Oh, Kentucky

Back to school? Yes, with social distancing, face coverings, health screenings, sanitation and contact tracing.

Back to baseball? Yes, at Brooks Stadium starting Monday with a league of two.

Upon further Fancy Farm review ... picnicking, yes; political speaking, no. Posted the priest, per The Mayfield Messenger: "The parish of St. Jerome has been in existence for 184 years. During those 184 years, the people have lived and prayed through times of drought, wars, pandemics, times of plenty and times of scarcity and have held steady to the faith and depended on God's providence. We will continue to do the same in our time and in the future."

Expanded racial-bias training for officers and community policing were said to be among the topics of discussion at a second closed unity meeting in Paducah, report Abisola Adeyemo and Mason Watkins of Channel 6.

The state attorney general: "Strong, empowered communities and safe policing are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they must go hand-in-hand in order for the Commonwealth to thrive."

The state ag commissioner: "We must do something to ensure rural Kentucky get its fair shake at connectivity."

The governor: "In Kentucky, we’re going to reopen and rebuild our economy even stronger than it was before COVID-19."

Drive-through hiring today in Lebanon, for Marion and Washington counties.

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

Oh, Kentucky

"The E. Starling Holloway Insuror of the Year Award is given to an individual who has made a significant contribution, enhanced the ideals and reputation of the insurance industry, or has made a significant contribution to his community, state and country." Congratulations to 2019-winner James England of Pikeville, who is said to exemplify "the characteristics of E. Starling Holloway" (of Madisonville).

And congratulations to Russell County Public Library Director Lindsey Westerfield. It's a bear to get a new public library open, and the director bears the bulk of the burden.

Speaking of "The Best Town on Earth," filing deadline for the city council is Jan. 10, and no one has filed for any of the six seats.

In nine of Kentucky's 120 counties, more registered voters did vote than did not in last month's gubernatorial election: Anderson, Franklin, Graves, Hancock, McLean, Metcalfe, Shelby, Washington and Woodford. And turnout was higher than in more than two decades. Very interesting report from Perry Bacon Jr. and Josh Poe in Louisville's LEO Weekly.

President Trump's nominee for the alternate to the U.S. ambassador to the UN (a Kentuckian) is a Kentuckian.

Aaron Mudd in The Bowling Green Daily News quotes the WKU Faculty Senate budget-and-finance chair: "We are no longer cutting fat. We are removing vital organs" (#RockSolidJournalismObservations).

I love me some minimally-invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and I'm thrilled to read that it's now being offered at Baptist Health Paducah (in addition to at UK HealthCare).

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green,  romley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Greenville, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Prestonsburg, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Campbellsville, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Tonight's the night to get our Lone Oak on at the McCracken County Public Library. (Pipe down, Reidland--you'll get your chance.)

I'm going to have to come up with a custom hashtag for my rock-solid, recurring observation about how great the meeting coverage is in contemporary newspaper journalism. Anyway, here's another perfect example, from Anthony Cloud in the Middlesboro Daily News from the Bell County Fiscal Court: "That tells me if there is a needle exchange in Middlesboro, a minimum of 100 people are going to drive through the tunnel out of Tennessee that wouldn’t have otherwise. They either, a. are high, (or) b. going to get high. To ignore that would be being naive."

And here's another, from Richard Burkard, in Madisonville's Messenger, on the Historic Planning Commission and the owner of a 90-year-old Chevy dealership and other downtown buildings and his desire to have those properties excluded from the town's historic district: "They take care of their own." (Maybe it'll be #RockSolidJournalismObservations.)

Auburn's fantastic Federal Grove is expanding. So's Kentucky State Police Post 4 - Elizabethtown.

Etown's Kentucky Cardinal Inn on U.S. 31W (East Dixie Avenue) is no more, however. It was nice (I almost forgot about #KentuckyForSale!) ...

Good Fred Petke feature in The Winchester Sun about a homegrown local police officer: "My dad always said if you need help, find a cop." (Mine, too.)

Kentucky's jail population climbed 76 percent from 2000 to 2015.

In The Advocate-Messenger--home of the Class 4A #khsfb19 state runners-up Boyle County High Rebels--a Centre College professor cites an economist from Duke University in arguing on behalf of the U.S. racial wealth gap as more of a focus in conversation about slavery reparations. (He convinced me.)

The Democrats are coming to take the guns (well, "assault weapons" and "large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices") (and flavored vape products) away.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green,  romley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Greenville, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Prestonsburg, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Campbellsville, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

Change is everywhere in Kentucky. Our license-plate letters and numbers will no longer be raised.

