Conway Seriously Considering Governor’s Race

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway says he's taking a very, very serious look at running in the 2015 election to replace Governor Steve Beshear. Conway spent about $10 million in three statewide campaigns in the past five years, largely on TV advertising, and Conway had about twice that much spent against him, making him a familiar face to nearly every family in Kentucky.

Man Fatally Struck By Train

{Danville, Kentucky}…Police say 38 year old Kevin Jackson was attempting to walk cross a bridge in Danville Saturday when he was hit by a train, throwing him about 70 yards from the bridge. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

School Boards Insurance Trust To Disband

{Lexington, Kentucky}…Officials announced Monday in Lexington that the financially troubled Kentucky School Boards Insurance Trust will disband on June 30th, forcing school districts to search for new providers of workers compensation, property and liability insurance policies. The Kentucky School Boards Association had turned the insurance program over to the Kentucky League of Cities about two years ago. KLC Executive Director Jonathan Steiner says a financial review revealed the insurance program had fiscal woes that were worse than first believed. The closure means financial consequences for all of the state's 174 school districts, which will have to come up with some $60 million to cover the cost of past insurance claims.

McConnell Optimistic About Afghanistan

Senator Mitch McConnell said Monday he's optimistic about Afghanistan and favors a residual U.S. force after combat troops leave in 2014 of about 10,000. McConnell, who traveled with Republican Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Ted Cruz of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, says, after meetings with military leaders, including General John Allen, he left the country with a genuine sense of optimism.

No Shortages Of Flu Vaccines

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, says the flu outbreak has been widespread in Kentucky for five weeks, which is earlier than usual, but health officials are not aware of any shortages of flu vaccines. A northern Kentucky  man died recently from complications of the flu. The flu is causing sporadic absences among workers at the UPS air hub in Louisville, and the University of Kentucky is planning to announce some temporary restrictions on visiting patients at its hospitals to limit exposure to the flu.

Former Pain Clinic Owner Arrested

Forty-four year old Ernest William Singleton, a former Kentucky pain clinic owner who operated in Georgetown and Dry Ridge, was arrested Monday in central Kentucky and charged with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone and conspiracy to launder funds from October 2010 until this month. Attorney General Jack Conway's office says no doctors were named in the indictment, but state regulators have taken disciplinary action against five doctors affiliated with the two clinics. Singleton closed his pain management centers in Georgetown and Dry Ridge in Kentucky, and opened a clinic in Jeffersonville, Indiana after Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill last year to try to curtail prescription abuse.

Man Sentenced For First-Degree Robbery

{Catlettsburg, Kentucky}…Friday, 29 year old Roger Kittle, Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing a woman’s purse while she was loading a wheelchair into her car in the parking lot of the Ashland Children’s Clinic in January. A Boyd County Grand Jury indicted Kittle and 22 year old Heather Griffith, both of Ashland, on first-degree robbery charges. Griffith is expected to plead guilty to the same charge later this month.

Paul Charged With Assault

Assault charges have been filed against 19 year old William Paul, the son of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. William Paul was recently arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina and charged with underage drinking and disorderly conduct. Local police say it's possible Paul was served alcohol on his flight from Lexington, but US Airways denies the claim. Paul is now accused of assaulting a flight attendant. 

Homeland Security Advises Disabling Java

In response to concerns raised by computer security experts, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is advising people to temporarily disable the Java software on their computers to avoid potential hacking attacks. Experts believe hackers have found a flaw in Java's coding that creates an opening for criminal activity and other high-tech mischief. Oracle Corp. bought Java as part of a $7.3 billion acquisition of the software's creator, Sun Microsystems, in 2010.

ARH Seeks To Add Defendants To Lawsuit

{Lexington, Kentucky}…Attorneys for Appalachian Regional Healthcare are trying to add the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as defendants in its lawsuit filed in April 2012 against Coventry Cares and the state of Kentucky. In a motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Lexington, ARH alleged the federal agency's failure to scrutinize the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has resulted in an unstable managed-care system that is heading toward eventual collapse. In November 2011, more than 540,000 Medicaid members from 104 Kentucky counties were moved to Kentucky Spirit, Coventry Cares and WellCare. Under managed care, the state pays the companies a set fee per patient regardless of the amount of services the patient needs. 

Chamber of Commerce Endorses Industrial Hemp

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…Friday, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce joined a growing list of high-profile supporters, including U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie, Andy Barr and John Yarmuth and U.S. Senator Rand Paul, who want to let Kentucky farmers grow industrial hemp. Bills have been filed in the House and Senate that would license farmers to grow the plant, a close cousin to marijuana, if the federal government lifts its ban on the crop. Republican Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has spent much of the past year aggressively lobbying state and federal leaders to lift the ban on hemp. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said Friday that many Democratic and Republican senators remain uneasy with legalizing industrial hemp, and he did not know if the measure would pass the Senate.

