Category Archives: Capitol Solutions Blog

Kentucky Office for the Blind and Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Centralize Services into One-Stop Office

FRANKFORT, Ky. — To further eliminate employment barriers for Kentuckians with disabilities, Governor Matt Bevin today issued an executive order streamlining the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) and the Office for the Blind (OFB) into one centralized agency offering services to individuals with disabilities. Effective Oct. 1, the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet will consolidate…

Former WKU football player, wife donate $1 million to school

by The Associated Press – BOWLING GREEN, KY.  — Western Kentucky has received a $1 million donation from former Hilltopper football player Joe Micatrotto and his wife Sunshine and school officials say it’s the largest gift from an ex-student athlete. The donation includes support for WKU’s football and volleyball programs, its Opportunity Fund and capital projects.…

Matt Bevin is supporting an abortion-rights candidate for Congress

by Phillip M. Bailey, Louisville Courier Journal – This story is developing and will be updated. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is again siding against the Republican Party, but this time it involves a former prep school classmate who is running for Congress in Maine and supports abortion rights. Independent state Rep. Marty Grohman is in a three-way…

Prichard Committee receives federal funding to establish Statewide Family Engagement Center in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky is one of eleven states to receive a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a Kentucky Statewide Family Engagement Center (KY SFEC). Led by the Prichard Committee, the center will carry out parent education and family engagement in education programs for Kentucky families and provide training…

Dental clinic offers help to those in drug recovery programs

by The Associated Press – BEVERLY, KY. — A dental clinic in Kentucky is offering help to people in drug recovery and treatment programs. The Courier Journal reports Red Bird dental clinic staffers and University of Louisville dental students are extracting diseased teeth and providing dentures for center patients. Red Bird is a mission of the…

Fired UK professor who claims Matt Bevin retaliation gets a trial date

by Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal – In an “epic story of academic intrigue,” a jury will hear allegations from a former University of Kentucky dental professor that criticism of Gov. Matt Bevin’s changes to Medicaid dental benefits cost him his job. That’s the description of a federal judge in Lexington who ruled that a lawsuit by Dr. Raynor Mullins against…

Ford CEO: Steel, aluminum tariffs will cost automaker $1 billion

DETROIT – Ford CEO Jim Hackett says the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will cost the company $1 billion. Ford says the figure is a year-over-year increase from March through 2019. “The irony is we source most of that in the U.S. today anyways,” Hackett told Bloomberg television, explaining that the automaker gets…

Pollio ‘confident’ JCPS test scores will improve

He stressed that gains have been made in a number of areas and that recent initiatives will help students boost their academic success. by Kevin Wheatley – LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio says the district is looking for “sustained and systemic change” to improve student outcomes a day after…

Commonwealth Office of Technology accused of improperly approving IT contract changes worth $6.5 million

by JOE SONKA –  A Louisville-based IT company has filed a protest with the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, alleging that the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) improperly signed off on changes to an IT services contract with tech giant AT&T that were worth $6.5 million and not competitively bid. The formal protest letter was…

Norton Healthcare ranked 4th in Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America list

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2018) – Norton Healthcare ranks No. 4 on the 2018 list of Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America by Healthiest Employers, a national leader in employee health analytics, best practices and benchmark data. The organization moved up two spots from No. 6 on the highly selective list. The Louisville-based not-for-profit system includes five…