http://www.kentucky.com/176/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2008 Kentucky.com Franklin County 60 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:19:53 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench webmaster@kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/611896.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/611896.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:04 EST
FRANKFORT . A judge has nixed a potential sale of one-fifth of Curlin, who was recently retired as the winningest racehorse in history.

Boone County Special Judge Roger Crittenden said Monday that, based on a $20 million valuation presented to the court two weeks ago, he thought the $4 million offer for 20 percent of the horse was fair.

But he blocked the sale because of the objections by the minority owners, the disbarred Lexington attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., and a group of their former clients who later sued them.

"I am ending the process," Crittenden said. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/612255.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/612255.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:46 EST
An atheists-rights group is suing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress "dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

American Atheists of Parsippany, N.J., and 10 non-religious Kentuckians are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, set to be filed Tuesday in Franklin Circuit Court.

Edwin Kagin, a Boone County lawyer and the national legal director of American Atheists , said he was appalled to read in the Herald-Leader last week that state law establishes praising God . and installing a plaque in God's honor . as the first duty of the Homeland Security Office.

The state and federal constitutions both prohibit government from getting involved in religion, Kagin said Monday. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/612535.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/612535.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
FRANKFORT . Out-of-work Kentuckians who want to contest their unemployment benefits before Christmas are out of luck: They may have to wait up to two months to get their appeals heard.

"We're not scheduling appeals cases now until mid-to-late January. It's a problem," said Kim Saylor Brannock, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Education and Training.

The normal wait time is about two weeks.

State Unemployment Insurance Director Tony DeName said the delay is the result of a sharp increase in appeals, a spate of retirements and holiday scheduling difficulties. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/611452.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/611452.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:42 EST
FRANKFORT . A more than $450 million hole in Kentucky's state budget is likely to fill much of the General Assembly's time when lawmakers convene in January.

Gov. Steve Beshear has predicted drastic funding cuts "that will bring pain to our people," and has suggested a possible special session for lawmakers to deal exclusively with Kentucky's budget problem.

Last week, he asked university and government agency officials to suggest how they'd cut 4 percent in spending this year.

"There's only two options and everybody better accept them," said Senate Minority Floor Leader Ed Worley, D-Richmond. "Either raise some money or you cut expenses. It is that simple." ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/607097.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/607097.html Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:06 EST
FRANKFORT . Unlike other times when Kentucky has had to handle a shortfall in its budget, Gov. Steve Beshear is emphasizing that "nothing is off the table" in resolving the problem.

"With a shortfall of this size, nothing can be . or should be . off the table, if we are to address this deficit in a fiscally responsible manner," Beshear spokesman Jay Blanton said Wednesday.

In previous state budget shortfalls, administrations have warned and prepared for deep cuts but usually have exempted or limited paring the state's basic funding to schools and Medicaid.

Some other protected areas through recent shortfalls have included corrections and prosecutors. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/605501.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/605501.html Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:43 EST
Gov. Steve Beshear is asking every Kentucky agency and public university to draw up plans for 4 percent budget cuts in the wake of a state revenue shortfall that's nearing a half-billion dollars.

Such trims, if implemented, could mean reductions to vital services, including medical care for poor and disabled Kentuckians, local school districts and university programs.

In light of bleak revenue estimates that came out last week, "we have to ask areas throughout state government . including higher education . to develop scenarios that detail the potential impact of cuts," Beshear's spokesman Jay Blanton said in a statement.

The request from Beshear's office was the first step in quantifying the fiscal pain the national economic downturn could inflict on Kentucky's programs and services as tax revenue continues to shrivel each successive month. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/603596.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/603596.html Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:55 EST
Under state law, Senate President David Williams and House Speaker Jody Richards are entitled to as many as four Kentucky State Police officers to protect them at professional events, as are any other lawmakers whom they designate.

In just one month last summer, state police spent about $12,000 on hotels, food and mileage for officers who followed Williams, Richards and other lawmakers to national conferences in New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Chicago, according to state records. This does not include the officers' pay while away.

State police long have escorted the governor and protected the Capitol, where legislators, the governor, the attorney general and the Supreme Court can be found. About a dozen extra officers are posted when the General Assembly meets, because of the heavier crowds.

However, critics ask how lawmakers can justify the expense of taking bodyguards on trips, since none of them is well-known nationally and their destinations — such as the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers — are not considered especially dangerous.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/601474.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/601474.html Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:45 EST
After the Old Governor's Mansion in Frankfort is redecorated in an interior design contest, Kentucky's Economic Development officials will use it as a guest house to help lure new businesses to the state, according to a spokeswoman for Gov. Steve Beshear's office.

