by Adam Beam, Associated Press – FRANKFORT, KY. – A Kentucky judge compared one of Gov. Matt Bevin’s executive orders to a neutron bomb Wednesday in a case that challenges the governor’s ongoing purge of powerful state boards and commissions. Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd said Bevin’s executive order abolishing the Workers Compensation Nominating Commission and…
by Jack Brammer, [email protected] – FRANKFORT — Companies and special interest groups spent an all-time high of $9.53 million lobbying Kentucky’s 2016 General Assembly, the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission reported Tuesday. That’s a 9 percent increase over lobbyist spending in 2014, the most recent 60-day lawmaking session. During this year’s session, a record 698 businesses and organizations registered to lobby.…
by Susan Page, USA TODAY – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell assesses the impact having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket will have on Republican Senate candidates in November and what dealing with a President Trump would be like. LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who learned an early lesson about the…
by Kevin Wheatley, @KWheatley_cn2 – FRANKFORT — After former first lady Jane Beshear decried her removal from the Kentucky Horse Park Commission as an escalation in the feud between ex-Gov. Steve Beshear and first-year Gov. Matt Bevin, the current governor says it’s time for his predecessor to move on. Bevin abolished and then re-organized the Kentucky Horse Park Commission,…
by James Bruggers, @jbruggers – A Republican and a Democrat from the Kentucky General Assembly stood before a crowd on Tuesday and talked about how they did something unusual – they found common ground on an environmental issue. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, said she’s “the touchy-feely tree hugger.” Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, “is the economic, fiscal guy –…
by Allison Ross, @allisonSross – Jefferson County Public Schools’ superintendent said she thought people would “celebrate” the recent salary study that said the state’s largest school district is paying a “premium” in salaries to its employees. But instead, “it got interpreted differently,” Superintendent Donna Hargens said during a public forum Monday with Management Advisory Group Inc., the company that…
by VALARIE HONEYCUTT SPEARS, [email protected] – A consulting firm hired at the direction of Fayette County Superintendent Manny Caulk suggests that the district’s central office be reorganized to support efficient operations, accountability for staff and an effective management approach. The firm Cross and Joftus found in an audit of district operations that schools have varied approaches to curriculum…
by LINDA BLACKFORD, [email protected] – The University of Kentucky violated state law when it denied a request for details of meetings held by a committee that decides doctors’ salaries, the Kentucky attorney general’s office has ruled. According to a May 19 opinion from Andy Beshear’s office, the UK HealthCare Compensation Planning Committee is a public agency and “failed…
by STU JOHNSON (KPR) – Lexington Mayor Jim Gray’s Primary win in the U.S. Senate race will likely mean a heavy dose of speaking engagements across the Commonwealth the next five months. Lexington’s vice mayor doesn’t expect that to impact his work at city hall substantially. Lexington Vice Mayor Steve Kay says Gray can do both, continue…
by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC operated by close associates of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, continued to get more jumbo contributions in April from energy interests and Las Vegas. And it spent $773,000 in April successfully advertising for the election of GOP establishment-backed Rep. Todd Young in the Indiana…
