News

Here we go again, apologizing for a technical issue, but seriously the problem with A Prairie Home companion on Saturday evening was a computer playlist error that went unnoticed when prepping for the weekend. For those who are really interested in what goes on behind the scenes, feel free to read on. Otherwise, we won't be offended.

Kentucky's Tourism Secretary, Marcheta Sparrow will retire at the end of this month. Sparrow was one of Governor Steve Beshear's first cabinet appointments, taking office in 2007. Beshear did not return a request for comment, but in a statement, he praised Sparrow for the state's recent uptick in tourism, including a 4.4 percent jump last year. Beshear says he will name a new secretary soon. The secretary oversees many departments, in addition to tourism, including parks, fish and wildlife and other humanities-related offices. 

Earlier this month, the final Chautauqua Lecture of the year at Eastern Kentucky University featured The Poetry of Thomas Merton.   Until his accidental death in 1968, the Roman Catholic monk lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery near Bardstown. 

For 21 years, Ben Chandler served Kentuckians in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This summer, he’ll find find himself in a new role, as he says, "telling Kentucky’s story" as Executive Director of the Kentucky Humanities Council.  We spoke this week with Mr.Chandler about the position he assumes on July 1st.

The dismantling of the old Clark Regional Medical Center has begun, and should take about six months, according to Jen Algire, CEO of the Clark Regional Foundation for the Promotion of Health. “The building’s basically going to be dismantled piece by piece,” Algire said.  Read more...

Frank X Walker visited The Academy Wednesday morning to brainwash a class of about 20 students. But what Kentucky’s poet laureate described as brainwashing was really a creative exercise to show the students that poetry is connected to the brain. Walker drew a rectangle with a circle in the middle of it on the whiteboard and asked the students to tell him what they saw.

A coalition of western Kentucky businesses and residents has formed in hopes of minimizing the fallout of an electricity rates deal between Big Rivers Electric Co-Op and western Kentucky aluminum smelters.  The coalition is worried the deal will lead to higher utility bills for residents and businesses. 

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, transportation agencies and highway patrols across the area are gearing up for a busy time on the roads. With that, comes an emphasis on seat belt safety. AAA announced their commitment to joining the “Click It or Ticket” effort Thursday, holding an event at their Florence location.  Read more...

“Good news” for the Eastern Kentucky coal industry was announced Wednesday, with officials saying several new mines are opening in Pike County, bringing more than 250 jobs. According to a statement from the Pike County Judge Executives Wayne T. Rutherford’s office, High Ridge Mining, a Kentucky corporation owned by Bill Smith, of Raccoon, announced the opening of seven deep mines in Pike County.

Fifteen nominations to the National Register of Historic Places were approved today during a meeting of the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board at Metro Development Center in Louisville.

The trial date for former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer has been rescheduled to 10 a.m. Oct. 22, a federal judge ordered Wednesday. Farmer’s attorney, Guthrie True, had asked U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove to delay the proceeding to February from its original July 2 trial date.

Their favorite key boardist is honored this weekend by the Lexington Singers.   Jay Flippin, who’s also well known in academic circles, often accompanies the region’s choral groups.  So, Rich Copley, who covers culture for the Lexington Herald Leader, says Flippin’s work is the focus of a Saturday afternoon concert.  Read more...

More than 61,000 students are estimated to receive a degree or credential from one of Kentucky’s public and independent colleges and universities in 2013—slightly fewer than the year before, according to Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education. The CPE released its preliminary degrees report Thursday, you can find it here. Overall, public colleges and universities are expected to award fewer degrees this year than last, while the independent system will increase its awards. When averaged, this represents a less than one percent decrease in total degrees for all of Kentucky’s public and independent colleges and universities.  Read more...

A Politico video featuring the chief of staff for Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been removed by the Washington publication after ethical questions were raised. In a story first reported by Roll Call, an idea was pitched to McConnell chief of staff Josh Holmes to appear in a video endorsing Politico's coverage. It shows Holmes explaining his vision for America, love of public service and why he reads Politico all while sitting in the senator's office.  Read more...

It’s on to Lexington’s City Council for a food truck pilot project.  The compromise today got an initial go-ahead from the Parking Authority Board.  The six month trial run allows food trucks in designated downtown zones during daytime hours.  Since they’d occupy metered spaces, the compromise required the Parking Authority’s approval.  It came with a number of requested modifications.  The revisions continue the ban on food trucks along Mill Street but allow them on an extended portion of Vine.  Council member Shevawn Akers, who’s work group constructed the compromise, predicts the council will also approve.

