams, the only Republican running for re-election. The 30-second ad begins by showing the top of the ballot, with the slates for governor and lieutenant governor unmarked, then goes to the second race, marking Adams as the choice over […]
Kentucky appeals court rejects gravest threat yet to the open records law
Open government advocates are inclined to rhapsodize about every judicial victory that advances the cause of public agency accountability and defeats government secrecy.? But it is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the Court of Appeals’ Oct. 27 opinion in Kentucky Open Government Coalition v Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission. One […]
Selling fear for profit
As we watched the aftermath of the mass shooting in Maine last week and listened to vacuous comments from newly-elected U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, my mind kept turning over the title of a famous Roxane Gay essay, “No one is coming to save us,” like a dystopian mantra. “The problem is the human heart, […]
Who will be Kentucky’s governor? Look into my crystal ball.
Last time I went to the grocery in Lexington, one of the stock clerks began tailing me. He held his distance at first, keeping me in eyesight but not approaching, until I started browsing an out-of-the-way clearance rack. Then he made his move. “You’re that UK professor, right?” He asked the question furtively, as though […]
Sue Wylie made the powerful squirm
Sue Wylie was a top-flight journalist. She was smart, intuitive, well-read, always prepared, and fearless. Sue was unfazed by someone’s title, political influence, wealth, or social position. Most of the guests who appeared on her “Your Government” program fell into one or more of those categories. I became a regular panelist along with Lexington Herald […]
Signing up for health coverage? Beware of scammers out for your money and identity
One in three Kentuckians are going through the Medicaid renewals process for the first time since they were paused in 2020. Thousands are going to be finding themselves in a unique position of needing to enroll in health care outside of the usual marketplace open enrollment dates. Thousands more will be required to provide personal […]
On deck: Kentucky voters could be asked to OK public money for private schools next year
If you’re tired of endless political ads on television, radio and social media, just wait until next year when corporate lobbyists try to grab Kentucky tax dollars for privately-run charter schools. After years of defeats in the Kentucky Supreme Court, lobbyists and private school operators will attempt to push a radical constitutional amendment onto the […]
Would Daniel Cameron really have rolled the dice with Kentuckians lives?
A month ago, on Sept. 17, I had a terrifying car accident in southern Illinois.? It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon. I was returning home to Kentucky following my 40-year high school reunion in Missouri. I was alone. And I was driving about 50 mph when a woman made an illegal turn in front of […]
A Kentucky COVID-19 reporter’s journey with COVID-19
For more than three years, I’ve written about COVID-19. The people who caught it and those who kept it longer than they should have. The people who bought into misinformation. And, worst of all, those who died from it.?? Finally, I tested positive myself.??? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had several COVID-19 scares over the […]
‘Coal Miner Governor’ Paul Patton will debut memoir Saturday at Kentucky Book Festival
When I interviewed Paul E. Patton in 1987 for the Lexington Herald-Leader during his bid to become Kentucky’s lieutenant governor, he showed me his fingernails. They looked as if they needed a good scrubbing, I told him. He laughed. He said they represented where he came from.? The stain from operating coal mines for 20 […]