 |
 |
|
|
Political BLOG |
|
Joe Arnold
|
December 2008 ArchivesSenate President David Williams says Governor Beshear's proposal to take money out of the state's retirement system to help cities and counties is the "first step toward dismantling Senate Bill 1." Williams actually meant HB 1. It was the bill passed during a 2008 special legislative session that was designed to help stabilize the future funding for Kentucky's public employee pension systems. Williams made his comments during the "Francene ...
Former judge Stan Billingsley has a good rundown of reasons he thinks Republican state senators will approve a cigarette tax hike - the main one being that the overwhelming majority of state resort parks are in their districts and they'll take some heat if their constituents' parks are shut down because of budget cuts. Here's Billingsley's opinion piece: ...The Rural Democrat didn't do a scientific survey, more like 400 friends and neighbors. But I'll link you to the results which are skewed toward eastern Kentuckians. The survey found most folks supporting Daniel Mongiardo over Jack Conway for the democratic nomination. Again, the survey is heavily skewed and not scien... A federal judge has refused to throw out the bid tampering charges against former Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert, highway contractor Leonard Lawson and one of Lawson's employees. Tom Loftus has the story. ...Pat Crowley is reporting that pro and anti casino forces will square off at a forum on expanded gambling in Northern Kentucky next month. ...The hardest job in America is keeping a blog full of current content. I'll be slacking off in that area for a couple of weeks. I'm on vacation. Don't worry, there will be plenty to talk about in early January as the Liars Club a/k/a House Democratic Caucus meets to elect one of the guys they've been lying to as their House Speaker. I'll try to post as events warrant and leisure time permits between now and then. Merry Christmas, Happy Hol... The state Public Service Commission has ordered L, G and E to set up a separate account for the millions of dollars it spent restoring power to 300,000 homes in the Louisville area earlier this year. What that likely means is that the PSC won't let L,G and E include its storm costs as part of the rate increase request which is currently being reviewed by the PSC. The Louisville-based utility will likely have to wait until the middle of next ... You think Mitch McConnell and John Yarmuth are still proud of their votes for the $700 billion bailout plan? I'm betting my kids are going to be wondering what Congress was thinking in 2008, driving their country so far in debt that it takes a national sales tax, a hike in federal income taxes or some other giant tax increase in 2020 just to bail out the federal government. >> Continue reading: Banks Mum On How They're Spending Bailout Cash
Remember back in 2000 when many moderates who couldn't stomach Al Gore voted for George W. Bush because, they reasoned, "he'll be alright. Cheney will provide a seasoned hand to run the government." Maybe it's time for us (Americans) to admit we probably made a mistake, based on the way Cheney is trying to defend his actions and th... Members of congress wanted the automakers' CEOs to take a pay cut but apparently won't be taking one themselves. Congressmen and women will be getting a ra... A former girlfriend of state Rep. Tom Burch has landed a $67,000/yr. job in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Burch has plenty of sway over that particular cabinet as the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. The Louisville democrat says he recommended his former flame for the job but didn't pres... Rep. Greg Stumbo's slots bill would pump millions into Kentucky's horse industry. ...Citing health reasons, Kentucky Education Commissioner Jon Draud is quitting in a couple of months. Here's the release from the Dept. of Education: ...You lawyers! You're all so secretive! Not wanting folks to know who sent their buddy's name to Mark Hebert to post as a possible candidate for U.S. Attorney. Well, here are a few more names anyway: ...Louisville Metro Council President Jim King has opted to halt his bid for reelection as the head of the Metro Council. According to Democratic Caucus spokesman Tony Hyatt, King agreed to step aside if his opponent, Councilman David Tandy, got the support of 11 of the 15 democratic members of the council. That's what happened. So Tandy will be the democratic nominee for Council president when the full council votes in January. He'll also be... An inmate who benefitted from the state of Kentucky's move to push inmates out of prison to save money, has been charged with rape. Christopher Henderson has a history of fleeing police and escape but met the new qualifications to spend the last four months of his prison sentence on home incarceration instead of behind bars. He's accused of leaving his home to rape his wife, who lived at a different house in Louisville. >> Continue reading: State Inmate On Home Incarceration Charged With Rape The Lexington Herald-Leader has dug into Sen. Jim Bunning's Foundation records and found that the foundation mainly benefits the former baseball pitcher. ...Mayor Jerry Abramson's wish list of construction projects to help boost employment, does not include any money for the Louisville Bridges project. That's because President-elect Obama is looking for projects that are ready to go. The failure of Kentucky politicians to come together on a financing plan and the misdirect... Two powerful republicans, one from Texas, the other from Ohio, are merging their forces to try and affect the election of the next Republican National Committee Chairman. That post is currently held by Kentuckian Mike Duncan of Inez. ...One of the spoils of being a Kentucky democrat in congress with a democrat in the White House is that you'll get to help pick the next U.S. Attornies for the Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky. That means Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth (both early Obama supporters) will play a role in deciding who the new chief federal prosecutors will be. Here's some of the scuttleback with only slivers of fact to back up anything: ...Some state funded programs designed to steer juvenile status offenders away from a life of crime are getting hit with the state budget ax. Almost half of the Justice Cabinet's $5.6 million in cuts is coming from the Juvenile Justice area. Here's my story and more after the jump. ...Kentucky's store owners are apparently making it tougher for kids to buy cigarettes. An undercover survey found fewer stores failing to check the IDs of teens who are trying to buy tobacco products. Here's the release from the state folks: ...