The new Democratic governor will give Kentucky's first Republican attorney general in 70 years an early start.

The secretary of Kentucky's justice and public safety cabinet--a Democrat appointed four years ago by the outgoing Republican governor--bows out.

On his last day in office, Gov. Bevin opined on good jobs news from Murray: "Over the past four years, we have made historic strides in improving our business climate, and it’s exciting to see those efforts culminate in transformational job-creating projects. We are grateful that TPG chose Kentucky for its new operation and appreciate the opportunities it will provide to our citizens."

As one who knows next to nothing about law, the whole deal where a governor or president on the way out pardons convicted people is one of the more curious aspects of life in the United States.

The state's anticipated $1.1 billion budget shortfall "is a lot bigger than anything that we anticipated," a Republican state representative tells Joe Sonka and Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal. "It's a real train wreck," amplifies a progressive economic-policy group from Berea.

Eleanor Klibanoff of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting: "A KyCIR investigation shows LMPD brings almost every rape case to a prosecutor to decide whether to make an arrest--sometimes before they’ve done much investigating. If prosecutors decline the case, the police clear it 'by exception.' LMPD cleared three times as many 2017 rape cases 'by exception' than they did by arrest."

The Who's planned concert at NKU in April is historic for greater Cincinnati.

Brand new in Manchester: The Clay We Were.

Congratulations, Ms. McGaha, retiring operator of June's Beauty Shop in Jamestown since 19 and 62.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, Irvine/Ravenna, London, Maysville, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove, Stanton and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Beattyville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Carlisle, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Inez, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Raceland, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Louisa, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

The state's fastest internet speeds are found in Jackson and Owsley counties. "It is a gamble that has paid off," writes Kim Kobersmith in The Daily Yonder. "Residents are harnessing the power of the network to improve their lives by accessing well-paying jobs, opening new educational doors, and virtually visiting their doctors for health consultations."

"What's Next EKY?"

And how about for Daviess County's old Airport Fire Station?

Kentucky’s housing market in October: 8.4 percent more homes sold than in October 2018 at a median closing price that was 8.3 percent greater.

Bad jobs news from Paducah.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Central City, Nov. 24; Lebanon and Louisville, Nov. 29;  Greensburg, Guthrie and Pikeville, Nov. 30; Boyce, Dawson Springs, Murray, Salem and Sebree, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Clay, Fredonia, Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville, London, Monticello, Pineville, Richmond, Smiths Grove and Trenton, Dec. 6; Arlington, Barbourville, Berea, Bloomfield, Bowling Green, Bromley/Ludlow, Brownsville, Cadiz, Calvert City, Clinton, Columbia, Corbin, Cynthiana, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Grayson, Hawesville, Henderson, Horse Cave, Lawrenceburg, Leitchfield, Lexington, Madisonville, Marion, Middlesboro, Morgantown, Munfordville, Murray, Owingsville, Paducah, Rabbit Hash, Russell Springs, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Somerset, Trenton, Versailles, Whitley City and Winchester, Dec. 7; Auburn, Georgetown and New Haven, Dec. 8; Augusta, Burkesville, Burnside, Cave City, Elkton, Franklin, Mayfield, Providence, Williamsburg and Woodburn, Dec. 14, and Tollesboro, Dec. 15.

Oh, Kentucky

On the Babies 'R Us transformation in Florence.

On the Patti's comeback in Grand Rivers.

On the Christmas-decor redo debut in Columbia.

Fiber to the (Princeton) home.

Good jobs news from Berea, Erlanger, Hopkinsville and Maysville. Bad from Ashland and Shelbyville. False hope in Inez.

Turning to sports, Franklin County High's Benny Watkins Field will be under scrutiny Friday night; Martha Layne Collins High celebrates its first Division I hoops signees, and Season 4 for the SoKY Ice Rink is afoot.

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Owensboro, Nov. 23; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Calvert City, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Madisonville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton, Versailles and Whitley City, Dec. 7; Georgetown, Dec. 8; Cave City, Dec. 10, and Burnside, Elkton and Williamsburg, Dec. 14.

Oh, Kentucky

Hey, look, Kentucky made Drudge:

Christmas parades: Sharpsburg, Nov. 9; Boyce, Dawson Springs and Murray, Dec. 1; Bardstown, Dec. 5; Harrodsburg, Hopkinsville and Monticello, Dec. 6; Berea, Bowling Green, Danville, Frankfort, Glasgow, Henderson, Madisonville, Paducah, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Trenton and Whitley City, Dec. 7, and Cave City, Dec. 10.

