There are presidential choices, a race for U.S. Senate, congressional races and state legislative races on the ballot in this year's primary and general elections, but Kentucky probably won't affect the presidential nominations and voters aren't likely to change party make-up in Frankfort.
Barack Obama has the Democratic nomination all but sewn up, but it'll be tough for a black candidate in Kentucky.
Sen. Jim Bunning said Tuesday that the country must reduce its reliance of foreign oil through more domestic production and coal conversion fuels and that a nominee for U.S. District Attorney failed to gain clearance.
Kentucky Derby coverage
“All we had to worry about was if he liked the track,” Dutrow said. “It was up to him, if he wanted this race he’d win it, he’s that good.”
If Derby guests ask about Kentucky politics and government give them a history lession instead.
As the son of a son of a gambler, people ask me for betting advice. Although I started going to race track before I was able to walk, I don’t know that much about the horse industry. I go the track a few times a year and bet small amounts.
Morning line favorite Big Brown turned in a three-furlong workout on Thursday in his one final tune-up for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby 134.
Winning Derby jockey Calvin Borel is back in field looking to become repeat winner
Little Inez, Ky., may be a forgotten place to most of America and Kentucky, but it made a big impression on John McCain and others who visited this week.
The public seems to be blaming all sides in the failure of this year's General Assembly to address major issues.
Several outdoor enthusiasts turned out Wednesday to witness Gov. Steve Beshear sign into law an adventure tourism bill to allow private property owners to open up their land for public recreational use.
Brett Arends at the Wall Street Journal wrote a column about lottery winners titled “Take the Money and Run.”
He said lottery winners should take the lump sum instead of annual payments.
Outside of Frankfort, people seemed resigned to business as usual in state government but they're worried about their personal fortunes and their patience may be wearing thin.
Keith Olbermann does a nightly feature on MSNBC called, “Worst Person in the World.”
Recently, he gave the award to Wal-Mart after he heard the saga of Debbie Shank.
Leslie Horn had her whole plan figured out.
As a 36-year-old Richmond mother, she already had experience working with children. The Richmond Register classified advertisement said the only pre-requisite for the $700/week nanny job was that the right candidate “must love kids.” Of course, that was no problem.
More than 100 complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau of Atlanta against Rodney J. Murphy and Associates, a purported professional nanny service who advertised recently in the Richmond Register.
Several legislators are unhappy with the way the state budget is crafted and some blame Williams, but projects are key too passage in the House.
Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday that a very lean budget and an economy that continues to falter could lead to a special session to seek more revenue.
Time was running out Monday afternoon and evening for budget negotiators to agree on a state budget but those who periodically emerged from behind the closed doors said some progress was being made.
In 2005, Consol Energy was named one of America’s most admired companies by Fortune magazine.
It’s not hard to see why.
As lawmakers try to hammer out a state budget, some wonder if the public understands the implications it will have for their daily lives.
Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, and House budget chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, continued Thursday to trade personal slaps but there was little compromise on the key issue - whether to raise taxes or cut spending.
Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife in Kentucky Tuesday, telling an enthusiastic crowd in Frankfort she's the best candidate - before going on to Paris, Maysville and Morehead.
I am for all freedom of information, except when it applies to me. It is the same sentiment that many public officials have.
As time runs out on the 2008 General Assembly session, Beshear's gambling and budget proposals flounder.
Gov. Steve Beshear and Democratic House leaders met Wednesday and seemed to be on the same page on pushing a gambling amendment and passing a budget - but the odds of getting either through the Senate are high.
Corrects name of Sec. of Justice and Public Safety in story published Sunday, Mar. 16.
Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., said he’ll fight a proposal that would use tolls to pay for the construction of two proposed Ohio River bridges.
Lawmakers in Frankfort should craft the state budget earlier in the session - and with more public scrutiny.
More than 2,000 miners and supporters rallied in Frankfort against efforts to ban dumping of mining spoil in valleys and streams adjacent to mountaintop removal sites.
Gov. Steve Beshear stepped up this week and offered to lead on the budget with a proposal for a 70-cent increase in the cigarette tax.
A CNHI News Service story about the resurrection of HB 164 – the “stream saver bill” – published March 5, 2008 incorrectly listed the employer of House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook. Adkins is employed by Appalachian Fuels. It was the reporter’s error. CNHI News Service apologizes for the error.
One didnt' have to agree with William F. Buckely to delight in his ideas and life.