Louisville Zoo officials say the zoo's oldest polar bear passed away today from unknown causes. Arki was 28 years old, and came to Louisville in 2011 from the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. According to Polar Bears International, the bears live an average to 15 to 18 years in the wild, but in captivity can live into their mid- to late 30s. The oldest known polar bear in captivity--Debby, who lived in a Canadian zoo--was 42 years old. Read more...

Posting photos on Facebook has led to a Frankfort man being indicted Wednesday for trafficking in marijuana. Donald Newton, 39, of 974 Wilkinson Blvd., allegedly posted photos on his Facebook page of marijuana shaped as a birthday cake with a candle on top and of him holding a wad of cash.

Lee Ann Marlow’s vanity plate may provide a clue about how she came to lose her medical license. It read “Tilulae Regina,” which Marlow later testified is Latin for “pill queen.” Marlow, a physician with ties to a now-closed Georgetown pain-management clinic, was stripped of her Kentucky medical license on May 2 by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate fell to 7.9 percent in April from 8 percent in March 2013, according to the Office of Employment and Training (OET), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. The preliminary April 2013 jobless rate was .3 percentage points below the 8.2 percent rate recorded for the state in April 2012.

Through a single piece of legislation, Sen. Rand Paul is hoping to cut a corporate tax and get more revenue for transportation projects.

The Lexington Parking Authority board of commissioners voted Thursday to accept the proposed new food trucks ordinance, subject to seven modifications. Commissioner Wayne Masterman, who operates Portofino restaurant on East Main Street, cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing that the proposed ordinance involves "too many unknowns, and too many unknown consequences." Read more...

Northern Kentucky Health Department is offering vaccines to people at high risk for hepatitis B as the region fights a rise in diagnoses of the disease. Those who qualify will receive a series of three vaccines over six months at a low cost, thanks to a Kentucky Department for Public Health grant, said Joyce Rice, epidemiology manager for the NKY Health Department.  Read more...

The Flemingsburg City Council unanimously voted this week to amend a current animal ordinance to ban ownership of the pit bull breed of dogs within city limits. According to Mayor Marty Voiers, the ordinance previously allowed pit bulls to be within city limits, but required the animals to be registered and for owners to maintain insurance. Read more...

Traffic is moving a bit slower on the Mountain Parkway and likely will for the remainder of the summer. One lane in each direction will be kept open during the construction of a bridge, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways announced the closures will keep traffic slowed around the 10- and 11-mile markers on the Parkway. Read more...

An internal investigation into one of Kentucky's largest regional child protection and social services office should conclude in coming weeks, said Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes. Haynes told the Lexington Herald-Leader editorial board last week that she asked the cabinet's Office of Inspector General to look at the Jefferson County Department for Community Based Services, which handles child and adult protection and other programs, such as food stamps.  Read more...

Gov. Steve Beshear on Wednesday signed House Bill 207 that unites the state’s two Career and Technical Education (CTE) systems under the guidance of Kentucky’s Department of Education. The goal is to create a unified, more relevant and efficient system to educate and prepare students for the world of work in a real-life setting, according to a news release from the governor's office.

Officials at Kentucky’s public and independent colleges and universities estimate that they have conferred 61,472 degrees and credentials during the 2012‐13 academic year, with historic levels continuing at the associate, baccalaureate, master’s and professional practice doctoral levels. The Preliminary 2012-13 Degrees Report, issued today by the Council on Postsecondary Education, shows declines for research doctorates and in undergraduate and graduate certificates. A slight overall decrease of less than one percent is estimated for total degrees and credentials conferred this year since last year’s historic total.

BALTIMORE — Pretty much the last post position trainer Shug McGaughey would have wished for Orb heading into Saturday's Preakness Stakes was the inside rail in the nine-horse field. In what may be the bay colt's first downer in weeks, the No. 1 slot is exactly where the Kentucky Derby winner landed for the start of his quest to secure the second leg of the Triple Crown. True to his nature, McGaughey didn't flinch even as a smattering of groans cropped up around him.  Read more...

  A new collaboration between a bourbon distillery and the military will give soldiers a place to relax—and introduce them to one of Kentucky's signature products. Liquor producer Brown-Forman has teamed up with the U.S. Army to open a Woodford Reserve bourbon lounge at Fort Knox. Soldiers and Brown-Forman executives opened the Woodford Reserve Room on Wednesday afternoon.  Read more...

Everything is coming together financially for a major expansion of Lexington’s Living Arts and Science Center. A milestone in a fundraising effort came this week.  Director Heather Lyons says school buses are a common site outside the historic Living Arts and Science Center.  She says they drop off some of the 40-thousand children and adults who visit her center each year.