Government
Kentucky executive branch employees barred from using TikTok on state devices
Time’s up for TikTok on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s technology devices.? All of Kentucky’s executive branch employees are barred from using TikTok, a social media app and website for short videos, on state-issued devices. The new rule comes as bills for a similar ban move through the state legislature.? TikTok, a platform where content creators […]
Their family home is flood-prone. Flood insurance is too expensive.
JACKSON — Last time she checked, flood insurance would cost Carolyn Combs and husband Lou about $1,100 per month. That was before the 2021 and 2022 floods swept through her family’s home in Jackson, destroying everything inside. “I couldn’t imagine what it is now,” Combs told the Kentucky Lantern in mid-December. “But I already work […]
Months after flooding, many still lack basic household supplies, building materials
JACKSON —About five months after deadly flooding and heavy rains displaced thousands of Eastern Kentuckians and killed at least 44, many still need help to replace basic household supplies.? The plea from many in Breathitt County going into hard winter is, they told the Kentucky Lantern: Don’t forget about us. And: there are still many […]
Stivers, leading foe of medical cannabis, suggests he could support it in end-of life cases
This article is republished from?Kentucky Health News, a publication of the?Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues?at the?University of Kentucky. State Senate President Robert Stivers suggested Monday night that he might be willing to approve medical marijuana in Kentucky on a very limited basis, to relieve patients’ pain at the end of their lives. But […]
Kentucky counties and cities get first installment of money from national opioid settlements
This article is republished from Kentucky Health News, a publication of the?Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues?at the?University of Kentucky. Kentucky’s cities and counties have received their first installment of the state’s money from the national opioid settlement, most of which must be used to combat the opioid epidemic. Knox County Judge-Executive Mike Mitchell […]
Alvarado bids Kentucky Senate farewell, special election May 16 to choose his successor
The ?special election to replace Republican state Sen. Ralph Alvarado of Winchester will be held May 16, the day of the statewide primary for governor and other statewide offices. A physician, Alvarado will become commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, Jan. 16. Republican Gov. Bill Lee appointed him to the post in November. On […]
Income tax cut, a GOP priority, sails out of Kentucky House
FRANKFORT — A bill that would continue to cut the income tax in Kentucky, a top Republican priority, sailed out of the House on a party-line 79-19 vote Thursday afternoon. The vote, which was followed by applause on the floor, took place on the third day of the session and about six hours after House […]
Beshear says Kentucky’s future is bright. Republicans disagree about who gets the credit.
FRANKFORT — In his fourth State of the Commonwealth Address, Gov. Andy Beshear spoke glowingly of Kentucky’s economy and optimistically of its future, while calling on lawmakers to approve 5% raises for teachers, a proposal that got a cold reception from Republican leaders. Speaking to a joint-session of the General Assembly, the Democratic governor highlighted […]
Kentucky’s Beshear elected co-chair of Appalachian Regional Commission
Appalachian governors have elected Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear the new states’ co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission. He will serve in the role for 2023. President Joe Biden appointed the federal co-chair, Gayle Manchin, in 2021. She is the wife of Democratic West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.? The ARC is a federal economic development […]
Biden, McConnell, governors trumpet bipartisan funding for Ohio River bridge
COVINGTON — President Joe Biden, joined by senators and governors from both sides of the political aisle and the Ohio River, came to Kentucky Wednesday to celebrate the bipartisanship that’s bringing a long-awaited upgrade of the Brent Spence Bridge and other critical infrastructure around the country. “A bridge built over half a century ago, having […]
McConnell honored by Kentucky Senate after becoming the U.S. Senate’s longest-serving party leader?
FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers heaped praise Tuesday on Kentuckian Mitch McConnell as he became the U.S. Senate’s longest-serving party leader ever. Minority Leader?McConnell, 80, whose family moved to Louisville in 1956, was first elected to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate in 1984. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, and others in the Senate spoke for […]
House GOP Whip Nemes seeking impeachment of Eastern Kentucky prosecutor over nude photo scandal
FRANKFORT — A Kentucky Republican lawmaker filed a resolution Tuesday aimed at impeaching an Eastern Kentucky prosecutor accused of trading favors to a defendant in exchange for nude photos and videos of the defendant.? The resolution by Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, targets Ronnie Goldy, the commonwealth’s attorney for the 21st Judicial Circuit serving Rowan, Menifee, […]