KENTUCKY (4/20/18) — This spring seems like one long continuation of late winter. As soon as we get a warm day, the temperature plunges and we are back in February again. It even snowed on Monday of the third week of April. This up and down weather combined with cold rains has the spring fishing season behind by a few weeks. The spawning runs of white bass into the headwaters of reservoirs are…

DAVIESS COUNTY, Ky. (4/19/18) — The Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools districts are seeking sites to provide free meals to anyone 18 years of age and younger this summer. Examples of previous sites included local parks, vacation bible schools, local pools and day camps. Requirements are that locations are areas that justify need and are open to all children. Meals must be consumed…

KENTUCKY (4/19/18) — Kentucky’s 2018 Highway Plan will prioritize spending on more than 1,000 bridge repairs and 5,000 miles of pavement improvements over the next six years. “The recently enacted six-year Highway Plan represents the most balanced approach released by Kentucky in decades for addressing the Commonwealth’s transportation needs,” said Gov. Matt Bevin. “This data-driven plan moves us…

KENTUCKY (4/19/18) — It’s often the coach who gets forced out even though it’s the players who lose games. Sometimes education commissioners resign under pressure, as Stephen Pruitt did, even though the entire system shares responsibility for Kentucky’s black eighth-grade students’ abysmal 9 percent proficiency rate in math and the growing, unacceptably large achievement gaps between whites and…

KENTUCKY (4/19/18) — Hunters interested in entering this year’s elk hunt drawing have until midnight (EST) April 30 to buy applications. Hunters can apply online at the department’s website, fw.ky.gov. Kentucky residents and non-residents are eligible to apply for four permit types but can only be drawn for one. Each application costs $10. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will issue 700 general quota…

FRANKFORT, Ky. (4/19/18) — Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary March unemployment rate was 4 percent, the lowest rate recorded for the state in the 42 years since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started providing data in 1976, according to the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics, an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. The unemployment rate…

FRANKFORT, Ky. (4/18/18) – Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is encouraging eligible Kentuckians to register to vote by the April 23 deadline ahead of the Commonwealth's Primary Election next month. "We've made it easy to register to vote in Kentucky with GoVoteKY.com, and we are extremely proud of the portal's success. As of today, more than half a million people have used GoVoteKY.com…

FRANKFORT, Ky. (4/17/18) — Kentucky residents have another chance to win a new iPad from the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority in a sweepstakes being held through Facebook in May. The contest runs from 12 a.m. on May 1 through 12 a.m. on June 1. To enter, a Kentuckian must visit the KHEAA Facebook page, click on the “Giveaway” tab on the left side of the page and answer one question…

BELTON, Ky. (4/17/18) — It was an interesting session from start to finish. I am going to summarize the last two days in this column and give a more comprehensive summary of all that happened during the 2018 Session over the next several weeks. Just to be totally honest, it was a bit surreal to have loud chanting in the hallways of the Capitol when the votes were taken on HB 366 and HB 200 less…

WASHINGTON, D.C. (4/17/18) — Congressman James Comer announced he has followed through on his promise of transparency by disclosing his 2017 personal income taxes. Comer was one of a few members of the U.S. Congress to disclose his 2016 personal income taxes. “I promised my constituents that I would disclose my income taxes because I feel that taxpayers have a right to know where their leaders’…

KENTUCKY (4/16/18) — Kentucky counties can now apply for $4,000 in waste tire recycling and removal grants from money that is available through the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Waste Management Waste Tire Trust Fund. “Eligible expenses under this grant are the actual costs that the county incurs during the grant period for recycling or disposal of waste tires,” said Gary Logsdon,…

KENTUCKY (4/16/18) — Due to an ongoing outbreak of Hepatitis A, the Department for Public Health within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, is recommending vaccination for everyone residing in Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Greenup, Carter and Boyd counties. To date, 214 cases have been reported in the Jefferson County/Louisville area. Bullitt, Hardin, Greenup, Carter and Boyd counties have…

WESTERN KENTUCKY (4/16/18) — The Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs announced its new Veteran’s Service Officer for Region 17 is Jonathan Melton. Melton, who is located at he Owensboro Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic on New Hartford Road, Owensboro, will be responsible for the Daviess, Hancock, McLean, Ohio and Muhlenberg counties. Johnny Allen will continue to…

FRANKFORT, Ky. (4/16/18) - Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Secretary Hal Heiner announced his resignation as Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet today to accept an appointment as a member of the Kentucky Board of Education. His announcement ends a two-and-a-half year term as Secretary that was highlighted by successful initiatives aimed at increasing career…

KENTUCKY (4/16/18) — Kentucky's latest abortion regulation was barely a day old before the ACLU claimed it was unconstitutional and filed suit to have it struck down. HB 454, signed into law by Gov. Bevin on April 11, banned abortions after 11-weeks and criminalized "dismemberment" abortions—the term used in the actual bill but avoided by abortion advocates. ACLU Deputy Director of the…

KENTUCKY (4/15/18) — In this week’s Dave Says, Dave advises on developing and sustaining an emergency fund. Dear Dave, I bring home $4,100 a month in military disability pay and Social Security combined. My wife brings home an additional $2,000 each month. Should we base our emergency fund level on her income only, since mine is guaranteed? Lewis Dear Lewis, Your emergency fund shouldn’t be based…