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Political BLOG |
 March 2008
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December 2007 ArchivesThe last non-merit employee left in the Kentucky Labor Department may need to turn off the lights and close the door. ...In a wide ranging interview today, Congressman John Yarmuth admits that he made a political mistake in failing to vote for a resolution that praised the role Christmas and christians have played in American history. ...The new governor who talked about ethics and limiting a governor's pardoning powers apparently isn't making that a top priority of his first legislative session. ...From my vantage point, it appears Kentucky's budget problems are worse than Steve Beshear, or anybody else is talking about. It's the structural imbalance that's the biggest problem. ...My wife keeps saying that John Edwards will be the democrats' nominee for U.S. President in 2008. Frankly, I think so too. Not a clue about the republicans though. ...Ryan Alessi has uncovered what appears to be a big split in the Democratic Party in Dan Mongiardo's former senate district. And it looks like Mongiardo and Steve Beshear may be trying to steer the selection of the democrat they want running for Mongiardo's open seat. ...From Larry Hopkins to Anne Northup to John Yarmuth to Geoff Davis, this has always been a sore spot for me, Congressmen spending tax money on mailers to keep their constituents "informed." Apparently the new governor has figured out what all previous governors have figured out, the cupboard is bare. Gov. Beshear should look beyond the previous administration to the national economy and 138 folks on the 3rd floor of the capitol if he's looking to point a finger. ...No, not that House, the Ag House. Former State Rep. Roger Thomas of Bowling Green has been appointed to a state job by Gov. Beshear. ...I apologize for not linking to this important story from Tom Loftus a couple of days ago. ...The N.Y. Times has a story today that is no joke about Kentuckians. It describes how one in 10 Kentuckians literally have no teeth and how we don't care about our dental care. ...PageOneKentucky, which has ties to Bruce Lunsford, believes the Louisville businessman is inching toward running for U.S. Senate. ...The Lexington Herald-Leader has a story this morning about the 600K+ salary of KCTCS President Mike McCall and how it's causing morale problems among staff and faculty at Kentucky community colleges. ...I know alot of you have been asking so here's what I know about the next host of KET's Comment on Kentucky. ...Except for one errant New Year's Eve shift, I'm on vacation until the 2008 General Assembly begins on January 8. ...The latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows a huge turnaround in the approval ratings for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. ...Governor Fletcher last Finance Secretary is the new head of the Kentucky Retirement System. ...A Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll appears to show Republican John McCain has the strongest support in Kentucky among the candidates for U.S. President. ...Governor Fletcher ordered $18,000/yr. pay raises for his appointees to the Parole Board on the day he left office. At the same time, his administration was telling some state employees they wouldn't be getting reimbursed for work-related travel because the state was facing a budget crunch. ...Kentucky's governor told reporters today that he'd soon be laying out a plan for dealing with Kentucky's budget crisis. ...Former WHAS Radio talk show host Joe Elliott tells me he's seriously considering running for a Louisville Metro Council seat next year. ...Sources tell me that Governor Beshear is looking to another state government veteran to fill his cabinet. ...Governor Steve Beshear met with Attorney General Greg Stumbo on Tuesday, just before Rep. Brandon Spencer resigned, opening the door for Stumbo to run for his old house seat. ...State Finance Secretary Jonathan Miller says he's a happily married man and he's tackling what he calls "hurtful innuendos" head on. ...Governor Beshear has appointed another Geveden to a job in his administration. ...Rep. John Yarmuth and Sen. Mitch McConnell have sent out a joint news release proclaiming themselves bearers to pork, er, money for projects in the Louisville area. ...It appears the wheels have been set in motion for Attorney General Greg Stumbo to go back to his old House seat and abort a potential run for U.S. Senate. ...In his last 24 hours in office, Governor Fletcher appointed 169 people to various state boards and commissions. Three of those people were appointed to commissions that were abolished during Fletcher's term in office. ...The Consensus Revenue Forecasting Group has again revised its estimates downward, meaning Kentucky could be facing a $300 million dollar shortfall this fiscal year. ...The Beshear folks have filled in the blanks in the Commerce Cabinet. ...
In the waning days of the Fletcher administration, a road construction company partially owned by Leonard Lawson got a huge change order for a road project in the home county of State Senate President David Williams. ...The pardon file for Harrison Yonts includes a slew of letters from a Who's Who is Kentucky politics. ...Kentucky's new governor says he's not going to take any action regarding his new Finance Secretary, Jonathan Miller, leaving those issues to the state Personnel Board. ...Now that all of you have rung up thousands of minutes on my cell phone bill telling me the WHAS web page and my blog was down, let me assure you I'M AWARE OF IT!!! ...If Phil Osborne had hired a P.R. firm, like his own, to craft his notice of resignation as Governor Beshear's Communications Director, that firm probably would have told him to do something like this: ...Former Louisville prosecutor Craig Dilger is the new chairman of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. ...Kentucky's Executive Branch Ethics Commission has concluded that the newest Public Service Commission member doesn't have a direct conflict of interest deciding cases involving the law firm where her husband works. ...A democrat who's not yet a candidate for an eastern Kentucky state senate seat is now the subject of a complaint from the Kentucky Republican Party. ...Ryan Alessi of the Lexington Herald-Leader has been working on a story on Jonathan Miller for some time. ...A few updates on postings over the past few days: ...In a reversal of his earlier stance, House Speaker Jody Richards is now saying he'll fully support placing the legalization of casinos on teh ballot. ... |