http://www.kentucky.com/210/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2008 Kentucky.com State Government and Politics 60 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:04:40 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench webmaster@kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496883.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496883.html Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:35 EDT
The state's attempt to build an .adventure tourism. industry in Kentucky is raising concerns among sportsmen and environmentalists who worry the move could damage nature preserves and wildlife management areas.

The groups say they have gotten wind of a behind-the-scenes effort by Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo to boost rural economies by allowing ATVs in places where they now are prohibited.

A spokesman for Mongiardo said Wednesday that there are no such plans currently, but acknowledged Mongiardo is gathering information about land that could be used for multi-purpose trails.

The League of Kentucky Sportsman wrote Mongiardo this week saying the group supports his ideas for adventure tourism, but .reaffirms its opposition. to permitting all-terrain vehicles on Wildlife Management areas owned and managed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496866.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496866.html Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:11 EDT
LOUISVILLE . For the first time during a campaign fought mostly over airwaves, Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford stared each other down Wednesday and answered each others' criticisms.

Lunsford, in fact, used his closing remarks during a two-hour forum at the Kentucky Farm Bureau to talk directly to McConnell rather than the audience. He leveled his strongest criticism of McConnell to date.

.The last 24 years, you've had an opportunity to do some great things for this state and this country. And in my opinion, you've failed,. Lunsford said. .I think you have worked with a president for the last eight years closer than anyone. I think he's failed. In my judgment, he's the worst president in my lifetime..

McConnell smiled defiantly as he stared back at Lunsford. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496685.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496685.html Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:52 EDT
A federal grand jury hearing evidence about alleged bid rigging in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has subpoenaed 13 road contracts and related items, said cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe.

Prosecutors want the documents so they can prepare trial-ready courtroom exhibits, Wolfe said Wednesday. The subpoena was served last week, although the cabinet has willingly provided all information and records on request, he said.

.It appears they're wanting to be meticulous about the paper trail as they gather evidence,. Wolfe said.

According to a report by WHAS-TV in Louisville, seven of the 13 contracts in question went to companies related to Leonard Lawson, a politically influential contractor who is at the center of a related FBI investigation. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496664.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/496664.html Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:56 EDT
FRANKFORT . Senate President David Williams is asking a Franklin circuit judge to reconsider his order that the legislature's six-year road construction plan is invalid because lawmakers failed to give it to the governor on time.

Attorneys for Williams, R-Burkesville, filed a motion for reconsideration Wednesday in Judge Phillip Shepherd's July 31 ruling that the General Assembly's 2008 highway construction bill is void.

Williams asked the court to rule that lawmakers may present enacted legislation to the governor after they officially adjourn and that Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear had only until midnight April 26 to veto the highway plan. Beshear vetoed it April 28.

Williams also asked the court to rule on whether the Beshear administration can spend money on Kentucky roads in the absence of the legislation, House Bill 79. Williams argues it cannot. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/494848.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/494848.html Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:55 EDT
HARLAN . A two-time candidate for governor who is charged with attempting to .entice. a 13-year-old girl and her 11-year-old sister to engage in .illegal sexual activity. says the allegations against him stem from a misunderstanding.

Otis Hensley Jr., 52, is charged with first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor under the age of 16, according to the criminal complaint filed in District Court in Harlan County. Hensley ran for governor in 2003 and 2007 and campaigned around the state on a giant fake bull.

According to the complaint, the father of the two sisters contacted the county attorney about the incident, which allegedly occurred on Monday. The Harlan County Sheriff's Office arrested Hensley on Monday.

No further information about the father's allegations was available in the criminal complaint. County Attorney Fred Busroe could not be reached for comment. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/494440.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/494440.html Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:58 EDT
FRANKFORT . About $226,000 in state money was spent in late 2006 improving remote one-lane roads in Washington County that lead to property owned by the brother of then-Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert.

A few months later, Nighbert and his brother, Edwin, formed a company and bought another nearby 95-acre parcel. The company, Double Buck LLC, was referenced in a recent FBI affidavit that laid out details of an alleged bid-rigging scheme in the Transportation Cabinet that involved Nighbert.

The road improvements aren't the first upgrades that state agencies where Nighbert worked have tried to bring to the area.

A former Anderson County water official accuses Nighbert of trying to use his political influence in 2004 to bring water service to the remote region that straddles the line between Washington and Anderson counties. At the time, Nighbert was deputy local government commissioner in then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493860.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493860.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:16 EDT
Kentucky could reduce the number of uninsured children by changing enrollment procedures for government insurance programs, according to a report released Monday.

