Commentary
Introducing Kentucky Lantern’s health reporter
Every time I write a Kentucky health story, I’m reminded of when I was 13 and my “GrandG” taught me to crochet. It took weeks for my fingers to find their way and steadily stitch together yarn that took the shapes of scarves, blankets, potholders.? Often, because I was new at it, my needle slipped […]
Citizens group demands new medical provider, end of overcrowding at Louisville jail where 12 died
For the past year, Louisville has been in the throes of one of the most devastating humanitarian?crises in the city’s history. Twelve people died in the nightmarish conditions at Louisville Metro?Department of Corrections (LMDC): Last December, as Mayor Greg Fischer and community leaders shrugged their shoulders and?remained silent when three people died at the jail […]
Look for more attacks on Kentucky’s open government laws
Kentucky lawmakers faced a dilemma in 1975. One year earlier, they enthusiastically enacted an open meetings and an open records law aimed at restoring the public’s trust in government. Years of deception associated with the Vietnam Conflict and clandestine and illegal activities by the Nixon administration — collectively referred to as the Watergate scandal — […]
Mitch McConnell diagnosed GOP problem with voters but didn’t follow his own prescription
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, after beating back a challenge to his leadership position, offered a reasonable analysis on why his party fell short of midterm election hopes. “We underperformed among indepen--dents and moderates because their impression of many of the people in our party, and leadership roles, is that they’re dogged in chaos, negativity, […]
Politicians owe Kentuckians a serious conversation about climate change
How many times have we seen it? Disaster strikes. The media descend. For a few days, the world is mesmerized. Until something new beckons; the media move on. And the victims recede in our ever-shortening attention spans and are forgotten. I’m proud the Kentucky Lantern’s debut brought you journalism that does not move on and […]
Meet the Kentucky Lantern, independent journalism that’s free for all to read
FRANKFORT?— Welcome to the Kentucky Lantern. I’m thrilled you’re reading us. Please, come back and invite your friends. As a nonprofit we can make our news and commentary free to read without paywalls and also free to republish.? While this economic model is relatively new, our mission is so deeply rooted in American democracy that […]
Wait a minute, the abortion-rights vote does too matter
If Kentucky voters had approved the ballot measure denying any constitutional support for abortion rights, the results certainly would have been used to argue for retaining restrictive bans. So why shouldn’t the rejection of that measure be a key factor in the Kentucky Supreme Court’s various decisions about the constitutionality of abortion laws?? The legislature […]