{Kentucky}...When it opened on Thursday, Kentucky Downs welcomed players to the state's first instant racing gaming machines approved under new regulations created to help struggling horse racing venues boost revenues. The track has installed 200 of the gaming machines, which are based on a pari-mutuel wagering system using past horse races. The brightly lit games have spinning icons resembling slot machines and show the final three seconds of an actual horse race in a small corner of the screen. The instant racing database has 21,000 historical races.
{Kentucky}...Cities across Kentucky may have to find millions to pay firefighters unpaid overtime after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that cities owe firefighters a higher rate on unpaid overtime and that the state's Labor Cabinet may pursue municipalities for the money. Kentucky League of Cities Chief Operating Officer Temple Juett says cities across Kentucky could be looking at a bill between $25 million and $32 million if they're forced to pay back overtime and retirement benefits on the funds for a five-year period. Kentucky Labor Cabinet General Counsel Dave Suetholz says the department cases pending across the state may now be pursued.
(Ashland, Ky) - A father is in jail after police say he brought his three year old son along during a robbery of an Ashland convenience store Saturday night. The armed robbery happened around 9:30pm in downtown Ashland. The clerk said a man in a ski mask and sunglasses came in, rushed behind the counter and held a gun to his head. After the clerk handed the man the money, the man fled. Police quickly located the vehicle and arrested 23 year old Kevin Burns and 22 year old Joshua Cordle, and found Cordle's three year old son in the backseat. Both men have been charged with 1st degree robbery, but Cordle is facing an additional charge of wanton endangerment for having his son in the car.
(Frankfort) Governor Steve Beshear has proclaimed September as College Savings Month in
{Kentucky}...Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams has criticized Democratic Governor Steve Beshear for not getting involved in whether ministers should be allowed to lead public prayers at athletic events. In an email that surfaced Friday, Kentucky Department of Education attorney Amy Peabody advised the Bell County school district that she believes allowing Christian prayers over a loudspeaker at the beginning of football games is unconstitutional. She advised the district to "cease this activity immediately." Williams called on Governor Beshear to denounce this attack on prayer at public functions and lead the efforts of state government to defend citizens' rights to voluntarily pray anywhere they choose. Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said the governor has no power over positions taken by the Department of Education, which is overseen by a commissioner selected by members of an autonomous state board. Richardson says Williams should also know the Department of Education is an independent department that does not answer to the governor.
{Kentucky}...Authorities in Florida say "the nation’s largest pill mill crime enterprise" was busted Tuesday. The bust focused on the 13 doctors who allegedly were "the engine behind a narcotics network that churned out more than 20 million Oxycodone pills and $40 million in profits." Two of the doctors, Roni Dreszer and Cynthia Cadet, had patients who later died of drug overdoses in Kentucky. Police say they peddled 85 percent of the nation’s pain pills out of walk-up, no-insurance, cash-only storefront operations. According to the indictment, in two years, 80 percent of the prescriptions penned by the George brothers’ doctors, nearly 67,000, went to patients who lived outside Florida and 43 percent went to people from Kentucky.
{Kentucky}...A task force composed of officials from Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia designed to halt the flow of illegal prescription drugs across the borders of their states held its first meeting Wednesday in Ashland, Kentucky to discuss ways to share information gathered by their states' prescription drug monitoring programs. Governor Steve Beshear says Kentucky has a tremendous prescription drug problem, and the Interstate Prescription Drug Task Force will work to find prescribers, dispensers and patients who are exploiting the state's borders. Attorney General Jack Conway says police believe the majority of illegal pills in Kentucky come from other states. Earlier this month, Kentucky and Ohio began using a system that automatically exchanges prescription medication data.
{Kentucky}...Alan Scott Williams has been convicted of armed robbery for robbing the Citizens National Bank in Ashland on Christmas Eve in 2009. Wednesday, the jury suggested a 20 year sentence on the bank robbery charge, but since Williams is considered a prior felony offender, the jury was able to enhance the sentence to life. Williams, who had more than a half-dozen priors, including five felonies and two misdemeanors, was offered a plea deal that would have given him a minimum of 8-and-a-half years in prison, but he chose to go to trial. Williams must serve at least 20 years of his life sentence before being eligible for parole. Final sentencing is scheduled for September 23rd.
{Kentucky}...The Bluegrass Chapter of the American Red Cross is sending it's Emergency Response Vehicle to the east coast to help prepare for Hurricane Irene. The vehicle has the ability to take Red Cross workers into neighborhoods and hand out hot meals, clean up supplies, shovels, rakes and other things. After arriving in Columbia, South Carolina, the vehicle will be dispatched to locally effected areas.
{Kentucky}...Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller says the agency is on track to meet an October 1st deadline to overhaul Kentucky's Medicaid program. The legislative Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Committee had asked for a delay in moving most Medicaid members outside the Jefferson County area onto a managed care plan. During a meeting Monday, several lawmakers asked if the state is moving too quickly, but Miller said she sees no reason for delays. The move is meant to save money and eliminate a budget shortfall of about $100 million in the program that serves more than 800,000 Kentuckians.