In 2004, insurance companies pushed to cap medical malpractice awards. Kentucky was one of few states to resist.
Political consultants have an irritating habit. They say that “we” won a particular election, but that “the candidate” lost.
A number of groups from back home came to Frankfort this week, but they didn't see much leadership.
An amendment to allow casino gambling ran into a snag in the House constitutional amendment committee when Larry Clark tried to offer alternatives to proposal by House subcommittee on expanded gambling.
College students from across the state rallied in the state capitol Wednesday, lobbying legislators to avoid cuts in higher education funding but many say the rising costs will make it more difficult to pay for college - while Gov. Steve Beshear told them casino revenues can solve the problem.
I tell lottery winners to keep quiet. Someone getting money should keep their mouth shut. The more people who know, the more problems you have.
Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, Friday announced she will again sponsor legislation to protect people from identity theft and recover their credit and good name if victimized.
Forty years ago, Gov. Louie Nunn faced a dire state budget but "couldn't look away" from the pain of those who needed help.
A one-year pilot program which placed social workers in four public defenders offices is working, saving the state money and keeping non-violent offenders out of jail but expanding the program statewide will be tough in tough financial times.
Harry Truman said that a recession is when your neighbor loses his (or her) job. A depression is when you lose your job.
County officials meeting in Lexington heard Gov. Steve Beshear and some key lawmakers sympathize with their problems funding county jails but they didn't hear any offers of immediate help.
Republican Brandon Smith's win in the special election for the 30th Senate district may have weakened both Gov. Steve Beshear's political prestige and chances for gambling amendment.
Republican Brandon Smith's victory in a special election for the state Senate Tuesday despite extensive efforts for his opponent by Gov. Steve Beshear may affect support for gambling and Beshea's political clout.
Brett Guthrie and Daniel London both appealed for support in their race to succeed Ron Lewis as the 2nd District Congressman from Kentucky in Lewis' home county.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said Kentucky Republicans will erect a firewall this year against Democratic momentum, promised an agressive campaign for his own re-election, and said the Republican presidential nominee is likely to be know Tuesday night.
The last-second attempt by 2nd District Republican Congressman Ron Lewis to install his chief of staff as his successor will damage his relations and legacy in his own party.
Here are some more interesting, yet trivial, facts culled from an hour with the New Yorkers on Media Day.
Gov. Steve Beshear announced Friday he's tansferring $28.6 million from state parks projects to fund facilties for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
A roundup of this past week's legislative action.
Gov. Steve Behear has limited options in his budget address Tuesday evening, but he'll have a tough sell to lawmakers hooked on projects and spending.
LaDonna Thompson will become the state's first female Commissioner of Corrections when she succeeds retiring Commissioner John Rees - and Gov. Steve Beshear said he is looking for ways to address growing prison population.
A review of the past week in the 2008 General Assembly.
While lawmakers wait for the filing deadline and for the governor to propose a budget and gambling amendment, they confront difficult problems and choices about how do deal with them.
“We’ve got people who qualify for food stamps when they first hire on,” said KSPOA President Chris Caldwell. “That’s sad when you have a college education."
Linville Lee Huff of Bullitt County, Ky., was outed.
The outing had nothing to do with his personal life. He wanted to be a closet Powerball winner, but is now a public figure.
Mr. Huff was the winner of the Dec. 12, Powerball Jackpot. He claimed the cash option of $16.8 million.
Change is in the air in presidentical politics but in Kentucky, the more things change the more they stay the same
It’s 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve (actually New Year’s Day) and I am watching a man frantically move out of his rental house.
It is the end of the month, on a cold, windy and miserable night, and the guy is loading a truck as fast as he possibly can load.
I suspect that the landlord’s first New Year’s news will be finding that the tenant skipped out in the middle of the night.
Barack Obama's Iowa caucus win signals voters' desire for change, but things stay pretty much the same in Frankfort.
On New Year's Day, there will many people waking up with hangovers. For some, it happens once a year. For others, it is an everyday experience. Many use booze or drugs when life is out of control. It is easier to pop a pill or have a beer than to tackle one's underlying problems.
Column: A provocative essay by historian Joseph Ellis indicates our first president and his founding generation wouldn't recognize today's America or the dangerous world in which it operates.
Column: McNay's Musings
As politicians try to exploit the season, the rest of us may want to be wary of those who say they speak for God and ponder our own shortcomings and blessings before condemning others.
Writing, no matter how much a writer loves it, is work. Not only does a writer have to have a vision to write a piece but he or she must do research in order to make events in the storyline believable.