Governor Beshear's cabinet secretaries have begun a series of doom and gloom reports to reporters. They're telling us to expect a slew of layoffs and closure of state facilities unless the legislature passes an increase in the cigarette tax. Here's the Herald-Leader's story. ...A Louisville blogger who has no love for Kentucky Democratic Party chairwoman Jennifer Moore is wondering why the party is paying for Moore to attend a conference at a fancy resort in San Diego. ...Louisville's Mayor will be handing a list of get-to-work construction projects to Barack Obama's transition team. It's Jerry Abramson's pitch for some of the billions of dollars in public works projects Obama is planning to stimulate the economy. I wonder if Abramson has added to his list a slew of construction projects on U of L's drawing board? ...The Kentucky Teachers Retirement System board has voted to accept recommendations to improve KTRS' accountability. The recommendations were made by the Beshear administration. Here's the release from the retirement system: ...A report by UK professors has found that Kentucky's school funding has equalized between rural and urban districts. But according to Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Policy Institute, not enough of that money is getting to the classroom. Here's the release: ...I love this. Governor Beshear has set up a "Philanthropy" agency to try and get big money non-profit groups to help fund education and other efforts that are normally paid for by state tax dollars. Man, what a bummer. Kentucky's electors had to cast their ballots today for a guy who lost the presidential election more than a month ago. Yup, Kentucky's eight electoral votes go to John McCain: ...The task force that's been studying ways to clean of the horse industry has issued its final report. Here's the release from the Horse Racing Commission: ...The Lexington Herald-Leader has found a handful of governors who are taking pay cuts as a symbolic gesture during tough budget times. Gov. Steve Beshear and a few of his top aides are taking a 10 percent pay cut. When I asked Beshear last week if he planned to ask his cabinet secretaries and division directors to take a pay cut as well, he said he would not. Beshear says he wouldn'... If you believe a memo obtained by MSNBC, the republican effort to kill a bailout for the auto industry is the first step in trying to get rid of labor unions. Hat tip to PageOneKentucky.com. ...There may be a recession but Kentucky's gun shops are apparently doing a booming business. Folks across Kentucky, and across the country, are buying up guns before Barack Obama takes office. They're worried that Obama may try to pass gun control laws. I don't see it. Doesn't the guy have enough on his plate without messing with the NRA? ...An Iraqi journalist stood up in the middle of a Baghdad news conference and hurled both of his shoes at President Bush. Bush apparently shrugged off the odd attack while the journalist was wrestled to the ground, hauled out of the room and hasn't been heard from since. ...A federal prosecutor wants the frozen fish that whistleblower Jim Rummage claims he got from Leonard Lawson allowed to be presented as evidence at trial. Defense attornies have moved to have the fish thrown out, claiming its too stinky to be considered evidence (or something like that). ...
Kentucky's Health advocates believe Governor Beshear may be taking the wrong tact in pitching his plan for a 70 cents per pack increase in Kentucky's cigarette tax. ...Sen. Jim Bunning won't be signing baseballs for cash at a baseball card show in Michigan. the organizers have cancelled the appearance by the former Detroit Tigers pitcher because of his vote against the auto bailout bill in the U.S. Senate. ...It remains to be seen how the failure of the auto bailout bill in the U.S. Senate will affect the economy, (all eyes on Wall Street on Friday). The United Auto Workers could not stomach major concessions demanded by Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. After the jump, an explanation of what killed the deal, plus reaction from local lawmakers. ...
WHAS 11 News broke the story tonight about the huge FFA convention returning to Louisville in 2013. 50,000 kids and chaperones from across the country used to storm into Louisville every summer until 2005 when the convention moved to Indianapolis. In the future, according to our sources, the convention site will be split between Indy and Louisville. But now check out the news release from FFA about the news conference in Louisville on Frida... Part of Governor Beshear's plan to fill the $456 million hole in the state budget includes furloughing state employees for three days. With that in mind, here's one state employee's e-mail to the Governor's office: ...Here's some of the reaction to Governor Beshear's mix of tax hikes, cuts and fund transfers to balance the state budget: ...
