Racetracks Competing For Racing Dates

{Louisville, Kentucky}...Some Kentucky racetracks are competing for racing dates in 2013. Churchill Downs is competing for September racing traditionally allotted to Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. The Louisville track traditionally has live racing in the spring and in a fall meet run mostly in November. The Kentucky Downs track at Franklin is asking for three racing dates next March, also encroaching on Turfway's traditional racing. Trainer Dale Romans says he thinks September races could be a winner for Churchill, and it could help strengthen the Kentucky racing circuit. Romans, who has shifted much of his racing operation to New York, which offers casino-enhanced purses, says something has to change in Kentucky because it can't just keep declining. It's up to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to award race dates for the tracks. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has a November 1st deadline for assigning race dates. Its next regular meeting is October 17th.

Medi-Share Ordered To Cease Kentucky Operations

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled Tuesday that Florida-based Medi-Share must cease operations in Kentucky unless it can get approval from the state Department of Insurance. Medi-Share is a cost-sharing ministry that helps pay medical bills for churchgoers who pledge to live Christian lives that include no smoking, drinking, using drugs or engaging in sex outside of marriage. Medi-Share has continued to operate in Kentucky a year after the state Supreme Court ruled that it is subject to the same regulations as secular health care plans. Medi-Share contends that its participants aren't buying insurance but are involved in a charitable endeavor to help cover medical bills of fellow Christians and potentially have their own expenses covered should the need arise.

Museum To Display Stevie Wonder Grand Piano

{Louisville, Kentucky}...A 1922 Steinway grand piano used by Stevie Wonder when he was a student in Michigan has been indefinitely loaned to the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville. It goes on display starting October 11th. The piano was long used by students at the Michigan School for the Blind, where Wonder, a child prodigy, studied in the mid-1960s. Wonder signed with Motown at age 11 and went on to become a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Highway Fatalities Up

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Kentucky State Police preliminary statistics indicate that 15 people died in 11 separate crashes on Kentucky’s roadways from Monday, September 24th through Sunday, September 30th. Eleven of the victims were traveling in motor vehicles, and six were not wearing seat belts. Through September 30th, preliminary statistics indicate that 543 people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2012. That is six more than reported for the same time period in 2011.

Fall Forest Fire Season Underway

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...The Kentucky Division of Forestry says the fall forest fire season began Monday and runs through December 15th. Division Director Leah MacSwords says, in addition to the drought, the spring tornadoes have left many woodlands damaged, creating additional 'fuel' for wildland fire and increases the danger to firefighters. Outdoor burning is illegal between the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland. Officials say extinguish all fires completely, never leave a fire unattended and always extinguish fires if conditions become too windy. Allow hot ashes from woodstoves and fireplaces to cool before disposing outdoors. Extinguish smoking materials properly. Put out cigarettes, cigars, or pipes only in cleared areas free of vegetation or flammable material. Avoid parking cars, trucks, or recreational vehicles on dry vegetation. The exhaust system on a vehicle can reach a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees, which is hot enough to start a wildfire.

Conway... Attorneys General Association Co-Chairman

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Attorney General Jack Conway is now co-chairman of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, serving alongside California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. Conway also serves as co-chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General consumer protection committee and substance abuse committee.

Supreme Court Rejects KY Death Row Inmate's Case

{Louisville, Kentucky}...Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case of Kentucky death row inmate 39 year old William Harry Meece. A jury condemned Meece to death for the 2006 killing of 50 year old Joseph Wellnitz, his 40 year old wife, Beth, and their 20 year old son, Dennis, in Adair County. Prosecutors say Meece and the Wellnitz's daughter, Meg Wellnitz Appleton, planned the murder plot to collect a $550,000 inheritance. Appleton pleaded guilty in January 2005 to complicity to murder. Meece denies taking part in the attack.