Owensboro attorney appointed to Executive Branch Ethics Commission

Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed local attorney Jeanie Owen Miller to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Miller, an attorney in private practice, previously served as a consumer protection specialist with the attorney general’s office from 1976 until 1981. Miller has served as president of the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, president of the Daviess County Bar [...]

Second lawmaker to push slot machine plan

Rep. Greg Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat, has released a working version of legislation he plans to file next year that would allow “video lottery terminals” at ractracks around the state.
The bill puts the operation of the video lottery terminals, which appear to be similar if not the same as video slot machines, under the supervision [...]

2nd District candidates skipping Fancy Farm

Neither Democrat David Boswell nor Republican Brett Guthrie will be taking their campaigns for Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District seat to Fancy Farm this weekend.
Both candidates, who want to replace U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis of Cecilia in the U.S. House, will be bypassing the speeches, political jabs and theater of the Graves County picnic on Saturday [...]

Attorney General’s office sends out open meetings, records reminder to local governments

Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday that his office will be sending an update on the state’s open meeting and open records laws to more than 1,400 public officials.
The update will include a new provision approved by the General Assembly this spring that will allow public agencies to notify the public and press about special [...]

Beshear in western Kentucky tomorrow

Gov. Steve Beshear will be making the rounds in western Kentucky Thursday afternoon before heading to Madisonville for his next town hall meeting.
The governor will be at the Merle Travis Music Center in Powderly at 12:15 p.m. for a check presentation to Muhlenberg County for housing rehabilitation and will then head to Dawson Springs, Princeton [...]

House leadership races heating up

Ryan Alessi with the Herald-Leader has the story of a possible run for Speaker of the House by Rep. Greg Stumbo, the former attorney general and House majority floor leader who rejoined the legislature this year.
Alessi’s story comes following comments by Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat, to the Courier-Journal that he might be looking at the [...]

Local legislator named to Southern Legislative Conference post

Rep. John Arnold Jr., the Sturgis Democrat who represents the 7th District in the Kentucky House, has been named chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference’s Human Services and Public Safety Committee.
Arnold, a chiropractor, was appointed to the post during the SLC’s annual meeting in Oklahoma City earlier this month.
According to the Conference’s Web site, the [...]

Voter turnout in May sets new state record

The Secretary of State’s office has released voter turnout rates from around the state for the May 20 primary election, and with 32.2 percent of voters statewide heading to the polls that day, it’s a new record for turnout in a presidential primary year.
That rate is markedly better than the dismal rate of 14 percent [...]

Comment on Kentucky tonight

Comment on Kentucky, KET’s weekly program that brings together Kentucky journalists to talk about the issues of the week, will be hosted tonight by Mark Hebert with WHAS-TV, who is substituting for regular host Ferrell Wellman.
Joining Hebert will be Tony McVeigh with Kentucky Public Radio’s Frankfort bureau, the Kentucky Enquirer’s political reporter Pat Crowley and [...]

Concerns about steel prices top talk at riverfront development meeting

About 50 contractors, engineers and others turned out this morning for the pre-bid conference at City Hall for the next stage of the city of Owensboro’s riverfront development project.
This $25 million phase will include the construction of a river wall stretching from at least the RiverPark Center to the foot of Frederica Street that will [...]