Oh, Kentucky

WKMS also has the full text of the House resolution, which passed despite the "no" vote of U.S. Rep. Comer of Tompkinsville.

"Obviously, I want you to read all of bell hooks books. I mean, I want to read all of her writing. She does it with passion and grace that leaves me in an awe that is difficult to describe. Recently, she has released a string of children’s books that I hope you’ll also read. I hope that this will give you a little teaser into what she is capable of.  Her writing is so important right now. She writes with a grace and love that is difficult to come by. Whew, are we really hurting for some real love right now." Brandie Derusha enrolls us in bell hooks, at Book Riot.

A native western Kentuckian comes home, and he's focused on re-introducing Mayfield's YMCA to the region. Eric Walker has an interesting report in the local Messenger.

Pine Mountain Settlement School drops the soup-to-nuts farming 411--"from seed to table and even marketing"--on the kids.

There's a name change, but Wyatt's--a locally owned grocery in Falmouth for more than 70 years--rolls on.

Ingram Barge of Paducah, Louisville Metro Corrections and The Entrepreneur Source of Simpsonville are among the employers to be represented at today's hiring/networking event hosted by Fort Campbell's Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program.

Stories about retail development are among contemporary journalism's hottest click properties, and, for sure, I quickly clicked on this Channel 6 survey of new stuff coming to Kentucky Oaks Mall.

A nonprofit that runs homes for people with disabilities--with reported revenue growth of $70 million over the last three years--is pulling out of Kentucky because it says it is having funding problems with the state. I found this (fantastic) Leah Shields/Justin Jones report for WPSD was considerably less fun to digest.

The eastern Kentucky miners whose pay was reportedly taken back from a bankrupt coal operator got a boost from a Harlan priest this week.

Oh, Kentucky

Guns N' Roses is not playing Pikeville.

I wonder how the interactive children's concert with the Lexington Philharmonic went Saturday in Williamsburg.

Madisonville's mayor explained some city-budget choices at a town meeting last week, and Brandon Buchanan with The Messenger has an interesting report: "We can't continue to fund organizations when we can't even find what they have done."

Patrick Sisson in Curbed looks at a Kentucky native's vision for high-tech farming in Morehead: "We’re committed to making eastern Kentucky the agtech capital of America."

Good jobs news from Danville.

The state's highest rents for apartment complexes are found in Newport.

Falmouth's ambulance service is in jeopardy. 

Flat (inflation-adjusted) wages, still, in Kentucky.

Welcome to KSU, and here's a laptop--The Kentucky 100 has the scoop in 100 or fewer words. 

You're running out of time to weigh in on naming the animals at LBL.

Should Kentucky decriminalize possession of marijuana up to 100 grams? Ninety-four of the first 130 voters at a Harrodsburg Herald poll said yes.

Improper drop-offs are becoming a bigger problem for Ashland's non-profit community, reports Carly Carver in The Daily Independent.

Thanks, Feds, for sticking up for a whistle-blowing truck driver in Florence.

British Open Preview: I predict that Jason Dufner will not win his second major since June 2010 when the HP launched.

Oh, Kentucky

Five years later, Army comes home, to Oldham County.

WKU Photojournalism picks up Hearst Award for Overall Photojournalism No. 25.

Happy Ali Week in Louisville.

And then a free "afternoon of entertainment and exploration," courtesy of the Kentucky Opera, June 9 at The Brown Theatre.

Good jobs news from Edmonton.

Hiring in Cadiz (for "Welders, Assemblers, Machine Operators, Painters, Blasters & CNC Operators," on June 21).

Paducah's Midtown Alliance of Neighbors has three new 1,200-square-foot homes planned for low-to-moderate-income families, per Channel 12.

"(H)ealth coverage is just one factor that shapes health outcomes ... to further boost health in Kentucky we need to address these other important health factors. And yet, instead of increasing investments in these areas, the state has disinvested in education, public health, social services and environmental protection — all areas that are critical to health – for over a decade." Ashley Spalding and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy peal the onion of Kentucky's poor health rankings.

"The way it’s worded, it’s completely counterintuitive to this Supreme Court directive. So it has to go." Ben Kleppinger's Advocate-Messenger breakdown on problems with Boyle County's sign ordinance is comprehensive, but, for my money, the real jewel here is his photograph of the signs along Danville's Hustonville Road. Makes me want pizza. Also, the font on the "Drive Thru" sign is a dead giveaway that Wok-N-Go used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Oh, Kentucky

It's showtime again at Louisa's Garden Theater.