Governor Beshear has unveiled his plan to cover Kentucky's $456 million budget shortfall. And, SURPRISE!!!!, that plan includes a 70 cents per pack increase in Kentucky's cigarette tax, which is the fourth lowest in the country at 30 cents a pack: ...It ain't the Appropriations Committee, but Congressman John Yarmuth is moving up the committee ladder in the U.S. House. Yarmuth has been named to the Ways and Means Committee. That committee is more influential than the two committees is giving up. Yarmuth currently sits on the Education and Labor Committee and the Committee on Government Oversight and Government Reform. Here's the release from Yarmuth's office: ...The governor never mentions Kentucky's GOP Senators in his release, just "the United States Senate." ...
He apparantly has had enough time to read the bailout bill. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have set the tone for the next Congress with an impassioned rejection of the auto bailout deal reached between the Bush administration and Democrats. Democrats have to be wondering where Barack Obama is on this. Dems have even wider majorities in the new Congress which is sworn in on January 6. If the President-elect wants to send a ...
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson says there won't be any need for layoffs for city workers or tax hikes for Louisville residents under the budget cutting plan he announced on Wednesday. But after union heads rejected his plea for concessions, Abramson was quick to point an accusatory finger at union leaders, who were quick to fire back. Firefi... As he apparently prepares to campaign for reelection, U.S. Senator Jim Bunning's historically low job approval ratings are nearing the break even point. ...It turns out David Holton raised and spent nowhere near $100,000 in his losing judicial campaign against Katie King. That's one of the campaign finance reports I'll detail after the jump: ...The head of the Kentucky Republican Party isn't on Governor Beshear's Christmas card list. But Steve Robertson thinks the group that's paying for those gubernatorial greetings are doing so illegally. He thinks it's illegal for the Democratic Party to pay for cards which feature only a potential candidate and his/her family. ...The three former owners of the Broadway Cinemas in Louisville have agreed to a deal to repay a federal loan they got for their business. Louisville lawyers Gerald Neal, Ray Burse and businessman Walter Porter will repay $800,000 and list the federal government as beneficiaries of their life insurance policies. ...Barack Obama's campaign spokesman in Kentucky was Metro Councilman David Tandy. Maybe Tandy thinks he's learned a few things from the President-elect because it appears he may be setting his sights on the presidency of the Metro Council. Jim King currently holds that post. ...Governor Beshear has called a 10 a.m. news conference on Thursday to outline his plan to deal with the state's $456 million shortfall. Part of Beshear's plan will include a proposed increase in Kentucky's 30 cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes. And House Speaker Pro-Tem Larry Clark tells WHAS 11 News that House members will also consider a hike in t... Mitch McConnell won't allow a vote today. He just spoke (10:30am) on the Senate floor. McConnell Statement on Status of Auto Legislation 'But let me be clear: there will be no vote on this legislation today. On a bill this critical, with so much taxpayer money at stake, we cannot rush this through without adequate review' New Jefferson District Judge Katie King lent her own campaign $194,000 in the two weeks immediately before and after the November election, according to her filings with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. ...
The 1100 Louisville Metro police officers aren't the only ones with take home cars being paid for by taxpayers. Ninety nine other city employees, including two animal control employees, Mayor Abramson's two security officers and the head of the Louisiille Zoo all have city cars 24/7. The majority of the non-police city employees who have take home vehicles work for the Fire Department, Public Works or Emergency Management. A spokesperson fo... The three ombudsmen in the Health Services Cabinet have all mysteriously "left the building". Nobody in the Beshear administration is talking. ...A New Yorker has been named president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education: ...Sen. Mitch McConnell spoke about the auto industry bailout package on the Senate floor today. Here's the release from McConnell's office. You Ford and GM workers may want to read it: ...
