Kentucky

A new report says the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) improves health and reduces costs across Kentucky.

The report from the left-leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy shows more than 500,000 Kentuckians get help buying groceries through SNAP.

Kentucky has the eighth-highest rate of food insecurity in the nation. KCEP says a growing body of research connects food insecurity to a higher rate of diabetes, chronic illnesses, and other negative health outcomes. 

Eight minutes into the governor’s debate on Tuesday, moderator Shannon Cogan urged the audience at Lexington’s Singletary Center to remain silent. The candidates’ verbal jousts elicited whoops, boos, cheers and rare bits of laughter through the hour-long debate reflecting an audience as clearly divided on policy as the two men on stage.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic challenger Andy Beshear found little common ground during the debate on the University of Kentucky campus; that was evident on the hot-button issue of abortion.

The American Printing House For the Blind, headquartered in Louisville, will soon house the world’s largest collection of Helen Keller artifacts.

Officials announced the acquisition Thursday. More than 80,000 individual pieces from the life of Keller, an iconic advocate for the deaf and blind, will now be housed at the printing house. Eventually many will be on exhibit; some of Keller’s artifacts, including an Oscar, a letter she wrote to Nazi students and a Zulu shield are already on display. APH CEO Craig Meador said the exhibit will underscore Louisville’s mission to highlight advocacy.

Kentucky arts teachers are asking lawmakers to require that all public schools provide visual and performing arts classes.

State law currently only requires high schools to provide art classes — one credit — though many local school districts have arts requirements for elementary and middle schools.

A group of arts educators called the Kentucky Coalition for Arts Education is pushing for the bill, called the Arts Education Equity Act, ahead of next year’s legislative session. A similar version of the bill was proposed but never received a hearing this year.

Former House Speaker Jeff Hoover has announced he will not seek reelection next year. Hoover stepped down from his leadership position in early 2018 after revelations that he and three other Republican lawmakers signed a secret agreement with a former staffer settling sexual harassment allegations.

Hoover was the first Republican to preside over the House of Representatives in nearly a century when his party won control of the chamber in 2016.

  Kentucky’s chief election official on National Voter Registration Day wants to remind Kentuckians the voter registration deadline for this fall’s general election is two weeks away.

The Kentucky Department of Education is seeking feedback on the state’s new minimum high school graduation requirements. 

Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis will hold four town hall forums this month and next.  The first one is on Monday evening in Shelbyville at the Ohio Valley Education Cooperative. 

  A new report ranks Kentucky 9th in the nation for the rate at which counties hold residents in local jails. The state-by-state analysis aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the effect local jails have.

Kentucky is once again delaying its REAL ID drivers licensing program, a little more than a year before the high-security licenses, a passport, or other form of federal ID will be needed to board domestic airline flights.

The state Transportation Cabinet has abandoned its plan to issue the licenses through local circuit court clerks and now plans to set up regional centers around the state where drivers can apply for them.

The announcement comes after a series of delays implementing the enhanced licensing system that is mandated by a 2005 federal law that requires states to make identification systems more secure.

Former House Speaker Jeff Hoover and two other Republican lawmakers have dropped their lawsuit against a former staffer who accused them of sexual harassment.

Hoover, Rep. Michael Meredith and former Rep. Jim DeCesare sued Marissa Espinosa, a former communications staffer for the Republican House Caucus, for allegedly disclosing details of a secret settlement dealing with the harassment allegations.

The lawmakers paid Espinosa $110,000 to avoid a lawsuit, and all parties signed a nondisclosure agreement.