The report, which comes from Kentucky Voices for Health, a coalition of health and children's groups, estimates that as many as 74,000 Kentucky kids who don't have insurance could be covered at a cost of $40 million to the state.

.Not covering children costs everyone,. said Ed Monahan, executive director for the Catholic Conference of Kentucky. .This is a much more up-front, rational way to do it, not only with emergency care but (with) preventive care..

An estimated 93,000 Kentuckians younger than 19 don't have health insurance. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493633.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493633.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:21 EDT
Political leaders are counting on that number growing dramatically before the offer of higher monthly pension payments expires on Dec 31.

"With the time that's left, who knows what that number is going to be," said state Sen. Charlie Borders, R-Grayson, chairman of the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

In drafting the state budget earlier this year, legislative leaders penciled in savings from what they expected to be a flood of retirements, perhaps as many as 5,000. The savings were based on an expectation that at least 3,418 of the retirees wouldn't be replaced.

The payroll savings were part of an overall plan to offset a projected $900 million revenue shortfall over the next two years. A sour economy caused revenues to plummet, forcing widespread cuts in government services.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493467.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493467.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:50 EDT
Frankfort is abuzz over the FBI's investigation into alleged road contract bid-rigging, not only because of the systemic problems it could expose but also because of the personal connections of those involved.

That web of friendships and rivalries became clear after details about the inquiry spilled out through an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in London.

For instance, few figures in Kentucky politics inspire such deep-seated love-him-or-hate-him reactions as Leonard Lawson, despite his low public profile. Lawson, an Eastern and Central Kentucky road builder whose campaign contributions are almost as far flung as his companies' asphalt, is at the center of the inquiry.

Investigators are following up on allegations by a former Transportation Cabinet engineer who has claimed he took $5,000 from Lawson on four occasions in exchange for confidential estimates on road projects that were up for bid. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493463.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493463.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:50 EDT
Voters can expect state spending . or lack thereof . to be a central theme in the 13th Senate District race in Lexington, which has gone from foregone conclusion to hotly contested.

Democratic state Rep. Kathy Stein, who officially kicked off her campaign for the Senate seat in front of more than two dozen supporters Wednesday morning, sharply criticized the recently-passed two-year budget for failing to do enough for education and health programs.

She also placed some of the blame on Republican leadership in the Senate, saying the GOP .clings to a mantra of no new taxes,. which led it to balk at a cigarette tax increase last session.

.Everyone here knows, though, that these tuition hikes . 9 percent at the University of Kentucky and double-digits at some of our other universities . that is a tax,. she said. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493462.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/493462.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:50 EDT
While battling the most prolific fund-raiser and one of the toughest campaigners in Kentucky history, Bruce Lunsford's campaign for the U.S. Senate must also put to rest Lunsford's own checkered past with Democrats.

He got a big boost to that end last week, when Lunsford was introduced to the Franklin County Democratic executive committee by his chief rival in the spring primary, Greg Fischer.

The two men . both successful Louisville businessmen . shook hands and joked with each other in their first public appearance since a staged .unity rally. days after the May 20 primary.

.Any chance I get I'll be speaking for Bruce,. Fischer told the Herald-Leader. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492845.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492845.html Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:06 EDT
FRANKFORT . Crit Luallen helps bring down crooked politicians, something Kentucky has in abundant supply.

As the state's elected Auditor of Public Accounts, Luallen has tracked millions of dollars stolen, wasted or dropped down a rabbit hole by local governments and state agencies. Her reports have served as a blueprint for 14 criminal prosecutions so far.

.I am very impressed with that office under her,. said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Taylor. In June, Taylor used a Luallen audit to win the conviction of Knott County Judge-Executive Randy Thompson for buying votes with public money. .They have the right attitude about being a watchdog..

Luallen, 56, is also a consummate Frankfort insider with three decades in Democratic politics and jobs under six governors. Her own reputation is nearly impeccable, but she has worked with her share of besmirched politicians. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492841.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492841.html Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:06 EDT
FRANKFORT . Nothing is more constant in Kentucky state government than scandal at the Transportation Cabinet.

If it's not alleged bid-rigging on road construction contracts . currently the subject of an FBI investigation . it's bribery demands by cabinet inspectors, land deals that benefit cabinet employees, illegal hiring and firing based on politics, alleged business favors for the governor's mistress and child pornography on cabinet computers.

And that's all just in the last few years.

Old Frankfort hands say ne'er-do-wells are drawn to the Transportation Cabinet for the same reason the notorious Willie Sutton (the original .Slick Willie.) claimed to rob banks: .Because that's where the money is.. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492585.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/492585.html Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:55 EDT
A Shepherdsville company can get as much as $48 million in state tax incentives if it builds low-speed electric cars in Simpson County.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave its blessing Friday to a proposal from Integrity Automotive to make ZAP (Zero Air Pollution) electric cars at an $84 million plant in the Wilkey North Industrial Park in Franklin.

