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Senate committee approves endowed research fund bill
The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced a bill Thursday that would create an endowment fund for research consortiums in Kentucky. Senate Bill 1 would set up five different consortium accounts for cutting-edge research administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). The CPE would study possibilities for research and...
James Comer’s empty talk about accountability; he has a lot of explaining to do
Rep. Jamie Comer loves to talk about accountability. He loves accountability so much he even learned to spell it. It’s all accountability all the time with Jamie, here, there, and everywhere. He even changed the name of the congressional panel he chairs to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
The feds sent letters to 44 states, including KY, to fix SNAP application errors and inefficiencies
The majority of states are not processing food assistance applications on time and making too many payment errors, according to the federal government. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the governors of 44 states earlier this month that are failing to meet federal standards when it comes to processing applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.
Despite ‘mass fraud’ claims, data shows few Kentuckians use student IDs to vote
A bill to strike college student IDs from Kentucky’s voter ID law over perceived concerns about “mass fraud” has cleared the state Senate, though voting statistics show few use this form of identification and there have been no documented fraud complaints involving them. Data from the State...
What anti-DEI politicos get wrong. Part 1 – the myths
As a former multicultural educator, my antenna went up when I heard about anti-DEI legislation proposed in Kentucky: SB93 for K-1, plus SB6 and HB9 for higher education. In short, DEI refers to programs addressing Diversity (people from the rainbow of sub-cultures), Equity (fairness, equal opportunity, and justice), and Inclusion (belonging and feeling valued). As I look at each of these concepts, I can’t imagine having a problem with any of them. So I set out to investigate the objections, and here’s what I found. (Although I focus primarily upon higher education, many of the principles apply to K–12 as well.) Kentucky legislators were heard repeating the following myths:
Calloway County, here’s your challenger for KY House
In this fall’s election, incumbent Republican Mary Beth Imes has a challenger: Democrat Lauren Hines will be running to take her District 5 seat. Imes was elected in 2020 when incumbent Republican and longtime Calloway county Judge Executive Larry Elkins retired. Prior to holding office, Mary Beth Imes was the director of the Imes Funeral Home and Crematory in Murray.
GOP bill would give Kentucky teachers 20 days of maternity leave
If a Republican-backed bill passes, Kentucky public school teachers would gain maternity leave, something not currently available to them. Senate Bill 205, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, of Smithfield, would provide 20 days of maternity leave to public school employees after giving birth. Under the bill, employees could begin to use sick leave after the maternity leave has ended. Any unused maternity leave could not be transferred into sick leave.
Sarah Cole McIntosh on JCPS
This week Robert and Jazmin welcomed Sarah Cole McIntosh to the show to discuss JCPS and several of the legislative session's bills regarding the school district. Before that, Jazmin and Robert updated a few bills making their way through the legislature. --30--
The Horizons Act – a big spend for a big goal.
Sen. Danny Carroll (R-Benton) has filed a bill he is calling the “Horizons Act” – a $300 million investment in early childhood education in Kentucky over the next two years. The bill, SB 203, was discussed in the Senate Families and Children Committee on Tuesday, but not...
Here’s this session’s “War on Louisville” bills
It’s almost an axiom that the largest city in a state is ridiculed / slandered / disparaged by the rest of the state. Ask rural Georgians how they feel about Atlanta, or upstate New Yorkers about the Big Apple. It is rare, though, for a state’s legislature to actively...
Kratom: Used by millions, but banned in many states. A pharmacologist explains the controversy
The herbal substance kratom, derived from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree, is used by nearly 2 million people in the United States annually. It can be easily purchased at gas stations and convenience stores, smoke shops and online, and is marketed as an “herbal supplement.”. Proponents claim...
Homelessness isn’t a crime, and does not belong in House Bill 5
The Lexington Street Voice Council hosted a luncheon at the Capitol Annex for Kentucky legislators on Feb. 7 to give the lawmakers the opportunity to see them as the people they are, to hear their stories and understand the reasons they are experiencing homelessness. More than 65 legislators shared a...
Campbell County Republican Party chair resigns amidst internal divisions
Campbell County Republican Party Chair Anna Zinkhon has announced her resignation effective immediately. This comes a year after divisions emerged amongst the party last February. In her resignation letter, Zinkhon said she did not see a path forward to resolve the party’s issues. “This task (being chair) proved more...
Adams announces continued increase in voter registrations
Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that voter registration continued to increase in January, for the tenth month in a row. “These numbers suggest that this November we could have the highest voter turnout in decades,” said Adams. “It is critical that the General Assembly leave early voting days and our election integrity measures intact.”
Birchers, fluoride, and Frankfort Republicans
Nobody would be rooting harder for House Bill 141 than the late Robert W. Welch Jr., founder of the far-right-wing, paranoiac John Birch Society. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Mark Hart (R-Falmouth) would make fluoridated drinking water optional in Kentucky. The Birch Society’s best-known conspiratorial flight of fancy was its...
Another murderous attack on our open records laws
The annual legislative assault on Kentucky’s open government laws has commenced in earnest, but this year it has begun with a vengeance. It is no exaggeration to suggest that the future of the Kentucky Open Records Act is at stake. Sponsored by Rep. John Hodgson (R-Fisherville), Rep. Jason Nemes...
More than 100 Kentucky groups urge lawmakers to reject House Bill 5
Via press release from the KY Center for Economic Policy. A diverse coalition of more than 100 Kentucky organizations, including faith, housing, justice, mental health, recovery and community groups sent the following letter to the Kentucky State Senate, calling on them to reject the harmful policies in House Bill 5. The letter was sent on Feb. 12, 2024.
Introducing state Senator Wheeler, the one representing Texas and Donald Trump’s campaign
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In June 2009, I was sitting in a classroom at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania with 19 colonels and an ethics professor, watching President Obama give a speech at Cairo University in Egypt.
‘Diversity isn’t always a good thing’
The headline above was actually said by a Kentucky state senator, in the Senate chamber, as he spoke in favor of a bill limiting diversity initiatives in higher education. Senate Bill 6, one of this session’s anti-DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) bills, passed the Senate Tuesday on a 26-7 party-line vote. The bill would limit colleges and universities from requiring students and faculty to “describe the attitude or actions in support of or in opposition to specific ideologies or beliefs.”
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