"It will be used as a guest house for Economic Development while visitors are here deciding hopefully to bring their businesses to Kentucky, which means more jobs," Jill Midkiff said in an e-mail.

The house will also be used for tours and other meetings, Midkiff said.

The mansion, built in 1798 and renovated in 2004 at a cost of $2.3 million, served as the official residence of Kentucky's lieutenant governor from the 1950s until 2002. It was the official governor's mansion until 1914 and is considered the nation's oldest official executive residence. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/601569.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/601569.html Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:41 EST
FRANKFORT . After the state's projected budget shortfall grew by more than half on Friday to $456.1 million, Gov. Steve Beshear warned that the blooming financial crisis may bring tax increases, layoffs and cuts to education and social services programs.

Beshear made his somber remarks shortly after a group of independent economists raised the state's projected revenue shortfall for the state's General Fund from $294 million to $456.1 million. That represents about a 5.1 percent decline in the $8.9 billion of revenue that was expected.

"This financial crisis is neither imagined nor exaggerated. It's real and it must be addressed," Beshear said.

"Kentucky's elected leaders, regardless of party or politics, must come together to confront this challenge. Make no mistake, only tough choices lie ahead." ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/599436.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/599436.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:30 EST
FRANKFORT . Dozens of apartments were damaged, and a firefighter was injured, after a blaze in Frankfort early Thursday morning, Battalion Chief Dan Shouse said.

The three-alarm fire started about 2:50 a.m. Thursday at Tierra Linda Apartments, 104 Hanly Lane, Shouse said. There are 12 apartments in the building where the fire started, but the building is connected to others.

Shouse said the fire started in a rear, upper apartment, but investigators don't know the cause.

About 40 to 50 people were displaced from apartments because of fire, smoke and water damage, Shouse said. The Red Cross was assisting residents. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600027.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600027.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:27 EST
FRANKFORT . An opinion by a staffer of the state's ethics board suggests that Constantine W. "Deno" Curris, a Lexington native and former Murray State University president, is being seriously considered as the next president of the state's higher education system.

But the opinion, obtained Thursday by the Herald-Leader through an open records request, indicates that Curris would have difficulty in holding the position if his wife, Jo Hern Curris, remains on the Board of Trustees at the University of Kentucky.

"If the candidate is successful in becoming the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education and the candidate's spouse is still serving on the board of a postsecondary institution governed and regulated by the council, the president would be required to abstain, in writing, from any involvement in all matters relating to the postsecondary institution where the spouse serves," said John R. Steffen, executive director of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, in a Nov. 18 letter.

Steffen sent the opinion to Dennis L. Taulbee, CPE general counsel, emphasizing that the entire ethics commission has not addressed the issue. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600289.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600289.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:12 EST
Gov. Steve Beshear ordered a 25 percent pay raise for a friend and campaign donor who got a state job at the Office of Homeland Security.

Ralph Coldiron started this month as the $100,000-a-year executive director of the Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Telecommunications Board, called the CMRS Board for short. The board collects user fees from wireless phone carriers to pay for improvements at local 911 call centers.

His predecessor, Kenneth Mitchell, made only $80,538 after about four years in the post.And the CMRS Board advertised the job with a salary range of $60,000 to $80,000.

CMRS Board Chairman David Lucas said he didn't know that Coldiron was making $100,000 until he read it Wednesday in a Herald-Leader story about Beshear's political appointees at Homeland Security, some of whom appear to have little relevant experience. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600293.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/600293.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:55 EST
Gov. Steve Beshear unveiled what he called Kentucky's first-ever comprehensive energy plan Tuesday, setting a goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gases while increasing jobs over the next couple of decades.

Beshear said his plan will protect the environment while positioning Kentucky as an energy leader. By 2025, he said, greenhouse gas emissions could be 20 percent lower than they were in 1990 and energy consumption could be 18 percent lower than currently projected.

Beshear stopped short of calling for removal of the state's ban on nuclear power plants, but factored nuclear energy into some of the plan's long-range projections. He pointed out that there are more than 100 nuclear plants in the United States, and most states surrounding Kentucky have at least one.

"I don't think there's any question that it's going to be a part of this country's energy future," the governor said. "The question is whether it's going to be part of Kentucky's future." ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598550.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598550.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:35 EST
The Old Governor's Mansion in Frankfort, which served as the official residence of Kentucky's lieutenant governor until 2002, will be redecorated as part of an interior design contest that will end with a gala in 2009, according to first lady Jane Beshear.

The home, built in 1798, underwent a $2.3 million renovation that was completed in 2004.

