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Rensselaer researcher publishes groundbreaking study on labor market discrimination against transgender people
In 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Bostock vs. Clayton County that transgender people are legally protected from employment discrimination. This came at a time of increased visibility, but also of legal and social challenges to the rights of transgender individuals. Meanwhile, there has been very little study of labor market discrimination against them. Rensselaer researcher Billur Aksoy, Ph.D., has recently conducted an innovative survey of Americans’ attitudes toward transgender people in the workplace.
Beshear anticipates economic gains after visit to Germany
Governor Beshear says a six-day economic trip to Germany last week proved successful in more ways than one. The governor said he had about 20 meetings and joked he saw a lot of boardrooms across Germany. Beshear sees opportunities for the Commonwealth as German business leaders reassess their plans in the U.S.
Kentucky General Assembly fumbles opportunities to help kids
It’s Spring 2024 in the Bluegrass State. And if I am writing about sports, I should be focused on new basketball coaches and the Derby and the PGA Championship at Valhalla. But as I reflect on the 2024 General Assembly, my mind drifts to football and the 1938 Chicago Bears. That was the team which still holds the NFL record for the most fumbles in a single season. And from my viewpoint, this legislative session had the most fumbles for kids I have seen in my 20 years at Kentucky Youth Advocates.
Come hear the Lexington candidates!
We wanted to share with you an exciting opportunity to meet the candidates running for office in the Lexington-greater area! We all know the importance of elections. Unfortunately there are few opportunities to meet candidates who have primaries. BGAA is here for you. We realize you get plenty of long emails, so we will make this short. See below for information:
Democrat Erin Marshall (KY-01) launches billboard campaign
Today, first-time Democratic congressional candidate Erin Marshall (KY-01) announced the launch of her campaign billboard in Paducah that hits Rep. James Comer for opposing abortion access for rape victims in Kentucky. The billboard includes recent information from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) of the number of rape-related...
Judge dismisses ethics violations against former Secretary of State Grimes
Former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes was cleared Monday by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd of charges by the state Executive Branch Ethics Commission that she improperly ordered the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office while she was Kentucky’s secretary of state.
Here’s the finances for 12 competitive primaries for General Assembly
The top lines of campaign finance statements are interesting – but can also be very misleading. Only when you really did into the reports can you get a sense of what is really going on. Joe Candidate shows this great “Raised to Date” number – but how much came...
Vaping and substance use in Kentucky schools has spiked in the last five years, especially in the younger grades
The number of drug, alcohol, and tobacco events recorded by schools have increased in schools at all levels across Kentucky, according to data collected by Infinite Campus, an online student information tracking system. A look at the data from 2017-28 through 2022-23 found that Kentucky’s elementary schools saw a 475%...
The ongoing KSU open-records saga
As the ink dries on the last bills from the 2024 legislative session to be signed into law or vetoed, we offer a final reminder of the importance of the Commonwealth’s open records laws and what Kentuckians stand to lose if we permit our lawmakers and governor to modify those laws – on the thinnest of legal pretexts – with the goal of advancing an anti-open government endgame.
Kentucky AG gets funding to fight Biden administration on climate, air, and water pollution rules
When Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told state lawmakers in January about the budget needs of his office, Rep. Patrick Flannery (R-Olive Hill) asked if he needed more resources to address a “regulatory avalanche” regarding a “green agenda” coming from the federal government. Coleman, a Republican,...
State Races – Finances
Here we are – the first reporting period for this spring’s primary. And we’ve got the numbers for you to peruse, analyze, worry about, talk about, and generally geek out on. Notes on the Finance Table. We’ve only included competitive races – ones where there is either...
The UAW is breaking GOP brains in Dixie
“Southern autoworkers aren’t listening to the GOP’s BS any more.”. That grabber headline on a recent Thom Hartmann musing sent me to my old copy of W.J. Cash's 1941 book, The Mind of the South, a controversial and consequential study of Southern society. “The UAW’s successful unionization effort...
A critical look at the charter schools amendment on the ballot this November
I’ve written about this subject before (Wincity Voices, February 14, 2024) but the subject is so important that it deserves additional commentary. I shall likely write about it again before the November elections because of its potential impact on public school funding. The reader may also wish to read...
Expensive battle brewing in Kentucky primary to shape GOP caucus in Frankfort
With less than four weeks to go until Kentucky’s primary election, political action committees and the interests that fund them are prepared to spend heavily on Republican races for the state legislature — re-opening divisions within the GOP caucus in Frankfort. At least a half dozen races pit...
Lawsuit against KY120-AFT dismissed
A lawsuit filed against organizer Nema Brewer and the KY120 chapter of the American Federation of Teachers has been dismissed. The suit was filed in February by two parents with children enrolled in Jefferson County Public Schools, Miranda Stovall and Noor Fadel. Their attorneys were Lexington attorney Peter Ecabert and Chicago attorney Daniel Suhr. (Suhr and attorney Patrick Hughes have filed similar lawsuits against the Newton Teachers Association in Massachusetts and the Chicago Teachers Union.) They sought damages from the defendants on behalf of students and parents.
Poll shows majority of Americans would back federal abortion rights protections
A new poll demonstrates that, in this pivotal election year, abortion rights could play a key role in determining who will win the White House and control of Congress. Several states across the country are set to hold referenda regarding abortion rights and access to the procedure. Those elections will have tremendous consequences for the states themselves, but could also motivate more supporters of abortion rights (and thus, Democratic-leaning voters) to turn out in key states and congressional districts.
The great Republican contradiction
Republican leaders, local, state and national, are excited by the growing number of American voters who have switched their party registration from Democrat to Republican. This has happened gradually over the past decades. Two years ago, an excited Senator Mitch McConnell thanked his fellow Republicans for finally making their party...
New federal rules aim to clean up toxic coal ash, including nearly a dozen sites in Kentucky
Kentucky is one of a minority of states that produces most of its electricity by burning coal. A byproduct of that legacy today: creating millions of tons of what’s known as coal ash, a waste from burning coal containing a slew of toxic metals that’s often stored by utilities and power producers in impoundment ponds and landfills.
Owensboro lawmakers say ‘school choice’ plan will come if amendment passes
A measure on the ballot this fall will ask voters if they support amending the state constitution to allow lawmakers to “provide financial support” for students who attend private schools. Owensboro area legislators Sen. Gary Boswell and Rep. DJ Johnson, who are in support of the constitutional amendment,...
Purported Comer book deal promises generous payday, sale of more cheap lies
Baseball legend Pete Rose (you know, the fellow who’s not in the MLB Hall of Fame) acknowledged some time back that he has in his lifetime read only one book. It was the one he wrote, titled Pete Rose: My Story. For what it’s worth, Charlie Hustle thought it...
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