{Kentucky}...The Republican Party of Kentucky sent a renewed complaint Monday to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission asking them to do an expanded review of campaign fundraising activities on behalf of Democratic Governor Steve Beshear. GOP Chairman Steve Robertson alleged in the complaint that Jerry Graves, a deputy commissioner in the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, solicited contributions from state workers on two separate occasions since December. Beshear, who is seeking a second term in the November 8th election, has raised more than $5 million.
{Kentucky}...An eight-week trial in New York has ended with Ronald Dummitt of Grayson, Kentucky being awarded $32 million, $16 million for past pain and suffering and $16 mllion for future pain and suffering. The verdict, returned on August 17th, found Crane Co. and Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc. failed to warn Dummitt about the dangers of the asbestos exposure that led to him developing mesothelioma. Dummitt served 28 years in the Navy, and rose through the ranks of the Navy, starting as a fireman, then boiler tender and eventually attained the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. His asbestos exposure period occurred during the 18 years he spent aboard various ships. The jury determined Dummitt developed pleural mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos while serving aboard seven U.S. Navy ships between 1960 and 1977. During that time, he worked in the boiler and fire rooms in each vessel and was exposed to asbestos while repairing Crane Co.-manufactured valves, which involved removing, and replacing asbestos-containing lagging pads, gaskets and packing on each of the ships. Dummitt also became exposed to asbestos while working with Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc.-manufactured deareating feed tanks on one of the ships. The jury apportioned 99 percent responsibility to Crane, and 1 percent to Elliott. Dummitt was represented by Eves Law Firm, which is located in Huntington, W.Va.
(Louisville) The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety is teaming up with Metro Louisville Police to campaign against drunken driving. The "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign is kicking off Thursday at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville, according to a statement from the Office of Highway Safety. The enforcement and educational initiative will begin Aug. 19 and last until Labor Day. The campaign is meant to help save lives. Figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that nearly 11,000 people were killed in highway crashes in 2009 involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
(Kentucky) Thanks to tip from the public, Kentucky State Police have arrested a wanted woman. Melody Johnson, 35, is charged with theft, forgery, and exploitation of an adult. Johnson was wanted on charges in Bullitt, Jefferson, Spencer and Shelby counties. State police said it was a caller's tip that led sheriff's deputies to Johnson in Spencer County.
(Murray) A retired Murray State University professor who made a slavery reference while commenting on the tardiness of two black students has been rehired to teach online courses. Murray State spokeswoman Catherine Sivills said Friday that Mark Wattier has been hired back by the school under a contract as a part-time faculty member. Wattier retired earlier this year after the university suspended him for the racial remarks. The political science professor taught for 30 years at the school in Kentucky's southwest corner.
(Frankfort) Governor Steve Beshear today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $500,000 in grants to 43 Kentucky farm families and rural small businesses to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations.
{Kentucky}...Republican Larry Hopkins, who served 14 years as a congressman representing the Lexington area, has abandoned David Williams who served as campaign manager to Hopkins when he sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1991. Hopkins says he still considers Williams a friend but prefers Beshear in this year's governor's race because he has shown a willingness to reach out to both Republicans and Democrats to solve the state's problems. Beshear, who holds a strong lead in the polls over Williams and Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith, welcomed the Hopkins endorsement in a letter to supporters while the Williams campaign suggested it was a political stunt. Williams campaign chairman Donald Storm says, if voters compare the candidates on their plans for tax reform, job creation and public pension reform, Williams is out talking about his platform to make Kentucky more prosperous, while Beshear arrogantly hides behind political stunts and refuses to give the people of Kentucky a real debate on the issues. Hopkins also endorsed Beshear in the 2007 election. He is one of the Republicans who have publicly endorsed Beshear's candidacy in recent months, including former Lt. Governor Steve Pence who served on a ticket with former Governor Ernie Fletcher who Beshear defeated in the last gubernatorial election.
{Kentucky}...Judge Squire Williams ruled Tuesday that lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Richie Farmer won't have to be in divorce court until after the general election, allowing Farmer and his running mate, Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams, to avoid what could have been a huge distraction just weeks before voters head to the polls. Brian Logan, Rebecca Farmer's attotney, has argued that the former University of Kentucky basketball star has been trying to delay the trial in his divorce case, but Farmer's lawyer, Richard Guarnieri of Frankfort, denies that he has been trying to slow the case down because of the campaign nor has he done anything to delay this case. Logan, who had asked for a trial date in October if the case isn't resolved in a mediation hearing set for September 29th, says, "There are absolutely no political reasons motivating Miss Farmer. She simply wants a divorce." The judge set the case for trial on November 22nd, following the November 8th election.
{Kentucky}...On August 25th, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will headline a private fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams and his running mate, Richie Farmer, in Louisville. U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will also attend the event, which will cost $250 to $1,000 a person. State Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson says Bush's arrival in Kentucky shows national GOP leaders are interested in the governor's race. The Williams campaign says Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who had been considered a prospective Republican candidate for president earlier in the year, has been in Kentucky and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in June. Williams is challenging Democratic Governor Steve Beshear and Independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith in the November 8th election.
