Government
Federal government pays $2 billion for farmer discrimination
Tens of thousands of farmers or would-be farmers who say they suffered discrimination when they applied for assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will get one-time payments that total about $2 billion from the federal government. “While this financial assistance is not compensation for anyone’s losses or pain endured, it is an acknowledgement,” U.S. […]
Kentucky House Dems seek investigation of text messages, temporarily suspend one of their own
Democrats in the Kentucky House have temporarily suspended Rep. Daniel Grossberg of Louisville from their caucus and asked the Legislative Ethics Commission to investigate allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages to women. Grossberg’s attorney, Anna Whites, said Wednesday afternoon that Grossberg “appreciates the hard work the Legislative Ethics Commission does, looks forward to answering […]
Study says undocumented immigrants paid almost $100 billion in taxes
A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes fund. The findings run counter to anti-immigrant rhetoric that undocumented immigrants are “destroying” social programs. In 40 states, undocumented immigrants paid higher tax rates than […]
Lawmakers join KY’s largest addiction treatment provider to oppose Medicaid payment cuts
FRANKFORT — The state’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment is warning that looming cuts in Medicaid reimbursement to some providers could damage efforts to curb addiction that has engulfed Kentucky — just as the state is showing improvements. “Kentucky has made significant strides in access to treatment,” Matt Brown, chief administrative officer for […]
Kentucky lawmakers hear about efforts to resolve dispute over access to abuse, neglect records
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the state auditor’s office said Tuesday they are open to entering a memorandum of understanding to ensure the office of the ombudsman has the access it needs to a computer system that stores information about abuse and neglect cases.? The two parties are still hashing […]
Republicans slam administration for not carrying out laws that Beshear says legislature didn’t fund
FRANKFORT — Kentucky Republican lawmakers slammed the Beshear administration Tuesday for “picking and choosing” what laws to implement amid funding disputes that threaten 2024 laws to help kinship care families and create a statewide child abuse reporting system.? Eric Friedlander, the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, repeatedly told lawmakers during the […]
‘Between rock, hard place:’ Will anyone ever have standing to challenge Kentucky’s abortion ban?
LOUISVILLE — Lisa Sobel thinks any Kentuckian who has a uterus should have standing to challenge the state’s abortion ban.? The Kentucky Supreme Court and, more recently, a judge in Louisville, disagree.? Meanwhile, Sobel, one of three Jewish women challenging the ban on religious grounds, says she’s left in a “holding pattern.” She is afraid […]
Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about abortion
Reproductive rights has taken center stage in the first post-Roe presidential election that presently features a longtime advocate for reproductive rights in possible Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, opposite former Republican President Donald Trump, whose three appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices helped overturn federal abortion rights. Although Trump’s former health staffers have co-authored the […]
Beshear’s PAC has raised $493,000, but given little so far to help other candidates
FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear’s political action committee raised $493,000 in its first six months, but so far it has made few contributions to fulfill its purpose of helping “good people” win closely-contested elections across the country. Through June 30 the Beshear PAC, named In This Together, has donated only $24,800 to candidates it has […]
Six U.S. House Dems join GOP in condemning Harris, Biden administration over border policy
WASHINGTON ?— The U.S. House Thursday passed a Republican-led resolution condemning the president and Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, for the administration’s immigration policies. Republicans announced they would move forward with the resolution hours after President Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign and threw his support to Harris to become the […]
Welcome move to boost child protection in Kentucky trips over conflicting views of the law
Increasingly worried about suspected abuse of her young grandson, Michelle Tynes said she battled for years with Kentucky social service workers to act on what she said was the deplorable situation in the Western Kentucky home where he and four other children lived. “I made multiple reports,” said Tynes, who eventually won full custody of […]
Tennessee Valley Authority faces a push to get greener and more transparent?
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — When he heard about the sale, Kerry McCarver was perplexed. In 2020, the mayor of rural Cheatham County discovered that the Tennessee Valley Authority bought about 280 acres of rolling farmland “in the middle of nowhere” in his county, which lies just west of Nashville and is home to about 42,000 […]