We thought Kentucky politics was corrupt. We can't even touch Illinois in the corruption department. ...A Washington-based government watchdog group is calling Sen. Mitch McConnell one of the most embarrassing members of congress who was reel... Kentucky's top medicaid overseer says budget cuts will be devastating to the program that provides health insurance to Kentucky's poor. ...So the headline is a little over the top. I first asked Gov. Beshear more than a month ago if he might cut his own salary as a symbolic gesture of state belt tightening. He seemed surprised by the question then, telling me "I'll take a pay cut when you do." I told him WHAS-TV had already slashed overtime as a way to save money. But I got a different response when I asked the governor the "pay cut question" last Wednesday. He said "everyth... Senator Mitch McConnell had to borrow big bucks to beat Bruce Lunsford in last month's election. ...U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell isn't saying whether he'd support the auto industry bridge loan bailout bill in Congress. Kentucky has four major auto plants and more than 60 factories that supply parts to automakers. ...The Council on Postsecondary Education has apparently narrowed its choices for a new president down to two. ...No, Secretary of State Trey Grayson didn't really say that. I made up the quote. But the republican's "governor in waiting" is saying that he may have to lay off some folks if his office's budget is cut by 4%. ...If you read this blog or watch WHAS television news, you've seen the story about Leonard Lawson's fish. ...Governor Beshear and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson joined Louisville Ford workers for a rally at the Truck Plant on Chamberlain today. Ford is hoping similar rallies at plants across the country will help convince Congress to approve some bailout money for the struggling auto industry. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says there aren't enough votes in the U.S. Senate to pass the bailout plan. Here's the news release: ...President Bush isn't get a bump in his job approval rating as he heads off into the sunset. The latest Survey USA/WHAS 11 poll shows the president's approval rating at 32% among Kentuckians who were surveyed. ...
University of Kentucky students would be hit with another double digit increase in tuition and the school would likely drain its reserve fund to handle a potential 4% cut in state funding. UK and the other state universities sent outlines of what they would cut to the Council on Postsecondary Education. I requested a copy of U of L's letter but had not received it as of late yesterd... Kentucky's prosecutors are warning that at 4% cut in state funds could result in layoffs and affect the prosecution of criminals across Kentucky. ...
Governor Beshear says "everything is on the table," even, apparently, his own salary, to deal with the state's $456 million budget shortfall. ...The attorneys for indicted highway contractor Leonard Lawson say federal prosecutors are barring them from interviewing employees in the Transportation Cabinet and others who might be relevant witnesses in the bribery case. ...Kentucky's various chamber of commerce groups are clamoring for state lawmakers to suspend or repeal the state's prevailing wage law as a way for governments to save money on construction projects during these tough budgetary times. But Governor Steve Beshear told me today that repealing the union-backed wage law is "off the table" as far as he's concerne... Here's the letter to the CJ staff ----
At The Courier-Journal, we have taken every reasonable step we can think of to reduce costs in non-payroll areas. Nothing is being left out of consideratio... Watch tonight's 5:30pm newscast fof what's going on inside the Louisville Courier-Journal. A source inside the paper tells me that several recognizable names are leaving. One of them is long time Kentucky columnist Byron Crawford who is taking a combination buyout/early retirement. However, Art & Design writer Diane Heilenman tells me rumors of her departure are untrue. The source says a 10% payroll cut appears to be abou... The rising number of jobless Kentuckians is pushing thousands of them on to Kentucky's Medicaid roles and pushing the program into a huge shortfall. The Debbie Yetter has the story in the C-J about how the state's projected $456 million budget shortfall is just the tip of the iceberg when the blossoming financial problems in the Medicaid program are thrown in. ...Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson calls the meeting "frank and candid" but little was resolved during his meeting with the leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police. ...Jobless rates went up in all but eight counties from October 2007 to October 2008, according to the state: ...Kentucky's Homestead exemption is rising from $31,400 to $33,700 in 2009. ...I suspect the atheists who are planning to sue the Kentucky Department of Homeland Security will ask why the department needs any state funds to operate if God is protecting the Commonwealth from terrorist attacks, floods and famine. ...A Hardin Circuit Court judge ordered a recount of ballots cast in one Hardin County precinct today, but it didn't make any difference in the race between republican incumbent State Rep. Tim Moore and democratic challenger Mike Weaver. ...While Mayor Abramson is calling on city employees to cough up their raises and city police to pay more for their take home cars, Metro government is sitting on $63 million in unbudgeted monies. ...Louisville Metro government's Budget Director has retired in the middle of the city's worst financial crisis in years. ...KCTCS President Mike McCall is turning down his pay raise and bonus this year. McCall was the highest paid president of a community college system in the country last year when he earned $610,000 in salary and benefits. He's the release from KCTCS today: ...If LG & E's reimbursement request goes through, every customer will pay between $45 and $60 for windstorm repairs. Spaced out over five years, that's less than one dollar per month extra on every bill. LG & E submitted this assessment report to the Kentucky Public Service Commission the day before Thanksgiving. The utility hopes to roll this rate increase into the rate adjustment it filed in July. A group of political bloggers want Metro govenment to open up its financial records so they can get a look at them. The bloggers think they may have some ideas on how to solve the budget crisis. ... |
|
|
WHAS11.com Political Blog
WHAS11 Reporters blog the latest political news from the campaign trail and beyond. 
|
|