Longer working hours and low seams of coal might explain a dramatic upswing in black lung among southern West Virginia miners, a federal official suggested Tuesday.
Governors of two states sat down again Monday in West Virginia’s Capitol with striking nurses and Appalachian Regional Healthcare officials without resolving a contract strike that flared two months ago.
An annual diversity conference — put on by officials in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio — is scheduled in Clarksville next month.
The event will feature a variety of speakers on everything from building bilingual after-school programs to self-employment opportunities for people with disabilities and a whole lot more.
I have a friend who commutes 50 miles from his rural home to a large city. I asked him why he never moved and he said, “There are big town values and small town values.”
The people of eastern Kentucky have a complicated history with coal, but it's time we let them do the talking and not the coal operators and politicians.
Gov.-elect Steve Beshear, who will be inaugurated Tuesday, named four more to his cabinet Thursday - namoing a secretary for Health and Family Services "is a work in progress" he said.
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said Tuesday a report that he is considering retirment is false and he will run again in 2010.
Some lawmakers are shocked the state cupboard is bare - but they raided it because we asked them to do it.
For each of the past four years, I’ve received a Christmas card from Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher. I kept each up in my living room until the next one arrived. Because the card kept coming, I figured that the governor really enjoyed my book, “The Unbridled World of Ernie Fletcher.” That or he never got around to updating his mailing list.
Politics and government are always entertaining in Kentucky, and Jim Gooch's hearing on global warning was no exception - but is it the kind of attention for which Kentucky should be thankful?
Democrat Steve Newberry of Barren County, owner of a string of radio stations, is the latest to announce he'll seek the state Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Republican Richie Sanders.
What did Pat Robertson know and when did he know it?
People were stunned that Pat Robertson endorsed Rudolph Giuliani for president. Rudolph’s multiple-marriage personal life does not seem to jibe with Robertson’s philosophies.
Former legislator and Finance Secretary Joe Prather of Elizabethtown is Gov.-elect Steve Beshear's choice to run the often troubled Transportaion Cabinet in his new administration.
Enacting a new federal law is no solution to safety concerns in the coal industry since there is ample legislation in force to get the task done — if the Mine Safety and Health Administration would only do it, Sen. Jay Rockefeller says.
Someone will succeed Al Smith as host of Comment on Kentucky but no one will replace him.
National Weather Service officials were surveying storm damage in northern Laurel County Thursday morning. They said radar and witness reports indicate it was a tornado.
“We need change and change is indeed coming to transportation."
In his weekly teleconference with reporters, Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky said he's introduced measure to repeal the federal alternative minimum tax.
Many people want the holiday season to go away. They think everyone else is having fun and they are not. I blame it all on John-Boy Walton.
Gov-elect Steve Beshear Friday asked the state Board of Education to "extend and expand" its search for an education commissioner, although for now, the board plans to continue its plan to interview four finalists next week.
At least some Republicans saw Tuesday coming and understood why - Beshear should listen to them.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher's fate was probably sealed when he issued a blanket pardon for anyone in his administration and Steve Beshear should realize he'll be judged on his promises for ethical leadership.
Investigators for the Attorney General's office founds hundreds of improperly discarded records containing identity information in business trash receptacles in violation of state law.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Rick Bowen of Peabody Energy announced Monday Kentucky will be the site of its coal-to-natural gas plant - if it's built. - with the help of $250 million in state incentives.
My campaign will be a refreshing break from the other announced candidates. I am not going to wave the flag and brag about America being first. The United States is getting our tails kicked in the battle for better communicating tools.
U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning will vote no on a bill he says is laden with pork - even though three projects are ones he inserted for Kentucky, including one in Berea.
Former Court of Appeals Judge and 1971 Republican nominee for governor, Tom Emberton Sr. of Edmonton said he will not seek election to the state Senate's 9th District being vacated by the retiring Richie Sanders.
An indicator of a person’s success is a positive outlook on life and quest for education.
The people who came of age after World War II had both.
Chandra Holloway Emerson, an Oldham County Middle School teacher, is Kentucky's 2008 Teacher of the Year, but many others from across the state are honored for the work they do in molding the character and education of future generations.
Steve Beshear may win because voters are voting against Ernie Fletcher as much or more than they're voting for Beshear - McConnell exchange with reporter shows his humor is till intact.
Four Eastern Kentucky University occupational therapy graduate students continue to participate in political system but their frustrations are growing.