From English to math, literacy to social studies, science to arts and humanities, Kentucky's 1,221 public schools are revamping every detail in a process that will go on all year. It's the result of Senate Bill 1, the 2009 education reform bill that mandates every student must leave Kentucky's schools completely ready for college or the workplace.
{Kentucky}...Monday, Columbus Police said they filed an aggravated murder warrant for 35 year old Richard Lee Willis of Columbus in the July 25th death of former University of Kentucky basketball player 31 year old Desmond Allison. Authorities say Allison and a friend who survived, 36 year old Malcolm Goff, were shot multiple times outside an apartment complex. Goff and another friend of Allison's have said the killing may have stemmed from an argument between two women over a baseball cap, and police have said they believe the argument and shooting were related. Allison played at Kentucky from 1998-2000. In his last season he averaged 8.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds.
{Kentucky}...Dr. Geneva Matlock, of San Clemente, California, a retired anesthesiologist and graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has given $4 million to U of L to fund research in macular degeneration. In the past three years, Matlock has given a total of more than $5 million to U of L. Matlock was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration 10 years ago, but through treatment has retained her vision. Matlock’s mother, who died at the age of 99, was blind for the last decade of her life. Though she was never officially diagnosed with macular degeneration, her family believes she may have suffered from the disease.
(Ashland) Local, state and federal authorities arrested two people, including an Ashland businessman Friday on charges stemming from a four-year investigation involving stolen motorcycles, according to a press release from the Boyd County Sheriff's Department. Dick "Dicky" Meade was arrested about 8 a.m. Friday at Hertz Rentals, at 10th Street and Winchester Avenue in downtown Ashland. George Ferguson was arrested at his home n the 1900 block of Central Avenue in Ashland, according to the release. Both men were taken to the Laurel County Detention Center awaiting arraignment in federal court on Monday, according to the release. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents from Huntington, Kentucky State Police and Boyd County sheriff's deputies participated in the arrest
(Frankfort) The pension plan for state employees has lost $1.7 billion in recent weeks because of upheavals on Wall Street.
(Kentucky) Kentucky's cigarette tax revenue is falling, but state officials say it's not a sign that smokers are kicking the habit.
{Kentucky}...Former lawmaker 58 year old Steve Nunn has been transferred to state custody from the Fayette County Detention Center but has not received a final prison assignment. Kentucky Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb says Nunn went to Roederer Correctional Complex in La Grange for assessment and classification, which includes physical and mental health evaluations. Lamb says the process takes up to six weeks before a final prison assignment is made. Nunn pleaded guilty in June to fatally shooting his former fiancee, 29-year-old Amanda Ross, outside her home in Lexington in 2009. He was sentenced to life without parole.
{Kentucky}...Luke Marchant, who served as political director in Florida tea party favorite Marco Rubio's successful U.S. Senate race last year and was brought in to run the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate David Williams, has left the position. According to a statement from Williams campaign Chairman Donald Storm, Marchant had some professional opportunities he wanted to pursue. Marchant joined the campaign shortly after Williams' win in the May primary over Republican challengers, Louisville businessman Phil Moffett and Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw. Marchant had replaced longtime Kentucky GOP operative Scott Jennings, who remained with the campaign as a consultant and chief spokesman.
{Kentucky}...Leaders at Sullivan University, a for-profit college which has its main campus in Louisville, asked employees during an August 3rd training session to contribute $25 each to Todd P'Pool, the challenger in the Kentucky Attorney General's race. Grover Potts, Jr., an attorney for Sullivan, says for-profit college officials believe Attorney General Jack Conway has unfairly targeted the schools in an investigation involving possible violations of state consumer laws. Kayla Porter, 28, who attended the event, said employees were asked to raise their hands to show that they intended to donate and she felt so pressured she decided to quit her job at Spencerian College, which is a division of Sullivan. Potts confirmed that contributions were sought from employees, but no one was coerced and no laws were broken. Chancellor A.R. Sullivan was helping host a fundraiser this week for P'Pool. Contributions to general election campaigns aren't due to be filed until October. But financial reports during the primary election show P'Pool's received $13,000 in contributions from Sullivan executives and their spouses. He also received several contributions from leaders of other for-profit colleges.
{Kentucky}...Twenty-five year old Heather McGlothen has been sentenced in Lexington to life in prison for conspiring with her boyfriend to beat her grandmother to death. Police say McGlothen was not inside Marilyn Hegge's home when she was killed on her 78th birthday in 2008, but McGlothen helped plan the attack. Dominique Lewis pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced last month to life without parole. McGlothen, who pleaded guilty last month in Fayette County Circuit Court, will be eligible for parole after 20 years. McGlothen apologized at her sentencing Thursday, saying she suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome due to past sexual abuse. Judge Ernesto Scorsone also sentenced McGlothen to 20 years for first-degree burglary and five years each for tampering with physical evidence and fraudulent use of a credit card.