At a press conference Tuesday, Beshear said that although that renovation made the building structurally sound, "its walls and rooms are mostly bare and in need of a makeover."

The redecoration is being done in preparation for the World Equestrian Games in 2010 and will be called the Kentucky Mansion Celebration project. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598979.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598979.html Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:46 EST
FRANKFORT . The number of Hoosiers who smoke dropped by 20 percent after Indiana increased the tax on cigarettes to nearly a dollar last year, Indiana's top health official told a Kentucky legislative committee Wednesday.

Dr. Judy Monroe, health commissioner for the Indiana State Department of Health , said the state upped its cigarette tax 44 cents to 99 cents a pack on July 1, 2007. Since that time, the state has seen a 20.5 percent drop in the number of people who smoke.

"Every penny went to health programs," Monroe said of the proceeds from the tax.

Monroe's presentation to the Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare comes as Gov. Steve Beshear is again mulling the idea of asking lawmakers to boost Kentucky's cigarette tax to help deal with a growing projected budget shortfall of nearly $300 million. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598680.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/598680.html Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:42 EST
FRANKFORT . A search committee to find a new president for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education met for about 1 . hours Wednesday behind closed doors but made no formal announcement.

It tentatively is scheduled to meet again Dec. 2.

The council, which oversees all state colleges and universities, hopes to have a new president named by the end of the year.

Last May, the council hired Richard A. Crofts, a former commissioner of higher education in Montana and Mississippi, as its interim president. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/596998.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/596998.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:08 EST
FRANKFORT . Gov. Steve Beshear has objected to a Bush administration proposal that would allow coal companies to dump dirt and rock blasted from Appalachian mountaintops into streams.

In a letter sent this week to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Beshear said the proposal would threaten Kentucky's ability to protect its environment.

Other Kentucky political leaders, including U.S. Reps. Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth and Attorney General Jack Conway, wrote similar letters. All called for rejection of the proposal.

The Bush administration has advanced a proposal that would ease restrictions on dumping mountaintop mining waste near rivers and streams, eliminating protections that have been in place for a quarter-century. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597641.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597641.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:19 EST
Get ready for Christmas parade

Parade entries and floats are being accepted for the Annual Jaycees Christmas Parade in Frankfort, which will be held Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. The staging area will be on Clinton Street, and the route will follow Ann Street to Main Street to Capitol Avenue, ending at the Capitol. Fees are $25 for churches and non-profit organizations and $50 for businesses and for-profits.

To participate, organizations must complete an official entry form, available at www.visitfrankfort.com or www.frankfortjaycees.com, and mail the form and fees to Frankfort Jaycees Christmas Parade, P.O. Box 1025, Frankfort KY, 40602. Entries must be postmarked by Nov. 21. Entries postmarked later should include a $25 late fee. Organizations can register the day of the parade for $100. Call (502) 229-9136 .

Grant recipients ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597575.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597575.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:17 EST
FRANKFORT . Kentucky's courts system is experiencing financial woes that could affect programs, personnel and new courthouses, Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. told lawmakers Tuesday.

If funding to the courts continues at the same level, the judicial branch expects a $37.8 million deficit in 2011, Minton said to members of the Interim Judiciary Committee. Minton also said the courts, with its $293 million annual budget and 3,700 employees, might be hit by a round of cuts this fiscal year.

He noted that Gov. Steve Beshear's administration has projected a revenue shortfall of $294 million in the executive branch this year, and on Friday a group of independent economists might increase that figure.

It's likely that Beshear will ask the judicial and legislative branches of government to bear the burden to meet the constitutional mandate of a balanced state budget, Minton said. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597600.html http://www.kentucky.com/176/story/597600.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:21 EST
Gov. Steve Beshear's Office of Homeland Security is becoming a popular entrance to the state payroll for his friends, Democratic political activists and donors.

This month, Ralph Coldiron . who meets all three criteria . started a $100,000-a-year job at Homeland Security as executive director of emergency telecommunications services. Previously, he worked with Beshear chief of staff Adam Edelen at Thomas . King , a Lexington restaurant franchisee. He also worked for former Lexington Mayor Scotty Baesler and Gov. Wallace Wilkinson.

Coldiron joins several other political appointees at Homeland Security during Beshear's first year, some of whom stayed only a few months before taking other Frankfort posts. Previously, they drove Beshear's campaign car, raised money for Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway, or handled labor issues for U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville.

Governors legally can appoint their friends and campaign supporters to state jobs outside the merit system. Most of the roughly two dozen jobs at Homeland Security fall into that category. ]]>