Integrity Automotive, a division of Integrity Manufacturing, would build the electric cars for ZAP, a California company. Integrity proposes to employ as many as 4,000 workers within four years and pay an average hourly wage of $20.

Bob Gunnell, a Louisville public relations executive who represents Integrity, said the company had no comment on the incentive package. He said Integrity would defer to any announcement from Gov. Steve Beshear's office. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/491311.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/491311.html Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:55 EDT
Kentucky will pump $50 million into a state agency so it can resume issuing loans to college students as they begin fall classes.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced Friday that the state will buy a $50 million bond from the non-profit Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corp., usually referred to as The Student Loan People.

The .bridge loan,. as Beshear called it, will jump-start the agency's lending, which stalled Thursday after it ran out of money.

Beshear said The Student Loan People are in a .cash crunch. just as classes are about to begin, but the bridge loan will make it possible for the agency to .go about its business ... without interruption.. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/490971.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/490971.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:35 EDT
About two dozen Clinton faithful in Kentucky signed an official challenge filed to the Democratic National Convention's credentials committee to revoke the delegate status for state Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, who backed Obama in the primary, and give her spot to a Clinton supporter.

This controversy started after the party had to make three changes in the delegation's roster after officials erred at the state party's convention in June by selecting more male delegates than female. National Democratic Party bylaws require delegations to include as many women as men.

Three men — all Clinton supporters — resigned from their spots: Jeff Harney, a Northern Kentucky Democrat selected as an at-large delegate; Jesus Menendez, a pledged-Clinton delegate; and state Treasurer Todd Hollenbach, who also backed Clinton in the primary and was selected as a party leader/elected official delegate.

Last month, Harney was replaced with female Clinton supporter Sarah Allen, while Menendez's wife and fellow Clinton backer Shirley Menendez took his place. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/490768.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/490768.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:51 EDT
FRANKFORT . Transportation Secretary Joe Prather confirmed Thursday that .a new element. has developed in an investigation of former Secretary Bill Nighbert and others by the cabinet's inspector general.

He declined to release specifics of the investigation but said it is in conjunction with the FBI, which suspects Nighbert of playing a role in an alleged bid-rigging scheme. He did not elaborate on the investigation's .new element..

An FBI affidavit filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in London said a federal investigation into alleged bid-rigging involving Nighbert, former highway district engineer James Rummage and politically influential road contractor Leonard Lawson has been ongoing for more than a year.

No charges have been filed in the case, and all three men have denied any wrongdoing. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/489375.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/489375.html Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:40 EDT
FRANKFORT . The state Transportation Cabinet's watchdog agency is investigating former Secretary Bill Nighbert, who is also a target in an FBI investigation of alleged bid rigging.

Among those investigating Nighbert in the cabinet's Office of Inspector General is a man once ordered fired by Nighbert.

The office has been headed since 2004 by David Ray, a retired secret service agent. His staff assistant is Mike Duncan.

Last year, the state Personnel Board reversed the 2005 firing of Duncan, whose termination was at the crux of a special Franklin County grand jury's investigation into hiring practices in former Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/488064.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/488064.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:58 EDT
Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Tuesday a former assistant attorney general and state prosecutor to a district court vacancy in Fayette County.

Julie Muth Goodman, who worked under Beshear when he was attorney general in the 1980s, said she will take office after being sworn in later this month. She is also a former Fayette assistant commonwealth's attorney.

Goodman will fill the vacancy created by Judge David Hayse's retirement in June.

.I am absolutely honored,. Goodman said. .I think it is a privilege to serve the people of Fayette County. Everybody knows the district court is really the people's court.. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/488359.html http://www.kentucky.com/210/story/488359.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:53 EDT
LOUISVILLE . A former longtime public defender was appointed Tuesday as director of the state agency providing legal services for Kentucky's poor as the office faces budget cuts, a hiring freeze and a lawsuit seeking to reduce caseloads.

In making the appointment, Gov. Steve Beshear praised Ed Monahan for his experience and .innate sense of fairness.. The governor didn't mention the problems at the Department of Public Advocacy.

Monahan begins his appointment Sept. 1, replacing longtime Public Advocate Ernie Lewis, who is retiring. Monahan most recently was executive director of The Catholic Conference of Kentucky.

He said his main goal as public advocate will be to secure sufficient funding for the agency. But Monahan said he didn't have any magical strategy in seeking more money from the General Assembly. ]]>