"All of a sudden everybody was excited about recreation in Mayfield and Graves County." Fun, comprehensive report from Shelley Byrne in The Mayfield Messenger. Makes me want to go there.

Picking and bowing all summer long in Floyd County.

Seeking boots-on-the-ground input from southeastern Kentucky's "Promise Neighborhood."

Hiring in Madisonville (595 available jobs as of Friday).

Ah, Paducah:

-- Nate Crawford at Forward Kentucky: "He followed that up with the comment that '… when Paducah enacted that ordinance, the signal was sent out across not just Kentucky, but across the country that this is an LGBT-friendly city.' Which, obviously, he saw as a bad thing."

-- The San Francisco Chronicle: "Paducah council weighing religious liberty, civil rights."

-- The Paducah Sun: "Tebow to visit Paducah for night of worship."

Rest in peace, Jim Burton (1955-2019), Madisonville native, Hilltopper and globetrotting Southern Baptist journalist who didn't "want to be remembered only as that guy with ALS."

Oh, Kentucky

"We understand the violence, we understand the drugs. But one fact remains, many of our children are innocent. Police need to find a better way." Prayers for real peace in Louisville (and great reporting and writing by Andrew Wolfson in The Courier-Journal).

Turning to sports, a former Murray State University history professor has a new book out on a certain old University of Kentucky basketball coach.

Groundbreaking is afoot for (horse) racing in Oak Grove.

Preparations are underway for (motocross and car) racing in Nebo.

Madisonville has expanded its annual women's conference (coming up next week), and the keynoters are from Turkey (via Lexington and NKU) and Marshall County.

Henderson's first Tech on Tap is.

Good jobs news from Louisville.

Hiring in Berea (for positions in central Kentucky), Morehead (for a local police dispatcher) and south of Dawson Springs (for Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park housekeepers).

Remember the Holy Cross High valedictorian whom the Diocese of Covington wouldn't let speak at commencement? He's now a University of Louisville freshman and Hugh Hefner Foundation First Amendment Award winner.

Rest in peace, Michael Hardin, a U.S. Army dental-lab specialist who served in Vietnam and will be buried at the veterans cemetery in Hopkinsville. "He had no known surviving family members and VFW Post 4730 in Dover, Tennessee put out a call this week asking for anyone who can to attend and honor the fallen veteran," reports WHOP.

Oh, Kentucky

Kentucky in 100-word gulps.

"466 blacked-out pages" ... "irresponsible" teacher sickout ... Gov. Bevin vs. The Courier-Journal ... and Jefferson County schools ... culture wars ... blah, blah, blah ... you can fill in the blanks.

On Berea’s Sunday billiards ban, city-council Christian invocations and district-champion Lady Pirates.

Good for the Bell County High band director who got Dale Ann Bradley performing at Pine Mountain State Park.

Murray State angles to be a hemp-research leader.

Good jobs news from Lexington and maybe Shepherdsville.

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Bowling Green.

The Travel Channel invites us to "Explore the hidden gems of each state: towns with quaint shops and restaurants, fascinating histories, fun experiences and natural beauty." (Spoiler alert: In Kentucky, it's Paducah.)

The Family Dollar is grandly reopening in Morehead.

The Burgin cafeteria is bursting at its seams.

The Henderson County Public Library is exploding across its whole block.

Owensboro angles for more downtown hotel and apartment space.

Wheelwright has a police officer again, and he's reportedly a former police chief let go in Martin.

If you're in Grayson and hankering for crepes, you needn't drive over to Russell any longer.

A second-generation McDonald's franchisee from Winchester wins a "Ronald."

Oh, Kentucky

"The retail apocalypse is media hype," the Kentucky Oaks Mall property manager tells Channel 6.

Madisonville's new mayor says the old administration overspent the city's budgeted restaurant-tax proceeds in the fiscal year's first six months.

Charting R&D investment at UK.

Nicholasville's Movie Tavern has new owners, and Cheryl Truman in the Lexington Herald-Leader details some of the changes that are reportedly afoot.

Berea's Kentucky Center for Public Policy, on Real Legislature: "Especially at a time when Kentucky can’t afford to pay for school buses, school facilities improvements, textbooks and other instructional materials, the legislature should reject proposals to hand over tens of millions of dollars, growing to hundreds of millions over time, to private schools."