Opinion – James Klotter: Legislature plods on, falling victim to competing interests, narrow partisanship
During the current legislative session, the budget that finally emerges will be the result of some compromise and a good deal more behind-the-scenes action. The Republican majority paid scant attention to the Democratic governor’s recommendations. Some observers have argued that having a Republican governor at this time would have better served the state given that party’s overwhelming supremacy...
Opinion — Richard Nelson: Legislation mandating age verification to access adult content long overdue
A bill proposing age verification limits on websites where children can access adult content is currently making its way through the Kentucky legislature. Children are frequently exposed to pornography but not without consequence to their innocence and developing brains.
In a 2021 interview, Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish told Howard Stern that she began watching pornography at age 11. She said...
Joe Heller: A cartoonist’s view of weeks news — Trump payment, ahh Spring!, brackets, airport security
Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...
Opinion – Amye Bensenhaver: Discussing House Bill 509 relating to access to public records and meetings
With only a few days remaining in the 2024 Regular Session, the fate of House Bill 509, “An Act relating to access to the records and meetings of public agencies,” is still uncertain.
The bill passed out of the House of Representatives last week, with virtually no “debate,” by a vote of 61-31. It was assigned to the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 15.
Did...
Opinion – Bill Straub: Jamie Comer, alias Comer Pyle, has proved to be abject failure; no facts on his side
It was brutal…BROOO-TAL!
Had it been a beer league softball game the mercy rule would have been imposed, before the first pitch.
But this didn’t take place on the diamond. It was at a congressional hearing in DC. And the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, our old pal Rep. Jamie Comer, R-TheFrankfortLoop, emerged from it all like a punch-drunk lightweight who traded blows...
Letters to Editor: Joe Geraci urges fighting smoking, church officials decry HB 18’s housing prejudices
Joe Geraci, cancer survivor, urges action on smoking
As our state faces an alarming rise in e-cigarettes and tobacco use, lawmakers must bolster funding for programs that address tobacco use. As someone who has survived tobacco-related lung cancer, I am calling on Sen. McDaniels to increase funding to $10 million for the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation program to combat this alarming trend.
The...
Opinion – Kimberly Kennedy: Legislature shattering higher ed, despite impact on job, student recruitment
Kentucky’s legislators are poised to take a sledgehammer to higher education, with SB 6, their latest attack on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. An overhauled bill, banning all DEI programs in higher ed, passed the House and now seeks Senate approval. It also encourages litigation and bans certain scholarships and housing communities as well as publicly funded or mandated diversity...
Opinion – Andrew McNeill: New bureacracy would mean higher energy prices for Northern Kentucky
In late February, energy legislation (SB 349) that’s been promised from Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, arrived on the last day for bills to be introduced.
Discussing the measure on the Senate floor last week, supporters emphasized the legislation’s commitment to an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. It’s a talking point many might buy – unless they read past the bill’s...
Opinion – Katelyn Bunning: Senate Bill 349 is good for Kentucky’s energy future
Energy experts have been issuing dire warnings that the shift away from traditional electricity sources is happening too fast largely because of government policies. If this trend continues, many regions of the country face the risk of electricity shortages, especially over the next five years.
These worried experts include the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, electric grid operators...
Joe Heller: A cartoonist’s view of week’s news — Kate photo, gold to Trump, TikTok, Rodgers VP?
Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...
Opinion – Mac Brown: CARR bill protects more than gun rights — it also protects the right to life
The problem with gun violence is not the gun, but rather the people who use a gun to inflict harm. This is why a solution is so difficult. As Americans, we have a 2nd Amendment right to own a gun and we take this right seriously, but the loss of life and injuries that happen due to the use of firearms have grown to an epidemic level.
Consequently, we need to find a way to ensure our rights while addressing...
Opinion – Bill Straub: By any other word these actions would still be the same — just call it racism
Let’s call this what it is – soft-core racism.
Over the past several sessions the Kentucky General Assembly has attracted a well-earned reputation for punching down on many of the constituencies it is reputed to represent. Last year it heaped abuse upon transgender kids, essentially laughing in the face of Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, whose trans son committed suicide. Two years ago it placed...
Opinion – Amye Bensenhaver: Nearly 50 years of open records law dismantled in a matter of minutes
Approximately nine minutes.
That was the duration of the March 12 floor debate in the House of Representatives on House Bill 509.
Approximately nine minutes to reverse nearly a half century of open records law and effectively repeal statutorily established and enforceable rights of public access to records based on their nature and content rather than on the place where they are stored.
Approximately...
Opinion – Michael Adams: The Commonwealth can and should make civic education a priority
The test results are in, and Kentucky is barely passing when it comes to civic health. Civic education is desperately needed in our schools, and our lawmakers need to act now to ensure our children will grow into adults capable of self-government.
My office recently conducted a civic health assessment, with mixed results. Relative to the rest of the country, Kentuckians seem to be more accepting of...
Opinion – Amye Bensenhaver: As we celebrate Sunshine week 2024, all is not bright in Kentucky
Appropriately, the sun is shining brightly in Kentucky on the first day of Sunshine Week 2024, the nation’s annual celebration of the value of public records and open government laws that ensure the public’s access to them. But, once again, all is not happy and bright in the Commonwealth.
As someone who knows a good deal about Kentucky’s open records and open meetings laws —...
