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Columns

  • Ultrasound bill has cleared the Senate

    We have reached the half-way point of the 2012 General Assembly Session. There are daily committee meetings, policy briefings, visits from constituents, and meetings with various advocacy groups.

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  • House has approved 68 bills midway through session

    We have reached the half way mark of the 2012 session and I believe the House of Representatives has much to show for our 30 days in Frankfort.
    Since Jan. 3, we have been hard at work moving legislation through the committee process, working on budget issues within our subcommittees and meeting with constituents and stakeholders on issues of importance to Kentuckians.

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  • This is not the bipartisanship we were looking for

    Here's the good news.
    Marion County is in the 24th District of the Kentucky House of Representatives. We know this.
    Marion County voters know we will have a choice between the incumbent, Terry Mills, and challenger Bill Pickerill. The problem for the candidates is figuring out what other counties should be part of their campaigns.

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  • The story of D.B. Cooper

    By James Roberts
    Landmark News Service

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  • Legislature works to resolve issue for Amish citizens

    Greetings from Frankfort! Anyone visiting the capitol this week would have enjoyed watching democracy in action, both on an individual level as well as a grander level. We passed legislation that made road travel safer for the Amish as well as the "English," we moved forward in education, and we found consensus on congressional redistricting even as legislative redistricting moved to the courts. It was a full week.

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  • State leaders working to fight prescription drug problems

    When the General Assembly began the legislative session last month, there was already broad agreement on what the three biggest issues would be: Writing state government's budget, realigning legislative and Kentucky Supreme Court districts, and limiting if not stopping prescription drug abuse.
    Last week, the latter two took center stage.

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  • 'Trust, but verify' saves lives, shrinks government

    By Jim Waters

    Transparency not only makes government smaller, less costly and more responsive to its constituents. It saves lives, too.
    The downside: It can embarrass government agencies and the bureaucrats who run them.  
    But ask me if I care more about assisting efforts by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services - which is shut up tighter than a pair of vise grips - to save face or finding out what really happened to Amy Dye, a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl.

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  • Education bills and the Turtleman in Frankfort

    The Senate passed several bills last week. Of these bills, three education bills are of particular importance.

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  • House looks at human trafficking

    It was a hectic and busy week in Frankfort as we worked through the challenges of the House and Senate redistricting plans. We are hopeful that this will be resolved soon so that we can dedicate our full attention to budget issues and important legislation needed to move Kentucky forward.

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  • Local legislators look to trim government waist

    Bipartisanship is practically dead, both in Frankfort and in Washington D.C.
    But from time to time, Democrats and Republicans have found issues that bring them together.
    At the state level, we’ve seen a few examples so far.
    - Secretary of Agriculture James Comer, a Republican, and State Auditor Adam Edelen, a Democrat, are working together on an audit of the former ag secretary Richie Farmer’s books.
    - Politicians on both sides of the aisle have recognized something has to be done to stem the tide of prescription pills flooding the state.

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