Jury Acquits Father

{Bowling Green, Kentucky}…Friday, a jury in Bowling Green acquitted 22 year old Bryan Daniels of murder and other charges in the death of his toddler son, 22 month old Kayden Daniels. Police say the toddler died after he drank drain cleaner called Liquid Fire from a cup that had been setting on a table at his Wayne County home. Prosecutors alleged Bryan Daniels knew the cup contained Liquid Fire, but was impaired and left it where the child could reach it. Daniels' attorney said the death was an accident, and his client thought the cup contained juice.

Teen Allegedly Threatens Judge, Others

{Harlan, Kentucky}…Michael A. Collins, who was a student at the Appalachian ChalleNGe Academy in Harlan County, has been charged with threatening to kill two federal judges and a federal prosecutor. Collins is accused of telling a counselor he planned to graduate in December, spend Christmas with his family and then begin shooting everyone involved in the prosecution of his father, John Collins, who was sentenced in October 2011 to 11 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Deputy U.S. Marshal Rick Kelley says there was good reason to believe Collins threatened to kill Judge David Bunning, prosecutor Jason Denny and U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Atkins. Collins told the counselor he would target police who arrested his father, the prosecutor, the judge, and his father's defense attorney, whom he felt hadn't done a good job, along with people at Limewire, which apparently was the source of child porn John Collins had gotten and which notified authorities.

Supreme Court To Hear Instant Racing Appeal

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…The Kentucky Supreme Court voted Friday to hear an appeal brought by Governor Steve Beshear's administration and Kentucky horse race tracks involving instant racing at Kentucky Downs in Franklin and Ellis Park in Henderson. The Family Foundation had challenged instant racing and won before the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Legislature Adjourns

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…The Legislature has adjourned after a weeklong organizational session in which the House and Senate chose their leaders. Democratic state Representative Greg Stumbo was re-elected as House speaker and Republican Senator Robert Stivers was elected as Senate president. Lawmakers are scheduled to return February 5th to begin passing legislation. 

Festival Can Use Monroe's Name

{Louisville, Kentucky}…Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that a nonprofit organization can use legendary bluegrass musician Bill Monroe's name to promote The Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Festival. Judge Joy A. Moore, writing for a three-judge panel, concluded that Ohio County officials intended to grant the festival's director the right to use Monroe's name, but failed to formalize the agreement.

Death Row Inmate Loses Appeal

{Louisville, Kentucky}…Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that death row inmate 40 year old William Harry Meece, Kentucky's only Jewish inmate on death row, could pray in his cell. Meece had claimed that it was a burden to pray in his small cell and that prison policies kept him from covering up the toilet or praying near it. The court disagreed, saying Meece can pray near a toilet and cover it with a sheet. Meece sued the state in 2007, alleging prison officials violated his legal religious right to observe the Sabbath by refusing to move him alone or with other inmates to a religious facility. Meece is awaiting execution for the deaths of three people in Adair County in 1993.

Clinton Coming To Owensboro

{Owensboro, Kentucky}…Former President Bill Clinton will be in Owensboro on March 6th, attending a fundraising reception and dinner for the Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center. Ford presided over Clinton's first inauguration in 1993 as chairman of the Congressional Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center is a nonprofit organization that sponsors a variety of educational programs to help encourage young people to take an interest in politics, government and public service. A thousand dollars and you could have dinner with Clinton.

Jury Gets Murder Case

{Bowling Green, Kentucky}…Jurors will begin deliberating Friday in a case involving the death of a toddler. Bryan Daniels was indicted on charges including murder and making meth after his son, 20-month-old Kayden, died on May 30, 2009 after he ingested a type of drain cleaner called Liquid Fire left in a coffee cup inside a mobile home where Daniels and Kayden's mother, Alisha Branham, then 14, had been staying. Circuit Judge Vernon Miniard Jr. ruled Thursday that there was no proof that Daniels made meth on the day his son died. The trial was moved to Bowling Green after a jury could not be seated in Wayne County.

Groups Focus On Statewide Smoking Ban

{Frankfort, Kentucky}…The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 29 percent of Kentucky adults smoke. Nationally, 19 percent of adults smoke. The Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are spending $93,000 to sponsor an advertising campaign urging Kentucky to go smoke-free. The groups say Kentucky has a lot to be proud of but not the large number of smokers or the lung cancer rates, and it needs a statewide smoking ban. House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he would support such a measure.