Government
Some states are cutting higher ed in rural areas. What if Kentucky tried the opposite?
HAZARD — Haley Autumn Dawn Ann Crank thinks she might like to become a teacher. There’s a shortage of teachers in this corner of Kentucky, and Crank, who has eight siblings, gets kids. “I just fit in with them,” Crank said during a shift one February day at the Big Blue Smokehouse, where she works […]
For families that need the most help, child care costs are about to drop
Originally published by The 19th. For more than a decade, Erin Farias has watched the low-income families who send children to the day cares she runs navigate America’s broken child care system. Many of those parents had government assistance for school tuition, but half the time, Farias couldn’t count on them to make their co-payments. […]
Abortions are banned in Arizona after the Supreme Court upholds an 1864 law
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled to make abortion largely illegal in the Grand Canyon State, reinstating a 160-year-old law that forbids all procedures except those to save a woman’s life. Justice John R. Lopez IV, writing for the court in a 4-2 split decision, said that a 2022 law allowing abortions up to 15 weeks […]
Fatal anomaly exception didn’t spare Alabama mom who needed an abortion
Kelly Shannon was grieving a pregnancy she would need to terminate because of multiple fetal anomalies when she got the call that Alabama doctors wouldn’t approve an abortion procedure despite exceptions in the law. That meant she would have to leave the state. Shannon, 36, was about 16 weeks along in January 2023 when genetic […]
Government transparency decisions await Kentucky lawmakers when they reconvene Friday
FRANKFORT — A bill that open government advocates warn would introduce loopholes into Kentucky’s open records law could make its way to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk when lawmakers return to Frankfort later this week.? The final two days of the 60-day regular session — Friday and Monday — are set aside to consider gubernatorial […]
No money to build new nursing school raises old question: ‘When will it be Kentucky State’s time?’
FRANKFORT — Kentucky State University requested $50 million this year to build a nursing school for its growing class of future health care providers. The legislature ultimately rejected the request, even though Kentucky enjoys a record-high revenue surplus and suffers from a shortage of nurses. “The real tragedy is that we had the money to […]
Covid-19 misinformation persists four years after shelter-in-place
From spring break parties to Mardi Gras, many people remember the last major “normal” thing they did before the novel coronavirus pandemic dawned, forcing governments worldwide to issue stay-at-home advisories and shutdowns. Kentucky Senate votes to bar employers, schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccine Even before the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S., […]
Bill outlaws ranked-choice voting?in Kentucky, but that’s not why Beshear vetoed it
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a bill that received a late addition to outlaw ranked-choice voting in Kentucky.? However, Beshear singled out another provision in House Bill 44 as the reason for the veto. That provision requires the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to annually furnish “lifetime Kentucky death records” to help the State […]
Republican Party of Kentucky building fund hits $2.9 million with horse racing interests’ help
FRANKFORT — Churchill Downs contributed $100,000 and The Jockey Club gave $50,000 earlier this year to the Republican Party of Kentucky’s fund drive to renovate and expand its party headquarters in Frankfort. The two recent contributions are listed in a report that the RPK’s Building Fund filed this week with the Kentucky Registry of Election […]
Beshear issues some vetoes, signs dozens of bills
FRANKFORT — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed bills creating a nuclear energy authority and outlawing “discriminatory treatment” of filling stations. He also vetoed a measure similar to one the state Supreme Court overturned last year but that Republicans say is different enough to withstand judicial scrutiny. It allows a change of judicial venue for […]
Health and Human Services increases loan forgiveness for OBs, midwives who practice in rural areas
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday a $25,000 increase in loan forgiveness available to primary care providers in designated underserved areas. That means qualifying individuals are eligible for up to $75,000 in forgiveness if they commit to two full-time years of service. The amount is available to medical and osteopathic doctors, […]
U.S. judge sides with Kentucky attorney general in ruling against highway emissions rule
A federal judge has sided with Kentucky’s Republican attorney general in ruling that the Biden administration overstepped by requiring states to set goals for reducing heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle tailpipes and other sources on federal highways.? U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton, of Kentucky’s Western District, in a Monday order said the Federal Highway […]